This post describes how to create your own multitrack drum kits by creating and layering samples from existing multitrack drum recordings. Despite the samples being sequenced, you’ll end up with separate, mixable tracks for each mic just like you would have from a live drum performance.
Samples are a reality of modern music production. Whether you’re recording a live band and need to augment a weak drum sound or you’re putting together a song that’s entirely created electronically, samples have become a indispensable tool for the producer. The most common application for samples is definitely percussion. One thing that kinda sucks about straight up samples is that they aren’t very flexible. With professionally recorded live drums you generally will have your choice of room, overhead, and close mic tracks with which to paint your the kit’s sound. A single sample is the equivalent of a single microphone - not too much to choose from. There ARE a big variety of sample packs available out there from hip hop kits to samples that mimic the feel and sound of live drums.
Despite the inherent limitations of standard sample packs, one of the coolest features of the more expensive ‘live’ packs is the ability to change the sound through the placement of virtual microphones in a virtual room inside the virtual instrument’s interface. I know the BFD series has this sort of flexibility. You can actually adjust the type and placement of things such as the rooms and overheads. Each of these virtual microphones can be mixed as if they were genuine tracks that you recorded into your DAW from micing an actual kit. But you don’t necessarily have to pay big bucks to get that kind of flexibility. Nor do you have to use someone else’s sounds. What I’d like to show you folks is how to roll your own multitrack drum kit with a virtual room track, virtual overhead track, and individual close mic tracks.
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