Mutt Lange Snare Trick #3

[@2410-s9l]

Mutts like an audio scientist. So is the guy who runs this channel. Thankyou very much

[@humblehombre9904]

Ohhhh, that wall of snares…..I would weep for joy (not literally, I’m one of those dudes, no tears.) each day I came to work just looking at em, not to mention PLAYING them, ohhhh baby!!!! Let me at ‘em!

[@jameskimble6133]

I really thought the 80s drum pops were only from track stacking and super mics and super reverb....but they added white noise , distinct frequency hums and even convoluted reverbs to get that 80s percussion 🥁 smash ! My God, they really did have sound tricks and you guys are gonna show me the way faster than I could ever learn myself....Muchos gracias brother !

[@humblehombre9904]

“Fine tune it to taste” The amount of work to add that little clip, for that joke, is what makes you the consummate professional that you are. Undeniably your brain works at a higher level than most. I appreciate the work you put in. Thanks brother. Informative and hilarious too.

[@tod3msn]

Mutt Lange is one of rock’s best producers. Incredible musical instincts for his artists.

[@BobbyHuff]

Totally agree Uncle Elmer!!!

[@stageleftguitar5887]

I used this trick on the very first song I engineered and produced on my own back in 05/06?? I had a live recorded kick that just needed weight to it... it had plenty of top end click... that Vinny Paul kind of click, but really lacked in bottom end weight. I really didnt want to turn over the song with the kick sounding the way that it did. After asking around, someone told me of this trick, so I gated/triggered the kick to the tone generator around 60hz if I recall correctly, and it gave it just enough "oomph" to the bottom end without taking away from the bass guitar. Worked great and really helped save that track! This is a great little thing to have in your tool bag!

[@bwhog]

Going through these videos, I never realized how complex the drum sound on some of these songs actually is! I can picture a drummer in a new band commenting, "Man, my drums sound GREAT!" and coming down to earth when he learns what goes into them and, in essence, hears in his head the producer/engineer saying, "No, *MY* drums sound great!" :D

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahaha it certainly can feel like rocket science! In the end it just needs to make the listener jam!

[@ChanceProductions]

it STILL amazes me how many audio engineers / producers dont know things like this in the modern internet age. Another GREAT video!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Chance! Yeah you've gotta stay current for sure!

[@electricbassplayer]

I’m burning through the whole channel today... this stuff is great! Thank you for the expert advice (and utter silliness)!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thank you Glen!! Im honored you find it helpful and we all need a laugh right???

[@glassheadaudio5819]

Pour some snare tricks on maaaay!

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahahaha!! Love it

[@russisaac813]

What a fabulous tip Dr Bob, medicine i'll surely be taking on repeat prescription. Many thanks.

[@BobbyHuff]

Haha! Thanks Russ

[@tommydevito2980]

Mutt's "text" at the end is why I subscribed. Great video. Thanks.

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahaha! Thanks Tommy!

[@RoccoPezzin]

Super cool trick, really adds tons of body and sizzle! Awesome video!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Rocco it sure does!

[@lilikura]

This is amazing! Mutt Lang is an absolute favorite. Thank you for this! Subscribed!

[@BobbyHuff]

Hey thanks Christi and thanks for subbing!!!

[@nicholasbohannan1673]

Your videos don’t suck brotendo.. They Rock 🪨🤘🏼

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Nicholas I appreciate that. Its nice to not suck. hahaha

[@sigurdkaputnik7022]

Pumping up the snare with just 100 Hz sine and white noise - brilliant. You're the MacGyver of sound wizardry.

[@eranddroory9987]

That's one big ass snare drum sound! Bobby, you should make a sample library with those big ass snares it ould sell like hot cakes! :-)

[@jukesjointOG]

Cool trick. Hip-hoppers used to do something similar with kick drums. Nice track; almost sounds like a country version of “Dancehall Days!”

[@BobbyHuff]

Aaahhhhh!! I LOVE WANG CHUNG!!!!! Good call Juke!

[@DavidDiMuzio]

Awesome video! Thanks for the tip!

