My 4 Favourite Drum Plugin Tricks with Marc Daniel Nelson

[@Producelikeapro]

What are some of your favourite plugins for drums? Share below!

[@RonniePenko]

Modo Drum

[@gilbertspader7974]

I'm computer dane bramaged. Glenn Fricker at Spectre just released Extinction Level Event drum samples wich look promising.

[@Tryggvasson]

i like the 1178, too, on drums, especially on the rooms and the overheads, where the attack is not as sharp, so there's no initial tick if you clamp it down. a manley compressor is also great for bringing in more punch and focus on a gooey track, but it doesn't tame a spiky click too much. the ssl channel compressor is one of my favorite compressors in the world, not just for drums, but the same thing, if the attack is too spiky, there's only so much it can do, without pushing the release and bringing in mud. i like the ssl cause with the right release it makes things move, and pulsate, and that's great - not many compressors to that. harrison's leveler is also great to get a rounded, smooth punch. to tame a spiky attack (everybody records drums - and everything else - overly bright these days) an altec is great, it imparts a beautiful roundness, and sheen. last - and maybe least - i like what a dbx 160 does to the attacks, the brilliance, and the cohesion, but sometimes it can be too dirty, and reduce the stereo image - so it depends on whether i want that or not. but it sounds very organic. in terms of transient shapers, i like analog obsession's latest, trax, i believe it's their emulation of the spl, and it works great for taming down that initial, thin, spiky tick, which i properly dislike, but in an unintuitive way: if you increase the transient, it will act on the second, more meaty part of the attack, and bring it over the the initial tick, which will sound proportionally decreased in the overall hit. you will get a punchier, but more rounded attack, which is exactly what you want to hear. smack attack from waves is more complex and tweakable, but that's the last resort, exactly because it's a lot more complex to use. i always use tape, not just on drums, but on everything, and softube's is just great for taming the attack on drums, and emphasizing a beautiful brilliance - as opposed to brightness, which to me means harsh, and gives me the hibbie jibbies. a good room/hall reverb on the snare close mics - i process them together - and it's just what the doctor ordered. before hitting the ssl channel, i may run the overall kit through a pultec, with the gains on 0, but the frequencies dialed a specific way, just to suck in some mud and make the overall sound smoother, i find the line preamps on the ssl aren't that great for that, and the mic pres can be a bit too dirty. it took me a while to figure out it's not for the pres that people choose an ssl console. i always thought stuff didn't sound the way it should it because i was doing something wrong, not because i needed to bring in some external preamps, which is something i started to look into, once i decided i needed some, and i was relieved to discover apparently it is the way the pros do it, too. the marketing with the "legendary sound" can give you blind spots on some things, sometimes. and i'm starting to understand why everybody in videos might have an ssl console, and the stack of neves or apis in the rack, on the side. if the drums sound too diffuse, and lacking a mid focus in the body, i like to blend in a little chorus on the bus - maybe an ensemble or something - unheard, to round them and beef them up. it also works well on adding spark while cutting down the harshness. since i work with virtual drummers and programmed midi tracks, i like to import the whole track in either ez drummer 3 or addictive drums, for the humanization algorithm, which i then adjust manually. it saves a lot of time vs having to humanize it in programming. some daws might have a humanization algorithm in the stock options, but i found those more comprehensive. so there it is. everything i know :p.

[@cortical1]

Andrew Scheps's Omni Channel has some really magnificent presets for drums that pull in all the best parts of compression, limiting, EQ, gate, and coloring/harmonic distortion. It's a great all-around channel strip but really stands out for slapping onto the drum bus or individual percussion instruments in the rock genre.

[@sonidojamon]

Best trigger plugin that CAN HOST OTHER INSTRUMENT PLUGINS, layer your own samples, etc: UVI DRUM REPLACER. You can load any drum library inside it. Great gating and AI drum element detection options.

