FAQ

Ron Wikso

Important Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Loops Loop Tempo: You may notice the loop tempo (although extremely close) is not always the exact speed as indicated. For instance, if the tempo of the loop set indicates 135Bpm, the actual tempo could be 134.8, 135.2, etc. The tempo may vary slightly from one loop to the next as a drummer is not a machine. We decided to edit the loops true to the performance rather than artificially making them the exact tempo. Of course, the human factor is exactly what makes these loops sound and especially feel so much better than a drum machine. Drum Kit Info Sonor Designer Series 22” Kick 5 ½ “ x 14” Snare Tom 1 – Mid Tom 12” Tom 2 – High Tom 10” Tom 3 – Floor (Low) Tom Zildjian Cymbals 20” Ping Ride 17” A Custom Crash 16” A Custom Crash 12” A Custom Splash 14” Quick Beat Hi Hats Electro Voice Microphones Kick Interior – N/D 868 “Kick” Mic Kick Exterior – RE20 Snare Top – N/D 168 “Snare” Mic Snare Bottom – N/D 168 “Snare” Mic Snare Rim – N/D 168 “Snare” Mic Toms 1, 2 & 3 – N/D 468 “Instrument” Mic Overheads – RE 200 Hi Hat – RE 200 Room Mics – RE 1000 Tempo and Sound Quality: If your program supports Acidized loops, these loops should automatically play back at the correct speed. When a loop plays at a tempo other than the original speed, there is always a slight loss of quality. However, by following some simple guidelines this loss will be negligible. Typically, the sound quality (stretching quality) is best if the tempo is at least a few Bpm faster than the indicated speed. Loops usually sound better sped up than slowed down. Oddly enough, when the song tempo is nearest to the loop tempo (but not exact) the quality is often worse. That’s because it’s harder for a program to make a 0.1 Bpm correction than a 4 Bpm change. That being said, it really depends on the project and sometimes it’s best to just ignore the rules and go with your gut. Longer Loop sections: Instead of the short loops (1 or 2 bars) typical in many loop libraries, we’ve provided longer loops to retain the feel of the actual performance. Most of them are 4 bars in length. On our TCA Studio 1 Loop Sets, we decided to keep most of the fills as part of the loops rather than separating them. Additional fills have been included in many of the loop sets for variation and flexibility to suit your project. On our TCA Studio 2 Loops Sets, we separated the parts into grooves and fills. True To Song Performances: These drums were played to real songs. Which means that rather than performing each loop completely different, some might appear very similar as is often the case in a real performance. For example; even though verse 1.wav and verse 2.wav may sound almost identical they’re not exactly the same. Your song will have a more organic feel by using both of these loops rather than pasting the same one in both verses. Each loop set is a complete performance divided into loops. Stereo & Multitrack Loops: The stereo loops are fairly neutral sounding and have a moderate amount of EQ, compression and reverb. They are suitable for a wide variety of projects. For added flexibility we also provided multitrack versions of the same loops. Thirteen! separate mics were used to allow for a variety of options. Most people will find it very convenient to use the stereo loops when composing and recording. If the sound of the stereo loops are not quite what you are looking for simply replace them with the multitrack loops when it’s time to mix. Naming Convention: Most of the loop names are self explanatory and indicate how they might be used in a typical song (example: Verse, Chorus, Solo, etc). The following is a breakdown of the loop set naming convention: Numbers indicate loops from separate song parts – Verse 1.wav & Verse 2.wav Letters indicate separate loops taken from the same section – Verse A.wav & Verse B.wav. You get the idea. For example, the following loop name represents 2 loops from the same 3rd verse – Verse 3A.wav & Verse 3B.wav. Verse 3A.wav & Verse 3B.wav will sound good back to back because they were originally played that way. Of course, you don’t have to use Chorus 1.wav for your first chorus. This is just the name we came up with. You can make your song more unique by mixing up the loop sections such as using a verse loop for your chorus and so on. Approach To Building Your Song: If you have not yet started recording your song, we recommend that you begin with the drum part first and build your song