Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nuchat!sugar!karl
From: karl@sugar.UUCP (Karl Lehenbauer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Distant Drums
Message-ID: <1528@sugar.UUCP>
Date: 6 Mar 88 15:57:57 GMT
References: <620005@otter.hple.hp.com> <7235@cisunx.UUCP>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 50

In article <7235@cisunx.UUCP>, ejkst@cisunx.UUCP (Eric J. Kennedy) writes:
> In article <620005@otter.hple.hp.com>, ljc@otter.hple.hp.com (Lee Carter) writes:
> > What I want to know is how can I get GOOD sounding drum samples.
> > How come everything else I sample sounds great BUT NOT DRUMS.
> > 
> > Oh , by the way, I am using a 'Perfect Sound' sampler through 'Aegis Audio-
> > master', sampling at 15K.
>                        ^^^
> ...which corresponds to 7.5 K max frequency, which I'll bet is not
> nearly enough for realistic drum sounds.  heck, the fundamental
> frequency of a tight snare drum is probably over 7.5K, what about all of
> the overtones?  Forget it.

Yes, you can raise your sampling rate and justify it on the 500 and 2000,
with their software-switch-offable 7.5K filters.  (You can also hack your
1000s to do it; that's been described elsewhere.)  Oh yeah, also regarding
that filter, remember that it starts cutting off the sound long before
reaching 7.5K - another good reason to turn it off for hi fi.

With regard to kick drums, you don't need anywhere near 15K.  The older-
style drum machines I know of, the Linn and the Drumtraks, have only a 4K 
PROM for the kick, an 8K for everything else except for 32K for the crash
and ride cymbals.  I find kick drums, bass guitar and such to sample
pretty well, even at under a 10K rate.

No way is the fundamental of a tight snare over 7.5K.  7.5K is really
quite a high frequency in the audio spectrum, only an octave and a third
away from being inaudible.  (You need to hear it all for it to be really
high fi, of course.)

With respect to cymbals, forget it.  They produce so much sound all over
the spectrum that you're just not going to get a good cymbal sample.

Now, the question arises, how can you get better samples when sampling?
For one thing, what is the source of the sound?  For an indredibly
good source of drum samples, I reccommend the Complete Sound Library,
a compact disk containing hundreds of drum sounds and meant for sampling.
You should be able to get it at your music dealer.  If you're doing
acoustic sampling, what kind of microphone are you using?  The difference
in quality between a $150 microphone and a $15 one is extraordinary.
Finally, outboard gear can significantly improve the sample quality. 
I find that running the sound through a 31-band equalizer and fiddling
with the EQ can make the samples sound a lot better.  A reverb can also
be very useful, although it tends to increase sample size because you
end up wanting to sample the decay out to the end.  Even if you don't
have big outboard gear, something with tone controls that affect a line
out such as a small mixer or preamp will help a lot.
-- 
"Lack of skill dictates economy of style." - Joey Ramone
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