90s sounding big beat \break beat drums

[blavatsky]

Hi guys - was listening to some older breakbeat (i guess that is the style) type stuff like Chemical Brothers and especially The Crystal Method. Now usually I think about people taking older vinyl breaks, warping them etc to get their drums, but these drums come off as tighter, more high end, more modern.

Do you know if they used live kits and resampled? Maybe a certain drum machine? It didn't really sound like a drum machine to me (or not what I'm used to hearing), not as boxy and produced sounding. I'll try to post example later, don't have access to youtube right now.


Thanks

[th0mas]

Go on youtube and checkout the "recreating smack my b***h up in ableton", the drum section of the video should give you some ideas.

[blavatsky]

Thanks, i've seen that vid before...I guess i'm not asking so much, how to chop up/effect vinyl but rather what SOURCE did they use - like, heavy compressed live set, a roland electronic set overdubbed with real snares, etc etc.

oh also I guess I should say "big beat" not "breakbeat" before I get corrected here...that is more the type i'm looking for.

On Goldbaby's sample site the MPC vol2 vinyl drums is looking very close to what i'm getting at; it's still breaks and such but the sound quality/punch/crispness is better than a lot of the breakbeats i've tried to chop and effect on my various samplers...

[jeeroj]

maybe post up some example videos for people to listen to so they can get an idea of what you're after.

I went out on driving with my mate last week on a tour of the county, with only 1 cd with all the chemical brothers albums on, it was brilliant

[smoothcriminal]

OP I know you specifically said you don't want to hear about break beats but I think this information is relevant.
A "break" is a common songwriting technique especially in funk where the drums take over for a few bars, and it's often just drums and a bassline. A "break beat" traditionally is a beat created by sampling funk breaks. My guess is that "big beat" uses samples from jazz "big band" music, and according to the tutorial Thomas mentioned the drums in Smack My b***h Up are sampled from a big band album by the jazz artist Randy Weston.

As far as Crystal Method and other modern electronic acts, I couldn't guess where they get their drums. As a popular commercial band It's possible they use a studio drummer, or sample libraries of real recorded drums, rather than chopping up songs.

I actually hadn't thought about this whole subject until now, I'm definitely scoping out some big band LPs next time I go record diving.

[blavatsky]

Right; I think of Big Beat still using breakbeats, my main point is that rather than being lofi and gritty breakbeats, certain bands use more modern/crisp but still vinyl-y drums
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_beat

a couple examples




I think it's mostly just layering/processing but I think they do use live beats heavily compressed/chopped as well.

[nogginj]

I get the impression it's vinyl breaks, but chopped, tuned, and layered more finely than the standard chopped drums from a lot of hip hop. I mean you layer some drum machine crispness over some vinyl fullness and you're getting there.

However back in the day I used to do it with very detailed tracker programming.

[Sexor]

Well the drums in that "Busy Child" song by CM is simply a straight-up looped drumbreak from a 70's funk track. Forgot which one.... will try to find it again.

[Sexor]

Here's exactly the same break in action in another (not so dissimilar) track:



Man! The name of that track with the break is on the tip of my tongue!

[ned-ryarson]

i always assumed 'big beat' bands/artists like the chemical bros recorded acoustic drums and resampled..

[smoothcriminal]

Any idea what the main synth line in 'Busy Child' is created by? MS20?

[asohn]

I know that the Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, etc. usually used the same breakbeats found in hip hop, etc. It's just a matter of finding pristine records, using the right compression, layering with drum machines (seems to be a lot of 808's to accent certain kick drums), etc. The technology to conform the breaks to your tracks are greater than those artists had access to back then, by tempo and groove adjusting based on transients and other stretching methods.

Search google for breakbeat collections...there are tons...

[nogginj]

no guarantees, but they were huge into the nord lead. it was in like every video and every concert i saw them at when busy child was the lead single.

ps. Drum sample:
The Glitterhouse - I Lost Me a Friend

http://www.whosampled.com/sample/view/2 ... %20Friend/