Simple question which may have not so simple answer.
how do I make my volca beats drums hit and slam and smack?
I'm aware of ny compression and distortion, but even though I set them and drums do get some body, there's no slam.
is it just impossible with the original sound source? If I don't manage to make a volca slam, how will I make any drum machine slam?

Use EQ, certain frequencies always need cutting and boosting, drum sounds are no exception.

Drum machine sweetening is basically voodoo

So yes, the basics first: Compression, distortion, gating, EQ. There is no set recipe, you just have to experiment with what effects processors you have, what settings, and what order. I find the lower-fi, older 80's processors often do wonders here. Yamaha SPX90!

Imo machines that produce simpler, less complex tones take to processing better and seem to produce crisper results. The Arturia DrumBrute (the OG one) might be a hated machine, but damn it takes processing well and it can deliver all the crack and slap you want.

Transformers. Yep, the magic of transformers can really make a difference here. If you can get your hands on a JHS Colourbox V2, that device can do wonders (miracles?) for drum machines.

Individual outputs. Rules out cheaper machines but you pretty much have to process sounds individually. You can still do this with single-out machines (you just have to process and track each instrument separately in multiple passes) but the workflow for individual outputs is dramatically easier. There's a separate thread around here, but if you have the space/budget for an analog desk so you can route all your individual drum machine outputs to channel strips, you get EQ, single-knob compression (on some models), FX sends, and bus routing and that is the key to getting things sounding right. The bus routing is important in case you need to process groups of individual instruments together (such as your hats and cymbals). Dialing everything in on a console where everything is within reach and not buried in menus or mousing about really helps the creative process imo.

These techniques go all the way back to the early days of the 808 and how those producers made it hit so hard. It takes a lot of experimentation.

Yeah it can take a lot of experimenting to get things to sound the way you want (and make sure to take breaks to give your ears a rest, ear fatigue is real and taking a break from mixing and coming back a little later with fresh ears can help a lot).

That said, source material can obviously make a big impact too. For example, in my arsenal I have a TR-707, and I also have the VPROM plugin, which is a software emulation of the Linn LM-1 and uses its EPROM data. The Linn sounds have a lot more heft to them, to my ears. It just hits harder. In comparison, the Roland sounds rather "polite" and I have to do a lot more processing and sweetening with it to get the kind of power and heft I'm after, the kind of heft I get with a lot less time and effort from the VPROM. I far prefer the Linn clap voice over the Roland's too, so much less sweetening there as well.

(Long story short, VPROM is the source for most of my digital drums these days.)

Did you mod the snare on the volca beat?

The volca beat has 808-ish type of sound set, is that the kind of sound you are looking for?

What other kind of drum machine or drum solution are you using? Are you having trouble with those?

Imagine trying to make drum brushes "slam". It's harder than regular snare obviously, well it's the same thing for your little box. if the sound source is weak as f, then it's obviously harder to make it "slam".

Go get a better drum machine, one that just "slams" out of the box, like a Jomox, cause you got what you paid for.

Softube tape

Compression + eq.

Get a real compressor for 100$ as the DBX 1066 and forget about that fake plug ins that sounds all same: plastic.

Og drumbrute? You gave me something to think about.. They're sold for peanuts.

Yeah I'm aware of the early methods. This is just first time for me having a physical drum machine on my hands. I can make you some goa synths quickly, but drums are new something I need to learn more.

No I haven't. I cheat by using some melda tools to add some white noise and sizzle :P

Yes and no. My first dm so I'm not sure what I want.

Earlier I've been using samples. Lost my nerve on those and want to simplify things while going all hardware.

Guess you're right. Hard to be a pronstar if you have a 3 inch...

Actually I think I have one. Somewhere.

Ok. Basic and raw analog drum machines need additional processing to sound anything like the kind of more produced sounds you are looking for. Additional processing in hardware usually means additional hardware, which adds costs, takes up space, and makes everything more complex instead of more simple.

If you want to pursue the hardware drum machine path I strongly recommend looking into digital (and sometimes hybrid) ones that have some degree of processing capabilities already built-in. Ideally it'll also have the ability to load in samples (because preprocessed samples that slam and smack are readily available, so you don't have to do as much work yourself).

There's still some learning that needs to be done but it'll be a functionally much better starting place than a volca beat. That thing is fun and characterful and cheap, but not practical enough.

It'll also give you the opportunity to try out a wider range of kits to figure out what kind of sounds you are even looking for.

( It would be cheaper to do that kind of exploration in software but I don't think I can convince you to go back to that world. )

Peanuts because nobody wants them

The OG DrumBrute was discontinued pretty quickly. It sounds closer to a 70s rhythm machine than to what people expect of drum machines today, unless you do a bunch of processing. In other words, you would be back here with the same problem asking the same questions.

Arturia's answer was to make the DrumBrute Impact, which lives up to its name with a more inherently compressed and dirty sound. You'd be better off looking into that one, thought I still think a digital drum machine makes more sense at this point in your journey.

Multiband compressors like OTT can make things slam. I use it a lot with Thermionic Culture Vulture.

By hybrid do you mean... Drumlogue for example?

Well I managed to get some of the desired effect out. Parallel compression, saturation and limiter did the trick. It sounds horrible lol but it's what I have so it's what I'll use (for now). Maybe ott instead of limiter could work too.

Tbh when it comes to fx, I'm open for software. Reality hits when I look for the prices. I'm happy with soundtoys and melda.

So basically you're saying that you need a really expensive compressor that costs 20x as much as the volca to make it sound ok., Is that what you're saying?

Um, no. I believe I recommended a free multiband compressor.

Ooh, ok, i thought you were because you said you used the culture vulture. Nevermind.

My go-to method for getting fuller drum sounds, kicks and snares specifically, is layering. Set one layer to deliver the transient and the second layer to be the “body” of the drum. You can also use only a single layer for when you want a ghost note.

Actually I do have sample too. It's just that I try to make anal drums work and get rid of samples. Though reading through this thread, I think I could make a selection of 100 best/favorite drum samples and load them to volca sample. And buying a more proper drum machine wouldn't hurt either. Og drumbrute or impact, or possibly drumlogue since they're available as used for very cheap. Drumlogue would have both anal and sampled sounds.

At this point I have to say that I really appreciate the input you've all given. It's a very interesting read. Thank you for everyone.

Good luck with your anal experimentation

Maybe I should bring my Akai Tom Cat back into the fold?

Thanks. Hope it won't be shit :D

Brown noise is a real danger...

You must use crappy plugins. Maybe get some good ones?

Quite possible. But now I need to learn how to make that to slam, boom and pop.

I remembered that I had this but never used it … it certainly can lift that bottom end … the drums analoguiser preset makes the point. Thanks for the tip and reminding me of this one.

and poop?