[@BobbyHuff]

I appreciate it David. Thanks for watching

[@mikerichardson1555]

How does this compare to “gated reverb”? Are they similar?

[@toddscotdrumcovers2341]

Awesome. I use the white noise all the time but never the tone! Gonna try it tomorrow on a song I’m working on. Thanks again Bobby!!!! You rock

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Todd!!

[@markbeling3330]

Brilliant video once again Bobby. So glad I came across your channel

[@BobbyHuff]

So happy you are here Mark!

[@vaughanband]

I’m loving your content, please keep the videos coming. Hopefully you’ll have more tips from big rock producers like Bob Rock, Ron Nevison or Michael Wagener. And of course more from Mutt. Thanks!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Sam and Yes!

[@knotid]

What a fantastic video. I already knew this technique but your approach is way better. Thanks!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks for watching Carlos!!

[@BladesMusic]

Sampled Snare x3 + Tone + Noise. No wonder "real" snares sound thin and hard to get to dominate a mix. Thanks for sharing this interesting trick. I actually prefer a very natural snare, but this is something I will be keeping in mind for the odd occasion where I might want to thicken up something or give it a little "sizzle".

[@BobbyHuff]

Great Blades! Glad you found it useful. You still may be able to tuck these samples in and keep the natural snare sound depending on how you blend them.

[@danmcintyre7100]

The entire time I heard the snare drum from “ pour some sugar on me “ !lol

[@robtoc]

Funny, I kept hearing 'Love in an Elevator"!?!? LOL!!

[@TomasVarnagiris]

Hi, Bob. Thanks for Your videos they are like treasure. Can You make a video about Whitesnake "Is This Love" snare drum? It would be really interesting

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks a lot Tomas! I actually recorded drums at that studio with Keith Olsen. The studio was called Goodnight LA. Very cool place and Keith was a very nice guy. The secret to the sound was the kit was placed in a medium sized room right at the opening of a big door to a large room. The large room was all mic’d up and that room sound was that big ambient sound to that snare. Fun memories.. R.I.P. Keith.

[@TomasVarnagiris]

@@BobbyHuff this is so interesting. Love the sound of 1987 album. Not so much info about recording process and how it was made. More interesting facts about that album would be appreciated Thanks for reply!!!

[@owendurkin6292]

I’d love to see your go to techniques for making cymbals sit in the mix. Carmine Appice talked about the technique that was used on Van Halen records. Gated verbs and compression but I’ve never duplicated it. I use a mesh kit with live cymbals and I am always looking for ways to make them sound organic together. Thanks for sharing your insight 🤟🏼

[@Crusaderrocks]

One of the best snares I’ve heard and a cool trick! Thanks for more Mutt knowledge! 👏🏻

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Kyle. Go grab those test tones from the store! They are Free.99.

[@Crusaderrocks]

@@BobbyHuff Just downloaded them and added them to my track, wow what a difference! Thanks a lot dude

[@BobbyHuff]

@@Crusaderrocks Super! That makes me feel great!

[@Crusaderrocks]

@@BobbyHuff One thing I’ve noticed is your snare jumps out of the mix way more, seems to have it’s own space whereas mine is a little buried. Would you consider going over that at some point? Thanks for all the help so far 🤙🏻

[@BobbyHuff]

@@Crusaderrocks yeah man. Watch the CLA video and look at the 8k trick. Also if you’re compressing make sure you have a slow attack and fast release. The slow attack allows the transient punch to come through. Try putting these test tone samples in as well. The rest is really balancing things around the snare. In most my mixes I generally make the lead vocal the loudest and right under that the snare. See if that helps Kyle!

[@JPM777]

Love this stuff. Mutt Lange is my favorite producer. Honorary mention to Mike Shipley. Pls. Keep on with this amazing information.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Jon. A HUGE shout out to Mike Shipley for his amazing work. RIP Mike.

[@svogender]

Yeah man...Mutt Lange and Martin Birch really cut Through as producers..!! Love them... R.I.P. Martin Birch..!!

[@Priyadarshan_Nag]

Unbelievable! These are nuggets of gold!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks!

