Making the Orchestral Bass Drum sound "sexier"....

Hi all,

I'm working on my Autoload....and am now at the Orchestral Bass Drum (Gran Cassa) ....

Ok........I've got a big ole' plate verb on the Bass Drum (and of course I made sure that the plate does NOT have low-end to avoid mud)

Now ..........let's talk EQing the Gran Cassa.......

Mind you I EQ very little on Orchestra....(usually pull down about 3.0db at 375Hz with a broad q on the Stereo Buss, since mid-buildup gets a bit much and this makes things alot more clear........so subtractive EQing)

However the Gran Cassa is a special case and for modern scoring low-end is a big deal.......

Anyone care to share some Eq curves and Dynamic processing techniques of the Gran Cassa...

I'm thinking along the lines of a hyped low-end....like Howard Shore in "Copland"
It is eluding me....rrrrrrrrr

Here is the curve I have going on the Gran Cassa using the Channel EQ ...

104 Hz +5db Q 4.0
290 Hz -9db Q 2.60
4650 Hz +7db Q 2.0 (hi shelving)

It's there but not quite... I really want the Orhestral Bass Drum sound to be "organic", so I am shying away from stacking it with an electronic sine BOOM.....BUT I am looking for more BOOM.

thoughts anyone ?

SvK

G5 Dual 2Ghz with 8 gig, Mac OS X (10.4)

Posted on May 27, 2006 10:10 PM

44 replies

May 30, 2006 9:28 PM in response to Steven von Kampen

i sometimes get bored with the standard orch. inst's timbre so i add modulation/distortion sfx and automate.
anyone else into this? wahwah bassoon? ringshifted clarinet? the context has to fit, of course.
anyone here doing orch stuff that isn't homage to a late great composer/ some such other model?

iSchwartz

Level 5

4,321 points

May 30, 2006 9:43 PM in response to David Robinson9

Maybe I'm just a newcomer to the timbral world, but I've never heard a bassoon without wah. Have you? What's it like?

Clarinets sound like square wave generators to my ear, so ring moding one wouldn't do much for me. But if it's Benny Goodman playing? RING MOD THE **** OUT OF IT! Right now

:-)

I did a couple of string arrangements for a rock band on Elektra many years ago. No synths, all live. It came out, like, totally awesome (that's a direct quote). Recorded it at The Edison. Aaaaah. Anyway, at the end of the day the producer ran the strings through some distortion device or other. It took me years to "get the joke". I'm still not sure I get it because I still haven't put those cuts on my reel (they wuz good-uns).

But all joking aside, I like the concepts you presented. It would take the right project to be able to apply those kinds of effects. And again, all joking aside, I think clarinet through ring mod could be a fantastic effect, as would be on vibes or flute. Cool ideas!

May 30, 2006 9:49 PM in response to David Robinson9

David,

try this.....will take hours but worth it 😉

Take a timpani set (use the "ppp's").............create copies of all the samples and cut the first 2 to 3 seconds of the samples away, so you are only left with the decays....

Now compress the **** out of them so they are "even "........now make another set of copies of the compressed decays and REVERSE them ......

Now you have 2 sets compressed-decays reverse and compressed decays forward,

merge each reverse into it's forward counterpart (bi-directional loops is the goal here)

Mapp them in EXS24 and give them a long attack envelope and a long release envelope (like a synth string)

The result is 1 scary bassy -organic pad REALLY cool and super organic.

You'll love it 😉

SvK

May 30, 2006 10:00 PM in response to Steven von Kampen

iS and steve, just thoughts mainly and i do this when required.
it seems logic is ideally suited to this sort of manipulation.
sorry i can't post examples but my stuff goes on cds and straight to distribution.
love to get some critiques, though. need an ego stroke now and again, like everybodyelse. cheers.

iSchwartz

Level 5

4,321 points

May 30, 2006 10:04 PM in response to David Robinson9

All my kidding aside, I'd love to hear some of your stuff one of these days.

xs4is

Level 4

2,800 points

May 30, 2006 11:13 PM in response to iSchwartz

Me too.

I like to try to emulate/mimic orchestra sounds with everyday house hold items. That gives the listener a "That sounds familiar but not quite the same" feel. But I am not a great orchestrator yet....

Someday.

X

iSchwartz

Level 5

4,321 points

May 30, 2006 11:42 PM in response to xs4is

Y'know how some people write "LOL" but they never really actually laugh?

Not this time...

LOL!!!

xs4is

Level 4

2,800 points

May 30, 2006 11:43 PM in response to iSchwartz

For once I was being serious...and that's when I get the biggest laugh?

ouch.

May 31, 2006 3:00 AM in response to iSchwartz

don't worry iS, you're first on the list.

Blumpy

Level 4

1,090 points

May 31, 2006 6:59 AM in response to Steven von Kampen

Like anything else, if you want it to sound sexy, it must feel sexy.

So I'd slather that drum up with some Astro Glide or if you're into sploshing, chocolate sauce and oatmeal.

May 31, 2006 7:47 AM in response to Blumpy

oatmeal????

you're scaring me....

iSchwartz

Level 5

4,321 points

May 31, 2006 6:27 PM in response to Rohan Stevenson1

Hopefully he's not referring to Irish Oatmeal, cuz dry, it's like sand...

🙂

Mordant

Level 1

60 points

May 31, 2006 7:54 PM in response to Steven von Kampen

Dude

Take it out to dinner once it while. Buy it flowers. And don't forget the ****. Never forget the ****...

May 31, 2006 11:32 PM in response to Steven von Kampen

Steve

Great arrangments. Manhattan Sun rise, what a catchy hook. Thanx for posting you web site. I've been lost in county rock & roll for several years but I have classical background (viola in Del Mar All Regional back in the sixtys) oops just showed my age. Whats more impressive to me anyway is that you do it all with midi and plug in's. That must take eons. I'm just getting back into sequencing after laying off a number of years and have a lot to learn. Your site is a great inspiration.

Rohan (if your still hanging around this thread?) Houdinitheme really rang my bell. Years ago I saw Fiddler on the Roof and was so impressed by the "Gypsy" style. I belive you have caught the essence(and perhaps gone one better) in a unique and original way. Great arrangement.

Les

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Making the Orchestral Bass Drum sound "sexier"....