How to Get the Drum Sound of "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age | What's That Sound? Ep. 6

The drums on Queens of the Stone Age's "No One Knows" were played by Dave Grohl and produced by Eric Valentine, but there's a secret to how they were recorded.
Find all of the gear used in the video: bit.ly/QOTSA-Drum-Sound
Download FREE Reverb sample packs here: bit.ly/Free-Sample-Packs
0:00 - Introduction
0:55 - The Drums
2:03 - The Mixing
8:45 - The Final Performance
9:47 - Conclusion

[@TheBrokenStairs]

Eric Valentine used the same technique on DFA 1979’s Outrage is Now album and it makes all the difference.

[@kwakba]

That makes alot of sense thinking about how the drums sound coming from Physical World to Outrage

[@jackgill9965]

Same on 2 of Taking Back Sunday’s albums - Louder Now and their self titled.

[@kenkrugger]

Jessica KILLED it!!! That’s a special skill separating drums from cymbals like that. Great job guys!

[@CFox.7]

ermmm, simp harder why dont you. Nothing amazing was going on.

[@kenkrugger]

@@CFox.7 oh, thanks for letting me know. You should be a life coach. I bet you’re lots of fun too.. Maybe go trip an old lady later on right? Maybe you can teach me how to spend my day making people feel bad. What a guy.

[@CFox.7]

@@kenkrugger you seem overly dramatic, whether heaping praise or attempting sarcasm. You bi-polar ?

[@kenkrugger]

@@CFox.7 what is your purpose? Seems you can’t keep yourself from criticizing others. Good luck to you.

[@eDWICHt]

Loving Jessica's smile after playing the cymbals on their own. I know the feeling. Recording like this is a bit weird at first, but it's something you can definitely get familiar and comfortable with and it opens up a lot of possibilities - not only in terms of sound but also in terms of the parts themselves. Couple of months ago I recorded an otherwise pretty much impossible blast beat using this method for a contemporary classical composer who had worked with and built upon a programmed drum part.

[@nicolasreny221]

Can you send a link or smt I’d be interested to hear!

[@William.Driscoll]

Interesting

[@eDWICHt]

@@nicolasreny221 It's not out yet as far as I'm aware. It's going to be on an album by Scottish composer Rylan Gleave.

[@markusszelbracikowski956]

I always loved the sound of the drums on this album. It's super cool to see more alternative sounds to rock albums, and it makes it super in your face.

[@Auron710]

said literally nobody about St.Anger ;p I love the drums on songs for the deaf too, amazing album start to finish.

[@SteveOuimette]

Eric and I go back to 1988 when he first recorded me as a teen (we're the same age), and he was always experimenting with recording in unique ways. I recall him telling me not too long after he recorded this particular album of how he did it, and yep, cymbals later. Brilliant idea and a bit of a tricky one for Dave playing. But the result is amazing and he had complete control over the sound that way. One of the many, many, many great techniques he's used over the years. I believe Roy Thomas Baker did this for The Cars as well.

[@boglot]

I played your version of The Devil Went Down To Georgia on guitar hero 3 so many times when I was 13. I loved it so much I tried to learn it on guitar. I realized quickly that even though I was beating the song on expert mode, I wasn’t nearly good enough at guitar to be able to play it

[@SteveOuimette]

@@boglot How fun! Thank you for the kind words Peter, I really appreciate it.

[@ROOKTABULA]

@@boglot Go buy Rocksmith 2014 and use your gaming to learn how to actually play guitar. Thank me later.

[@boglot]

@@ROOKTABULA ive been playing for about 14 years now, I was just talking about when I first started. But I would have loved Rocksmith if it was around back when I was still a beginner

[@myyoutube1978]

Love how they used Ludwig's "cheapest" snare to emulate Eric's Pearl export with an over tightened snare wire

[@Pandamasque]

Fun fact: playing like this 8:49 i.e. hitting air instead of cymbals, drums, pads or a knee gives you blisters, since there's nothing but skin friction stopping the stick.

