Drum Machine Newbie

[Valley Arts Kid]

Not new to recording, but I am new to drum machines. I just picked up a DR670 and, frankly, am overwhelmed with the selection of drum sounds.

In creating a drum kit, I should simply let my ears guide my selection. But there are so many, my ears get numb after a while.

What is your method for choosing among multiple kicks, snares, etc?

 

[ssscientist]

Don't worry about picking or tweaking individual sounds yet.

Just pound out some cool shit and enjoy your purchase. It's a very good little machine and deep enough to spend a long time with and still have it surprise you.

Let your ears be your guide --- there are no other rules to know or guidelines to follow.


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[Boo Radley]

I run into this dilemma as well.

If you're not sure exactly what type of sound you're wanting, a good place to start might be to listen to a few bands you aspire to sound like, think are well produced, etc., and try to find matching drum sounds.

Limit yourself to five or ten sounds per each drum. If you can't find one within the five or ten, move on to another drum. For example, start off with the snare, and if you can't find something, move to the kick, then tom, etc.

Continue circling around until you find something that suits your tastes.

Brad