Drummers have it tough. They have the biggest, bulkiest, and, often, most expensive instruments in the band. They usually take the longest to set up and tear down. And on top of all of that, their instruments are one of the most difficult to properly record.
Nothing is worse than replacing every single one of your drum heads and lugging your kit all the way to the studio, only to walk out later with a dull, lifeless recording. There’s no punch to the kick, the snare is lacking clarity, and the toms sound like cardboard boxes. So what gives?
Maybe it’s the kit or the recording gear or the sound of the live room. But whatever the reason your recording didn't come out quite how you wanted, it doesn’t matter once recording's done—the priority now is figuring out how to fix what you have.
This is an excerpt from How to Use Drum Samples to Make Your Drum Recordings Sound Better featuring Smack Drum Samples, originally published by Reverb. Read the full version here.