acoustic drum samples

[PT]

Anyone know the best source for acoustic drum samples? I'm looking for more vintage sounds for rock music. Like a small Ludwig kit without a bunch of fancy micing technique. I know it's not a good substitute for real drums. but I'm trying to put together fully planned out demos before I record in a real studio.

I got NI's Battery with the Studio Drums CD. While I like the application a lot, I don't dig the snare sounds on any of the kits. They all seem to have this weird overtone and lack the snap I'm looking for. I sampled some snare hits from some records I like, to compare and maybe try to shape the Battery samples to taste. No luck. I'm simply looking for different source sounds.

I came across this site http://www.drums.sk/. It looks promising but the web site looks a little dodgy.

Let me know...

PT

[ahmedgarcia]

HammerHead for free or a MixMan DM2 I use these for demo drums samples

[Catoogie]

I'm pretty sure he asked for acoustic drum samples.

[tiger vomitt]

yeah the studio drums cd is kinda weird. the synthetic drums disc is awesome but totally not what youre looking for.

there's a lot of good stuff IMO on the original Battery cd, you didnt have any luck there? you can eq those snares, ya know..? (i had a lot of success with the "vinyl kit" i think it was)

other than that, i'd suggest grabbing an sm57 and a friend's snare drum and spend an afternoon with it.

[chickenbop]

Hi PT
I have found out after finding samples I actually liked(wizoo)that by the time I program the patterns it sounds dead-at least if you're doing rock music.I think alot of it has to do with the samples of cymbals not having the right type of "wash" and also things you're used to hearing on a real drumset-like snares slightly buzzing with each kick drum hit don't happen when you just program the drums.However,getting back to your question,wizoo has alot of drum samples you can listen to before you buy.You can also download the samples and pay with a credit card right then and there.I've found out though that I like discrete drums.I have the second edition.You can't program just what you want but you can cut up the drums in logic,etc. and speed them up or slow them down using your software's tempo.It's a lot more convincing to me.Also,it's 8 tracks like a real miked kit so you can make it sound small or big depending on how loud you make the room mics.I'm going to get the first edition next because I think it has more of a rock vibe(different patterns,bigger snares,etc.)

[@?,*???&?]

If you're trying to tell me that the sound of the drums is going to make or break the song on your demo, then you're not connecting with the fact that songs are a melody sung in time over chords. Give me an acoustic guitar and vocal and I'll know whether you have a song worth recording or not. All of the elements should be there in that simple structure.

Is the idea to have the drummer on the recording play the exact drum in the exact spot you put it in on the demo? Sounds like a pretty constrictive space to me...

[bobbydj]

A very difficult test to apply to Can's output. It probably would've resulted in nine tenths of their stuff not being recorded.

[PT]

If you're trying to tell me that the sound of the drums is going to make or break the song on your demo, then you're not connecting with the fact that songs are a melody sung in time over chords. Give me an acoustic guitar and vocal and I'll know whether you have a song worth recording or not. All of the elements should be there in that simple structure.

Is the idea to have the drummer on the recording play the exact drum in the exact spot you put it in on the demo? Sounds like a pretty constrictive space to me...

I totally understand that a good song will translate with an acoustic guitar and vocal. Let's just assume I have that part covered.

No, the idea is not to have a drummer play over the programmed drums. I would be starting from the ground up in a "real" studio. I want finnished sounding demos simply to save time and money. I want my session players (friends) to have a very clear direction of how I want the song to sound. So when the clock is ticking we can all just get to the point. Also, while all are killer musicians, my friends and I don't have a lot of time to rehearse. So if I can hand them a recording and say "Let's do this, but make it sound human", they can go to town.

So, yes, this is a bit of a pet peeve. It's not going to make or break anything. But I'm sure I can find some better sounding samples out there.

[PT]

yeah the studio drums cd is kinda weird. the synthetic drums disc is awesome but totally not what youre looking for.

there's a lot of good stuff IMO on the original Battery cd, you didnt have any luck there? you can eq those snares, ya know..? (i had a lot of success with the "vinyl kit" i think it was)

other than that, i'd suggest grabbing an sm57 and a friend's snare drum and spend an afternoon with it.

"Steveland's Vinyl"? I tried it but I'll check it out again. I just listened to the mp3 download on the NI site and maybe I can work with that snare.

I was thinking about using a real snare, maybe a tom or two. I could borrow some pieces of a kit and try it out on a Sunday afternoon.

PT

[PT]

Hi PT
....I think alot of it has to do with the samples of cymbals not having the right type of "wash" and also things you're used to hearing on a real drumset-like snares slightly buzzing with each kick drum hit don't happen when you just program the drums...

I hear you. Fake cymbals are hard to make sound right. But actually, I've had OK results with EQing. It's really just the snare sounds that I have, that aren't doing it for me. But like I mentioned in another post, I don't expect any of these sounds to replace real drums...just approximate.

Thanks for the recommendations.

[Dingo]

I have had great luck with layering samples for kick, snare, etc. I have found especially useful to do that with cymbals. Give it a shot. A rim shot that is. Sorry, my medication is failing.

[eh91311]

You sound like you have some specific requirements in mind for drum samples. You could try the Drumkit From Hell CD sampler, available from www.soundsonline.com. It has samples with and without room reverb and the samples are more natural-acoustic-drum sounding than most.

[PT]

I have had great luck with layering samples for kick, snare, etc. I have found especially useful to do that with cymbals. Give it a shot. A rim shot that is. Sorry, my medication is failing.

Yes, layering is key. Actually, Battery is really good at making layering simple. And I've done exactly this with cymbals for a more realistic wash.

One thing I suspect is going on is that all these samples are recorded dead-natural with very little coloration from the mics, let alone compressors, EQs and tape saturation. So I think it would help if I had a rudimentary knowledge of how to get certain drum sounds. For example, a lot of snares I'm into seem to not sound anything like a real drum anymore. It's more like a loud snap or a quick thunderclap. But even still, I can tell I don't have a source sample to tweak.

[percussion boy]

I understand you only need the *samples*, not the hardware to play 'em, but the Alesis D4 has several good snares and is pretty cheap nowadays. There's also some slight tonal variation depending how hard you hit the key.

[drew w]

the alesis sr-16 drum machine might be worth checking into. I have one and tho a lot of the sample are goofy...they're most all "live" acoustic drum samples...not casio style blips. some of them are pretty useful and there are dry sounds as well as the 90's reverb drenched stuff. if you have a sampler, the sr-16 will trigger it so you can layer your own samples to flesh out and customize the sr-16. New price about $200.
I use mine exactly as you describe your project and dig it.
Good luck...