Hello All--
 
I'm trying to create a very short snare tail that I've been hearing in Pop music lately. I can't recall the track that I thought sounded pretty cool, but there is an example in Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream.
 
I'm guessing this effect is done with compression, but wasn't sure what setting cuts the snare tail off so abruptly. Is it something besides or in addition to compression?
 
Thanks,
 
Stephen

Gate?
 
Dan
 

You can use a gate (Sonitus) to cut the snare off abruptly:
Set the Attack to 0.
Set Hold to the desired length of the snare (50 to 300mS).
Set Release to zero or near zero for the abrupt cut-off.
Set the Lookahead to 5 to 10 so you don't loose the attack of the snare.
 
Put a fast release compressor after the gate. The compressor will make the volume remain constant during the decay of the snare sound.
 
The sound you are referring to in the song is a sample, most likely two samples.
One for the "boom" sound (snare top) and one for the "shhh" sound (snare bottom).
 
This is what you would do for a real snare drum.
Use one mic for the top and one mic for the bottom. Reverse polarity on bottom mic.
Gate the top mic and use the gated signal as a side chain trigger for a gate on the bottom mic.
The side chain keeps both gates in sync for a tighter snare sound.
Compress both mics individually for desired sound.
 
 

Hi,
Try the TS-64 Transient Shaper. It is speficly designed to get the effect you want. the advantage is, that compared to a compressor, even snare hits with different level will be shaped the same way.
 

Sorry, I forgot to specify I'm working with sampled drums.

Thank you both for the info. I'll mess with both ideas and see which one sits in the mix the best.

Thanks again!

A transient shaper is definitely what you need to do this quickly and easily. I use the Native Instruments one and it works perfectly - simply dial down the sustain control.

sharke
A transient shaper is definitely what you need to do this quickly and easily. I use the Native Instruments one and it works perfectly - simply dial down the sustain control.

Sounds like it. Thanks. I've never used it for that before. I use it to tame transients.
 
Do you know if there is a preset I can start with that cuts the tail off?
 
Thanks,
 
sd