[@user-mm3zd5yv5z]

Please give me a hint on how to make the default snare sound before adding white noise. Do you have that video again? It ’s pretty close to my ideal snare sound.

[@gordongurley3982]

Cool trick, great demo.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thank You Gordon. Go grab the free samples I’m my store!

[@rickyhuff]

Awesome! Glad I found you channel!

[@IslandDigital]

Very interesting. Opened my ears for sure ! Thanks for posting.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@soundanswer]

Great tip! Have you considered using signal generators and then side-chain the gate from the snare? Feels like it might be more dynamic and also a lot easier.

[@BobbyHuff]

A great alternative! Also you could cut out two snips like I did in the video and trigger them from Trigger or any other trigger program u have.

[@rekeesefil]

Yea, didnt you start the video saying this is EXACTLY what mutt did? Whats with all the copy and paste??? Bad advice for the newbies..... soundanswer is correct here, side chain is more dynamic and will even fit with a performance that isn't on a grid, not to mention the time you will save. Please re-do video.

[@humblehombre9904]

@@rekeesefil breathe brother. There are many ideas that come from original ideas. Creativity will work its magic on each man in his own way. Enjoy the flood of ideas presented.

[@phoenixmediaforge]

In the 80s, I had a stereo cassette recording of the API console's white noise generator. I gated that with the snare triggering it. So much easier to do today.

[@louiepialago]

This is such an awesome and informative video! You my friend have just earned a new sub!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks for watching and for the sub Louie!

[@rockboy360]

Awesome! I would love to learn some Brendan O' Brien tricks too!

[@BobbyHuff]

Great idea!!!

[@richo8767]

I try to beef up my snare samples for live performance (v-Drums) in a similar way but all it does is eat up the headroom in the power amps. Any suggestions for that?

[@HomeStudioRescue]

Awesome tip dude!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks man! I appreciate that!

[@raymondfox7583]

Loved it! More Mutt please.

[@BobbyHuff]

Okay Raymond....There is a new one!

[@jwebstersmithii7459]

Incredible. And clever. Great work, brotha.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks so much for your kindness J!

[@HeyItsMattBell]

This is awesome, Bobby! Love the rabbit hole :)

[@BobbyHuff]

Hahaha Thank You Matt.

[@brockwilsonmusic]

Awesome info!!! Thanks!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thank you Brock! Go grab those sample tones in my store! They’re free.

[@fuzz7boy]

Great trick! Sooo much cleaner than trying to get more low-end punch by using EQ on the recording and getting undesirable snare noise.

[@BobbyHuff]

Yes exactly! I love having different frequencies on different faders rather than mangling my snare up with crazy eq!!

[@JAMPROSOUND]

I don't know who has the kind of time to cut and paste and cut and paste and cut and paste like that. Create your 100 Hertz sample and your white noise sample and load them into Trigger or your choice of drum replacement plug-in. This is a great trick. Thanks for sharing.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Justin

[@asawiggins]

Killer! Love the non-Lin sound with it too.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks man! Non Lin seems like a good idea most of the time!

[@toddscotdrumcovers2341]

I love the store as well!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks Man!! More to come!

[@shotgunrebels]

Second video watched of yours. Great stuff. Subscribed.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thank you Shotgun! I appreciate it!

[@DruMarshallDrums]

Awesome video! I’m slightly afraid that I’m going to become obsessed with this trick and use it in a LOT of my recordings moving forward 😂

[@BobbyHuff]

Welcome to the obsession club! Hahaha

[@slowpokeproductions]

Phenomenal! Gotta love Mutt!!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Yes. He makes it sound incredible at ALL COSTS! Never been a more committed producer!

[@dirtbikeprophet7195]

So where do you get the 100Hz sound generator, as well as a plugin for white noise?

[@BobbyHuff]

Go to my store. The link is in the description of the video just below the video. They’re free.

[@johnnyh64]

I didn't catch it in the video but what did you use for the original snare sample?

[@BobbyHuff]

Some custom samples that will be available soon...

