It’s a question as old as recording itself. Engineers and artists alike all know the struggle, but the answer is really quite simple. What’s the key to great drum sounds on recording? The room.
Nowadays, its incredibly common for bands and artists to make records in the comfort of their own homes, as technology becomes more and more accessible: Guitar amp modeling, drum programming, and drum sampling. These are great tools for musicians on a budget, but can be overall detrimental to the quality of your recording. Nothing comes close to a great drummer playing in a beautiful sounding room, recorded through professional mics and preamps. It can literally make or break your recording. As acclaimed mix engineer Chris Lord-Alge himself says, behind the lead vocal, the most important elements of your mix are kick and snare drum.
For the last 15 years, the live room at Buzzlounge has been passed down through a number of notable engineers, and has made some beautiful drum recordings in the process, including, but not limited to:
Circa Survive – Juturna
Boys Like Girls – Boys Like Girls
All Time Low – So Wrong, It’s Right
Thrice – The Artist In The Ambulance
Now you can have great drum sounds on your recordings, no matter where you are in the world. The beautiful thing about music technology in the 21st century is that there are no restrictions when it comes to where your music is made. With the drum recording services at Buzzlounge, you can send us the tracks you’ve recorded at home or at another studio, and we can match your project with any one of the drummers on our short list of session players. For a flat, per-song rate, you will get professionally recorded and performed drum tracks, ready to be mixed right into your session. Check out our full list of drum equipment right here: Its a far more cost effective option than booking a studio for an hourly rate, hiring a drummer, and traveling to the studio. Enjoy a flat project rate, and get exactly what you want.
Take a listen to some sample recordings, recorded at Buzzlounge, recorded and mixed by engineer Eric Taft:
Still don’t believe the importance of your room? Check out these samples:
This first track is the drum mix with room mics.
This second track is the same drum mix, with the room mics muted.
Not as “alive” as the first sample, huh?
If you’re interested in having live drums recorded at Buzzlounge, tailored specifically for your project, contact us here!