If you've recorded drums in a small or acoustically poor space, you might find that your drum tracks lack the depth and richness that a larger room would provide. But don't worry—there’s a completely free way to add room sound to your recorded drums, making them sound fuller and more professional. In this guide, I’ll show you how to do this using MIDI files and the DS Drum - RCS Essentials drum library, which offers a fully functional free demo in the Kontakt Free Player.
Step 1: Convert Recorded Drum Tracks to MIDI
The first step is to convert your recorded drum tracks into MIDI files. MIDI allows you to trigger high-quality drum samples that include room sounds, giving your drums the ambiance they currently lack. Here's how you do it:
Select the Right Microphone: Start by choosing the close mic track with the least spill from other instruments. For example, the kick mic typically has minimal bleed from other drums, making it ideal for creating accurate MIDI hits.
Create Hit Points: In your DAW (like Cubase), double-click the close mic track and set the hit points, which are the markers where the MIDI notes will be generated. Adjust the threshold so that it only picks up the intended drum hits.
Convert Hit Points to MIDI: Once the hit points are set, convert them to MIDI notes. Depending on your genre, you might choose a fixed velocity for uniform hits or a dynamic velocity for more natural, varied hits.
Step 2: Load Your MIDI Files into a Drum Library
Now that you have your MIDI files, it’s time to load them into a drum library that includes room tracks. For this tutorial, I recommend using DS Drum - RCS Essentials. Even the free demo version, called Mahogany, provides a range of room microphones and character tracks to enhance your drum sound.
Import MIDI Files: Import the MIDI files into your drum library. In the case of the RCS Essentials, load the MIDI onto the appropriate drum channels (kick, snare, etc.).
Tweak the Room Tracks: Use the mixer in RCS Essentials to adjust the room tracks to your liking. You can choose different snare drums, tunings, and room mic settings to match the sound you’re aiming for.
Add Effects: Enhance the room sound further by applying effects such as reverb or EQ, which are built into the RCS Essentials mixer. This step allows you to fine-tune how the room interacts with your drums.
Step 3: Final Adjustments and Polishing
Once your MIDI files are triggering the drum samples and room tracks, you’ll need to make some final adjustments to ensure everything sits perfectly in the mix.
Combine and Glue Tracks: If you’ve created separate MIDI tracks for each drum, combine them as needed. This ensures all elements work together cohesively.
Fine-Tune MIDI: Adjust the MIDI notes to better match your original performance, tweaking velocities and timing as necessary.
Balance the Mix: Finally, balance the levels of the room tracks with your close mics. This step will help you achieve the perfect blend, making your drums sound like they were recorded in a large, professional studio.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you can transform your drum recordings from sounding flat and lifeless to full and dynamic—all for free. Using DS Drum - RCS Essentials with its powerful room tracks and mixer options, you can add depth and realism to your drum tracks, even if they were recorded in a less-than-ideal space. Plus, with a fully functional free demo available in the Kontakt Free Player, there’s no cost to trying it out.
Give it a shot, and take your drum production to the next level. Happy drumming, and see you next time!
Comments