The below link is from an Aquarian Drumheads website Artist News post. eDrumSessions founder Shay Godwin, a Los Angeles session drummer, has been mentioned in a new book by Robin Frederick, former head of A&R at Rhino Records. Frederick’s book, “Shortcuts To Songwriting For Film And TV”, follows her bestseller “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting: 126 Proven Techniques for Writing Songs That Sell”. In the book, Frederick recommends that composers and songwriters use eDrumSessions.com for drum tracks that will raise the quality and professionalism of their music.
Read more on the Aquarian website.
Check out this short write-up from the January 2010 edition of Drum! magazine about Soultone Cymbals’ (whom I endorse) “Old School” Edition line. I have a couple of these and they sound earthy, dark, and lush.
In terms of recording, they translate very well. I have a 16″ crash that is like a fast burst of heat. They feel so good they inspire my playing as well. Any clients may request that I use these. The other one from this line that I have is a 20″ ride. My other Soultone cymbals sound great as well, of course. Enjoy!
http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/soultone-cymbals-go-old-school-for-2010/
“Encino, CA–based cymbal maker Soultone has just announced the addition of Old School™ Edition cymbals to its Vintage Series line of cymbals.
Developed in cooperation with Soultone’ roster of top drummers, percussionists and their own Turkish master craftsman, this new line is based on the classic cymbals of the 1950’s and 60’s. They offer a richer, darker signature sound, and a new EarthStroke™ natural finish with deeper lathing to provide a sweeter open tone for nearly any style of music.
In addition, the company worked with Jimmy Ford, Owner of Ford Drum Company, to help identify and recognize some specific tonal properties and timbre for this special addition to an already successful series.
Soultone Cymbals developed their own multi-stage treatment bath to produce the unique finish and for the Old School Edition as well.”
Drum Samples are quite commonly used these days. This is no surprise, as there are some good software packages out there such as BFD. This and other high-quality drum sample software features extensive sampling of a wide variety of drums, in different rooms, with different sticks/mallets/brushes. I did the brush samples for the BFD FXpansion and played a plethora of sweeps and hits.
So clearly there is no problem with the individual samples within such software. They are amazingly thorough in terms of capturing great drum sounds individually. The problem is that they are only useful in a compositional sense. They are not useful in terms of a good end result. Why? Because there is no natural flow, no matter how much time you spend putting all these samples together to sound like a real performance. And the listener can tell something is amiss, even if fooled that the succession of samples constitute a real drum performance.
If you really want your music to sound professional and not to sound “canned”, then you have to have custom drum tracks performed for your song.
Make no mistake, if you use drum samples instead of a professionally recorded session drummer you will severely limit your music’s potential. How do you accomplish this on a budget? The solution lies in the use of an online session drummer.
For years professional recordings were made only by those who had a large budget. Artists signed to major labels and those with investors were predominately the privileged ones who got record professionally.
The difference in sound between recordings made in a professional studio and demos made otherwise was always as chasmic as it is now.
However, with the advent of online recording studios has come a real “power to the people” type of situation. Now artists that don’t have huge budgets can get the professional studio recordings they need to make their music really stand out. This goes especially for drum tracks, as recording drums is the most complicated procedure requiring the most expertise.
Now artists don’t have to rent a room to record in, nor do most of the other work that used to be involved in obtaining pro drum tracks. One can now simply pay on online recording studio to track drums or other instruments, with no logistical fuss and huge budgetary requirements. Welcome to the revolution.
Custom Drum Tracks: Make the Right Choice
When going for custom drum tracks
online, you need to choose the most suitable drummer for your music.
This article is designed to help you make a good choice when seeking an online session drummer to record custom drum tracks for your music.
We will begin by discussing qualities you should look for in your session drummer.
A technical skill that most recording situations require in a studio drummer is the ability to play with a click track.
When a drum performance is nailed to the click, it makes editing much easier.
For example, if you have three takes of a song (all nailed to the click), you combine sections however you wish. You might want to use part of the first take, most of the second, and just the end of the third.
But the editing together of different takes to make the perfect custom drum track is mostly impossible if every take is not married to the click.
So for most situations the ability to play to a click is a necessary starting point, but much more is required. Some online session drummers may play accurately to a click, yet lack groove, feel, energy, and dynamics.
Avoid the multitudes of online session drummers are able to play accurately with the click, but sound utterly robotic while doing so. You do not want your custom drum tracks to be lacking musically, even if they are done technically well. Even worse is the phenomenon of drummers “chasing” the click, or constantly adjusting to stay with it rather that locking with it groovingly.
Now that we have covered the technical prerequisite of being able to nail a click track, I can talk about more musical concerns.
Musicality is what makes custom drum tracks great. What exactly constitutes musicality? This varies between songs and, of course, styles of music.
It is essential that your online session drummer plays with the proper “touch” for your music. For example, if your song is in the style of Antonio Carlos Jobim, merely playing a bossa nova pattern is not enough. The session drummer would need to have a “lightness” to his approach, similar to the way a Brazillian drumset player would play. By the same token, if your song is in the style of Nirvana then the drummer must be able to bash those drums Grohl style.
Energy is also very important. Some custom drum tracks sound like the session drummer is just “phoning it in”, or “going through the motions”. The right energy and the proper vibe has to be conveyed from the start of the drum track and must build as the song progresses, moving naturally in the direction of the music.
The online studio drummer you choose needs to lead the dynamics, energy, and vibe throughout the song.
Another important musical factor is that the session drummer must come up with parts that makes sense in relation to what the other instruments and vocals are doing. While drum part doesn’t necessarily need to “mimic” the bass part, it certainly must be in the flow, and not going against the grain.
The drums must never step on the vocals.
Musical session drummers know when to give vocals space. Likewise, they know when to reinforce certain vocal rhythms. Of course, if busy and technical playing is musically appropriate, then you need a session drummer that can bring those fireworks.
The bottom line is that a session drummer must serve the music.
Lastly, when you get custom drum tracks online you want to make sure to hire a drummer who is totally open to instruction, yet able to come up with ideas. You may not always have a specific part in mind, so you want be able to trust the session drummer to come up a good part on his own. If you do have a very specific part in mind, the session drummer must be able to give you exactly that part for your custom drum tracks.
In this situation you may want to send the online session drummer a chart. If you have charts make sure you hire a drummer who reads! Many do not, even those who play well.
This article should help you choose an online session drummer who will provide you with custom drum tracks that are grooving, dynamic, and energetic.
Best wishes for you and your music!
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