[@toddkozey5718]

Great tip man. I’m gonna use it

[@geoffcowan2384]

That's pretty much the contemporary Country snare sound. Nice job. Have you done a video on "handclaps"? seems like they are probably a white noise/tone generator/eq trick. I just found you today and I appreciate what you are doing here. Thank you!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks so much Geoff I really appreciate that! YES clap video coming soon!!!

[@jamesmeeker6933]

Why didn't you use a sidechained gate on the tone and noise?

[@BobbyHuff]

Def could have James.

[@jamesmeeker6933]

@@BobbyHuff I just try to avoid as much hand edit as possible, but I understand why an instructional vid would use a more visual, hand edited display for learners.

[@Hasil_Kureshi]

Whats the song’s name

[@jackorman1475]

Great tip. Would there be any advantage to tune the test tone to the key of the song? For example, if the song was in the key of G, use a 98 Hz test sine instead of 100 Hz. If in the key of A, use a 110 Hz test tone. Will it sound more "in tune"?

[@BobbyHuff]

That is a fantastic idea Jack!! Yes!!!! I love your sense of detail!!!

[@killersnake850]

What drum plugins do you use?

[@BobbyHuff]

Hey Killer. For live sounding drum sounds I use Superior Drummer 3, Addictive Drums, EZ Drummer, Perfect Drums, Coated 19 Drums, Back to School Drums, MODO Drums, BFD Drums, and also trigger lots of my own samples.

[@adammurdock4319]

I’ve tried using white noise on the snare and a low frequency oscillator on a kick and didn’t love it. I never though to combine the two!!! Also the reverb really make the white noise and oscillator work better. Do you think you could tune the oscillator to the key of the song? The other question I have is why would you choose this over a sample? Would this have fewer phase issues? Or is it more of a taste thing to evoke a certain era (in this case the 80s?

[@BobbyHuff]

Hey good questions Adam. Yes you could absolutely tune the oscillator to the key of the song but it would obviously no longer be at 100hz which seems to be a nice THUMP frequency for snare. Also these really are "samples," of very specific frequencies, that perform a very specific function, and are easy to blend in without other adjacent frequencies in the way that are in a "snare," sample. I usually use these mixed with other drum samples but find that the drums samples cover different "areas," sonically than the test tones. Also I’m using it in all genres and it’s quite useful for stuff that isn’t just the 80s vibe....although I love me some 80s! Does that all make sense?

[@adammurdock4319]

@@BobbyHuff that makes sense thank you!

[@carlostorres1171]

That Souuuuuuuuuuund! Love those samples

[@BobbyHuff]

Great!!! Go make some music Carlos!

[@ryanmaxwelll2730]

An easier way to do this is create a track with a tone generator with whatever tone(s) you want to emphasize behind a gate, keyed off the snare. It works really well with an anemic kick, too, for low end thud.

[@MarkBlasquez]

Great stuff. I subscribed. One question: your 100Hz sound seems to have a percussive attack. Any generator I've got doesn't have that. What am I missing? Thanks again.

[@BobbyHuff]

not sure....go to my store and grab my tones for free Mark.

[@nogoogleplus]

Great tip!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks a lot for watching!

[@joelonsdale]

I use this trick but gate them off the direct snare (rather than line them up as audio regions). That way my live drums trigger them even if the drummer isn't perfectly on-time.

[@BobbyHuff]

Love that Joe....Good stuff!

[@joelonsdale]

@@BobbyHuff Thanks Dr Bob ( I've just gone through my comment and corrected my appalling spelling).

[@BobbyHuff]

@@joelonsdale hahahaha NO WORRIES. I hate typing too!!!!!

[@murraywebster1228]

Non linear was from an AMS RMX16....

[@BobbyHuff]

Correct!! I just use the Slate version. AMS is killer!

[@petervad]

Awesome, thank you!

[@kenkorade547]

This works great, thank you!

[@BobbyHuff]

My pleasure Ken.

[@tylerthomas4384]

Cool trick, Dr Bob! I was wondering whether you chose 100Hz because of the key the song is in or whether it's kind of a go-to figure to start with?

[@BobbyHuff]

Great question! It is my go to frequency to start with as I love that area for snare! Adjust to taste for each specific track.

