I LOVE to record drums. Give me a good drummer, a good drum kit and a half decent live room and I can usually capture an awesome drum sound. As head of production at Platinumloops I’m privileged to record lots of top class drummers and the highlight of the recording process is knowing that I’ve captured a killer drum sound.
It’s nice to have all the high end studio toys but in reality you simply don’t need them in order to produce excellent live drums. Listen to what George Martin achieved with 8 tracks of the Beatles and let’s not forget one of the most legendary drum sounds of all time from Led Zeppelins John Bonham (shown below) during the recording of ‘When the Levee Breaks’. Do you think these guys had 48 tracks of pristine digital audio to work with?
Not a chance. What you need most of all is a discerning pair of ears. Let your training commence.
This is where you need to start if you ever expect to make high quality recordings of a live drummer. Start by training your ears and learning what makes a good drum sound.
With that in mind I’ve put together a list (in no particular order) of recordings that captured excellent drum sounds, some of which have shaped modern production techniques and even musical genres. If you feel that I’ve missed something or if you have any better suggestions please leave a comment. If I agree with you I’ll gladly add your suggestion to the list to improve this article.
Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight
| Skip to 3.30 to get to the classic drum fill we all know and love.This is a truly iconic drum sound that shaped the sound of many hits from the 1980’s.By adding aggressive noise gates to the room mics they created a powerful ‘Gated Reverb’ effect that will forever be synonymous with Phil Collins.You’ll notice that there are no cymbals or hi-hats playing with the drums as that would have messed up the gating effect that works so well. |
Recorded in the Stone Room at Townhouse Two Studios in London, it’s fair to say that the drum sound captured in this recording gave rise to a whole wave of studios that built similar stone room setups in order to capture a more lively drum ambience for recordings.
So, if you want a drum sound like Phil Collins all you have to do is build a castle like structure, slap a high end drum kit in there and you’re golden.
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
| Not the most amazing drumming performance but it doesn’t have to be. The simplicity of the beat allows the sonic tone of the drums to shine through and this is what makes the song. If you listen to this on headphones you’ll be able to hear that the live room actually sounds pretty small which gives the drums a slightly ‘boxy’ sound. |
That ‘boxy’ sound isn’t normally that desirable but for this song it really works well. The snare is punchy, the kick is clear and pronounced with just enough ‘click’ to make it cut through the guitars and the floor tom gives us that essential thud that has a clear note which blends with the key of the song.
Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit
| From Dave Grohls opening salvo on the snare and kick fill it’s all about power. Grohl is well known for being a heavy hitter when the time is right and this recording by Butch Vig captures Grohls immense power and ‘balls out’ style of drumming that made Nirvana.The grunge era often used drum sounds that were more natural sounding and less ‘clicky’ when compared to heavy metal bands of that time. Butch Vig opted for a more ‘live’ drum sound that featured some bright room ambience and loads of compression. |
If you listen to the kick drum you’ll hear a very tight, muted sound that still sounds natural and not over EQ’d. The same goes for the snare drum. The cymbals are fairly quiet and the overall drum mix is all about the kick and snare. This makes for a very tight sounding recording with lots of impact. Grohl keeps it simple yet effective.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Can’t Stop
| Not my favourite Chili Peppers song but there’s no denying the top notch drum sound on this recording.As with most Chili Peppers songs Chad Smith uses a very bright ‘pingy’ snare drum with a high tuning and lots of resonance.This works well because their songs often use a fairly clean guitar sound so the mix has a lot of space. The kick is very dry and tight yet still natural sounding. The lack of room ambience on the kick drum makes it glue with the bass guitar to give a the band a really tight vibe. |
Soundgarden – The Day I tried to Live
| One of my favourite drum sounds of all time and almost 18 years later their newest album has pretty much the exact same drum sound. If it aint broke, don’t fix it.Not too dissimilar to the Chad Smith sound above, Matt Cameron loves to use a snare with a clear note that’s tuned fairly high. It’s such a distinctive snare sound you can spot a Soundgarden track as soon as you hear it. The overall drum sound has a good amount of room ambience which makes it sound more powerful and adds to the big ROCK vibe. |
Again, the kick is fairly muted with hardly any decay which gives us a tight sound. Matt Cameron likes to use plenty of toms, hi-hats and ride cymbal to emphasize accents so the producer is forced to opt for an open, natural sounding drum mix with plenty of mic bleed.
