Ableton Forum

mutii-band compression and then the restore punch preset is my favorite within live.

you could also do it 80's style, run a gate on your sound in parallel to the dry signal, that way you can mix in the attack of the sound.

What about tool for adding punchlines to beats?

on the bassdrumtrack i stack up 2 or 3 kicks, one sub, one short kick.

Also you can throw in a gate effect and adjust the attack, release.

or use a VST synth like sylenth1 instead off samples
gives you lots of possibilities with the AMP ENV or MOD ENV

The Carpet Cleaner wrote:probably I m wrong, but aren't those transient designers, just compressors that let attack goes through ?

They work by measuring the change in the amplitude envelope over time (on both the attack and release side, independently). This is how the transient can be enhanced or suppressed, and likewise, how the decay can be shortened or lengthened.

There's a webpage description of the original SPL hardware transient designer that you can Google - if you follow the explanation, you could build your own in Max (I used Bidule instead, still can't get used to using Max.)

I wouldn't say a transient designer would give you punchiness. It will help with the snappiness of a drum sound.

Read up on Parallel Compression or New York Drum Compression (google)... I suggest you just use the standard tools in Live.
If you do want to buy stuff, I recommend DMG Audio Compassion. It has both a Compressor and Transient Designer in it. And even a Limiter in the end...
Oh yeah, another cheap alternative is Sausage Fattener. I don't know what it does exactly. But it can blow things up big time!

Also: EQ-ing the separate elements in your drum mix, can get you a long way.

piZMo wrote:Flux Bitter Sweet II ?

+ 1000 it's a very good free compressor..

but really..any ol' compressor will do..
(true some will sound better than others on different stuff..
Lives' compressor is one of the better ones imo)

you can also use eq or band specific tools..
just saying..doesn't always have to be a compressor..
in fact..
if using samples (where you have total control of the volume envelope anyways...)
might as well avoid using comps as ..most samples are pre-compressed anyways.. so why not just use the ADSR+volume for further compression ?

drawing automation curves is also an option (if you've got the time and ass for it)

as for punch with compressors there are numerous tutorials over at youtube..
a good start would be parallel compression aka "NY compression" I guess.. then 'sidechain compression' would be helpful..
you'll find many helpful tricks..
also maybe read about famous compressors because most of the software stuff tries to mimick that..
while your at it read about 'expanders' and 'gates'.. could also be helpful in your quest for punchiness...

you can make almost any compressor "snap"..
the difference between them is usually how they snap..
(basically their envelope curve.. and 'peak detection'..)

learning to work with compressors is important and useful..
but imo using compressors should be avoided whenever you can...
it can help you create depth in a mix..but also can destroy it and bring noise/arifacts up into the mix..
so use sparingly !

anyways that flux one is great !
I find this freebie to be amazing on drums too..
http://www.audiodamage.com/downloads/pr ... pid=ADF002

Question: are you programing the beats from the ground up, or are you using recorded trummer loops?

If you program, you can get it punchy by using velocity and envelopes actively in the midi loops. And with great samples there is no need to use effects for "snappier" sound. Though you could use Lives compressor on a drum group track with a slow attack, for that super loud big beats effect.

Pesonally I dont use that effect much, because it tires my ears after listening through the whole track.