[@Zenvo-uu9tm]

The cute dog sticking around is a proof of Marc's clean and smooth mixes

[@Rhuggins]

Marc you are a class act sir…one of my biggest influences as a budding mixer. Thank you for your time and your always elegant perspective on the craft

[@leonidaskopilos6959]

Marc is - by far - the most calm and interesting and relaxing guy out there to listen to. There are others you fall in love with after hearing one setence out of their mouth. Like Warren himself. Incredible people. You can even hear all the love and passion in their voices. It's not like with MixbusTV or other youtubers, that always try to sell you everything just to push their fame and income at any cost. Marc could sell me different sorts of beans and I'd still want to her what he has to say about them, although I hate beans. Because I feel he's 100% honest and stays real to himself. As German I'd like to mention: "Warren und Marc: Ihr habt das Herz am rechten Fleck. Bleibt so wie ihr seid."

[@Producelikeapro]

Thank you for sharing. It means a lot

[@djGreenALERT]

I've learned more in this 11 and a half min (or so) video than in probably 4 years of using VST Drums, that there is no way that such a beautiful sound is possible without a real drum kit too. Thank you for confirming what I have suspected all along.

[@jamiew.lacroix7055]

Marc you never cease to amaze, If I didn't have you or Warren Huart to learn from I can't imagine how much farther behind I would, thanks for all your hard work.

[@danieletoroma867]

Holy smokes!! Great tips and what a tune!!

[@jonathangreig5939]

Thanks, Dan! You're the best.

[@Godemanstudio]

I just love everything in Superior Drummer 3. The way you can import real drums and mix with the real samples given to you by different midi packs.

[@Producelikeapro]

That sounds fantastic

[@kevinbutler94]

I use drums from DrumsOnDemand which are single track drum loops, great sounding drum loops played by real drummers....until you start to really care about how your drums sound compared to commercial mixes. Up til now I've been manually adding/augmenting snare and kick samples, a real pain the arse when its a 12 or so track album. I didnt realise trigger plugins were free, this video has made my life SO much better knowing I can use software to speed up the process, thanks!

[@skinnybreakfast]

great to see you back old virtual friend and mentor. Thanks Marc!!

[@rorycreates]

Great video, thanks to all the PLAP team! I have put the transient tip straight into play and kick + snare instantly more focused!

[@mikeloosen53]

im soooooooo glad you said this about that phase/alignment and how BRUTALY important it is to make sure its really alighned so they punch properly!!!!

[@markmooremusic]

I love the little details that Marc adds to his mixes that end up making a big difference. Truly, a mixing engineer that cares about the music. You can just see/hear it! Right on! Glad he’s part of the PLAP team! Good stuff!

[@akagerhard]

The Pulsar 1178 is my favorite side-chain compressor, especially for drums and bass. Very beautiful.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for sharing!

[@sandranoonan3141]

Your dog during the expose of spiff with snare was very very cute. That’s one beautiful pooch Marc … love the process you go through with the snare as well!😊

[@leefchapman]

The legend returns! Always love his tricks!

[@Producelikeapro]

Indeed!

[@JCDRUM]

Watching greatness work from a front row seat. Thank you Marc! At the end of the day, instead of watching tv, I will sit down and watch one of your tutorials.

[@rickyred001]

SSL's LMC+ is a very useful plugin when mixing drums. You don't even have to get too involved in the presets, the default setting when it appears in your insert channel is enough to add the magic sauce. The LMC+ obviously isnt the only compressor to do this but it does this task really well...

[@gsmith207]

As a drummer for 35 something years I’ve always embraced digital along with analog. Yes im 55 and Devo, The Cars, Thomas Dolby, and anything else with synth I grew up on. Even Bill Bruford adding electronic drums and can’t forget Alex VH himself! Great vid PLAP! You always keeps it fresh my man. (Btw the Dog on the couch! Haaa! Priceless!)

[@OddScienceHarry]

I really love Marc’s explanations and great to see his dog fits the role as ghost producer very well, my dog is always in the studio with me which is a great thing when working ❤

[@BertGardena]

at 3:52 the Dog is like, let me sniff that Spiff for a moment...no attack I'm safe. Nice video!

