Programming Realistic Drums with Nolly from Periphery

[@jordandupont7430]

These videos are the reason I'll be purchasing GGD today. These guys are so accessible and ready to share information, and 99 bucks seems like a reasonable price for samples where they paid this much attention to detail and flexibility.

[@gameygameygamer]

hey vsauce, michael here, and today we're going to be programming some realistic drums.

[@JulianWorden]

THIS IS SO SPOT ON HAHAHAH

[@coldfiresamurai6333]

hahahaha

[@Judesmood118]

lol. well played sir

[@hilariofernandes5299]

But what is...realistic? What is real?

[@corv2731]

One of the greatest KZbin comments!

[@JessySons]

This is such a huge help to us who have home studios and want to get the best sound out of these kits. Thank you so much.

[@AdamBentleyMusic]

Wonderful mix and concise tutorial Nolly, thank you!

[@BillyMuircroft]

I won't lie, I use barely any dynamics when programming drums to attempt that harder hitting sound. But how you've delivered the full effect of dynamics and the subtle techniques has made a lot of sense and persuaded me to take more time and care when programming. Thanks for the video and keep them coming.

[@nickfizzle1212]

hey man, if you need someone to program midi for drums, send me an email: [e-mail] and you can check out what i've done in the past www.contrastsmusic.bandcamp.com

[@ChristianIce]

I guess it comes down to what sample you call on a specified velocity. I got your GGD lite, and it sounds incredibly good, but I guess with five set of samples for different velocities, you got the same one playing at 120 and 127. So, I would suggest to apply your tips by also checking the samples disposition in Kontakt, to be sure what samples are you calling at a specified velocity. Keep it up, man, you are awesome.

[@meddelhed]

"China especially just sounds great when it's being attacked really hard" Oh c'mon, leave politics out of metal m80

[@XiyuYang]

XD

[@soaratheband]

More relevant that ever. Lmao

[@pogchamp7983]

The fact you put this out for free is legendary dude, thanks!

[@JamesZhan]

Thanks a lot for breaking down how you guys recorded the samples. I realized I had made the mistake of using 127 for snare and kick in my productions, because in SD, you really have to use 127 velocity to get the best sounds out of the kick and snare for metal.

[@novik6785]

This is a very thorough and helpful video regarding drum programming. Especially the part to not use max velocity all the time and finding the sweetspot of your drums is essential. This is most notably true for Superior Drummer 2. The topend velocity hits on the snares are earth crushing rim shot that a soo hard it doen't have tone anymore.

[@Heafyshiu]

Such a blessings to have periphery. ❤️

[@MrJaapdeboer]

Thanks so much for this! I dl'ed GGD last week, and all these tutorials are proving to be super useful

[@ZachBelcher94]

Love that fill at bar 17

[@xCepheid]

I feel super guilty for actually really liking the velocity cranked version. :P

[@MishaMansoor]

Don't! Do whatever works for the aesthetic you are after. It's all in the programming really. This is focusing on how to make drums sound realistic with respect to how an actual drum performance would sound, but some people are after the 127 all the time sound, and if that's what you need then you should just do that!

[@mavrikmuse]

If it sounds good to YOU, then do it ! The biggest thing I see a lot of guys get themselves wrapped up in is the "proper" way to do anything. Music, and music recording is an art form - there are no rules here. Guidelines, maybe, but if it sounds right to your ears - then you're doing it right.

[@HexCodeDreams]

agreed!! :)

[@rapscallion52]

I do like it myself too. Hard hits bring out the tone, like cranking the volume on an amp with EL34s

[@KawaiiPastel]

Henlo cepheid

[@cultconfrere]

this was a super informative video, especially for a non drummer. I've watched it a few times over to make it all stick. thanks!

[@djbrosht]

i watch this video literally any time I'm working on a song lol so I've watched it many times and will watch it many more in the future lol at least until i can remember all the info easier. so informative and extremely helpful :)

[@nickfizzle1212]

hey man, if you need someone to program midi for drums, send me an email: [e-mail] and you can check out what i've done in the past www.contrastsmusic.bandcamp.com

[@demondrive147]

Thank you Nolly! Going to use GGD on new album, so knowing good sounding velocity range of unfamiliar library is very important!

[@caleboackes9669]

his voice is so soothing.

