Programming Blast Beats

mrbean667

mrbean667

Member
Sep 12, 2008
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Sydney
Here's the story:
I have got all the music written, and have started programming the drums on Beatcraft for my songs. They contain a fair amount of blast beats, but as I'm not a drummer, I haven't the faintest clue.

I know how to get the basic beat, but I can't make them sound...real.
I don't know what cymbal goes where, what effect it has and other stuff which adds to the tightness of the beat.

Any tips?

PS: The beats I'm trying to emulate are the kind Mike Smith does, when he uses the ride bell and other combinations.
:Smokedev:
 
Disclaimer: I'm not familiar with Mike Smith or Beatcraft.

When I program blastbeats I always just do simultaneous kick and snare hits and then add in whatever cymbals I want. My drummer, however, does them on kick, snare, and a tom all at once and to do the cymbals every once in a while he hits a cymbal instead of the tom. Sounds pretty intense.
 
You don't know Mike Smith? Of Suffocation?
He pretty much invented the simultaneous blast beat.
Heresy!

:OMG:

Haha anyway thanks guys.
 
The thing that makes programmed blast beats sound more realistic is to drop the velocity of your snare hit to about half. A real drummer hitting the snares this quickly can't possibly be hitting as hard as a regular hit.

i.e., if you hit/program the snare at about 115-120 velocity during regular rock beats, do the blast beat hits at about 60-ish. Same with the Open High Hat. Keep the Ride cymbal and Kick Drum a bit higher, though, around 100 - 110-ish.

As for the beat itself, try this:
s=snare, k=kick, r=ride(or High hat)

- r - r - r - r - r - r - r - r
s - s - s - s - s - s - s - s -
- k - k - k - k - k - k - k - k
 
Hey, I just realized (d'oh!) you were talking about Mike Smith's style of blast beats (also known as a "Suffo-beat" or "Suffo-blast" - yeah, cuz he's from Suffocation)

My post above is for a standard blast beat. Mike Smith's own Suffo-Blast doesn't Alternate Snare/Kick. It IS simultaneous:

r - r - r - r - r - r - r - r -
s - s - s - s - s - s - s - s -
k - k - k - k - k - k - k - k -

He may vary the rides and high hats a bit for variation, though. And I would still drop the velocity level of the snares slightly.
 
I've recently got some good sounding beats out of Beatcraft (with a lot of tweaking), as I can't be bothered to buy Superior 2.
Now I just need decent cymbal samples.
 
Yeeeeeeeah. You should listen to the album you took your name from more carefully some time.
 
WindsOvCreation said:
Quick question. Who the fuck blasts like this?? That'd sound so gay, haha.
Click to expand...

Just about every one-foot blast beat you hear tends to start with the Snare on the ONE, and then alternates with the Kick Drum. The right hand tends to match the kick drum, either hitting the HH or ride cymbal.

This is how most blast-beats are done. Listen to Pete Sandoval, Nick Barker, Hellhammer, Trym, Dirge Rep.

I'm pretty sure, anyway.

I've watched Trym pretty closely. He actually does a two-foot blast. It's like his left hand is tied to his left foot, and the right hand is tied to the right foot. Both alternate, starting with hitting the snare (& left kick), then kick (right hand hits HH or Ride).

Or maybe I'm just a totally gay drummer.
 
Dimaension X said:
Hey, I just realized (d'oh!) you were talking about Mike Smith's style of blast beats (also known as a "Suffo-beat" or "Suffo-blast" - yeah, cuz he's from Suffocation)

My post above is for a standard blast beat. Mike Smith's own Suffo-Blast doesn't Alternate Snare/Kick. It IS simultaneous:

r - r - r - r - r - r - r - r -
s - s - s - s - s - s - s - s -
k - k - k - k - k - k - k - k -

He may vary the rides and high hats a bit for variation, though. And I would still drop the velocity level of the snares slightly.
Click to expand...

Most of your standard blast beats are of the simultaneous variety
 
BeneGuitar01 said:
Most of your standard blast beats are of the simultaneous variety
Click to expand...

Actually, I don't think so, ... that's a SUFFO-Beat, and the only guy who actually plays this is Mike Smith from Suffocation (he invented this style of beat) And maybe Paul Mazurkiewicz (Cannibal corpse). Oh yeah, Pickles from Dethklok does this in "Murmaider".

c = cymbal, s = snare k = kick

c |X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X -
s |X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X -
k |X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X -

Most other drummers alternate snare and kick drum. But each drummer seems to have their own high hat and ride patterns.

Watch some of the better known drummers in their live DVDs. Martin Axenrot(Opeth/bloodbath) and A. Kobro(Carpathian Forest) do one-foot blasts, alternating between snare and bass, and the HH or Ride are matched with the kick drum.

c |- X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X
s |X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X -
k |- X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X

Trym (Emperor/Zyklon) and Nick Barker(COF/Dimmu/Benediction) do a two-foot blast as follows

c |- X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X
s |X - X - X - X - X - X - X - X -
k |X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Some drummers match the snare with the cymbals, some start with the bass on the "one", which is basically a very fast D-Beat.

There are so many variations to the blast beat, but I believe I've illustrated the basics. Or maybe I'm totally wrong.
 
I was just wondering.. which program is the best for creating drumtracks? I want one that sounds good and realistic.

I wouldn't start a new thread about it :)
 
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