How to approximate a handclap sound?

BassDriver said:
I think there might be a certain acoustic or electronic stompbox.

You know, those small boxes that a non-drummer musician will use as self-accompaniment, often to simulate a kick drum sound, some have different sounds.
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Ahhh the 80s. Good luck finding one, although I do know where one is.

boss_hc-2_002.jpg
 
Hold one hand palm up. With the other hand, hit the palm of the first hand with the palm and fingers of the other hand. That'll get you pretty close.
 
Jojo mayer does a double rim click kinda thing. He starts in cross stick position, and hits the rim of the rack then the snare very quickly to kinda make a click-flam sound
 
You could use a whip or slapstick like they use in orchestras. It resembles it and cuts really well.
 
Ghostnote said:
Hold one hand palm up. With the other hand, hit the palm of the first hand with the palm and fingers of the other hand. That'll get you pretty close.
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Hard to do while holding drumsticks. :/
 
I'm speaking of something I can incorporate into the drumkit setup, folks. Also thinking more of a white-noise, sharp, short (but not *too* staccato) sound. Think "Centerfield" by Fogerty, or "Let's Go" by The Cars, maybe "Ladies' Night" by Kool & the Gang, but with something physical, not electronic. I'm thinking a cymbal stack of some sort would be ideal, just trying to narrow down from literally a million possible combinations.
 
timmdrum said:
I'm speaking of something I can incorporate into the drumkit setup, folks. Also thinking more of a white-noise, sharp, short (but not *too* staccato) sound. Think "Centerfield" by Fogerty, or "Let's Go" by The Cars, maybe "Ladies' Night" by Kool & the Gang, but with something physical, not electronic. I'm thinking a cymbal stack of some sort would be ideal, just trying to narrow down from literally a million possible combinations.
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Are you dead set against electronic? I recently added an Alesis Sample Pad 4 and am loving the options it gives me. Foot stomps, claps, electronic snare. I also recently combined a couple samples using Audacity (snare and tambourine) and it is really helpful.
 
Personally I do this one of two ways.

The obvious one, as already stated in this thread, is using an electronic pad with and actual hand clap sample. I've done this many times, and even pitch the clap up or down to match the song.

However, if you only need it for one song in a set, and aren't using any other electronics in the show, than having all the extra gear is a pain.
What i do to get around that is use an auxiliary snare (typically a 10" Yamaha Stage Custom) and muffle the top head with moon gel or a snare clip. Then I make sure to crack a loud rimshot on every hit. It get the job done.
 
drummer-russ said:
Are you dead set against electronic? I recently added an Alesis Sample Pad 4 and am loving the options it gives me. Foot stomps, claps, electronic snare. I also recently combined a couple samples using Audacity (snare and tambourine) and it is really helpful.
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Not *dead set against*, but would rather not. I'll resort to it if I have to.
 
It just adds so many possibilities. I no longer take my cowbell. I just started working on a song that has bar chimes and I just downloaded the right sample for that. I am loving it.
 
A lot of drummers use the double-cross-stick-flam on the rim trick.. but personally I never found it that close. If you need to play a rythmn and add hand claps at the same time, I'd use a percussion tree with either some large offset castanets or an orchestral-type of hand clapper - that you can hit with a stick. The splash cymbal on the snare is cool sound but kind of odd.. not really a clap sound but still cool. E-pads are realistic sounding but you can always tell it's fake - it always the same canned sound - but works in some cases.

One of the things I love about acoustics is that the skill and ingenuity of the player combined with the construction and choice of instrument is what crafts an amazing listener experience.. not so much with e-sounds.

The thing about hand claps is you need several people clapping slightly offset.. after all this time you'd think there would be an e-sound that randomizes the sample to get that effect!
 
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I should also clarify that I've *seen* videos of this- some that sound great, some, not so much. But, I'm having trouble locating some of those, and when I have, had trouble finding out the specific pieces used.

I think an inverted splash inside a small China is gonna do the trick, although the splash on aux snare may also do it. Looking for specific recommendations of cymbals to use for the purpose.

Also, is the Rhythm Crasher (or Ribbon Crasher, or whatever it was called) still available? Anyone have one?
 
Looks like a couple of my old trashformer cymbals stacked up, less chaotic shape tho. I love those cymbals, should I be ashamed to admit that?
 
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