Whether it’s for managing recording disasters or supercharging existing sounds, replacing or layering up drum sounds is yet another DAW technique that keeps on giving. Here we round up reasons to fly in new sounds and some ways to do it.
How To Get Easy Hybrid Drum Sounds Fast With EZdrummer 3
With layered acoustic and electronic sounds a great way to supercharge any drum part, up until recently getting those could be clunky. We show you how to get fast, streamlined results in just a few moves.
Getting Great Drum Sounds With LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven Professional
LiquidSonics make a number of audio plugin reverbs for realistic rooms. We take a look at using their modern take on classic reverb hardware for drums, and why two of its controls especially could make it a secret weapon for drum ambiences to inspire.
How To Revive Bad Sounding Snare Drums
Many engineers will have been faced with snare drum recordings that are far from ideal. Whether it’s a self-recorded session from the artist, or a time-poor studio recording, here Luke shows some fast go-to methods to revive snare drums’ sounds, using what’s already there.
How Snare Sounds Have Changed In 50 Years Of Music Production
As sounds go, apart from the voice, the snare drum is one of those things that can help tell you whether you’re listening to Sinatra or James Brown. Its recorded presence has changed enormously through different eras. Here we take a look at the sounds behind the music.
5 Of The Best Drum Replacement Plugins
Whether you’re looking to swap out a badly recorded kit, get creative with your percussive layering, or capture a ruthlessly consistent modern metal sound, a drum replacement plugin gives you the means by which to do it. Here are five of the best, each one coming at the titular concept from its own unique angle.
Recording Drums - When To Do More, And When Not To
Recording drums offers so many possibilities compared to many other instruments that it can be tempting to do too much. A less is more approach can often yield better results but if your drum sound needs some help we’ve never had more help available than we do today.
How To Get The Right Drum Part Using Toontrack EZdrummer 3
Drum VIs can land with tonnes of expertly played MIDI, but marrying that to the song is another story. One solution out there can get the part right for composers who don’t know where to start. We show you how to get the best out of it…
Real Drums Or VI? From A Drummer's Perspective
As drum virtual instruments fast approach parity with the real thing, increasingly acoustic drums can be justifiably left in their cases. Here Luke talks about what each can bring and why even now, the decision on which to use still isn’t clear cut.
Three Ways To Get More Snare In Your Overheads
With a more natural snare drum sound to be had in the overhead mics, trying to bring it forward from cymbals and other elements in the mics can be a challenge. Here we share three ways to get away from close mic boredom.
How To Remove Reverb From Drums
Although drum recordings can be made almost anywhere, some rooms’ character can sound anything but pro in room mics and overheads. Here we share a technique to banish boxiness but keep a sense of space.
6 Essential Mic Types To Have In Your Studio
A well-chosen small set of mics for the studio can outlive some of the extravagant ones that can come and go. Here we list our six essential studio mics by type that we think deserve a place in your mic cupboard, and why you need them.
7 Tom-Tom Production Tips
There’s far more to the humble toms than merely serving as an occasional rhythmic condiment. Here are some things you can do to get more out of them and perhaps bring a new sense of percussive identity to your tracks in the process.
How To Get Believable Virtual Drum Sounds Fast With Handy Drums
Composers and engineers aren’t short on choices when it comes to virtual drummers, but some contain endless options. Here we ask what a song really needs and share some tips on choosing and using an instrument with some easy moves.
Using Nugen Aligner To Fix Phase Fast
Adding mics to drum kits can bring extra control or a larger than life sound for the mix, but many mics pointed at the same thing can throw up other challenges. Here we talk about those and one way to fix them quickly, easily, and cheaply.
Melda Production MDrumStrip - First Look
The ubiquitous channel strip plugin known to most occasionally comes in drum-shaped flavours. Going one further, we check out one solution that has a flavour for each drum. We put it to work to see what it can do.
Seven Plugins That Make My Mixes Easier
While some audio plugins get a slot in the mixer almost by default, others can save the day on those occasions where things need a specific, easy fix. Here Luke shares his seven tools for music that make his mixing life easier whatever the task.
Audient EVO SP8 -Tested
Following hot on the heels of Audient’s EVO 16 interface comes the company’s EVO SP8 mic preamp expander. Featuring its teammate’s Smartgain technology among other things, we expand our EVO rig to see how it does…
Why Would You Want Your Drums Less Punchy?
We hear so many references to ‘punchy’ drums, ‘attack’, ‘in your face’, ‘cut through the mix’, I could go on. However, in the same way as making everything loud is rarely a recipe for success, if sounds sometimes need to be made more punchy, doesn’t it also follow that you might want make punchy sounds a little softer sometimes?
3 Ways To Chop Up Pro Tools Audio For Use In GrooveCell
Pro Tools GrooveCell is the sample-based drum machine in Pro Tools that allows Pro Tools users to play back audio on pads and with the inbuilt sequencer. In this article, we give you three ways to chop up audio for use in GrooveCell and other sample players.