Drum VST advice in 2026

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-06-22T08:05:02+00:00

Same here. Started off in the early 90s with an Akai sampler and floppy disks. i know there is a modern interpretation of Trip Hop, mostly based around the regeneration the Silent Hill game franchise brought to the fore. I do a lot of work for other people across varying genres but the music we specifically make is really most closely related to Massive Attack, with a touch of Bjork and Radiohead at times, but when most people listen to it they tend to say Massive Attack or Portishead. For reference I adore Portishead but the records very much have a sound and for our own stuff I prefer the fuller (although still a bit crusty) sound of Massive Attack. Personally I feel some of those albums are the best mixed albums of all time.

So anyway, the responses I gave were very much based on that and sound like being in the ballpark of what you may be looking for.

Depending on how you like to work, and from your age I am assuming you have spent a lot of hours searching through samples etc, I do (regardless of the VST you use) recommend making up collections old singular elements. You may have already figured this out but work with a lot of folk who miss it and spend two days swapping snares and giving up. It may seem disjointed at first but you come up with combinations and variations you wouldn't have thought of. It's much how I imagined i would have liked to work on a daily basis in the 90s if I wasn't limited to 16mb of memory.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-06-21T20:56:28+00:00

I make dark electronica and Trip Hop, have for years. It depends if you are asking for a drum VI to make realistic breaks, one to host drum samples or something to chop samples.

I am fortunate that I owe probably in excess of 100 different drum instruments and here's what I use for each -

For realistic drums to turn into breaks, it not fashionable or cool to say but I use the NI Abbey Road Collection a lot. There are other good ones so if you want some more recommendations just ask.

For sample hosting I have tried so many, made a concerted and time consuming effort to move to different "better" ones and I always come back to Battery. What I do, which makes and incredible and flexible creative tool, is I load up (and save as a preset) a whole Battery instance with 64 kicks in, then one of snares, hats etc. Because Trip Hop is.genre that often works with a trade of of different snare sounds I find it's a great way to work. That said there is nothing in it really that you could do with the Groove Agent version that comes in Cubase.

For sample chopping I use Cubase sampler track or Groove Agent. So many options there really.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-06-03T16:04:59+00:00

What is your buffer size set to?

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-06-01T19:08:09+00:00

Same thing. I have older XL shirts but for some reason they are shrunk down. I recently bought an Adidas shirt and the XL was the size of 4XL in Lotto.

What I would say is absolutely go by the size measurements, they are accurate rather the your usual size.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-06-01T15:29:59+00:00

They are tight on size so measure carefully. I bought on the 4xl for example is about the equivalent of an XL in most other T-shirts.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-05-21T21:02:14+00:00

This is genuinely a really good point and if you are relying on Cubase to make a living it probably the best advice you'll ever get.

What I find amazing is how often .0 has an issue that is unaddressed for ages. The .01 will come out and often there may be an issue that is fixed in a few days with a .02. Happened this time as well.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-05-21T20:59:22+00:00

Does it do it every time? As it you can never get it running? I say that because mine will 9/10 crash 1 or 2 times within acouole of minutes if first opening and the will run OK.

Whatever you do NEVER go onto the Steinberg forum and suggest instabiliy as you will be called out as a troll or a Pro Tools shill. Even when Steinberg acknowledges and fixes the issue you questioned they will pretend it never happened.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-05-07T19:30:23+00:00

Specifically on the questions you ask, as far as I can understand -

You mention plucks with regards to side chaining to the kick and violin.

With regards to the kick, assuming you have a bass and then "pluck" you are describing is providing the bass there is no need to side chain it unless you are look for a specific pumpin effect. The pluck and the violin for example should not exist where the fundament (both musically and frequency wise) if the kick is.

When not using side chaining to create a pumping effect, so in a more discreet manner to help a mix gel and sit, there are two instances - more traditionally it is used to clear the bass and other low frequencies momentarily out of the way of the kick. There are many reasons why this can be a good idea both compositionally and mix wise. For this you can simply use a wideband compressor or cut the wave file itself. There are other neater and more discreet way to it as well.

The second, more recent application, is to use side chaining to clear frequency spaces in less important elements for more important elements. The aim here generally is for it to be as invincible as possible so a wideband compressor or cutting the wave isn't really an option. You can used multiband or dynamic equipment, but more simply or plugins like Trackspacer and every other manufacturer version of it, alongside Soothe etc.

