Drum loop sounds poor

[superjoe30]

*newbie alert*

I use FL Studio 6, just starting to work on some mixes. When I create a drum loop, it sounds empty and boring. When I listen to some remixes that I really like, the drums sound really good, exciting, and have a full sound. But I can't figure out why the difference exists or how to improve my drum loops. Any suggestions?

[zircon]

Well, it really depends on what remix you're talking about... not all remixes rely on drum loops. Some have live drums, others use single WAV samples sequenced together. There are thousands of ways to use even a single loop - if you could provide some examples of what you have, versus what you want, I could be more specific. Some general advice would be to use compression on the loops to make them more punchy, and to layer them with single hits (kick + snare for example) to inrease the thickness of the sound.

[superjoe30]

Some of my favorites are:

Protricity - Neighburgers (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01202/)

Big Giant Circles - Eastern Ice Field (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01566/)

Strikebeam (http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/view.php?id=489978⊂=19622)

This is the song I'm working on:

http://superjoe.hopto.org/temp/Rock.mp3

(The drum loop I am referring to is not in the beginning [though I would like tips on making those better] but at the end in the "chorus".)

I found this (http://www.freewebs.com/dragor/Tutorials.htm), and it looks pretty helpful. I will experiment with these tutorials.

[zircon]

Well, for one thing, Protricity didn't use drumloops there. When people say "drumloops" they typically mean a PREMADE audio loop, rather than taking single WAVs and sequencing together your own patterns.

There are multiple factors involved in getting your drums to sound better..

1. The samples. You seem to be using default FL samples, which are OK, but there are better collections out there. Try the "Packs" folder, the FPC tool, the free stuff on Hammersound and SampleFusion, and so on.

2. The processing. Proper use of effects like distortion/compression, plus EQ, can make your drums sound better.

3. Rhythmic sequencing. Even if you nailed 1 & 2, if your rhythms are no good, the drums will sound lame.

I suggest reading my first and fifth tutorials, which cover drums and production respectively.

http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3314

[superjoe30]

Thank you; this is exactly the kind of info that I need.

ta ta for now.