Recording Drums | 5 Easy Hacks to Record Drums Without Sampling

Free PDF Guide Here: creativesoundlab.tv/five-easy-...
Today we are going to talk about what to do during the session with five common issues with recording drums and how to easily overcome it. Your going to learn some of the Basics 101 of how certain sounds are achieved by the drummer in the first place, instead of using a drum sampling plug in during mixing.
This episode will help you in three main areas of recording drums:
Coach drummers on how to produce sounds we want
Make changes to the kit to save time in mixing
Give us a better result with less effort
And these five hacks are about the:
The fullness of the snare drum
The aggressiveness of the kick drum
The sustain of the cymbals
The attack of the toms
The kick-snare-hat relationship
Many don’t realize to fix the problem at the source and it makes the task of recording drums without sampling a very difficult one. They think that recording drums without sampling is too hard, and will take up too much time. So they reach for drum sampling to help patch the problem.
Sampling plugins sound decent, but it takes some practice to learn how to make it sound natural. Using these plugins is a skill that has to be learned and it takes time to get the results that are advertised to us.
If you like to work with drum sampling plugins, then I hold nothing against your methods. A happy client is all the validation you need.
But if you really love the art of recording - the joy of getting sounds and preserving the music. Doesn’t it make the hard work worth it?
Using drum sampling as a short cut for good sounds will still take time and effort and you’ll get results that are good enough for the average ear. However recording drums without sampling will get you amazing drum tracks, that even the experienced ear and fellow audio engineers will be impressed with.
My hope for you is that using these techniques for recording drums without sampling, you can get amazing results using real drums, real drums, and real drummers.
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[@BeatsAndMeats]

Bwaahhhhh Holy crap! The lap technique for constant rimshots is BRILLIANT! How did I never think of that. I always try to play rimshots during a beat, but I'm not perfect by any means.

[@oluwaboriogunafolabi3997]

I have used the rimshot technique multiple times in studio sessions and engineers almost always love it when done properly and in context of the song you're recording to. The only down side to this is what I call the 'mushy thy' which is basically a massive bruise on your thy due to constantly hitting it with your snare hand while playing the snare. Usually takes a few days to heal up, but always worth the pain when you hit playback. Keep up the great content Ryan. I love the content on your channel.

[@creativesoundlab]

2:06

[@TheCamilocedeno]

Thank you so much for pushing this out to people, I insist on not using samples, and that means taking the time to get a solid sound from the beginning. Keep doing what you're doing!

[@MrPaulus8040]

Brilliant! Thank you Sir

[@juanbinckoski]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I really appreciate it.

[@SONORSQ2guy]

I find lower snare tuning sits in a mix better than a high tuned one. A higher tuning sounds boxy IMO. Great video btw, I think this is the best video I've ever seen on drum recording.

[@punk_rock]

This guy's content is real brilliant. I don't know what else to say.

[@niteshademusic5262]

your videos are awesome. thx my drum trax will def sound better.

[@douglastlang4492]

hi again ryan...most informative series on YT but so much info for a novice like myself! if i'm understanding this right on recording drums regarding muffling is that you really don't need to that and by muffling the drums you actually destroy some nice overtones? I guess my question would be how would one eq some of them out in the mixing phase? if so is that mainly using compression, gating or EQing the freqs? as an aside, if you've heard the drum solo on YESSONGS "perpetual change" track I've always wondered how they got that drum sound to me it sounds quite unique and never could really decide if I actually liked that sound... just curious how they got it....thank you again

[@djabthrash]

killer video, thanks !

[@MichaelHebbes]

Just found your channel and I really love it. Wicked content. I know you're a drummer but somethin like this for guitar would be neat.

[@saddel666]

what song is it in the intro theme? it sounds so great

[@evanmarshallryanfemali7725]

I tried recording rim shots, and making the sound cut through was a nightmare. What I decided to do was just not involve the rim, but hit the drum harder. It made a difference. I also had my snare drum tuned high when I tried it. Lower tunings are a lot easier to mix.

[@yourtulpa]

Great aprroach, trying to implement it each time I'm recording drums... I'm pretty sure you've heard this question a million times before, but doesn't lap technique leave your leg all black and blue? I'm asking only because back in the day I've heard some drummer complaining about exactly that... So I've got used to set my snare a little higher so I don't touch my leg at all. It may sound silly, I know :) Also, doesn't lap technique make you play snare rolls a little different? Cause you know, you have to keep your wrists pretty close or you'll have your legs in the way... Love your videos!

[@BONDI0065]

Nice one buddy

[@MeTuLHeD]

Don't muffle children! Let 'em ring!!!

[@Sunkenballs12]

For the ride cymbal thing you could just turn the sticks around

[@StephenTack]

On final choruses when I've needed the ride cymbal to really roar (and still have some attack) I've had the drummer flip the drumstick backwards. This is anything but subtle, so use it sparingly. Also, if the drumsticks are too chowdered up, be kind to the drummer and provide a fresh stick (or tipless "log" stick)...nobody likes slivers. ;-)

[@diedraak1]

Nice sounding snare. What fundamental pitch is it at ?(playing the drum in the centre).. Bonham tuned his to G#.