Led Zeppelin – When the Levee Breaks
| Arguably one of the most sampled drum breaks of all time this colossal drum sound is the stuff of legend.John Bonham was always known to be a heavy hitter, making his drums project a massive sound. Add to that a truly galactic room ambience that was reputedly created by placing a microphone in the stairwell of the studio building in which they recorded and you’ve got yourself a drum sound so massive it creates it’s own gravity. |
None of this would matter of course if they’d used a crappy drum kit and a lame drummer.
Firstly the snare drum is tuned very high and Bonham hits the sweet spot every time to produce that piercing crack. All drummers should learn how to hit a snare so that it produces that type of tone and resonance. Any self respecting rock drummer knows what I’m talking about although I’m often impressed with the versatility of jazz drummers who can produce a wealth of tones from a snare drum that range from gentle tickles to full on Bonham style bludgeonings that obliterate all coherent thought. Delightful.
The kick drum has a very natural tone with not too much click however you’ll instantly hear that this kick drum has lots of ambience when compared to the other kick drum sounds I’ve mentioned. My guess is that the mic used for the room ambience was featured heavily in the drum mix so that it washes over the entire drum sound. From the age of the recording it’s difficult to know how many recording tracks they had to work with so it’s possible that their tech limitations forced them to be more creative with what they could capture on tape.
This is such an immense drum sound that it wouldn’t work in all situations. There might be times when you’ll need a very dry, intimate drum sound that creates lots of space in your mix.
Zero 7 – I have Seen
| This drum sound gives you the exact opposite of the previous examples. Completely lacking in resonance and room ambience, this super dry and subtle drum sound works perfectly for this funky, modern soulful vibe. The muted drums offer infinite space for the incidental strings, electric piano and beautiful voice.This type of drum sound was made famous in the 1960′s and 1970′s as the sound of choice for soul and funk artists as well as many tunes of the disco era. This recording was made in 2001 so the production style is obviously retro and they’ve captured the vibe perfectly. |
The snare drum is tuned fairly low and is heavily dampened. The kick drum sounds like they used lots of internal dampening to reduce resonance and create a tight, focused thud. The only parts of the kit that project much character are the toms which still sound heavily dampened but have plenty of life for those all important fills.
If you produce this type of music I would recommend opting for this type of drum sound as sometimes less is more.
James Brown / Clyde Stubblefield – The Funky Drummer
| I’d say this drum break was probably as widely used as the John Bonham drum break mentioned above.Used by countless hip hop producers over the years it’s somewhat ‘played out’ as a sample but still a joy to hear.Performed by legendary drummer Clyde Stubblefield this groove is truly spectacular and would see even the most rhythmically challenged listener bust a move, such is it’s pure funk factor. |
Clydes technique is magical and the way he produces so many tones from one snare drum is inspirational. He uses a very tightly tuned, high pitched snare drum that really cuts through the mix and has a distinctive character.
The kick drum has almost no click and produces a stomping thud that produces lots of low end power when you crank up the speakers. This type of kick drum sound doesn’t work in rock music where it has to compete for space in the mix but for funk music it’s ideal.
To me the reverb you hear on the snare sounds like one of those vintage plate reverbs that were popular during that era. It doesn’t sound like a natural room ambience (though I might be wrong) but it does give a unique character to the drums that adds to its iconic sound.
Audioslave – Revelations
| This is pretty much my ideal snare drum sound for rock music.It wouldn’t work in all situations but for rock and heavy metal it really doesn’t get any better than this.Toms that sound natural but hugely powerful, a tight and concise kick drum that reinforces the groove with bright, trashy cymbals that don’t overload the mix. Just awesome. |
What really makes this drum sound superb is the room ambience. Most noticeable on the snare and toms it sounds like a medium sized room with lots of compression to fatten out the impact of those snare hits. Listen and learn folks.
What’s your favourite drum sound of all time?
If you have a worthy contribution to the list post a comment. If it rocks it gets added.
Thanks for reading.
Gavin Hardcastle
Platinumloops
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