...by layering samples. One of which is really heavily EQed. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13184331/Apiary_intro_test.mp3

I really should just sample the whole kit one of these days to have my own sample set for writing porpoises.

As an aside, I'm digging what this is turning into. I'm just fucking around with the arrangement, having gone over a jam we recorded last week and stealing the good riffs out of and seeing how I can assemble them. This little bit at least reminds me of Tomahawk, who are awesome.

Also one of the rare times you will hear me play bass with a pick. Much of what my bassist did during said jam is awkward without one, and he's out of town for a couple weeks.

EDIT: added some synth: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13184331/Apiary_intro_synth.mp3

I already don't like it over the very beginning, but sounds badass where the guitars kick in. Perhaps to busy there?

Lovely synth schwarble tonez. Agree about it sounding Proper Swell with the guitars though a bit much at that level on its lonesome in the beginning.

Also that does sound a fair bit like his snare seems to on the things you have recoarded it on, a bit clearer maybe, maybe a little less body to it, but otherwise purrty derned close from what i know of it.

Yeah i can totally hear that it's made of layered samples, but then only because you told me so!

I like the beginning sparser, with just the noisy drums and the droning thing. The main synth line is my Novation through a bitcrusher, and it makes me think we should torture the synths more. Especially the analog and faux-analog ones. Since I've managed to keep my pedal collection intact, this could get interesting. I like what the synth adds to the groove; this one began life with both of us on guitar as a jam, no synths whatsoever. I'd like to hit this one again with the band before I bash out the rest of an arrangement though.

Re: the snare itself, I think I actually managed to get it pretty close on the other one using just Snare A from Kingpin. I have one of the snares from Native Instruments Studio Drummer layered in here, but I think the Kingpin snare (also in here) gets there on its own with judicious EQ. I remember I did something a little weird there, like boosting the crap out of 100hz using the low shelf on Waves API 550B and cutting 700hz a fair bit.

Kingpin, thusly: http://www.analoguedrums.com/details-kingpin.php. Demo 7 illustrates pretty well the snare I've taken to using. The whole kit, once treated nicely, is a pretty solid sonic substitute for my writing and arranging porpoises. Minus the china, splash and percussion I still have to bring in from other sources.