[@rastAsia]

Marc dude.. This was some serious ER surgical session for the ticks and bombs on our tracks! Thanks for sharing this here on PLAP! And like what others have mentioned - you explained the why and how so easily for us to understand. AMAZING!

[@nayanmirza2507]

After long time back Marc sir

[@bobbeals2893]

Thanks, Marc! I always keep an eye out for your stuff! great tips!!!!

[@KosmoDeuz]

Very positive vibe you bring in to my life, Bro thanks

[@marcdanielnelson317]

That means alot!🍕🍕🍕

[@joshfrench6426]

Thanks for the pointers. Always enjoy your videos and tips

[@splashesin8]

Thanks Marc. 😊

[@doug.heartstringssound]

Thank you Marc! Great tips! You Rock!

[@davidtushishvili6938]

as always beautiful sounding mix.

[@Producelikeapro]

Glad you like it!

[@trenix1206]

when he's talking about soothe I see a "echorec drums" channel... very curious what kind of echorec delay he's using there and in which way

[@williamtell1477]

Really cool tips, thank you Marc!

[@christianbiend4458]

Heeee! Welcome back Marc Daniels you have a « bonjour » from France 🍺

[@Producelikeapro]

Great to have Marc back, indeed!

[@spkldgecko]

Thank you for addressing cymbals. I have been searching hi and lo for some kind of guidance on the harshness of cymbals.

[@Producelikeapro]

Try using a little bit of Saturation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKuqmXadrcqMfbs or a De-esser too!

[@spkldgecko]

@@Producelikeapro Thank you. I never would have thought to use saturation.

[@davidasher22]

So weird… I had been doing the same thing this afternoon with snare and kick samples using the same Softube transient designer. And I just spent 20 mins explaining to my buddy what exactly I was accomplishing. Now here’s Marc talking about the exactly same process. We are both using very similar sample too. I’m using those Circle Drums TAPE samples with that dry saturation/distortion.

[@andresgiraldo4149]

Amazing video man, loving your stuff. I’ve watched lots of tutorials in the internet, but so far yours are the best by far!! Keep em coming please!🙏🏻

[@stanc2288]

Soundtoys decapitator on punishm mode as a parallel send is amazing.

[@whoakayno]

Fantastic tricks! Love how much ill probably end up using these!

[@Producelikeapro]

Please do!

[@BrofUJu]

Keeping the punch of the sample but reducing it on the original is brilliant. Love that.

[@mannysmiclocker]

Mark is the Man! Always looking out!

[@Producelikeapro]

You too, Manny!

[@MartinvonBargen]

Pulsar Massive does something special to massage the drum buss. Works amazingly well with 1178 too.

[@AlexeySolovievMusic]

Wonderful video! Thank you so much Marc for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. I’m learning from all of your amazing videos all the time! It’s always great to see you on this wonderful channel! Thank you so much for this video! It’s really great ! 😀👍🔥🔥🔥

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for watching, Alexey, as always

[@rossjohnmartin]

Came here for the drums but that acoustic guitar sounds incredible!

[@richardmcarthur40]

Gold as always MDN. Keep it coming

[@Producelikeapro]

More to come!

[@Passenger-hn5fb]

Great vid Marc!! Thanks!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for watching!

[@JamesArthurHurley]

Man... that mix at the end... mint

[@Producelikeapro]

Marc is incredible

[@taks359]

@@Producelikeapro what is the name of the artist ??

[@_gregvalencia]

@@Producelikeapro I’m also looking for the name of that song/artist

[@jonathangreig5939]

Hi @@taks359! The song is not released yet, but it's by The Analog Dream, which is my music! @jongreig and @theanalogdream accounts on instagram are for the music. Stay tuned as I'm just putting together some music and a release plan for the whole album. Thanks for the kind words!

[@jonathangreig5939]

Hi @@_gregvalencia! The @jongreig and @theanalogdream accounts on instagram are for the music. Stay tuned as I'm just putting together some music and a release plan for the whole album. Thanks for the kind words! Hope you can listen when it's out soon!

