Mapping The Same Sample Into Multiple Amplitude Zones with SoundReplacer
If you are performing drum replacement and intend to use just a single replacement sample, mapping it into multiple amplitude zones will ensure more accurate triggering. Here is why:
Imagine that you are replacing a kick drum part. If you look at the waveform of a kick drum, you will often see a “pre-hit” portion of the sound that occurs as soon as the ball of the kick pedal hits the drum. This is rapidly followed by the denser attack portion of the sound, where most of sound’s weight is.
With a sound like this, using a single amplitude threshold presents a problem because typically, in pop music, kick drum parts consist of loud accent hits and softer off-beat hits that are often 6 dB or more lower in level.
If you use a single amplitude threshold to trigger the replacement sample, you have to set the threshold low enough to trigger at the soft hits. The problem occurs at the loud hits: The threshold is now set so low that the pre-hit portion of the loud hits can exceed the threshold—triggering the replacement sample too early. This results in a replacement track with faulty timing.
The best way to avoid this problem is to set multiple threshold zones for the same sample using a higher threshold for the louder hit. Soft hits will trigger threshold 1 and louder hits will trigger threshold 2.
To set the precise threshold for louder hits, you may need to zoom in carefully to examine the waveform for trigger points (indicated by color-coded trigger markers) and then Command-drag the Threshold slider for more precise adjustment.
If there is a great deal of variation in the dynamics of the source audio, you may need to use all three Trigger Thresholds/Amplitude Zones for optimum results.
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