Drums are the driver for most audio productions, non more so than the hi hat. In this tutorial we look at how to create a nice hi hat sound with NI Massive the noise filter and use the performer modulator to create a pattern.

Something along these lines!

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

When creating percussive elements the noise module should be the first port of call. Most would jump straight to the white noise setting to create hi hats – but in this instance we are going to use the metal setting to get a nice jangle to the hits.

Note – you can use any of the noise settings – experiment, experiment and experiment is the key to great sound design !! A white noise hat could be quite airy, and i wanted some weight to my hit.

The Noise module – making the hi hat sound

First open up a new patch and turn off all the OSC’s.

Now set up the noise OSC like this:

So what’s going on here? Firstly we are setting the color of the of the sound – this sounds like a filter to my ears, but let’s check the manual to make sure (Page 41):

The Color knob allows you to change the coloration of the noise by shifting the overall frequency spectrum upwards or downwards

We’ll play with this later when we have a sound to listen to!

Secondly, the amp knob is now modulated with modulator 6.
As you can see the amp knob is set to 0 by default and then the modulator is opening it to around 2 o’clock.

The modulator – Performance

Set modulator 6 to “perf” and set up like so, this is your hi hat pattern.

This pattern will now control the volume of the noise module by controlling it’s amp knob. Hold down a note on your keyboard or draw in a midiclip and have a listen to what’s going on…. It’s a bit muted and quite quiet, so let’s take a look at the inserts to boost the signal.

The inserts

Set up like so

Two inserts here – firstly is the filter.

Now you could set these up with the regular filters, but i like to do that here so i can use the main filters creatively. You could use the insert filter as a hi pass to clean up the bottom end and then use a band pass or band reject filter modulated across the hole sound for an interesting sweeping effect for example!

Secondly is the P Shaper.
What is the P Shaper? Back to the manual (page 51)!

The Parabolic Shaper is a waveshaping effect like the Sine Shaper, but with a different shaping curve: where the sine shaper uses a sine shape, the parabolic shaper uses an s-like curve. As you turn up the Drive control, the linear transition becomes a rectangular one, distorting the smooth transitions of any input curve.

Have a listen to your sound now!
Much better, much more defined.

Effects
Next i would add in some reverb and my tip would be to also add in the Dimension expander. How’s it sounding?

Things to try
1) Try different sound types in the noise module and play with the color settings. What happens if you modulate this with an LFO? What about another performer?

2) Try different effects – a delay might sound nice instead of the reverb!

3)Play with the pattern – it’s a hi hat pattern so go to town programming it – remember you can play with the syn rate also

drums Hi-hat