[@JamesSteeleProjectVideos]

Nice video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@edwardlee6516]

great sound suttel but very effective great video sound sculpting at its best thank you

[@ytnsanw]

I'm just here for the beautiful Stealth Pup footage. Perfectly camouflaged and quiet as a mouse...

[@Producelikeapro]

Always!

[@gh0stransist0r]

jelly with that kick drum sound.

[@Reggi_Sample]

What controller is that!>?

[@oneandonlyarajivp]

these are amazing tips. Thanks Marc. Where can we listen to this track? its amazing

[@jonathangreig5939]

Thanks, Rajiv!! Just working on a release plan for this song- if you're on instagram you can follow @jongreig or @theanalogdream to get updates on it's release! Thanks again!

[@JNTHNDVD]

Could someone tell me what song that is that he’s working on? Sounds lovely during the end credits!

[@yanpisar]

Watching this i am in awe at your skill and ability. Every change is purposeful and nothing is left to be desired. Also 10:17 that smile reminds me of Jake Gyllenhaal. Hope to be as great an engineer as you someday, Marc!

[@mitekillem]

A month ago I had this great band come in with a good drummer who was a little inexperienced, and so hit the cymbals harder than the drums. Even adding some distance from the overheads didn't seem to help. Unfortunately there wasn't anything I could do except try to automate it as best I could. I've got a couple of things like soothe, but nothing that seemed to tame the harsh, crunchy frequencies just enough for my liking. I may look into playing with "tape" to see what it might be able to do.

[@precisionsoundworksstudio]

Excellent, Marc… another value packed episode! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@JakeJoyceMusic]

Love the cutaway to the dog haha

[@thecrazything95]

DOG CAM. Also being in the cold European north, where it's way below room temp out.. gonna stay outta the pool.

[@dashobradors]

As always, can’t have enough MDN content ❤

[@mikespink2037]

Sounds beautiful 👍🏻

[@RONNYMORRISMUSIC]

Almost ready with an album and would love to work with you on a mix.

[@diegooliveirabenjamin]

Always great

[@markbennekamper1906]

Marc, thank you again for sharing your passion and knowledge. Thank you to Warren and his crew for introducing us to Marc. I can't tell you how much these videos have helped me! MArc, you mention the 5% rule during this video. Can you give us an explanation of the 5% rule?

[@gameboyz7497]

great stuff ty very much learn new stuff today !

[@p.m-audio]

yessss Marc again...Great

[@tutubeos]

Very smart as usual 💙

[@luigidaniellmusic]

beatiful exponation !!!!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for watching.

[@kevinafflack]

Great tips thx! Do you ever send the bass to the drum bus or do you prefer to keep it on its own?

[@kostasmanikis]

Great Tips!

[@joefx69]

That snare thing with Spiff was nuts. Totally gets rid of the "prrp" sound in the transient. Stealing that one

[@Producelikeapro]

Stealing? We are sharing!

[@joefx69]

@@Producelikeapro And I thank you Sir!

[@Producelikeapro]

@@joefx69 thanks ever so much!

[@massivebeatzz]

the man, the myth, the legend.

[@Producelikeapro]

the Marc!

[@Kkidzz]

John's song reminds me of Harper Simon's(Yes,Paul's son) amazing solo album, 'Division Street'.... songs and recording are beyond ridiculous... ;)

[@jonathangreig5939]

You're very kind, Kkidzz. Thank you!! I'm hoping to release the song and the rest of the album shortly once I can get the music videos done. The moniker I use for the music is The Analog Dream. Thanks again!

[@buhlir]

What cool tricks.. What a Great track.. and those drums sound sooooo good dude omg. Are there multitracks of this song cuz id pay a lot of money for them haha

[@intheblink]

I think oeksounds’ spiff complements soothe well on OHs.

[@Producelikeapro]

It does indeed!