from there. It’s much easier to make a guitar part, keyboard, etc. lock into a drum groove than the other way around. If you arrange the loops together in order of song structure, you’ll have a good working outline for your tune (ex: IntroA – IntroB – Verse1A – Verse1B – Pre-Chorus1 – Chorus1A – Chorus 1B – Verse 2A, etc.) Then change it up to fit your song. Mixing the Multitrack Loops: Here are some of the general settings we used when mixing the drums for our stereo loops, which can serve as a baseline for your mixes. The pan settings we used, as well as our labeling of the files were as follows, from the drummer’s perspective, looking at the audience: Room 100% Left and Right Overheads 90% Left and Right Hi Hat 30% Left Tom 1 70% Left Tom 2 20% Right Tom 3 70% Right Snares and Kicks Center Note – Some people prefer mixing from the audience perspective, looking at the drums. This is a personal preference and if that happens to be your preference, you can achieve that by simply reverse the above settings. Snare Volume Breakdown Snare Top – This is the main Snare sound and the loudest Snare Rim – The volume is lower than Snare Top Snare Bottom – Is even lower in volume than Snare Rim Kick Volume Breakdown >Kick Interior – This is the main Kick sound and the loudest Kick Exterior – The volume is lower than the Kick Interior Reverb The most reverb was used on the Snare and Toms (about an equal amount). There is a little bit of reverb on the Overheads, Room and Hi-hat. There is little or no reverb on the Kick Use EQ and Compression at your discretion Choosing which Multitrack Loops to use: Although this drum kit was recorded with thirteen mics, there is no law requiring all of these separate tracks to be used in a mix. The following tracks are frequently left out by mixing engineers. If you do decide to use any or all of them, start at a low volume. A little often goes a long way. Room – The room mics add a certain ambiance which may or may not compliment your sound. Hi-hat – Use if the hi-hat needs more emphasis. The overhead mics pick up plenty of hi-hat. Kick Exterior – The main sound comes from the interior kick. The exterior kick adds fullness. Snare Bottom & Rim – The main sound comes from the top snare. These two mics can give the snare a different vibe. Toms – You may choose to use only those tom loops that have an actual tom playing. In this case it’s a good idea to cut everything before the tom hit out of the loop (after you put the loop in its correct spot). Additional Info: One-shot – is a file that isn’t supposed to change tempo with the song. Usually, this is used for the end of the song. You can mix and match between all loop sets. The overall sound is similar, since they were recorded by the same drummer in the same studio with the same mic setup. The names given to the loop sets (such as pop and rock, etc.) are just a basic description to help you find what you need easier. Really all these loops can be used in any style. When mixing Overhead and Room tracks, many people find it more convenient to premix the left and right tracks to stereo files first. That way you can apply EQ and compression to both tracks simultaneously as opposed to duplicating the same settings to the left and the right track. Some programs such as Pro Tools allow you to use the left and right loop files in a stereo track. In which case, it is not necessary to premix the tracks. We provided Multitrack Tom loops for each section even when the Toms aren’t playing. This is for the purpose of keeping the sound consistent between the different sections. On the final mix you may want to use a noise gate on the Tom tracks, or edit these tracks (as we have done when we mixed the stereo loops). When replacing a fill in a loop, we recommend replacing the whole bar. Because the fill is often the last bar of a loop, the cleanest way to do this is by copying the last bar of the loop with the replacement fill and paste it in the same position of the loop you’re modifying. This replaces the fill and the edit is complete. Drum Performances by Ron Wikso Studio and touring drummer with artists – Foreigner, Richie Sambora, Cher, David Lee Roth, Gregg Rolie (Santana/Journey), Randy Meisner (The Eagles), Ty Herndon and many more!! Loop Editing & Mixing by Arno Verstappen Owner of Dutch Master Recording Studio – Recording and Mixing Engineer for a wide variety of artists in Southern California, Austin, Texas, Holland, Sweden and other far reaching places around the world!