[@merlinzest]

I plan to do some serious solo recording stuff this year so im trying to up my game so it doesnt sound like another EP with overdone grind core sounding drums. This video and Mishas one really helped me out a lot. I never took the time to focus on velocity's that much in the past because whenever i was using Superior Drummer it was just for quick demos. I understood how to use velocities and thats always made sense, but how you explained about how the drums themselves are hit etc brought a whole new level of thought into my mind which is great. Cheers Nolly!

[@scottay6722]

man I've needed a tutorial like this. especially since I'm definitely getting those samples and the fact that I know next to nothing about this. great video Nolly.

[@echxes2252]

If you wanna know more about programming drums Misha did two videos that are really good too.

[@scottay6722]

i think i saw those too but i probably need a refresher

[@danknittel1250]

Very insightful video! Love these samples and thanks for this video Nolly!

[@michaelk4896]

All in all great tips! I feel the one thing that's helped me the most in understanding drums and drum programming, as a non-drummer, was to simply have drum lessons.

[@KUUKUNA27]

I exploit the same idea with velocities, but I like to track the performance with an electronic kit in order to skip the programming. Even though if I couldn't really nail the song perfectly, I can always quantize and edit later. But because I can capture the dynamics of a real drummer's performance efficiently.

[@JimmyKlef]

Yep, this is what I do as well and after years and years of recording real drums, and years and years of programming by hand...I have finally mixed the best of both worlds and perform drums on an electronic kit into the program and then make the necessary minor adjustments. Far more fun, more realistic, more creative, typically less time consuming...it is by far the best way to go, in my opinion.

[@overseer_grimal]

I usually track beats on the midi keyboard. It is not that good from the perspective of velocity but the timing is more realistic than if I programmed loops by hand. Especially cymbals like hi hat or ride

[@RexOverdrive]

Thanks for the wonderful tutorial Mister Getgood

[@jonasebiebricher]

Nolly, thank you, as always. i already bought your creativelive Studio Pass, which is well made, also for advanced "home producers". You have one of the most pleasant voices (and language) i ever heard:) Please release Audiobooks if you ever retire from this audio professional thingy

[@KerteszHuba]

I've been waiting for this sooo long... Thank you for this Sir! :)

[@HexCodeDreams]

Great video Nolly!!

[@theodoresorrow]

Incredibly helpful. Thank you!

[@zedboiii]

I NEED Adam "Nolly" SIGNATURE LIBRARY FOR A BASS VST :D

[@GITMmusic]

Zaldhy Darwin he has an axe fx preset for the axe fx 2 posted. It's pretty damn spot on, however if you wanted to really do it through the same process as nolly does, I'd really recommend taking a look at his creative live class. Day 2 has a video he goes over exactly how he gets his bass tone

[@zedboiii]

i mean it would be great if we have a stand alone bass instrument like texas grind, zombass, etc.. that would be sick to play with :D

[@jrgennss7679]

Get yourself a Darkglass B7K

[@esoteric6178]

Zaldhy Darwin stand alone bass instrument as in opens without a DAW?

[@J.C.Russell_96]

I know this comment is super old, but try the Solemn Tones Loki Bass.

[@ShaferOfficial]

Great video! Would like to see some videos of you and misha mixing get good drums!

[@kmmmaye]

Need to redo all my programming now haha...

[@kmmmaye]

Ah you're a good 3-4 months late haha, but thanks for the offer anyway.

[@Scias]

Nick Acker

[@chazzhill-hayr6281]

Wow these drums sound great. Just grabbed a copy. Nice one!

[@behindthen0thing]

Chazz Hill-Hayr make anything yet?

[@THIERRYPONTETGUITARECHALLENGE]

Sound great, and the whole thing is just clear, wonder how with my Logic X and this sample could I have the same result...

[@anthonyglennmollicasr.425]

Great tutorial, thank you!

[@davidanalfurz8305]

Hi Nolly, I would be really interested not only in how many velocity layers you recorded for the different instruments but also when those are triggered or were in other words at which midi velocities those layers are triggered.

