hi hats

datalus · Post by **datalus** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:58 pm

tone-def wrote:
datalus wrote:
tone-def wrote:how about not putting loads of effects on them.
That's not what I said. I don't put anything on them usually. I was just saying I've tried to put effects on them to no avail either.

And I'm not chaining god knows what on them, when I say putting FX on them I mean just a chorus/flanger/bit of reverb etc.
oh, sorry

have you got any clips of your hi hat nightmare? maybe we could make some suggestions.

yeah, i'll post some examples when i get back home. thanks for the advice so far in the thread.

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:51 am

ps

theres only a limited set of timbres that can still be called hats, and you dont need effects to make hats cut through.

experiment bro. its got to be one of the easiest things to get sounding right.

tune them to a high odd numbered harmonic of the bass or kick.

datalus · Post by **datalus** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 1:48 am

steevio wrote:ps

theres only a limited set of timbres that can still be called hats, and you dont need effects to make hats cut through.

experiment bro. its got to be one of the easiest things to get sounding right.

tune them to a high odd numbered harmonic of the bass or kick.

most definitely. i don't really spend the time tuning my percussive samples at all really...

it never really made sense to me when i started out, but i could definitely move forward in that area for sure. just start cranking away at the pitch and hearing what sounds right i guess

datalus · Post by **datalus** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:40 am

short 16 bar loop of a track in progress, first 8 bars no main hats, second 8 bars hats come in.

http://d.atal.us/hats_example1.mp3

victorgonzales · Post by **victorgonzales** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:26 am

for this clip my personal opinion is that for this track instead of that closed hat you could use an open one. push back the attack a bit so it's not so clickety and adjust your decay or sustain envelope to where it fits right.

For me I have more luck adjusting a longer open high with the evelope to fit than trying to mess with a closed short hi hat. If your using a synth instead of csamples the envelope should be the same.

Alot of hi hat success depends on the hat you are using more than fine tuning it.

ADSR

I like your clip btw.

Rosscoah · Post by **Rosscoah** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:14 am

victorgonzales wrote:
1 - For this clip my personal opinion is that for this track instead of that closed hat you could use an open one. push back the attack a bit so it's not so clickety and adjust your decay or sustain envelope to where it fits right.

2 - I like your clip btw.

+1 on both counts

AK · Post by AK » Sat Jun 27, 2009 11:41 am

steevio wrote:
tune them to a high odd numbered harmonic of the bass or kick.

You never fail to get me scratching my head lol. It sounds an interesting concept if I only knew what you meant.

I synthesize nearly all my hats as I like the control it gives me over the envelopes and timbre but I can't really say I even know the fundamental frequency as I often use ring-mod or dial in some FM before I use a HP/BP filter, this throws the initial frequency 'elsewhere' so I am often knocking things down an 8ve or 2 to fine tune. An ear thing more than being able to know where I am harmonically.

steevio · Post by **steevio** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:41 pm

AK wrote:
steevio wrote:
tune them to a high odd numbered harmonic of the bass or kick.
You never fail to get me scratching my head lol. It sounds an interesting concept if I only knew what you meant.

I synthesize nearly all my hats as I like the control it gives me over the envelopes and timbre but I can't really say I even know the fundamental frequency as I often use ring-mod or dial in some FM before I use a HP/BP filter, this throws the initial frequency 'elsewhere' so I am often knocking things down an 8ve or 2 to fine tune. An ear thing more than being able to know where I am harmonically.

i always start any percussive sound with a sine wave, or a triangle for woody sounds
then tune it to a harmonic which sounds right for the track.
then i mash it up with whatever it takes to get it sounding like what its supposed to be. (audible freq lfo's, FM etc ) (multiple low frequency skinny pulse waves tuned to a different harmonic are good for modulating hats)
but underneath it all the tone is still there.

i always start with the absolute basics for any sound i use.

it does help though if you are working with a machine or software which encourages partial tuning. i use Nord 3 for all my high percussion, where you can tune the 2nd oscillator to partials of the first.

another thing that might be of interest, is that harmonics only relate quite closely to 12TET up to about the 20th harmonic or so and then as they get closer together they have no relation to it, so while your hats might be harmonically related, it doesnt necessarily means they are obvious intervals, so you can get some nice tunings that are not keyboard related.