[@marcus_mayhem]

Dr. Bob. I want to hire you to do my sound for my drum channel. You may think I'm kidding but I'm not!!!! Very cool channel subbed!!!!

[@BobbyHuff]

Well thanks for the compliment Marcus! I appreciate the sub my friend! Just subbed back! Small world.... I'm currently working with Tal Bachman on a project.

[@kaiulrich6185]

If you are lucky enough to have an old Yamaha SPX 90 or Rev, you can use the gated reverb in there to achieve a similar effect than the white noise.

[@BobbyHuff]

Very cool!

[@diamondfieldmusic]

If anyone is using Logic and programming drums in via MIDI, you can throw the test tone and the white noise onto their own Quick Sampler tracks, then copy the MIDI pattern from your original snare track onto the Quick Sampler tracks and away you go. The white noise and test tone tracks will play back to the MIDI pattern including velocity changes etc. Adjust the sound of the sampler tracks to taste. To make a Quick Sampler track just drag an audio file into the blank bottom left hand area in tracks view and you'll get a pop-up asking how you want to import the track. Quick Sampler is one option. Even if you aren't using MIDI you can still do this - just convert the audio drum track to a MIDI track, then use that MIDI on the Quick Sampler tracks.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks for that Diamond!

[@cemeterychips1035]

this snare sound is super close to something I'm going for. Im trying to figure out how the hell The band Drab majesty are doing snare sounds like on their track "39 by design" this is kinda what im looking for. im still not there but you've definitely pushed me in a closer direction.

[@BobbyHuff]

The snare itself in this video is from EZ Drummer. It’s in an add on kit called Rock Solid. Great kick and toms in this kit as well.

[@jettjaguar8150]

wow ! brilliant m8

[@GeorgioSchultz]

Very Cool!

[@robtoc]

1:54 "It's what all us drummer's use at night, to mask our tinnitus". bwaaahaaaahaaa....that's a sin, but so true.

[@bwhog]

I'm not a drummer but when I first got what I new have to deal with (from a loud concert without ear plugs and a FOH friend who likes 2-5hKz too much), I had to do it too until my brain got used to it and stopped caring so much.

[@christiankoch5646]

I wanna hear the whole fucking song! The chord progression sounds promising to my Roxette-ish ears! Waiter, bring me water!

[@BobbyHuff]

Ha! Thanks Christian. I loved Roxette!

[@mightyjones5183]

That was great. Thank you

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks! Thats MIGHTY nice of you....get it? haha. Thanks for watching!

[@mightyjones5183]

@@BobbyHuff I’m going to try this trick, tomorrow. I have used “white noise” with a gate with a snare. It didn’t occur to me to add the 100 tone. I like it...it’s a fuller snare for sure. It’s exciting. I have to know what tricks “1 and 2” are about. Again...great stuff

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

Sounds like Steel Panther’s song “Wasted Too Much Time”

[@WineSippingCowboy]

Before this Jimmy Page had similar tricks. Page used them when he produced his band Led Zeppelin. Roy Baker had some drum tricks too.

[@BobbyHuff]

Love BOTH THOSE GUYS!!!!!

[@AdamGotheridge]

Cool and thanks!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thank You for watching Adam!

[@AdamGotheridge]

@@BobbyHuff Just remembered something to share. Cubase has the auto fades thing in I think the project settings and it's on by default. Meaning you don't have to fade the individual clips to deal with the click problem. All clips automatically fade in and out by some small amount which I think is configurable.

[@BobbyHuff]

@@AdamGotheridge Wow! Never heard of that. I’ll check it out. Thanks Adam I appreciate you letting me know.

[@billribas]

Way cool, thanks

[@BobbyHuff]

Glad you liked it! Billribas! Thanks for watching.

[@rodgre]

Has anyone asked this question yet? In this day and age, why not make that concoction once, then make a sample of it and trigger that from the snare like you would any other sample?

[@BobbyHuff]

You may want the white noise/100Hz balance different on different songs.

