Just throwing this out there......

When you record drums, in general, do you prefer to:

  • Trigger/Sample

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • Use Real Drums

    Votes: 25 92.6%
  • Total voters
    27
F

fivesixonesk8er

New member
I have been recently getting back to checking out these forums, and noticing ALOT of triggering and sampling questions here in the "Drums and Percussion" Fourm.....

I guess I just have an old school mentality when it comes to recording and mixing..... When I first started on these forums, it was all mic'ing techniques and processing questions, to now triggering (which in my opinion is kind-of cheating)


Anyones thoughts??
 
I like the process of miking real drums and the work involved in getting good sounds. Any dipshit can trigger and sample. Many will argue that "the sound is all that matters" and they'd have a point, but for me, nothing beats the real thing. To use triggers, you have to play the kit anyway, so record it.
 
Real drums all the way.

EDIT: I'll add that on a couple of occasions I've mixed in a kick sample with the real kick, but only after trying my darndest to get the best sound out of the real drum itself.
 
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fivesixonesk8er said:
I have been recently getting back to checking out these forums, and noticing ALOT of triggering and sampling questions here in the "Drums and Percussion" Fourm.....

I guess I just have an old school mentality when it comes to recording and mixing..... When I first started on these forums, it was all mic'ing techniques and processing questions, to now triggering (which in my opinion is kind-of cheating)


Anyones thoughts??
Click to expand...

i'm with you 100%.
 
As a drummer, I certainly prefer the use of real drums. As an engineer however, it completely depends onb the music being recorded and the intended sound and goal. I would however rather use programmed beats and loops from the get go then sit there and drum replace an entire drummers kit. But, sometimes what needs to be done just needs to be done.
 
I would love to record/play real drums, but I don't have a proper space for it. And on top of that I am a guitarist, not a drummer (but I would love to learn if I had a set).

So I use Superior Drummer which probably gets me better results than if I attempted to mic a kit myself.
 
As a long time drummer....I prefer to mic acoustic drums....and when I am hired on sessions in "real" studios I bring one of my acoustic kits (although I get fewer and fewer calls these days).

Ironically, in my home studio (which is in my condo) I do not have an ideal space to record acoustic drums...so I use e-drums/samples (I also tend to use amp simulations for recording guitar...but that's a topic for a different forum).

I sometimes regret that my very nice maple kit and my beloved birch kit (not to mention numerous snares and dozens of various cymbals) are not getting used much........but one must adapt to one's suroundings.
 
No one likes a cheater

I am really not a fan of sampling drums...I think that taking the time to physically set up, EQ, compress, gate, yadda yadda yadda all your acoustic drums AND have them sound good in the mix is an accomplishment in the skill level of aspiring engineers. Knowing how things work is 3/4 of the work in recording.

Also, I'm against sampling because I knew a kid in a local (unfortunately rather popular) pop punk band who bragged up and down about his band's new CD and how well it was recorded. Well, turns out that he recorded dry guitar and bass tracks into Cubase, Dry vocals, and did it all based off of a click track. He sent the songs to a studio where the guy added in ALL plugins (GuitarRig, vocal stuff, you know...) and did samples on drums for the ENTIRE CD. Long story short...their drummer didn't play a SINGLE hit on the entire album. Not cool, especially when you're cocky about "how well you recorded it," when in reality you did next to no work on it. It's just not cool.
 
Y'see it's like this.......

Because of the character of the music that we play, it's important that we use real instruments. That doesn't mean that we don't use FX and distortion on the melodic instruments, but it's important to us all that we hear what's happening when it's happening and knowing that all of the notes (no matter how imperfect) were made by us on the actual instruments. Since I handle most of the recording, I may add and enhance an individual track just a bit, but only to bring out the optimum sound that the musician wanted. I may have to EQ the percussion a bit and add reverb, but that's about it.

We also prefer to record in a live session. If we overdub it will be to add another instrument that one of us plays to add flavor to the track. I like what happens when we all play together. I personally feel that there is a better energy to the piece. We get some bleed, but it is preferable to my ears to a solely isolated overdub.

This is a "different strokes" kind of thing. I know many really good musicians and groups that will employ loops and triggers and programmed performances, but that is definitely NOT what we are all about.
 
I look at triggers and samples as another tool to add to the engineer's/ producer's arsenal. I would never limit myself from using anything that would help me achieve a certain sound, whether it is eq, mics, compression, FX, or whatever. In the same sense, I would never lock myself into believing there is only one way to do something. What works for one song, doesn't necessarily work for the next. For this reason, I didn't vote on the poll...
 
Another reason I prefer to use real drums is to show the drummer how they REALLY play....

If you sample everything on a recording, the drummer isn't learning anything about dynamics and stick control.....
 
I prefer to use real drums when recording.

I prefer to use e-drums when playing live in the nightclubs. Here's why...

Most of the local soundmen in my area suck pond scum when it comes to getting drums sounding good OR their PA is inadequate. I want a big fat drum sound when I play live. I have learned how to get that over the years, but I refuse to walk up there and dial it in for them every damn show.

Now I just turn on the module, tell them to leave the drum channel EQs flat and just go with it. Hey, at least it gets me a little closer.
 
There's only 2 reasons I would ever use triggers:

1. To create, achieve or get a sound I could not get from conventional percussion or percussion instruments I don't own.

2. If I was recording in an environment that prohibited the use of real drums or prevented real drums from being recorded properly.
 
RawDepth said:
I prefer to use real drums when recording.

I prefer to use e-drums when playing live in the nightclubs. Here's why...

Most of the local soundmen in my area suck pond scum when it comes to getting drums sounding good OR their PA is inadequate. I want a big fat drum sound when I play live. I have learned how to get that over the years, but I refuse to walk up there and dial it in for them every damn show.

Now I just turn on the module, tell them to leave the drum channel EQs flat and just go with it. Hey, at least it gets me a little closer.
Click to expand...

Yeah but nothing screams cheese like a set of E-Drums on a stage.
 
Greg_L said:
Yeah but nothing screams cheese like a set of E-Drums on a stage.
Click to expand...
Not many can tell. They are converted acoustic drums so they still look real from the front. The cymbals are real, only the drums are triggered.

In fact, I've had drummers approach me and ask what kind of mics I use. :D
 

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RawDepth said:
Not many can tell. They are converted acoustic drums so they still look real from the front. The cymbals are real, only the drums are triggered.

In fact, I've had drummers approach me and ask what kind of mics I use. :D
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I have to admit that is pretty slick.
 
RawDepth said:
Not many can tell. They are converted acoustic drums so they still look real from the front. The cymbals are real, only the drums are triggered.

In fact, I've had drummers approach me and ask what kind of mics I use. :D
Click to expand...

At least you're using your real metal because the e Drums can sound tolerable on the toms and kick, but even with the best of them, the cymbals suck. I don't like what most of the snares sound and feel like either.
 
Rimshot said:
At least you're using your real metal because the e Drums can sound tolerable on the toms and kick, but even with the best of them, the cymbals suck.
Click to expand...

This is true. The cymbals are a dead giveaway when listening to something recorded with E-drums or programmed samples.
 
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