How do you get those wide, punchy snares/claps?

[The Vagrance]

Thats the one thing I can't seem to get down whenever I do anykind of House or Trance is I can't get that snare or clap right that so many artists use in modern trance/house. I've tried creating multiple samples then throwing the pan way out, then adding a whole lotta reverb before compressing them but whenever I do it the snares and claps still generally seem to stand out and not flow with the kicks. Could I be doing something wrong with the kicks? Is there some kinda EQ I need to apply?

[realpolitik]

I think the main problem is your samples.

Save up for Vengeance Essential Clubsound Vol. 1.

yeah dude.

cheers

[The Vagrance]

Sure, http://media.putfile.com/Meh-71

[zircon]

Yeah, a lot of that sound is in the sample you use. You could try to reproduce the effect with lots of tweaking, compression, etc.. but you're better off just getting a nice "splash" clap sound. It's not the punch that gives it the unique sound. It's the really hot sustain; it doesn't just have a short transient, it holds for a bit.

[Yoozer]

Heh. Vengeance Essential Club Sounds is actually coming my way soon .

Anyhoo - "wide" and "punchy" usually don't mesh that well. Do your percussion in mono; the rest in stereo. For the claps, get a compander; compressor/expander combined. Gate the reverb and expand it, let it duck in volume a bit after what would be the initial 'dry' clap sound.

Use claps from different sources; the regular 808 or 909 clap on itself is usually not the one you're looking for. Combine it with synth noise, bandpass or highpass filtered. Throw a little bit distortion over it to up the high frequencies; not too much.

[GrayLightning]

Heh. Vengeance Essential Club Sounds is actually coming my way soon .

I googled this and came up with a bunch of junk websites that lead me nowhere. Where can I get more info on this/demos/pricing/etc.? Link please.

[realpolitik]

link

demosong

available here

[suzumebachi]

Do your percussion in mono; the rest in stereo.

lol i always do the opposite. drum set recorded in stereo. guitars, bass, vocals in mono.

[klm09]

Do your percussion in mono; the rest in stereo.

lol i always do the opposite. drum set recorded in stereo. guitars, bass, vocals in mono.

Funny, how the convention there is the exact opposite for electronica and rock / electro-acoustic music (ie. stuff played on real instruments). Then again, with electronica, you're generally not going for a natural sounding emulation of a drumset and the mono, one could argue, affords more control over the sound (it's easier to get it hot and punchy). While with rock, etc., you do want what sounds like a real drumkit, usually anyway, while the mono instruments (especially when close-micing) afford you more control over the sound. More specifically, take the space you're recording in out of the equation, and all the mentioned instruments *are* mono.