Achieving the right amount of punch for your snare sounds can be an elusive and frustrating task. Especially when working with samples, getting the ever-important snare to have enough presence without it being overbearing often requires a little more than turning straight to compression, EQ and level. More often than not, the problems lies at the source – the sound itself needs to be altered, rather than wrangled with piles of processing.
In this video tutorial, Liveschool trainer Joel Farland takes you through a surefire technique for adding “crack” to a snare sound, without trawling through your sample library for a replacement. The trick was often used by hip-hop producer Bob Power, who worked with The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest and D’Angelo amongst others. The technique is based around one utilised by actual drummers, and being a professional percussionist himself, Joel shows you his method for achieving the handy trick in Ableton Live.
Joel Farland is a session drummer and drum producer extraordinaire.
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