[@maplefoxx6285]

These were really good tips and you guys are awesome, I am so glad i found out about this company now, it is going to literally change my music and workflow and make it so much better. I want to create metal live on Twitch, I already do it, but mixing SSD5.5 is a pain in the butt and hard on my CPU. I can't wait to own all your plugins eventually, huge fan instantly. I usually air drum it out and think like a drummer, I play drums and guitar since I was very small. I feel like knowing how the feel of your hi hat patterns work with hand velocity makes a huge difference, same with how the toms are played. And the left kick is usually weaker on every strike than the right. then humanize everything a bit depending on what drum you are humanizing maybe make some humanizing tighter than others.... but now I see you guys have all these midi packs and excellent pre mixed drum kits... omg.. it is going to change my life really. I am going to get the GGD metal and architects kit and the free midi packs to try out, and then go from there, I hope to eventually pick up all the one kit wonder packs actually, I play everything from Plini/Sithu Aye style, to old school death metal like Death and arch enemy, fantasy power metal like blind guardian/sabaton , and I love playing classic rock and jazz like Steely Dan, I can program some mean half time shuffle grooves, I am a metal drummer who loves Bernard Purdie. I was even learning to play Snarky Puppy's Lingus on drums, it looks a lot harder than it is actually once you learn the patterns, I have half of it mapped out in midi but took a break, it was hard to transcript, took forever.

[@fahadhc]

jesus GGD sound amazing.. seriously

[@AlexIoannouMixing]

Thanks,I just started programming drums and this really helped

[@johnmarquez333]

I'm addicted to this groove. It sounds so damn good, especially when the china comes in.

[@J-MLindeMusic]

I think I read somewhere that we might get GGD for Kontakt Player...If that happens,I'll definitely buy this since these sound ridiculously good...

[@kylegrossi8175]

this tutorial was killer. thanks

[@Tounuo]

so good! thanks mate

[@stijnbos7614]

Awesome video Nolly (and Misha and Matt!). You actually managed to make me understand why I shouldn't have maxed velocity on everything to get that kick drum bass thump to bloom a bit more. BTW, are you really only using one bass track or is that a rendered track? Soon you're going to have to make a bass mixing tutorial :P

[@danieldemayo6209]

Hmm can't wait to experiment when I get home...what about having 2 instances open and have one kick at full velocity and another at half or below...thennn parallel compress...could be kewl

[@itspravus]

The video is about drum programming but holy shit the guitars are massive on this mix.

[@AudioBoi1]

Very useful) Thank you so much!

[@emilandersen8628]

Thanks Nolly.

[@masoneismonstudios3016]

6 guitar tracks. Jesus. I love it

[@silkroad1201]

I hate having to resort to programming at the moment, but I might as well make it good. Thanks Nolly!

[@jrose92081]

Very Helpful... thanks

[@alexbevacqua4498]

I don't seem to have that velocity slider and color-coded notes in Garageband. Are these features only available in higher end DAWs like Logic? That would be a huge game-changer!

[@nerdvananc]

That t-shirt (sweater?) is AWESOME!

[@overseer_grimal]

I would watch any tutorial made by Nolly. No matter if it was a car driving lesson or a cooking session

[@benjaminmagambo3849]

are your samples raw ? Looking for good sounding drums samples... your kicks sound amazing!

[@jwcorcoran9838]

I fucking love you, Nolly

[@blasher4]

Nolly, has anyone ever told you how awesome you are? From musician to musician, I just thought you should know that I am a big fan! Fuck Trump and Clinton....NOLLY FOR PRESIDENT!

[@Halo23874]

Byte MUSIC Lol

[@XiyuYang]

You do know he is British yes?

[@TwilightCalzone]

I know this is a drum tutorial, but man, those guitars sound fantastic.

[@ZMRSKK]

Thanks a lot! Very informative tutorial! And what about closed hi-hat or hi-hat pedal that Matt often uses to lead the main part?

[@hogblockula9335]

Heyyyy vsauce. Nolly here. Real drums can not sound like real ones. Or do they?

[@shawnlauderback]

Amazing guitar tones! What are you using?

[@maxepta5666]

I am use GGD and so like 127 velocity for heavy tunes and low snare) So much impact! (But ofcourse its sounds better with dynamic velocity)

[@andrewkogan6673]

so unlike the cubase drum map, you have to place all hits individually?

[@badca7tv342]

This is the invasion kit right?

[@quorthonsinferno5119]

I have that same sweater

[@flymcadler814]

Darn, just bought SD 3 and now I get to know this. Arrrgh, that would be Drum VST number 4. Must resist Gear Aquirement Syndrome. I'm quite interested in the guitar sound as well, is it a Kemper and which Cabin and Amp model? Thanks and have a great day!

[@dapunkof1975]

How do you get the snare to buzz roll for a long time?

[@Zarki300]

Nice tutorial, Vsauce!

