Epic Percussions

[christoko]

Does anyone know, where to get epic percussion, like Hans Zimmer's for example, for free?

[Bspendlove]

At 7/31/13 05:26 AM, christoko wrote: Does anyone know, where to get epic percussion, like Hans Zimmer's for example, for free?

His percussion is of real audio, the amount of audio he has for percussion he has his own personal library for percussion. It also focuses a lot around mixing.

You are not going to get that 'epic' type of percussion unless you know a bit about mixing.

I have not seen any software that could be described as 'epic' like Hans Zimmers Percussion but I will tell you some pieces of software that you could buy.

East West Stormdrum 2 Around £300

Cinesamples Deep Percussion beds Around £110 (All the samples are percussive loops)

Heavyocity Damage (THAT will blow your mind with the sounds, I only bought it the past month ago) around £250??? I think xD

Heavyocity Evolve around £150??? (It is not just percussion software, but it has some strong percussion loops in)

Drums of War (Not full on deep drums, but really good ethnic percussion) Around.... £70??? I think...

There are some more I have but I would need to find them... that should get you started...

Look at the youtube videos of behind the scenes and it will give you some ideas on recording great percussion phrases...

I really wish I could help you by pointing out some free software that could sound as epic as Zimmer but I have not found any yet.

[MetalRenard]

Yeah, what they said ^
Hans Zimmer's sound is that amazing because of all the amazing equipment and people he gets to work with.
For free... You honestly won't find much. But if you want to learn how to mix percussion to sound epic then you can learn.

Creating impact with a sound is all about understanding where its fundamental frequencies lie. In an epic taiko a lot of this is, as you can imagine, in its lower frequencies that give it that "boom"-y sound, resonating so powerfully.
When you want percussion to sound epic you need to make sure you give it space in the mix around this frequency area as well as making sure you don't crush its transients (the initial "strike" sound of any kind of instrument, including a guitar pick, is a transient. Transients are the beginning tiny spike at the start of a sound). Percussion needs a boom but also a strong strike.

[RusticPenguin]

Most of the sounds you hear from Hans can be recreated with a handheld recorder, reverb and EQing. Try banging some pots and pans, slam some doors, throw some rocks at glass, whatever you think makes a cool sound.

Toss it into your DAW and cut out any unnecessary frequencies, throw some reverb on it, and pitch it down if you want. Most of the biggest sounds you hear, are made from the tiniest of things.

But if you don't want to go through all of that, Native Instrument's and Heavyocity's Damage is absolutely amazing and will deliver you most of those big cinematic sounds. And as Bspendlove said, mixing is the key. If you have a muddy, or cluttered mix, nothing is going to sound big or exciting.

[KatMaestro]

At 7/31/13 04:41 PM, RusticPenguin wrote: Most of the sounds you hear from Hans can be recreated with a handheld recorder, reverb and EQing. Try banging some pots and pans, slam some doors, throw some rocks at glass, whatever you think makes a cool sound.

Boy, his stuff is more than just banging stuff and adding reverb. Zimmer is notorious for using distortion (& sometime lo-fi) FX in his cinematic drums. I don't know why, probably they live up to his badge of "electronic composer". But I do know he willing to render sounds using gigantic machines in his studio.

[MetalRenard]

At 7/31/13 11:06 PM, Elitistinen wrote: Boy, his stuff is more than just banging stuff and adding reverb. Zimmer is notorious for using distortion (& sometime lo-fi) FX in his cinematic drums. I don't know why, probably they live up to his badge of "electronic composer". But I do know he willing to render sounds using gigantic machines in his studio.

Distortion used outside of the context of electronic music is common. It simulates pushing material too hard and, when used properly, can create a very powerful and dramatic effect. On percussion it lengthens the part that resonates and saturates the transients so the sound even harsher. On the other hand this must be used sparingly because it also acts a compressor.

[PeterSatera]

You guys want to know a secret?

Coming in Q4. Was delayed due to Man of Steel.

Also here's Alan Meyerson (mixer of HZ Batman etc) adding his touches on it.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/q71/s 720x720/1004403_10151670756900412_570900591_n.jpg

[ZStriefel]

At 8/1/13 09:22 AM, PeterSatera wrote: You guys want to know a secret?

Coming in Q4. Was delayed due to Man of Steel.

Also here's Alan Meyerson (mixer of HZ Batman etc) adding his touches on it.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/q71/s 720x720/1004403_10151670756900412_570900591_n.jpg

this guy... is about to make so much money.. any clue as to who is pushing/producing this?

[ZStriefel]

sorry for double-post. nevermind... I did a quick google search. Apparently it's being put out by Spitfire Audio.. I bet this is gonna be awesome.

[PeterSatera]

At 8/1/13 09:55 AM, ZStriefel wrote: sorry for double-post. nevermind... I did a quick google search. Apparently it's being put out by Spitfire Audio.. I bet this is gonna be awesome.

You spoiled my surprise! Yeah it's by Spitfire. I speak to the guys on facebook and they havent said much in the ways of updates, but looking at their prices I would call this to be an easy $400 + price tag. I haven't said to many people til now because they've done nothing but delay this again and again. It was annouced first back in 2012, and Ive been so hyped for it. It's giving me more time to save up I suppose.

This WILL be completely amazing, I've had to recreate a lot of the Hans Zimmer drum sounds by mixing and eqing etc. But to have it come straight from the man's studio is extemely exciting. Spitfire's Albion one, two and 3 Iceni is superb and this HZ Perc vst will be something entirely new. I cant wait, even though I have to! :(
=D