Drums recording

I recently bought an audio interface to do some drum recording and ran into problems quickly regarding inputs and outputs (buses) as well as other techniques to make your drums sound good. Here is my research and I hope it helps you.

I'm using a Focusrite Scarelett 18i20, 8 preamps as well as Cubase software.

Setting up the mics

This tutorial works for people using Cubase. It is pretty easy to set up with any good audio interface. Add mono buses (depending on how many preamps you have) and for input and stereo for output.



Jimmy Rainsford shared some great tips for setting up the drum mics such as making sure that the both the L and R overheads are placed equidistant from the drumset to avoid phasing issues (where the sound travel faster from one overheads and the other lags behind which makes it sound really weird).




Make sure you do proper tuning. Good instrument + tuning = Good sound.


My tips which might help you or not

1) Remember to enable clicking if you are recording a track. Sometimes you might get a little excited and speed up a little.
2) Remember to check the record option. I end up realizing I haven't record a track (The L overheads) and end up having to redo the track again.
3) The stacked recording function in Cubase is pretty sweet. I tend to break up my recording when there is a pause in the song. (1 bar or something) I get a little nervous when the record better is on so the stacked function allows multiple tracks and you can go back to choose the best take.




4) If there are no sound coming out from your monitors, be sure to reset you Scarlett MixControl to factory setting.


Post production.

Jimmy covered the condensed version of post production in Pro Tools but the same thing applies to Cubase as well. It is basically the same theory but using different softwares. (Jimmy is using Pro Tools)



Things to take note:
1) EQ
2) Gate
3) Normalize ( You might want to get your drums to sound louder if the recording is a little soft)
4) Compression
5) Roomworks so that the sound doesn't sound too dry. ( Basically adding air to your track - there are some presets such as Hall, Room and so on)

Export your tracks and you're done. If it's your first time recording doing multi track recording, you ill definitely run into technical issues, just got to learn to problem solve! Hope my tutorial helps.

Gospel drumming

Really well structured drum lesson with Larnell Lewis. It is a little lengthy but totally worth it. If you're into gospel drumming like me, this really helped. Tightness, groove and ever so subtle taps.

Drumeo has got a lot of good stuff going on so check them out too. I applaud Jared Falk for his effort in helping the drumming community by providing a lot of drum lessons with professional drummers. Great tips, advice, demonstration and explanation.

Learn to march

Free sheet music provided. I used to hear this marching piece every week in school when the percussionist in military band practices. Really cool song to play!

Chop Of The Day

 One of the best chop builders on Youtube. Fresh videos each week, showing how the chop is played in actual tempo, slowed down and applied in a groove. If you are thinking of picking up some chops, visit DKdrumSpecialized on Youtube Channel. Pretty tight and sick chops going on.

Regular updates on his channel as well. I really appreciate Youtube Drummers who give back to the community by offering free drum lessons as many of the aspiring drummers out there may not have the ability to afford paying for drum lessons.

Go drummers!

Chris Dave

My current favourite drummer. Really love his groove! Check out his moves towards the end of Medley 2. Very sick hand and leg techniques!

Be sure to check out Chris Dave's mixtapes on his website.

Biography from Chris's website.
“Chris Dave is probably the most dangerous drummer alive. He is totally reinventing just what you can do with drums.” – ?uestlove Chris Dave has been around the world and back playing for and recording with some of music’s most established and iconic artists including: Adele, Maxwell, D’Angelo, Beyoncé , Kenny Garrett, Terrence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheny, Donald Brown, MF Doom, Bilal, Lupe Fiasco, Me’shell N’Degeocello, Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, Sonny Rollins, the Robert Glasper Trio/Experiment, Pharoahe Monche, TLC, Toni Braxton, Kevin Mahogany, Kim Burrell, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Common, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, A Tribe Called Quest, Mint Condition (Janet Jackson World Tour), Michelle Williams, Dianne Reeves, Sa Ra, Geri Allen, Yolanda Adams, Soulful Symphony, Reginald Veal and more.

Born in Houston, Texas, drummer Chris Dave, also known as Chris “Daddy” Dave, began his music career in the late 1980s. Chris Dave is one of the most revered and in demand musicians of his generation. His eccentric approach to the drum set and his ability to adapt to any musical setting, whether jazz, hip-hop or R&B, has put him in a category of his own.

Chris Dave got his start, like many musicians, playing in church. Although gospel music was an important facilitator of Chris Dave’s early style development, he credits jazz music as his strongest influence. As a teenager, he was exposed to jazz legends like Miles and Coltrane when listening to music with his father. Chris Dave blossomed on the drums, eventually graduating from Houston’s prestigious High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

He studied at Howard University in Washington D.C. where he met acclaimed producers and former Prince associates Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Through this relationship, Chris Dave began working with R&B band Mint Condition and the rest as they say, is history. As the 1990s came to an end and the 2000s began, Chris Dave’s assent as one of the greatest drummers in the world began to take shape.

His open interpretations of rhythm and his ability to conform to each musical setting differently led to many new opportunities and platforms for Chris Dave to show his evolution to the world. Recent projects include his contribution as the featured drummer on Adele’s Grammy nominated album 21 and Maxwell’s Grammy winning album BLACKsummers’night. Many of the world’s touted geniuses and great thinkers have experienced a time when their work and ideas flourished. For Chris Dave, that time is now. With the proven track record that spans over a variety of genres, the 90s to the present mark a time where Chris Dave has redefined the role of the modern drummer. He has taken his unique approach to production, tweaked it and applied it to the drum kit, creating an original sound that no other drummer can claim.

Inverted double stroke

Dave Elitch teaches how to work on a inverted double stroke. Super cool fill and groove.