[@GogiRegion]

At first with the 127 sounded good, until it just started to sound fake about a measure in. The smart velocities was great, though, and very natural. I’ll definitely keep this in mind!

[@johnrodgers2600]

I feel if you were to do more of a breakdown type section you could bury the beater and be fine and on the not as accented parts turn the kick velocity down 4 notches that will help contrast it making it sound more realistic.But to do it the whole song would make it sound very boring and sterile, because without dynamics it’s hard to distinguish what’s loud and not.

[@goatsurgeon]

Important one for me

[@eastonrowell1697]

Thx Nolls

[@Hockeyking86]

Anybody know if this actually turned into a full song or already was? Pretty sick.

[@tommyquentin]

is there any added plugins your using in logic on top of the samples to get those sounds?

[@chomiQmovies]

Are these tips going to work with EZdrummer 2 libraries?

[@nevgilhooly3382]

I guess this takes a huge amount of time if you have to set velocities for every hit?

[@SuperstarPecanbar]

Triggered

[@alfradiquelucas]

Nolly, you are a God.

[@CortexWorship]

soooo... what about those guitars? I see DI channels what are you using for the guitar tones?

[@3AwesomeLetsPlayers]

axe fx II, what else?

[@jwcorcoran9838]

looks like he's quad tracked the main rhythm too with another layer

[@eddietyre9784]

Brandon Stanley THAT is the question!

[@bebopbuddy4914]

I just wanna know where Nolls got that shirt...

[@TheDkmg]

I'm just wondering how the heck you balanced the cymbals, the hat sounds really hard panned to the left and that's what I'm looking for since I purchased the GGD. my issue is I always end up with a deadly centered Hi-Hat, cos of the room mics, specially the OverHeads.

[@Jorgenmeistr]

Really? When I solo the OH the hi-hat is panned hard left.

[@MishaMansoor]

The OH has the hats panned, it's the Rooms where it sorta blends more. We are working on some added functionality for cymbal leveling in a future update!

[@TheDkmg]

yeah actually it's in the room mics :D really glad to hear such a thing about the new update

[@wurbski]

how do you program crescendos?

[@RexOverdrive]

Misha and or Nolly, do you tend to make the adjustments for velocities during or after programming your drums? Just wondering your workflow since this arrangement was already worked out.

[@cooperrobinson]

Anyone know when we can use GGD on free kontakt player

[@lukaspechar]

Nolly, you're a god!

[@gabrielfrison]

I wanna purchase GGD but I am not sure if I need an extra plugin to run it or what. Once you install it can I open it straight away from Logic and start editing in the piano roll? Thanks for the tutorial by the way, it was very helpful!

[@TheDjfranco100]

I have a problem with GGD on Cubase 7. If I use the piano roll, all sounds perfect. But if I wanna use my custom drum map or the GM Map, it's doesn't sounds.

[@AbstractDeviation]

try 10 channel for midi track. if it will not help, then choose "any" midi channel in kontakt.

[@MishaMansoor]

Yes, the Drum Map defaults to output 10, so choosing 10 or omni in GGD for the midi channel will fix that!

[@TheDjfranco100]

Abstract Deviation Thank you so much !!

[@TheDjfranco100]

Misha Mansoor Thanks Misha !!! I don't know what to tell you, your help take me by surprise. Also, P3 it's a great album but I prefer Juggernaut. Greetings from Argentina !!!

[@RiffosaurusRex]

"Bury the beater" sounds like a good song name.

[@TheRealFoxeR]

Dibs.

[@wibby2143]

Make one more video and I'll buy GGD :P (I'm gonna buy them anyway but you're fantastic).

[@MishaMansoor]

We definitely plan on having more videos up, and relatively soon too!

[@wibby2143]

Misha Mansoor you guys were great in NYC. We fist bumped it was nice. I was so glad you yelled "we get it you vape" to that vaper lol.

[@3AwesomeLetsPlayers]

If you guys make it a standalone plugin I'll buy it twice

[@3AwesomeLetsPlayers]

you do realise you have to mix them right? lol

[@3AwesomeLetsPlayers]

most sample libraries are "raw"

[@wowomah6194]

So, I'm a guitarist/songwriter been writing my own music for over 10 years now since I was a teenager and trying to find a good drum sound to create more realistic drums for my music...what does GetGood Drums work with? Would it work with using something free like Audacity or something and then I just time the drums to the song and Import the file as a separate drum track? Thanks

[@omgd00d]

@getgooddrums Is this your go-to software for writing and rapidly iterating on ideas, or is this later in the process? Been looking for software that's more geared towards writing (would be nice if it could export a drum chart and everything) and so far have been super frustrated with the options, but Logic Pro seems promising!