2008-12-25T12:40:20-06:00

faq 1900022

2008-12-25T12:40:20-06:00

44311

FAQ 2009-10-11T18:44:30-05:00 *Important Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Your Loops* *Loop Tempo:* You may notice the loop tempo (although extremely close) is not always the exact speed as indicated. For instance, if the tempo of the loop set indicates 135Bpm, the actual tempo could be 134.8, 135.2, etc. The tempo may vary slightly from one loop to the next as a drummer is not a machine. We decided to edit the loops true to the performance rather than artificially making them the exact tempo. Of course, the human factor is exactly what makes these loops sound and especially feel so much better than a drum machine. *Drum Kit Info* _Sonor Designer Series_ 22” Kick 5 ½ “ x 14” Snare Tom 1 – Mid Tom 12” Tom 2 – High Tom 10” Tom 3 – Floor (Low) Tom _Zildjian Cymbals_ 20” Ping Ride 17” A Custom Crash 16” A Custom Crash 12” A Custom Splash 14” Quick Beat Hi Hats _Electro Voice Microphones_ Kick Interior – N/D 868 “Kick” Mic Kick Exterior – RE20 Snare Top – N/D 168 “Snare” Mic Snare Bottom – N/D 168 “Snare” Mic Snare Rim – N/D 168 “Snare” Mic Toms 1, 2 & 3 – N/D 468 “Instrument” Mic Overheads – RE 200 Hi Hat – RE 200 Room Mics – RE 1000 *Tempo and Sound Quality:* If your program supports Acidized loops, these loops should automatically play back at the correct speed. When a loop plays at a tempo other than the original speed, there is always a slight loss of quality. However, by following some simple guidelines this loss will be negligible. Typically, the sound quality (stretching quality) is best if the tempo is at least a few Bpm faster than the indicated speed. Loops usually sound better sped up than slowed down. Oddly enough, when the song tempo is nearest to the loop tempo (but not exact) the quality is often worse. That’s because it’s harder for a program to make a 0.1 Bpm correction than a 4 Bpm change. That being said, it really depends on the project and sometimes it’s best to just ignore the rules and go with your gut. *Longer Loop sections:* Instead of the short loops (1 or 2 bars) typical in many loop libraries, we’ve provided longer loops to retain the feel of the actual performance. Most of them are 4 bars in length. On our TCA Studio 1 Loop Sets, we decided to keep most of the fills as part of the loops rather than separating them. Additional fills have been included in many of the loop sets for variation and flexibility to suit your project. On our TCA Studio 2 Loops Sets, we separated the parts into grooves and fills. *True To Song Performances:* These drums were played to real songs. Which means that rather than performing each loop completely different, some might appear very similar as is often the case in a real performance. For example; even though verse 1.wav and verse 2.wav may sound almost identical they’re not exactly the same. Your song will have a more organic feel by using both of these loops rather than pasting the same one in both verses. Each loop set is a complete performance divided into loops. *Stereo & Multitrack Loops:* The stereo loops are fairly neutral sounding and have a moderate amount of EQ, compression and reverb. They are suitable for a wide variety of projects. For added flexibility we also provided multitrack versions of the same loops. Thirteen! separate mics were used to allow for a variety of options. Most people will find it very convenient to use the stereo loops when composing and recording. If the sound of the stereo loops are not quite what you are looking for simply replace them with the multitrack loops when it’s time to mix. *Naming Convention:* Most of the loop names are self explanatory and indicate how they might be used in a typical song (example: Verse, Chorus, Solo, etc). The following is a breakdown of the loop set naming convention: Numbers indicate loops from separate song parts - Verse 1.wav & Verse 2.wav Letters indicate separate loops taken from the same section - Verse A.wav & Verse B.wav. You get the idea. For example, the following loop name represents 2 loops from the same 3rd verse – Verse 3A.wav & Verse 3B.wav. Verse 3A.wav & Verse 3B.wav will sound good back to back because they were originally played that way. Of course, you don’t have to use Chorus 1.wav for your first chorus. This is just the name we came up with. You can make your song more unique by mixing up the loop sections such as using a verse loop for your chorus and so on. *Approach To Building Your Song:* If you have not yet started recording your song, we recommend that you