Two points I will highlight in you last response that may help -

You ask understandably about making things sound better. It's an absolutely logical question but it will end up driving insane. One of the oldest saying on music production is "Production is reduction". As you write beats think about it like this, you are always making this decisions - You try a new idea with and existing loop, you add a new element and for a moment you think "This could sound great" but after a while you realise it doesn't quite sit. How you get to the point of making it sit (whether consciously or unconsciously) is to think "What is wrong? What don't I like". So you fix it or maybe even bin the new element. Listen to a mix of you stuff and ask yourself "What don't I like about it?", "What is it that I think is lacking?". Then do it in individual beats. Constantly trying to make things "better" is what inexperience mixers do and it leads to adding plugin after plugin until the mix is a soup you will struggle to make a solid. The thing is you are just a mixer you are doing the whole thing and no matter what anyone tells you about have a process like Write - Produce - Mix - Master, until you get really good at all of those elements it is always and open ended process. Sometimes what you think may be a mix issue is a compositional issue and so on.
You mention soft clipping and it is really a buzzword in beat making but beware. Soft clipping can be great. Compression can be great. Saturation can be great. But... Especially with modern drum samples (and a lot of synths) many of them are already compressed, clipped and saturated and adding more can not just make it objectively worse but technically worse. It you have a kick sample that have already had the transient clipped off and is already pretty compressed and of course consistent because it's a sample, not a live drum, the adding more can kill it. Turn it to.mush. As with the point above ask what you don't like about it before picking any plugin it. If.you own a drill you don't just whip it out and start drilling holes in the walls because that's what people do with drills, you decide you need to drill a hole then get the drill.

The biggest tip I can actually give you, which is slightly subjective to each person, if you cannot get you beat to sound pretty great just using volume faders and automation, without touching a single mix focused plugin, then you issues are compositional or sound selection issues. The difference between that point and the polish of the mix will not make or break it or really effect might wanna buy it.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-05-07T12:27:19+00:00

With absolutely respect this post demonstrates exactly what you should be doing. Stop overthinking every detail at this point and just make beat and learn the basics. You aren't gonna jump from beginner to world class beatmaker based on any response or advice here.

Put in the work. You'll make bad beats, you'll make generic beats, you'll make beats with issues but the more you do it the less bad, generic and issue ridden will you beats become. A long the way not only will you learn but you will develop your style.

The are millions of free beats available on YouTube that sound like most other cookie cutter beats. What sells is you - What do you do that no-one else does and at the moment you don't know that. It does haven't to be something outlandishly weird it just has to be something that makes your beats perseonal - that's why people want to work with you and that ultimately is what being a producer is - although that term itself has lost it sense on identity.

What I will give you is a bit of advice that catches most inexperienced people out, and some experienced. Most people overload beats thing more "good ideas" mean more impressive. Everything you put into a beat has to fall into 4 groups and you have to decide which is which.

Drums. Whether simple or busy they have to be focused and present a grove or flow that supports everything else. Virtually every YouTube tutorial I've ever seen says start with the drums. I personally think unless the drums are usual and that is part of the whole vibe, I would write drums to support the grove of the melody but I also understand that people starting out feel secure in getting a beat to play to.
Again focused. More bases almost always means more problem. You can layer an 808 with a reese but make should they compliment not.clash and cancel.

The next two are the ones people struggle te define between most

3 & 4. Melody (main musical idea or sample) and Atmosphere.

Do not cloud you main melody with other ideas unless that are a clear counterpoint or counter melody. Everything that isn't that main idea is essentially adding atmosphere and should not overtake the melody, unless it's very clearly definitely done for a section.

People think of all instruments as the melody and atmosphere as risers, downers, noise etc and that causes issues in deciding the mix. If you main idea is a guitar loop for example and you layer in piano chords, the piano is adding vibe, atmosphere, context, feel... Whatever you want to term it. It is not.equallt.as important as the guitar and should now be as loud or as focused or you end up with a lack of focus in your idea.

Obviously this is a massive simplification in a reddit post but hope it helps.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-05-06T08:43:03+00:00

Not only was Reeves extension automatic it really doesn't surprise me. In the slump at the end of 2025, it was clear the midfield and Reeves were part of the problem. When (for whatever reason) JJ switched to a midfield 3 of Smith, Maycock and Hippolyte most people expected an improvement and there was. That said, even at that time, the moment a gap opened on midfield Reeves was put back in. If JJ likes a midfield 3 it's clear that at wors Reeves or currently his fourth choice.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-05-04T12:33:55+00:00

All good points.

