Any good articles on timing out there?

[RABid]

I program a drum part into a sequencer with a funky feel by playing my electronic drums. Next I lock the bass in because I think the bass and drums need to be tight. But where do I stop? How much is too much? Rhythm guitar? Synth arps? What needs to lock and what needs to run free? Robert

[not Cereal]

oooooh boy. you can spend your whole entire life answering that. i dont think there is a "right" answer. every style is different, some styles are built on a loose feel(swing), some a tight feel(fusion), some a ragged feel (grunge) and others a locked down feel(electronica). find a style you like, and make it sound like that. or invent your own. do it the way you think its right!

[DJDM]

From a programming standpoint I always leave a little "looseness" in the parts if possible. By that I mean I try not to quantize everything or I will use loops that are not entirely locked into the beat. It give a really good "human" quality to the programming. Of course this totally arbitrary and there are no "right" ways to do this. But I also think that too much accuracy is fatiguing to the listener. On the other hand some types of electronic music dictate that strict quantization is pretty central to their character. DnB is a good example. You can have a little flow and ebb but on the whole the parts should be really tightly programmed. In cases like that I tend to fall back on volume and compression techniques to get some variation into the work if possible. But event then I try to leave some things a little off the beat. The only place I am a Nazi about the beat is in the bass and bass drums. I tend to always keep that on the mark no matter what else is happening. Works for me. Have fun! - DJDM

[RABid]

I’ll tell you right off I HATE fusion. Mostly because too much of it sounds like every member of the band is intent on proving they can all hit a not at exactly the same time, then pause, then hit another in unison. My intent. Funk drums and bass, electronic fills, jazz leads. I know. I’m a mess. Robert

[Brakka]

Yeah, tough question. I'm still learning about feel myself, so you won't get a definitive answer from me. Except... Experiment. Quantize the bass and then slide it ahead or behind the beat. The feel changes, and both are useful. Every style of music is different. IMO. But when I work, the hat 8ths are always locked on beats. If anything else is before or behind, it is before or behind the hat 8ths. That means that often I'll have a tune where the kicks & snares never hit exactly on a beat. Technically, I'd say the snare backbeats (2 + 4) are going to decide where "exactly on the beat" is, and the [i]hat[/i] has feel- but it's easier for me to program the hats on beat and adjust everything else. Here's something else to try: sequence a normal beat, then throw in a hit where the kick & snare hit at exactly the same time. Now experiment with the timing of those hits. It'll sound better if they're not hitting at EXACTLY the same time. And another thing: Look carefully at your drum sounds. Put them in an audio editor and zoom in. The attack of the hat is short and quick, but your kick attack might be even longer than the whole hat sample. Also (If you're like me :o ) your samples may have a bit of silence at the top- crop the tops completely. ... I don't know of a good site, but try google. I'm sure there will be some good stuff posted here.

[DJDM]

[quote]Originally posted by Brakka: [b]Yeah, tough question. I'm still learning about feel myself, so you won't get a definitive answer from me. Except... Experiment. Quantize the bass and then slide it ahead or behind the beat. The feel changes, and both are useful. Every style of music is different. IMO. But when I work, the hat 8ths are always locked on beats. If anything else is before or behind, it is before or behind the hat 8ths. That means that often I'll have a tune where the kicks & snares never hit exactly on a beat. Technically, I'd say the snare backbeats (2 + 4) are going to decide where "exactly on the beat" is, and the [i]hat[/i] has feel- but it's easier for me to program the hats on beat and adjust everything else. Here's something else to try: sequence a normal beat, then throw in a hit where the kick & snare hit at exactly the same time. Now experiment with the timing of those hits. It'll sound better if they're not hitting at EXACTLY the same time. And another thing: Look carefully at your drum sounds. Put them in an audio editor and zoom in. The attack of the hat is short and quick, but your kick attack might be even longer than the whole hat sample. Also (If you're like me :o ) your samples may have a bit of silence at the top- crop the tops completely. ... I don't know of a good site, but try google. I'm sure there will be some good stuff posted here.[/b][/quote]Interesting Brakka... sounds like we work in exactly opposite ways! :) Although it sounds like the results would be the same. Can you imagine us doing a remix? The bass would be moving all over in your mix and the hats all over in mine till there was nothing but gibberish coming out of the speakers! Would be interesting, maybe... maybe not... :confused: - DJDM