How to Sample Replace a Poor Drum Sound

So the song is recorded. Everything sounds great. But wait—the snare drum sounds really inappropriate. What happened? It's not uncommon for a seemingly perfect performance to be slightly flawed by a poorly mic'ed drum kit. Perhaps, the sounds chosen early on at the advent of the recording were later rendered inappropriate. In this case we would resort to sample replacement. Sample replacement is the process of taking the original file and replacing it with a new one. I will demonstrate a few methods, which I feel work very well.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• DAW
• Sample replacement software

1. I work exclusively in ProTools HD and all of my editing takes place within there as well.
   
   It is important to choose a sample replacement application that works best for your workflow.
   
   Digidesign offers SampleReplacer, which is a file-based application.
   
   SoundReplacer will allow you to modify the affected track with three dynamic velocities.
   
   You can create a completely new sound just by mixing and matching up to three different sounds.
2. I am partial to Drumagog.
   
   Drumagog works as a realtime RTAS plug-in and is inserted directly on the track to be modified.
   
   Using Drumagog allows us to audition any number of samples without committing to them first.
   
   Once I've chosen the desired sound for replacement, I will load it into Drumagog.
   
   Now I can alter the pitch of the drum, the velocity and so forth.
   
   Once I've tailored the sound to my liking I can commit by rendering the track and import it back into the session.
3. Another method that seems somewhat archaic these days, but is still widely used, is "spotting the sample."
   
   This method involves taking a copy of the new sample and placing it directly onto the track.
   
   Once it has been placed in the appropriate place along the time line, you can now copy the sample and spot it into the rest of the track.