begin with the drum part first and build your song from there. It’s much easier to make a guitar part, keyboard, etc. lock into a drum groove than the other way around. If you arrange the loops together in order of song structure, you’ll have a good working outline for your tune (ex: IntroA – IntroB - Verse1A - Verse1B - Pre-Chorus1 - Chorus1A - Chorus 1B - Verse 2A, etc.) Then change it up to fit your song. *Mixing the Multitrack Loops:* Here are some of the general settings we used when mixing the drums for our stereo loops, which can serve as a baseline for your mixes. The pan settings we used, as well as our labeling of the files were as follows, from the drummer’s perspective, looking at the audience: Room 100% Left and Right Overheads 90% Left and Right Hi Hat 30% Left Tom 1 70% Left Tom 2 20% Right Tom 3 70% Right Snares and Kicks Center Note – Some people prefer mixing from the audience perspective, looking at the drums. This is a personal preference and if that happens to be your preference, you can achieve that by simply reverse the above settings. _Snare Volume Breakdown_ Snare Top – This is the main Snare sound and the loudest Snare Rim – The volume is lower than Snare Top Snare Bottom – Is even lower in volume than Snare Rim _Kick Volume Breakdown_ >Kick Interior – This is the main Kick sound and the loudest Kick Exterior – The volume is lower than the Kick Interior _Reverb_ The most reverb was used on the Snare and Toms (about an equal amount). There is a little bit of reverb on the Overheads, Room and Hi-hat. There is little or no reverb on the Kick Use EQ and Compression at your discretion *Choosing which Multitrack Loops to use:* Although this drum kit was recorded with thirteen mics, there is no law requiring all of these separate tracks to be used in a mix. The following tracks are frequently left out by mixing engineers. If you do decide to use any or all of them, start at a low volume. A little often goes a long way. Room - The room mics add a certain ambiance which may or may not compliment your sound. Hi-hat - Use if the hi-hat needs more emphasis. The overhead mics pick up plenty of hi-hat. Kick Exterior - The main sound comes from the interior kick. The exterior kick adds fullness. Snare Bottom & Rim - The main sound comes from the top snare. These two mics can give the snare a different vibe. Toms - You may choose to use only those tom loops that have an actual tom playing. In this case it's a good idea to cut everything before the tom hit out of the loop (after you put the loop in its correct spot). *Additional Info:* One-shot – is a file that isn’t supposed to change tempo with the song. Usually, this is used for the end of the song. You can mix and match between all loop sets. The overall sound is similar, since they were recorded by the same drummer in the same studio with the same mic setup. The names given to the loop sets (such as pop and rock, etc.) are just a basic description to help you find what you need easier. Really all these loops can be used in any style. When mixing Overhead and Room tracks, many people find it more convenient to premix the left and right tracks to stereo files first. That way you can apply EQ and compression to both tracks simultaneously as opposed to duplicating the same settings to the left and the right track. Some programs such as Pro Tools allow you to use the left and right loop files in a stereo track. In which case, it is not necessary to premix the tracks. We provided Multitrack Tom loops for each section even when the Toms aren’t playing. This is for the purpose of keeping the sound consistent between the different sections. On the final mix you may want to use a noise gate on the Tom tracks, or edit these tracks (as we have done when we mixed the stereo loops). When replacing a fill in a loop, we recommend replacing the whole bar. Because the fill is often the last bar of a loop, the cleanest way to do this is by copying the last bar of the loop with the replacement fill and paste it in the same position of the loop you’re modifying. This replaces the fill and the edit is complete. *Drum Performances by Ron Wikso* Studio and touring drummer with artists - Foreigner, Richie Sambora, Cher, David Lee Roth, Gregg Rolie (Santana/Journey), Randy Meisner (The Eagles), Ty Herndon and many more!! *Loop Editing & Mixing by Arno Verstappen* Owner of Dutch Master Recording Studio – Recording and Mixing Engineer for a wide variety of artists in Southern California, Austin, Texas, Holland, Sweden and other far reaching places around the world!