[@Joe-mz6dc]

3:48 "The drums sound great but are we going to take a walk today?" 🐶

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha indeed

[@Joey-rp5vg]

As always, a joy and privilege to watch MDN. Some great tips there. I am going to try them out. Thanks very much for sharing your time Marc and big thanks to the PLAP team. Cheers

[@Vmadethebeat]

Def Inspirational/ great info!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for watching

[@Vmadethebeat]

@@Producelikeapro 👍👍

[@AnthonyDunstan]

thank you so much!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for watching!

[@HasseC]

You're just great!! 😅🙏🏼✨👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@robpittman3132]

Transient designer on the doubled tracks is such an obvious thing but I'd never thought of it!

[@AzharWaliam]

Sir you are an inspiration for me .... Thank you for everything sir.... Need a help from you sir .... I wants to record a acoustic guitar song only acoustic guitar instrument.... But it's seems very poor when I mixing .... Plese suggest something

[@toddpurnick5848]

thanks

[@Daniel_Music.]

Does anyone have a link to the song? I cant seem to find it

[@jonathangreig5939]

Hey! It's not released yet, but I'm working on a release plan and hopefully it'll be soon! Thanks for your interest. You can follow @Jongreig or @theanalogdream on instagram to keep up with when it's released, if you're interested. Thanks again!

[@YearsOfLeadPoisoning]

Using a dog as variable sound deadening for a studio is a good tip. I'll get five.

[@Producelikeapro]

#protips

[@thekeksthesheamusic]

really interested in the recording of this track, as it sounds beautiful! studio? instruments? mics?

[@MadeOnTape]

who edited the dog shots? hahaha love it. I totally agree about cymbals in digital...but that's my brand 🤘

[@marcdanielnelson317]

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

I did practically the same technique with a poor kick in a recent project, I used the SPL Transient designer for it, and a compressor, gives the same result, the snare was compressed, but with a long attack setting, so the transients together Kick/ snare were just perfect. I'm not sure anyone knows that you actually get transients out of a compressor.

[@RenanBEreanSound]

Man.. really thanks for this 3:47

[@Producelikeapro]

Always!

[@Studio8Recording]

Very useful tips here Marc. Thanks for sharing. And what are your socials? Want to start following you.

[@Producelikeapro]

Marc keeps quiet on social media! But he may pop up here to comment from time to time

[@drinkinslim]

GUYS, what's the word on mix quality using a laptop and DAW vs a pro studio? I'm sure a pro studio would/could produce a better mix but it would largely come down to the engineer and (for the DAW) plugins. I can't find any videos on KZbin about it - unless I'm searching incorrectly. :)

[@DeadOriginal]

He’s in a small mix room!!!! So it is possible to create cool mixes in small rooms? Or does he just do edits? Then do final mixes in a bigger room?

[@thetoddkeith]

Your doggo had something to say about that snare attack.

[@theguy700]

Yo! What IEM's are those ?

[@sgfdancecompany]

grate content like always with Marc and a new hair look....step forward!!!

[@Six2Nine]

Man Marc how you get the intro song so freakin loud and mighty? Lets hear it for the haircutter!

[@lesterconde3548]

long time yes

[@vstv0]

My favourite mixer

[@genggengdd]

i love the tutorial but the dog is so cute heheheheee

[@davejohnsonmusic]

Marc always has unique tricks that I rarely hear others talk about. It's these little things that can help take your mixes to another level.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for watching Dave.

[@Six2Nine]

Hi Guys. I got a massege from you, that I won something and got to call a no. is this right?

[@Producelikeapro]

No. There are scammers on KZbin trying to get people to send them money. We never charge anybody anything to win a prize

[@Producelikeapro]

Sorry you’re having to deal with them.

[@Six2Nine]

@@Producelikeapro Thank you Sir!

[@marcdanielnelson317]

you've won my heart, if that helps with anything

[@Six2Nine]

@@Producelikeapro no problem! parasites also has got the right to exist.

[@DinoSvanhvit]

The dog😂❤