[@Hevvvyyy]

Man .. that whole album just rocks

[@katielowen]

2020: Josh from QOTSA asks Eric V to remove his KZbin video showing how he recorded and mixed ‘No One Knows’ 2022: Reverb makes a video recreating the exact drum setup and sound from Eric V’s video. 😂👏😂👏

[@sentriesband]

Down with the gatekeepers lol good recording techniques are for everybody

[@katielowen]

@@sentriesbandfacts!😂💪

[@mirkomarkovic3438]

Eric didn't mix it

[@katielowen]

@@mirkomarkovic3438 wrong🧢

[@mirkomarkovic3438]

@@katielowen it was mixed by adam kasper

[@davidrewit]

This is one of my favourite album tones, and you always get them perfectly! thanks a bunch Jessica and Reverb for sharing these crazy studio secrets ✌️🏾👊🏾

[@oddfellow1977]

Jessica and Noam laying down yet another incredible drum recording video! Stellar job!

[@JakeTerch]

Step 1: be Dave Grohl

[@tite93]

Hit the drums like they insulted your mother

[@cavemanskates93]

Step 2: Fresh Pots

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

Right?

[@gabrielledebourg2487]

Step 3: ????

[@jamlive6650]

Step 4: Fresh Potix

[@andrewd4683]

Love these videos! Keep it up. So interesting to see how these things actually come together and why.

[@PHELCAN]

Insanely talented drummer and sound engineer

[@joelonsdale]

Good job guys, great engineering and great drum performance!

[@Rgdonaire_07]

Absolutely killer drum sound and what a beast of a drummer! Great video guys!

[@apoplexiamusic]

i already knew the "secret", but not how they mic'ed it and that's a pretty unique sound! just goes to show one does not need tons of sample replacement to get a powerful, impactful drum sound. I'm looking you, modern metal people

[@noname-ng6sj]

Yeah, you just gotta, you know... not play it

[@AlexdeLarge6655321]

Great playing. Watching a few of these and whether it's a single mic or fourteen, an amazing musician always shines through.

[@nsiepmann]

Such a good breakdown of a really cool sound. Thanks folks!

[@EllieReagan]

Jessica is one of my favs, and SFTD is one of my fav albums. This video is a major win 👏🏼

[@rootvalue]

You did great work replicating the sound. Thanks for sharing.

[@William.Driscoll]

Lamb of God's 'Ashes of the Wake' was recorded with separate takes [Drums; Cymbals], as well, if memory serves. Great video. Drummer: Great to see your playing! Electrifying vibe & skill. That looks like a lot of fun. Have a great season. Keep it up, guys.

[@jgerman5544]

I like how Jessica said, 'F those electric drums' and just killed it using nothing but air. Nice work. I would like to know more about your signal chains on the way in.

[@delikatus]

Fantastic video about the surprising origin of a fascinating sound!

[@MattKeenanMusic]

it's a sick enough drum part to play "properly", but to play the elements separately like she's done here seems like a right headfuck. great work Jessica!

[@neolyth]

loved this, fantastic sound

[@GuidoGautsch]

Nailed it! Great job, team 🎵💀🥁

[@PuremixAudioTutorials]

nailed it!

[@blutos]

haha that now-deleted Eric Valentine video is one of the greatest moments ever of "fuck it, I'll tell you everything, even if the band hate it"

[@kevincollins2761]

it was fantastic. kinda pissed they made him take it down. even if you’re not trying to copy or fully replicate the sound it’s just cool to know how it was done.

[@User-jk8wq]

Someone’s reuploaded it lol

[@MultiFreddy34]

@@User-jk8wqcan you point me to the link plz?

[@BrandonMobley614]

Of course Dave Grohl is one of the most unique drummers in rock music history, no matter how much he will downplay the fact. That being said, the sound of the drums in the album have lived rent free in my head since 2002. I absolutely love the breakdown of how each mic, whether pretty standard or unique, add to the overall sound. Great playing by Jessica, as always.

[@grahamburgess6163]

Solid drumming great job!!!

[@celam1244]

This drummer is fantastic! I love how hard she hits

[@KesslerMickschGeorgeII]

One of the best EQ magazine articles ever is on Eric V from around 2012. They talked about this drum recording

[@joermnyc]

Could you do the drum sound from “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop… I’m not sure if I’m hearing a floor tom or a really differently set up kick drum doing the low parts… unless the drummer had 4 arms.

[@johnrodems6360]

Thanks @Reverb I love Dave Grohl monster sound he’s got this kick drive it’s John Bonham punk grooves

[@ChrisHopkinsBass]

This is an evolved version of what Mutt Lange did with the drums on "Pyromania" - the main drums are electronic (sampled and sequenced with a Fairlight CMI) and the hats/cymbals are played "live" by Rick Allen as overdubs.

[@SteakMusic]

I love this series!

[@ufox77]

Great tip with the snare flaps!

