Recording - May 2017 - 63

lower in pitch and with less crack than the snare function,
which operates as your back beat, or the two, with requisite
creativity. A hi-hat functions as a more constant rhythmic bed
in some even higher frequency, and subdivides your beat so
the listener stays in the groove. Cymbals are for annoying
producers, but you can get a reasonable simulation by
stepping on the cat.
Your thinking outside the box shouldn't stop there, though.
You don't necessarily need to simulate the functionality of a
drum kit. You can create a rhythmic bed that shirks that
convention, or you can use the other instruments in a production
to create the foundation and use percussion to add spice,
emphasis, and flavor. The main thing that's going to give your
production a feeling of legitimacy is doing things on purpose,
and spending the time to find unique and interesting sounds
that serve the purpose of the song.

Programmed drums

In Part 2 next month, we'll talk about creating cool rhythm tracks
with synths or computers, but it is worth mentioning now that you
may want to augment or support a mainly acoustic track with
something programmed. The most common and obvious version
of this is drum replacement, which happens a lot more than you
might think. Programs like WaveMachine Labs' Drumagog or
Slate Digital's Trigger can replace the drums in a performance
with sampled drums, and this technique is used all the time to
help engineers mix drums. Most often, it's kick or snare that gets
replaced, but other drums are candidates as well.
Replacement can be used creatively too. You could replace
a normal snare with a crazy one for a measure, or create a
layered sound. You could flip the beat by replacing snare with
kick! My favorite augmentation is a simple addition of a nice
crisp kick drum to augment a trap kit or other track that lacks
the character I need to fit the mix. I do this often, because
kick drum recordings often sound bad, and in a lot of tracks,
an electronic kick doesn't stand out as "fake" as easily as
something like a snare.
Most often, I don't use replacement software; I just play or
program a kick pattern that matches the kick or kick-like
element in the acoustic tracks. The possibilities here are endless,
and we'll go into more detail next month in Part 2.
For now, keep using your imagination and experiment!
There's a whole world of variety you can find in your rhythm
tracks if you just keep searching!

FIGURE 8: Even a guitar stand
can be turned into a mic stand
in a pinch, allowing a single
mic like this Oktava MK-219
to record an entire drum
at a distance.

FIGURE 9: Drummers seem to like to
practice on any handy surface;
have a mic handy and capture the
next time your drummer warms up
with his bundle sticks on your
kitchen table... or try it yourself for
an unusual and musical sound.

FIGURE 10: This cajón is miked up with an Audio-Technica
AE2500 and an AKG C414. The studio cat is optional, and no,
I would never actually step on her to simulate a cymbal.

Aaron J. Trumm (trumm@recordingmag.com) is an awful
drummer, but he keeps a crappy drum kit stuffed in a corner,
with a cajón for a throne. Some part of it gets used on almost
every song.
RECORDING May 2017

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2017
