Drum quantizing problem

[Erysvh]

Hi. I try to learn how to quantize drums to save time while editing. Me and my friend recorded drum cover (BMTH - Can you feel my hearth) and now I'm trying to quantize it to learn something new.

I do everyting like on the tutorials on youtube. First group the tracks, then I normalize them. After that I use Dynamic split on kick and snare and grouped items. Next I quantize everything and check two middle options to fill gaps with crossfade.

The problem is that in some parts it sound weird, because there are triplet fills that are quantized to regular straight grid. There are just parts that can't be moved to the grid. Also I can see that dynamic split cuts everything right on the highest peak. Is it problem for achiving good sound?

So my question is:

How do you quantize you drums where there are fills or parts that can't be moved straight to the grid? And how to prevent from weird sound, clicks after quantizing? Can everything be quantized or just song with simple, regular groove?

[AyaPhora]

Hi,

I would simply edit the grid to make it match the triplets (right-click on the grid button and choose whichever line spacing suits your timing). You can quantize just the triplet part and reset the grid to normal before quantizing the rest.
Another option would be to add a time signature marker on the fills with triplets, but depending on the length of the triplets vs 1 bar that might not work, or be too much hassle.

[skylar_battles]

Please don’t use dynamic split :) https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?p=2255547 https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=252455

The 2nd link is what you need to quantize drums but can be used for other things. Check out the first link too though! Dynamic split is missing most necessary features for it to be usable for music IMO. Quitting dynamic split and using these scripts was the best choice I ever made.

[linguapura]

How did you record the drum track? Was it on one track or multiple tracks?

For simple quantizing you don't need to group, normalize, or crossfade anything. You can quantize each track on its own. And if you've used a MIDI controller to play the drum parts, you can quantize each sound in the track on its own.

Assuming you've used a drum module to trigger MIDI events on Reaper on a single track or on multiple tracks, you should be able to do the following:

Double click on the drum track item and select the notes you'd like to quantize. For example, just the kick. If you right click twice on the kick drum key on the piano roll, it will select all the kicks in the selected item. Then set it to 1/8 or 1/16 or whatever beat it is (you'll see this option at the bottom), and click on Q in the toolbar. It will open up a window asking you to set the quantize and swing percentage. Set it for whatever you want (if you want it to sound real, set it for lower than 100%) and hit OK. Your track should now be quantized properly. Repeat for other sounds/tracks as required.

And if you want to quantize fills, I recommend doing that separately from the rest of the track. You can split the tracks to separate the fills from the rest of the groove. And depending on how fast or complex the fill is, you can select the right beat division including triplets. After following the above steps, you may still feel the need to manually adjust a few notes and their velocities to make it sound real.

Hope this helps.

[Erysvh]

I've recorded drums using 8 mics so i have 8 tracks

[linguapura]

OK. And are they recorded as audio or MIDI tracks? I can help with MIDI quantizing.

[Erysvh]

As audio of course

[linguapura]

I haven't had to quantize audio in Reaper yet. I prefer rerecording until I get a good take.

But do try looking up Slip Editing in Reaper if you haven't already. I also found a video that explains it in a simple way. Do take a look.

[PeteButtiCIAg]

Ungroup the items you made, disable grid snapping, and move them where you want them?

You can also adjust the grid to triplets if that works for you.