[@flyinggondolaproductions]

I knew the secret before this! Thanks to Dave and Josh sharing it in Modern Drummer

[@emphatic001]

This is such a cool series.

[@everpuremusic]

Alas, no sample pack from these amazing, direct, punchy drum sounds - would have been great to get these, just like from your other videos. :)

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Nice!

[@HIVELESSB]

Are you guys gonna make a sample pack of these drums??? I would love that!

[@localgems]

Wow. Incredible. Thank you both! Is the drum sample pack still available? I don't see it on the link provided. Thank you Reverb! @reverb

[@boing844]

Awesome video! Please do one for The Police, Stewart Copeland is incredible

[@thomasgauntt]

why do they keep cutting away from the drum cam as soon as the tom hertas come in? that’s the coolest bit to watch

[@kurdtjohn]

Completely nailed it.

[@tapeexperiments]

Fantastic!

[@artwerkmedia8616]

She’s really good and tight to be able to record the cymbals after!

[@justincarrico1261]

She's such a beast, those hertas are no joke.

[@joefx69]

Those headphones/mic add so much to the sound

[@garrettboomerbender]

You mad lads finally did it

[@Paulshaggy]

Wow you guys are professionals! Would be also cool to hear how it sounds when you just record everything in regular way and then compare

[@tdrum21]

Whole album has awesome drum sound, one of my favorites of theirs

[@EddieG1888]

Fantastic job by the drummer in this video, pretty much replicated Dave's drum track exactly!

[@brentwilliams6890]

Great video. Very well explained, especially regarding the mic techniques and drum dampening. Great playing too... But... The seperate drums and cymbal takes are not really a secret and it's not a new technique. It's certainly not Eric V's idea, and I thought it was ridiculous when I heard they got him to take his "how to" video down. Lots of drums recorded in British studios in the 1980's were recorded like this. I think Geoff Emerick might have got Ringo to do it (a vastly underrated drummer). I've done it too, on occasions when I had the luxury of time. Loud percussion (and other instruments) are often recorded separately in orchestral recordings. The REAL secret, or trick is to get drummers to actually agree to do it. Many drummers refuse to even attempt it, and some who try it have so much trouble with it that they give up. It's not an easy thing to do by any stretch, and it's a real testament to Grohl's skill. I often try to explain to musicians (this is all instrumentalists, not just drummers) that recording music for reproduction on a playback system is unnatural, and NOTHING LIKE PLAYING LIVE. The temporal displacement between performance and listening (playback) is just one difference. Trying to get coax something that sounds like a whole band, or even a solo performer, out of little cones made of paper attached to voice coils moving back and forth in magnetic fields is another. It's a wonder it works at all, really!

[@gratao25]

Really cool video! Eric Valentine said he put eletronic drum cymbals for dave to play while recording the shells so they could hear it and not feel weird I don't know if they put eletronic drum pads while recording the cymbasl as well, but it's pretty possible m

[@EthanRom]

You could just put a practice pad so that the drummer is still hitting something

[@OverdriveMusic]

Legendary!

[@nickjones252]

The first ever recordings of music I ever did involved using a pair of headphones - I didn't own a mic in those days!!!

[@imcharming4808]

Jessica is a legend already :)

[@ricksanchez6449]

This Is gold

[@iananderson12796]

It must be so weird playing only half the kit like that. Jessica is a pro!

[@mattryan6886]

QOTSA for songs for the deaf drum sound in studio they would record the drums and cymbals separately. Dave would play the drums with deadened plastic practice cymbals and then record just the cymbals with very muffled practice pads. It’s a major pain in the ass that way however the end product sounds phenomenal!!! It’s one of those albums I can listen all the way start to end with out skipping any songs……

[@cannadineboxill-harris2983]

Hi There this is Mr C. T. Boxill-Harris, I was wondering if they need to do the exact same version of Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime, why don’t they just Replace the Synthesiser String Sound to an Musette Accordion sound, and also Replace the Xylophone Sound to an 4 Times More Deeper Chime Bell or Even a 5 Times More Deeper Still Drum Sound, Because it is Still my Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Favourite Song Ever Since I was about 11 Years of Age Thank You 😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏👏😅👍😉👍😉👏😅👍😉👍😉👏👏😉👍😉👏😅👍😉👍😉👏👏

[@michaelscuderi3074]

Headphones routed to the input of a DI? Didn’t know it would work in reverse without being reqired

[@RUGBYmusic]

Anyone have a good guess how they processed the cymbals? That’s always been my question and they skipped over it! I know he said they are dry sounding but still curious what the chain is.

