#1681155 - 05/27/05 02:16 PM
Can't get a good Clap sound
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gaotu
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Registered: 01/10/04
Posts: 211
Loc: Indianapolis
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I haven't tried recording claps with every mic, preamp, and effect combination, but using my LD Condenser clapping brightly and dully (from different hand shapes and contact positions) I was unable to get a good, meatty clap sound. I recorded claps fairly close to the mic, not a distant clap (because my room isn't that good sounding) My results were too thin and inaudible in the mix. Compression and EQ weren't enough help?
Any suggestions?
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#1681156 - 05/27/05 03:01 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Lee Knight
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Registered: 10/19/01
Posts: 1077
Loc: Encinitas,CA,UNITED STATES
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Get a bunch of guys and sit down and slap your laps while wearing jeans. I'm not kidding. It's a lower sound. Less snappy, more meaty!
P.S. Make sure you're slapping your own lap... unless you're the Scissor Sisters. 
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#1681157 - 05/27/05 03:26 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Bunny Knutson
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Registered: 08/20/02
Posts: 13523
Loc: SF East Bay Area, CA, USA
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Record several tracks of claps, bounce them down to one track, then apply some short room reverb. Then hit it hard with compression after the reverb.
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#1681158 - 05/27/05 03:55 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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FoxTick
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Registered: 07/23/01
Posts: 5210
Loc: Sacramental, Californicate
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Also, add a few tracks of smacking two blocks of wood together....al la the Talking Heads.
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#1681159 - 05/27/05 04:06 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Philip O'Keefe
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Registered: 12/17/00
Posts: 17674
Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
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Yup... lots of great suggestions.  IMO, you either need lots of people in the room simultaneously, or you're going to have to overdub yourself several times in order to get a useful result. If you don't like the sound of the room, try another room - the garage, the bathroom... run some long cables and experiment! 
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#1681160 - 05/27/05 05:27 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Al Rude
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Registered: 05/05/05
Posts: 22
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There is actually a technique to clapping. I was taught a technique of “orchestral clapping” that involves slightly cupping the palm of one hand and striking sharply with the fingers of the other hand. This doesn't require a lot of force if properly applied. The result is loud and meaty…
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#1681161 - 05/27/05 06:40 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Philip O'Keefe
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Registered: 12/17/00
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Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
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Good suggestion Al. 
I would recommend using several different techniques for the actual clapping if you're going for the sound of several people clapping in unison... chances are, if you get a group of people together, each will have a slightly different tone to their clapping, and you can simulate that by using several different techniques as overdubs and then submixing them.
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#1681162 - 05/27/05 09:01 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Tedly Nightshade
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Registered: 01/03/02
Posts: 4649
Loc: applegate,OR,UNITED STATES
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When we did some clapping tracks, we had two of us clapping, overdubbing it a few times, and we kept *everything*. We were dancing around too, and the clapping was pretty sloppy a few times.
It's rare for me to find a real problem with anything the Beatles did, but the clapping on Here Comes the Sun is just too tidy for me. It sounds like a yet-to-be-invented drum machine snare (albeit a nice one!) Too perfect.
With all the varying distances from the mic from dancing around, and the sloppy clapping, ours came out sounding like a good old time!
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#1681163 - 05/28/05 01:54 AM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Chris Carter
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Registered: 08/22/04
Posts: 53
Loc: Oakland, CA, USA
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I have recorded a LOT of hand claps. Actually, I have a single that's on the top 100 club charts with more friggin' clapping than I've ever done in my life (hands were very tired after that one!). It's a lot frickin' harder than it looks to record good hand claps. The technique thing is true, the way you clap makes a big difference. But for me the main thing is the room sound. I have a small dry/dark room next to a small wet/bright room and I place myself and the mic in a spot that gets the best blend. Usually that's the mic in the doorway or slightly into the bright room pointing into the dark room. Then I usually clap in the dry room 3 or 4 feet away. That way I get a relatively impactful and beefy (and eq-able) clap that is moderately dry, but still breaths. It's the breathing part that will really kill you if you don't have it when you try to mix. If it breaths right, you can usually get more meat with EQ. But if it isn't breathing right, if you try to eq in more meat you just get this nasty destroyed thing that doesn't sound like a clap anymore.
Oh yeah, I'm always using a LD for this.
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#1681164 - 05/28/05 07:18 PM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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gaotu
Senior Member
Registered: 01/10/04
Posts: 211
Loc: Indianapolis
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Thanks for all the good input. I'll have to give it a go. Sounds like some useful comments.
Only one person mentioned the mic their using though. Is everyone using a LD Cond? What about SD and sensitive dynamics?
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#1681165 - 05/29/05 05:05 AM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Philip O'Keefe
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Registered: 12/17/00
Posts: 17674
Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
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I normally use a LD condenser for claps, although a SD might work too. Feel free to experiment with different mics! 
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#1681166 - 05/31/05 10:44 AM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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Keysking
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Registered: 01/22/02
Posts: 246
Loc: AUSTRALIA
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heres a weird one.. but works...
hold a piece of A4 paper by the top... and record yourself flicking it sharply in the middle of the sheet.
layer that in with some normal claps and some of the other ideas even...
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#1681167 - 05/31/05 11:25 AM
Re: Can't get a good Clap sound
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DC
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Registered: 01/17/01
Posts: 2706
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The last time we recording hand claps we used an AKG-414 in figure of 8 with me on one side and my partner on the other; each of us maybe three feet from the mic. Made about four passes and it came out great.
I sometimes mix in sampled claps in perfect time to go with our 'real world' claps.
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