High hats

Antimon

When checking out drum kits on software plugs or (less frequently) hardware synths, I often find that the high hat sounds are much to loud and imposing compared to the snares and especially kicks. I've been wondering why this is: is it because the kits are aimed at a live situation where the bass will be more heavily amplified in the PA? Is it just that all samples are normalized equally over the spectrum, so the high frequencies of the hihats are given a higher relative emphasis than the low frequencies of kicks? Or is it simply meant to sound like this?

Also, the high hats I find in kits are very long and thick, rather than the light short kind I like. When doing drums on the Electribe ESX-1, I always reach for the sample length knob (shorten it by at least 90%) and then the volume knob (I love this immediate touch on the Electribe).

So, those of you who use kits (maybe you don't Shocked

) - do you feel the same way?

/Stefan

Jyoti · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 6:48 pm Post subject:

It's not just you.

I'm forever turning down hi-hats and also shortening them!

Dunno why... perhaps we just have the same taste in hi-hats? Very Happy

Uncle Krunkus · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:18 pm Post subject:

I think there are possibly a few reasons for this effect.
* At lower volumes bass sounds are more readily absorbed by room acoustics, so high frequencies are "perceived" to be cutting through a mix.
* The difference between how hi-hats are usually produced compared to the raw sound which actually comes out of them. ie; it's better to sample them more in their entirety and take away what you don't want later.
* Can these samples be set as variations on the open hat? ie; can they be cut off by a shortened version? This would make sense because then any of the samples in the unit can be used as an open or closed hat. This would extend the number of available sounds.

I could be wrong on one (or all) of these points! Laughing

I'm just thinking out loud. Wink