[@sentriesband]

So now I know where Dave got the seperate cymbals idea for Subterranean

[@andercert70]

This is weird, because they're not my favorite band, but I was just sitting here trying to think what had a different enough drum sound for you to tackle at this point, and Dave Matthew's Band came to mind. I call it the sound of Mtv Unplugged. It's that point in time when a more natural drum sound started to come into vogue, and DMB is just the first of example I remember noticing. I guess if I'd pick a specific song, I'd say, "What Would You Say." Listening to it now, it really only just more natural than the 80s sound. It sounds live in the open air, but a closer listen reveals that it's highly processed.

[@alexnoble1604]

I read an interview in a drum magazine that talked about how they recorded the cymbals separately from the drums and it was difficult to learn the parts separately. I had never heard about them having an electronic kit set up for them to hit? Is there a source that mentions it?

[@MrBobman360]

Eric Valentine had a video up on his channel talking about the process behind recording sftd and broke down the tacks specifically on no one knows.

[@JoseCruz-dd1qu]

It's true, I remember seeing a B&W picture of Dave with headphones and these thick translucent electronic cymbals with rubber padding on the edge (I think it's on the Songs for the Dead DVD)... I also remember reading/hearing that at one point Dave became quite frustrated with this recording technique because it was throwing him off.

[@bigrivermedia762]

I’m pretty sure Dave Grohl talked about it in a Modern Drummer interview from around 2004 when the Probot album came out.

[@alexnoble1604]

Thanks everyone

[@cedarandsound]

This is what makes recording more of a science than live performance.

[@danemcneill324]

you should do a joy division drum sound video!!

[@maxmatson1578]

Everybody talks about Dave Grohl's drumming on the Queens of the Stone age album, but literally around the same time he did the drums for killing joke's self-titled (2003) album..Now that I would love to hear more about!?

[@PrisonTorture34]

Which studio is this? Looks familiar thx

[@zenguitar65]

This sample pack is not included in the link you have provided. Am I missing something?

[@nicolassarabia1774]

She recorded the cymbals with in-ear system to heard the previous tracks?

[@levilleneuve]

Did you do In Utero yet?

[@Creativecoverz]

YEAHHHHH

[@brentmydland5176]

Anyone else hear a bunch of phase cancellation when he adds the headphones taped to the snare to the regular snare mic around 635?

[@harrymix]

Afaik, Scorpions' Herman Rarebell did 'Love At First Sting' like this too.

[@DougBrito]

🥁🥁🥁🥁❤️❤️❤️❤️👊👊👊👊 this is nice!!!

[@wyrlismike]

I know it's not considered a great sound but I'd like to see a video on the stooges raw power, that'd be cool

[@angeloboltini]

Looks like the sample pack is missing. Could you re-upload please?

[@notelos8187]

did the samples get taken down? they're not on the list linked.

[@gustavoberocan]

In the future there will be a robot mimicking all the drummer’s moviments in a parallel room to make this whole process easier.

[@ddemulling9722]

Jessica is a killer drummer!

[@ryanthomas5507]

🔥

[@jeffjefferson8137]

did they do this on every song on the album?

[@rafaelallenblock]

You should do the drum sounds by Grohl on Killing Joke's album next.

[@voodoochili12]

I'd love for you to do Weezer's Blue Album!

[@user-yg7bd3yf9c]

سلام عليكم هل يمكنني الحصول على المنتج في المملكة العربية السعودية الرياض peavey special 112 USA 500wth

[@andrews1318]

you talk with Josh about this ?

[@stephencarlson7297]

Ayo!

[@malachisanders6884]

i love it. what about one by one foo fighters

[@M.Holland]

I’m a musician and producer. My very first EP was recorded with the cymbals extra. Sounded great. But we had a lot more room sound. We didn’t like it that “dead”. As a producer I like the thinking. I recorded Metal EP just a few weeks ago like that. Works great.

[@2010georgian1]

It sounds ok, definitely there is a lot of Hi Freq Added..

[@abzesxx009]

and the samples?

[@benjaminfowler4513]

Is that the same girl from the rob scallon videos?

[@somegingerdude8110]

Yep

[@yoyolebatteur]

They did it again for Villains (without Eric Valentine).

[@CableWrestler]

My favourite part was where she played the invisible crash

[@tutubeos]

Dave Grohl used this method to record also some of the FF songs.