[@MikaTarkela]

I'm having some problems with the GGD and was wondering if you could help me.. Programming drums works fine but when I import a midi track on the track that has ggd enabled, I get no sound.. The drums are just silent. I also tried to move it around in the piano roll but the sound is just dead. I can still program drums in piano roll manually but none of the midi track's drum sounds work :/

[@nickfizzle1212]

i had this problem. after i changed/messed with different midi channels within kontakt, it worked. idk if that's what did it or not, but now it works fine. mine is set to omni

[@MikaTarkela]

Thats what fixed my problem too! Too bad the piano roll layout is so different to other plugins that I can't use any midi files from guitar pro.. Or can it be changed somehow?

[@nickfizzle1212]

you can change what keys the drums lay on by going into the settings tab within GGD. you'll see that each drum/cymbal has it's own piano key

[@MikaTarkela]

Cool!

[@taylorkelly2585]

I'm so lost on all this. bought the Halpern pack on a whim and have it all installed, but I need a starting point here. what's the mixing software? how do you get the drum sounds into an actual track? do you manually program each drum beat?

[@JimmyKlef]

Im not sure how far back you are starting here, but first you need a DAW (digital audio workstation)... meaning software for recording music that is compatible with this program. Nolly is using Logic Pro X here, that is also what I use...and if you are unfamiliar with DAWs, its probably the one I would recommend starting with...or garageband which is exactly an even easier version of Logic. You will probably have to look up some videos on how to even begin using the DAW... but dont worry.... it really shouldnt take long to at least get started enough to use the program within a day. Once you are going on Logic or whatever you choose... you will have to load this program up, and yes, either program each hit individually, "play" it with your keyboard in "musical typing", buy a midi controller, which is basically a digital piano for a computer or is also a little box with pads on it to do percussion on, or buy an electronic drum kit to trigger the samples....there are many different ways you can program the drums. I didnt even list them all. Chances are that you will and should start just with musical typing on your computers letter keyboard for now. and then yea, you are programming drums.

[@taylorkelly2585]

@@JimmyKlef Thanks for the reply. I currently have Mixcraft 8 and Reaper, and I have an iRig pad for MIDI, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to manually program a track in either DAW. Most tutorials I've found have left that part out! Do I just hit record and manually hit a drum sample on my keyboard/controller then re-record each singular sample over it until I have a track? I'm no drummer but this seems like it wouldn't be the case. I know I'm probably missing something obvious. I can get the samples mapped out onto keyboard/controller just fine, but after that I'm clueless

[@jrfoster1980]

@@taylorkelly2585 in reaper make a track, then ctrl + left mouse drag to draw a midi block. Double click it to open the midi editor. You will need to check in your drum program (GGD or EZD etc) how the drums are mapped then left click to insert ‘hits’. Here are some useful videos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6PLaaF5a82Mf7s kzbin.info/www/bejne/m17XpZ9jlreLnc0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5-Ze6iOj5ehe5Y

[@eademsedaliter]

Nolly, here have my big chunky like!

[@ellisheasley]

Does anyone have any advice for what would be realistic if you were programming some double pedal type stuff... like if the average hit with a right/strong foot sounds good around 98-117 based on this video would you typically find that a left/weak foot would be just a touch less? I think that would be the case but don't know if I might be overdoing the difference or underdoing it!

[@schwarzerrogen930]

The lower velocity into harder velocity on the bass is really apparent on heel-toe runs. I've yet to meet any drummer that can equalize the heel-toe technique to a machine-level accuracy. Another thing that sounds turds is to make everything a rimshot. It just doesn't sound right.

[@boostuse]

The mixing is one thing,how to make extreme beats ,that's the deal.

[@noblekeller9166]

Isn’t that GarageBand?

[@WretchedByNature]

Yeah, Getgood drums are great and everything... but when’s GetBetter going to be coming out? Amirite guys?

[@AudioReplica2023]

Micheal here Vsauce...hahaha

[@marcogutierrez6878]

where can i get cubase and is it free?

[@ktuluflux]

I really can't hear the subtlety in eq/ low end difference at the different velocities😩😩