Make an Outstanding Shaker Loop

Shakers are predominantly used as background rather than solo instruments. However, they can still play a significant role among percussion elements by adding energy and motion to a song. You should avoid quantizing everything to the grid if you want your shakers to sound authentic and exciting. Also, you can use the few processes we will show you in this tutorial to make an outstanding shaker loop.

Firstly, let's listen to this short sequence we created in our SoundBridge: DAW, which contains most of the entire mix's elements.

~Full Mix - Without Shaker Sequence

You Need Very Good Samples to Make an Outstanding Shaker Loop

As you may have noticed, the drum part of this sequence is missing a shaker. We made it this way to make room for the loop we're about to create. We'll begin by opening a new instance of our RitMix drum machine, which we'll use to select sounds, process them, and mix them for the overall sequence in our SoundBridge: DAW.

In this situation, we chose three different shaker samples. The first is shorter with a softer transient, the second is longer with a sharper transient, and the third is also quick with a softer transient. The variations in tone and duration of the samples will be helpful for the groove we are about to create.

~Shaker 1 - Default Groove

Use RitMix's Humanizer Feature to Improve Your Groove

In the MIDI editor, we created a default groove for the Shaker 1 sound, and after hearing the full mix audio example, you can agree that it sounds dull and lifeless. To change that, we used the RitMix edit window to process the shaker. In the image below, you'll notice that we used a "Humanizer" feature to randomly change the sequence's pitch, timing, volume, and panning.

This crucial feature of RitMix enabled us to add movement to this shaker sequence. Also, we used the distortion effect to change the tone of the sound. We then added some space by slightly increasing the reverb send amount. The embedded EQ was then used to polish the shaker's frequencies as a finishing touch. Let us now hear the Shaker 1 solo and then in the context of the whole mix.

~Shaker 1 - Solo (Processed)

~Full Mix - Shaker 1 (Processed)

Moving forward, we'll work on the second shaker sample and create a different groove with velocity changes in the MIDI editor. We'll use the same processes available in the RitMix edit window but in different amounts to avoid sounding identical to the previous one. We used the "Humanizer" again for the second shaker, but this time, we increased the pitch and pan variation and finished it with an EQ and delay from the send effects section. Let us now hear the Shaker 2 solo and then in the context of the entire mix.

Let's Listen to the Final Mix

~Shaker 2 - Solo (Processed)

~Full Mix - Shaker 2 (Processed)

The third and final shaker sound will be processed similarly, though the groove in the MIDI editor will be less dense than for the previous sounds. Let us hear it separately and in the context of the entire mix.

~Shaker 3 - Solo (Processed)

~Full Mix - Shaker 3 (Processed)

If you liked this article about sound design, here are some more on the same subject:

• Design Your Own Kalimba Sound

• Make a Melodic Techno Drop FX

• Add an Extra Texture to Your Melodies

• Create an Atmosphere With a Simple Arp