R&B
Current modern-stylistic techniques include:
- play all drums live, midi or real, whatever, just make sure that it's NOT quantized! The same goes for all other tracks! Looping beats and hooks can be done, but it's important to leave them "LIVE" and to NOT quantize them!
- Stay away from module based sounds that are often used in music you hear on the radio (any style). It's important to create (or sample) your own sounds!
-As for the sounds you use... go ANALOG as much as you can ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Use real instruments, or samples of instruments off vinyl! Nothing is better than the real deal... and never forget that!
over Timbaland:
-Since you are looking for that "3D" sound, I am 99% sure that the drum sound you are seeking is that in-and-out kind of dynamic drum sample sound he creates. I'll explain how much of this is done...
Let's start with the kick drum (bass drum). If you listen closely to his beats you will notice that more than one kick drum sample is being used. I'm not talking about layering (which is also important, and I'll get to that later, if I can). I'm talking about different kick drum hits have different kick drum samples used. The most simplistic example is using the same kick drum, but one pitched lower, and made a tad softer... using the higher and louder sample as the beat driving kick, and the softer and lower sample as the backing (between the beat) kick that moves the music up and down in dynamic motion (you can choose which kick beats meet this criteria). And this can also be achieved by using a different sample that's not as loud, tight, and punchy as the main kick sound. i.e., the trick is to use more than one sound (if it's the same sound pitched down and softer, or another sound, the idea is the same, it's the fact that their is more going on than just one kick sound!). Generally... in most of his beats he uses around 2 kick sounds (sometimes just one, sometimes 3 or more). Additionally... regarding his kick "sound", he intentionally distorts the kick drum (while keeping it muddy, instead of a mid/treble crunchy distortion, but instead a low watery sound like that of a woofer being over-driven). The kick drum samples are mostly a combination of samples taken from both old records and Roland 808/909/707 drum machines (and layered with the kick drum samples from the old records). I don't know of any samples you can purchase that sound anything like this, because they have to be 110% legal... these kinds of HipHop and R&B samples however are usually taken from old records and sampled from old drum machines (combined to create a new sound, also by re-pitching them, compressing, EQ'ing, and more). But remember that the thing that creates that 3D sound in the kick is using more than one kick (not speaking of layers) to kick some hits with one sound and some with another (all within the same bar of music, as I'm not speaking of different samples used in the verse/chorus/bridge/etc but in the same beat / rhythmic-loop).
As for the snare sound... ****... good luck trying to get Tim's snare sound! He has created a signature sound that cuts through the mix like a knife and still sounds great! And, like the kick drum samples... again, it's a combo of samples from old records and samples of old drum machines combined to create a new sound as well as re-pitching compressing EQ'ing etc. But with a little time and effort you can get something great! The number one thing is to stop relying on poor sample libraries, and only use those sounds as layers and/or bits and pieces to help create the better sound. He sometimes used more than one sound for different snare beats like the kick, but it’s not as common.
A good deal of the warmth and hot sound in his beats comes from that fact that it's all recorded into a Neve analog board and recorded to Studer analog tape. This may not be most the 3D sound you speak of, but it is part of the over-all sonic depth and warmth of the sound.
On to the hi-hats... Now to me, this is the biggest part of the trick! Why? Because the hi-hats make up the upper frequencies of the rhythmic-beat regarding Sonics... and our ears suggest to us the greatest percentage of depth, dynamics, and the stereo image, (80-95% from the high-end sounds). And on top of this (to help prove the point) this is where Tim does the most unique sample stuff. Like the kick drum technique, it's almost the same (but more extreme)... i.e., using more than one sample. The difference is:
- Hi-Hat's can also be shakers, casabas, etc.
- Stereo comes into play here
- Many more samples are used!!!
It is not uncommon to listen to one of Tim's tracks and hear about 6 different Hi-Hat samples... which (again) include shakers, casabas, etc. The more different sounds you can use to move the beat (not at once/layered, but on different beats) the more 3D it sounds... the more dynamic, etc. Basically anything that is treble frequency and is a drum/percussion (or can sound like it) goes in this category!
After you have added many different hi-hat like samples (or anything that goes in this category) into your beat/rhythmic-loop it is time to pan them. How do you pan them? The quick answer = HARD!
Pan half of them hard left, and half of them hard right. How do you choose which goes left and which goes right? My answer is this:
Always remember that the most important beats usually go on the left (because "some" mono systems only play the left channel)... so muting the right side should still create an interesting beat that sounds good. But also balance the spectrum, so it sounds balanced among both the left and the right when between the speakers... it's a tough balance, but spend some time and it will sound right... just remember to keep everything hard panned left/right.
And what about panning some things center? That's ok... as long as it's not the norm. And if you need more stuff center, it's time to make some of your samples stereo. How? Using layers. i.e., using two similar sounding samples that trigger at the same time as one sample... one panned hard left and the other panned hard right.
These techniques should get your started in opening a new 3D sound into your beats / rhythmic-loops. BTW, when I say "rhythmic-loops" I'm talking about a drum beat that loops / repeats.
As for getting a more lo-fi sound... the technique is simple. It's often said that the solution is to use an old 8/12-bit sampler with a low sample rate... but the truth is that the beat-maker creates these lo-fi drum sounds by pitching them down (without time-stretching them… and NONE of the above techniques I explained about pitching should EVER include time-stretching! unless you are creating something new). You can do it with virtually any sampler... new or old. Just lower the sample pitch/speed and it will sound dirtier!
For getting a punchier sound... try compression over the drum group. The LA-2A is a fantastic tool for this! The 1176 will make it dirtier, but it will lose punch and definition (and punch and definition is very important in HipHop and R&B music!).