[@rodgre]

@@BobbyHuff That's true. I totally get that. I just have made a habit since I started using drum triggering in the early 2000s to save samples of my favorite concoctions and use them again when they fit. I used to layer samples similarly to this, where one sample would give me the "crack" and another, the sizzle, another the body, and yet another to trigger a reverb. I started printing a blend of the whole shebang as a one-shot sample and have been able to use them that way. I think I might be outing myself as lazy..... or else I'm just streamlining my process so I can work on more creative things instead of technical things ! Ha! No judging. I love these videos.

[@BobbyHuff]

@@rodgre I do the same thing Rodgre!!!!!

[@molloyfan9229]

This channel is really geeky

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks exactly!!!

[@stringtheoryguitars4952]

No wonder I hate the snare sound on Mutt's records.

[@larslevinberget9558]

So you're sure of that?

[@k.t.ingram375]

if you did all Mutt's techniques you'd have 1000 tracks

[@craigyoung4068]

This is cool. But too much work for me cutting up each snare trick. Dave Pensado did a similar video 8 years ago using a gate. I'll give it a try with the 100hz tone and a gate.

[@BobbyHuff]

If you don't want to cut it all up make a slice of it and trigger the slice it in whatever trigger program you use like Slate Trigger.

[@craigyoung4068]

That’s a great idea. I’ll give it a try.

[@BobbyHuff]

@@craigyoung4068 Great man do it!

[@evenkeel6131]

The only thing my OCD could see was unlabeled tracks.

[@BobbyHuff]

HAHAHAHA!!! Yes I know its awful...I get in a hurry!

[@JulianFernandez]

nice one. subscribed!

[@BobbyHuff]

Thank You Julian!

[@MrBfg586]

I though his "snare" sound on The Cars song Drive was annoying....well really all of Heatbeat City drum was annoying

[@BobbyHuff]

It is a bit deep by today’s standards but when it came out it was legendary!!

[@waedi73]

If you place the mic on the side of the snare it sounds shit.

[@BobbyHuff]

If thats the only mic yes! Its gives a great flavor next to the other "normal,' placed mics.

[@Boleskinebeatz]

Side position snare as a replacement for under snare is a phenomenal way to go, trust me I’ve done it for decades. Even do it live and that really confuses the back line guys!

[@BobbyHuff]

@@Boleskinebeatz hahaha!! Doesn’t take much to confuse a musician or backline guy!!

[@Veenie228]

Hey. This was very knowledgable! I have been trying to research for a KZbin video like yours that explains the topics in this KZbin vid. 👍Your vid actually is similar to the channel of Dr Ethan! Dr's demonstrations are actually knowledgable and I learned a lot for my school. He is the most knowledgable med student on KZbin and he talks about diseases. Go watch his KZbin out and give the medical student a like! 👉 #DrEthanEducation

[@gerardlange4156]

just get one good sample and don't do this cuz its antiquated and really bizarre

[@rctubs3593]

Ah yes the generic snare sound. Why does he even use a real snare? What happened to tuning the snare and using a great mic???

[@SixStringer09]

I'm sure he's done that, too. Not for nothing, but the guy produced albums that sold bazillions. We have not.

[@BobbyHuff]

Well said Ben.

[@rctubs3593]

@@SixStringer09 Not talking about sales my friend. Just a drum sound.

[@rdh1130]

Dang your audio sucks.

[@BobbyHuff]

Thanks for watching Dale!

[@rdh1130]

@@BobbyHuff just surprised on a video about audio, yours seems to be lacking. However when switching to the explanation part its very clear. Mutt Lang shaped how I listened to music in the 80s. So many things I didn’t understand then is all making sense today.

[@BobbyHuff]

@@rdh1130 I’ sound like I’m in the operating room. Love Mutt!!

[@rdh1130]

@@BobbyHuff yeah definitely hear a cold echo. Quick question. Is it true that the drums on pyromania are not Rick Allen? I learned to play the drums on that album at 12 LoL he was my hero. Until I learned maybe Mutt was my hero

[@BobbyHuff]

@@rdh1130 if he did play it was all time corrected with samples over the top. I think he may have played live cymbals and hat to programmed kick, snare, and toms.