Need suggestions for *cheap* percussion for acoustic song

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damianhk

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I've heard of people beating on phonebooks, boxes, pans, etc. I usually program with pc drummer with real drum samples. For this song, it's not going to work. I'm hearing lots of hits, and i don't think programming will do it justice. I'm not a drummer, but on this beat, i think there are 12 notes in a measure with the kicks on 1,4 and the snares on 7,10; basically. Have you tapped on anything to back up an acoustic track? Something cheap:)
 
I recently tapped my foot a la Clapton Unplugged on an acoustic track. Worked great!

Mic like you normally would, then crank the lower frequencies. Hopefully your mic picks up at least 50hz, so it has that deeper thump/stomp.

I've liked some street music I've seen in person and on youtube, using plastic paint cans (5 gallon) and such.
 
An old leather suitcase - used by many old blues guys. A band out of Connecticut I've seen uses a plastic toolbox filled with stuff - pick it up and drop it, or shake it around.
 
Seems like i heard a toolbox somewhere,; can't remember. Good suggestions. I'm gonna ask around for a suitcase and bucket, or buy 5 gallons of pickles:)
 
One of those round cans of Quaker Oats...you tune the sound by how much oats are in the can.
 
mjbphotos said:
An old leather suitcase - used by many old blues guys. A band out of Connecticut I've seen uses a plastic toolbox filled with stuff - pick it up and drop it, or shake it around.
Click to expand...


Yes a suit case is great as a kick (don't let Greg get wind that I said this - I'll try to find the thread ).
And a tambourine set on a hard floor stomped with your foot makes a great snare.

OR You should look into purchasing a cajon - you'll never look back.
 
You do need a kick pedal with the suit case though. That's an added cost.
 
Castrated roosters are good too! If your doing hip hop. ;)
 
moresound said:
Yes a suit case is great as a kick (I'll try to find the thread ).
Click to expand...
The thread was a classic of the genre !

But the OP asks a bizarre question. Use anything that can be hit and decide for yourself which sounds you like.
 
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I've used numerous things for percussion. The back of a guitar or ukulele on your lap can sound quite good mic'd up. If you can hit it and see, stick a mic in front of it and try :thumbs up:

Same with shakers, rice in a small tin or box. Or small nails/pins. Use your imagination.
 
Baseball bat on the sofa-the biggest deadest kick drum,cast iron frying pans,brake drums.Look up drum line competitions online.they use all kinds of found percussion
 
They used to use the hiss of a spray can as a sort of high hat sound. Maybe not the most ecofriendly...

There was a band called Doo Rag back in the 90s used a empty beer bottle case for a "kick" and had a tape reel on top of an overturned bushel basket as a snare/cymbal thing.

I agree to just hit it and see. Don't be afraid to pitch shift things, too.
 
ashcat_lt said:
They used to use the hiss of a spray can as a sort of high hat sound. Maybe not the most ecofriendly...
Click to expand...
A few years back, my mate and I were about to record a piece {I was on bass, him on drums} and we got into this little jam that I thought sounded quite cute so with my feet, I hit record and play on my portastudio and we caught about 2 minutes of a piece. Then my wife came in from work and walked right into the room we were recording in {in the days before the kids came along their room was my studio !} and we all laughed and spoke then my mate and I went into this spontaneous bit for about a minute where we doodled about with percussion. Then we decided to overlay more random percussion, just playing found objects while I chanted "They went this way and that way...." to the rhythm in a fake Nigerian accent. As we added more and more, I got the idea to spray something in an aerosol can as part of the rhythm. I think it was flykiller. Anyway, it took about 5 takes of that before I was happy with the spray, by which time, the two of us nearly suffocated ! Talk about suffering for your art ! In the end, I quite liked the song, it was really off the wall with my wife, the percussion, the flykiller and all {it ended up being the first song I ever used a VSTi on, a neat sax sample} and we never did get around to recording the song we were meant to do.
 
I've been wanting to try this:
Make a "stomper" framing an old license plate and wire a bass pickup underneath it. Of coarse you'd have to amplify it though.
 
darscuzlo said:
I've been wanting to try this:
Make a "stomper" framing an old license plate and wire a bass pickup underneath it. Of coarse you'd have to amplify it though.
Click to expand...
A variation of this is to hit the strings of a bass against the fretboard with foot or fist, with the treble up all the way and all the bass down.
Sounds wicked, depending on how loud you set the volumes on the bass, amp and recorder.
 
There's a limitless supply of things you can beat on. I met a guy several years ago who was a percussionist--he had a duffle bag full of all sorts of stuff. His favorite at the time was a length of rubber hose, he'd spin it over his head and adjust the pitch by lengthening the section of hose he was spinning.
 
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