“preferred” starting velocity?

[Michael]

i’ve been step sequencing drums on my korg workstation for years and have only moved to software based drum mapping in the last year. I much prefer this new method (SD 2.2) . The question is, is there a “right place to start” in terms of starting velocity? I always had to start at around vel 100 on my korg, which only leaves 27 notches to go up, but 100 available downward. Problem is, starting at 100, anything below about 70 is inaudible in the mix (by which i mean if i sequence most hits between 90-127, then after adding guitars, bass, keys and vocals a hit at velocity 45 would be near inaudible on the track) . Any advice?

P.S. maybe it’s worth mentioning, most of what i sequence is either extreme metal or swinging punk; but i am now getting into electronic and “natural” instruments (shakers, maracas, etc). Is there a “right place to start” velocity-wise for different styles?

Thanks, and I #@*%ing LOVE this program.

Topic

[Michael]

no one? really?

[godprobe]

sorry, I’d written a reply the other day and then my browser decided to die — figured you’d have had another response by now! 😀

i’ll try to remember what I’d intended to post…

generally, I also start with 100.  and then just mouse it up and down from there, depending on what “feels” right and what sounds right, especially thinking about how I would actually drum the part (*if* I were actually a drummer… so there’s a bit of virtual virtualization going on there… :P).

and as far as things not being audible in the mix… I suppose it depends on the mix, but I definitely notice that even small things that *seem* inaudible add something to the sound… take them away and you may notice there’s *something* missing, but you may not be quite sure what it is.
(and also, the other lower-velocity hits are there because not all music is loud! :D)

in other words… it sounds like you’re doing things right. 🙂  (…as far as I know…)
you could also possibly try a volume boost and compression/limiting to make the quiet elements stand out a little more
and also, if something is *actually* getting lost in the mix, either panning or EQ should prevent it from sitting on top of something else and trying to occupy the same frequency or stereo space.

WinXP | Fireface 800 | Variax | Axe-Fx | Toontrack | Komplete | Reaper http://www.godprobe.com/projects/notemaps/

[Scott]

Personally, it really depends on the tone I’m going for. For example, if I’m working on a ballad type song and I’m using a brushed snare, then velocity 100 might be perfect as the tone will be different then 127. But if I’m doing a rock song then 125 (or 127 for the ‘crack’) might be what is needed as the tone of the snare will fit the song better.

There is always ways to make a 100 velocity snare sound louder in a mix without changing the fundamental sound (tone) inherent in that velocity layer itself. I wouldn’t turn up a 100 velocity snare part if the song called for it, just because it gets lost in a busy mix. I would add a compressor set to a natural compression (maybe 4:1 ratio and get about 2-3dB of compression) and then use the make-up gain to make it sit in the mix volume-wise.

And also, as godprobe pointed out, if the snare is still getting lost in a mix, it is usually caused by other similar frequencies of other instruments that need to be trimmed away…or panned.

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Michael]

Well that was as in depth as I coulda asked for. Thanks fellas

[Author]

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