Recording Drums

itzikmania

Junior Member
hey all
i'm trying to record me playing drums
but i want hip hop sound
i get an acoustic/rock sound
what i need to do to get more hip hop sound?
thanks a lot
 
I'm going to guess here and say:

Triggers?


I don't listen to much hip hop but I can honestly say I don't ever remember hearing any hip hop recordings that had a pure acoustic tone. Most of it is drum machines and samples. The only way I can think of to get even close with an acoustic kit is to use triggers.
 
Most of it is drum machines and samples. The only way I can think of to get even close with an acoustic kit is to use triggers.

Agreed. You could also do a lot with EQ, effects, overdubs, and chopping your grooves up into loops. I have a feeling there are forums on recording hip-hop music which would have tons of answers.
 
If you want some examples of classic ACOUSTIC hip-hop drum sounds without having to toy with triggering, check out The Roots. ?uestlove's sounds are all live. Although they may be looped on occasion, his grooves aren't built with a MIDI library and that'll give you a pretty good idea of how you'll need to tune.

The other factor, of course, is what drum gear you're using.
For a hip-hop/breakbeat feel, you'd want to go with a snare with a smaller depth, with a cranked tuning - be it wood, brass, steel, etc.
You'll want to dry out your ride cymbal slightly with tape on the underside and choke your hats slightly as well.
The bass drum is the roundest sound in the bunch so I'd suggest a virgin bass drum (no port on the front head.), tuned and treated to develop plenty of punch.
 
Back
Top