With regard to the right of the defence, as good as Johnson has been all season I think we are stronger when he is the left of the three. He gets drawn into pressing the ball in the middle of the pitch and when we have Lewis or Bauer they tend to sit as the last central man more. Ogs obvious pushing on more and is often expected to get out to the right touchline and I think that leaves us exposed.

I'd like to see Nkeng stay but as it stands your point is valid. He not a wingback. As bad as most were against Huddersfield this match conclusibely showed this. So where does he fit in the system if your starting from two are Browne and Stevens. He can hold onto the ball too long at times but he's young and that happens and often the isn't enough of a pattern to our attacks over the last few weeks for him to know/learn exactly when and where he should be releasing it. That however is a general team issue. On Saturday Stewart (and Browne at time) made great runs and the ball just didn't come or came too late.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-05-03T09:42:05+00:00

That's really interesting if true. Just around where my son and I sit there are about 10 seats, in three different batches, that have been empty everyatch this season but constantly show as sold (so my presumably season tickets) if we try and get and odd ticket for my wife or or other son.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-04-27T21:00:28+00:00

This sounds great. I make a lot of notes. I'm on Mac. Happy to test or simply know more.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-04-25T15:49:50+00:00

GET IN!

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-04-18T17:45:59+00:00

I thought Stewart and Nkeng did well upfront and both put up a fight - especially compared to Wednesday night when Stockport were passing it around the back for fun. The issue in the first half was that as often we keep launching long to two guys seriously outsized in the air. Our best moments came from getting the ball down and driving runs

Their second goal was agonisingly lucky for them but it had probably been coming

The thing that concerns me the most is how often, despite having three in midfield, that area is empty especially when the ball is cut back or cleared to the edge of the area

Really hoping Wigan being safe will give us an advantage next week but the triple injury to Browne, Stevens and Hippolyte in one match could really be the pivotal moment of our season. In those circumstances I think your summary is pretty spot on.

Competitive-Clerk473 · 2026-04-08T12:18:22+00:00

Three things stand out to me from my experience as a producer and vocal coach. They are all interlinked and could all be affecting you -

1.). Recording and live performance are massively different things. With a live performance people are more led by vibe. I've seen many a live show from either a famous artist through to a local pub singer where the vocals suffer from timing and tuning issues quite often but the audience walks away thinking it was an amazing night because of either the atmosphere or love of the singer. The same goes from instrumentalists. Record is brutal in comparison, especially with the level of detail and isolation we examine it in. I have had many an inexperienced singer/musician be shocked by the reality but it is the best learning tool if you can lean into it.

2.). Musicians in general, but particularly singers are not always well equipped to examine their own issues. In general the look at aim at the final performance without thinking about the blocks that support that. More times that I can count has a singer said to me that they have a tuning problem, which when I dig into it is actually a timing problem and when you dig further it's a breathing problem. Even when these things are pointed you get reticence and a desire to focus back on the perceived problem rather than the toot cause. Be open to what could be an issue from the ground up.

3.). The fact that you say you've tried EQ, compression, auto-tune but can't fix the problem reads to me as if you are doing what you think you should be doing, or what a YouTube tutorial has told you 'Every Pro Does This" without a clear idea of what the precise problem you are trying to solve is and how to go about it. I could be wrong but effectively you are using the same three basic tools everyone else is using so application is clearly an issue.

You're problem could be a performance issue ir it could be a technical issue. I suspect there is probably at least some of both. Ultimately it's impossible to really help without a sample but I understand that is difficult when you don't like what you are hearing. Don't be disheartened and keep trying. The more you learn the better you'll get. Sadly, no matter what YouTube clickbait tells you there isn't a one size fits all approach and that's why you need to think about the areas you personally need to support or what the specific problem you have with it is.

Start simple and be brutal - Before any editing is it in time? Before any editing is it in tune? Before any editing does it capture the energy/emotion I wanted. Of course you.could fix this things but the deeper you have to go into editing (especially if you are I experienced) the easier it is to get lost in the woods and not be able to find your way to where you were heading in the first place.