Accepted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Master of Fine Arts
at
Savannah College of Art and Design
________________________________________________________________/___/___
Robert Miller
Professor of Sound Design
Chair
________________________________________________________________/___/___
David Stone
Professor of Sound Design
Committee Member 1
________________________________________________________________/___/___
Peter Damski
Professor of Sound Design
Committee Member 2
The Evolution of Drum Augmentation and Replacement in Popular Recorded Music
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Sound Design Department in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Fine Arts
Savannah College of Art and Design
By
Ian Sander Vargo
Savannah, GA
May, 2011
This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Roger Nichols, whose engineering talents,
innovation, and willingness to share information made this paper possible.
I would like to thank my family for their unconditional support and love, my colleagues
and professors at The Savannah College of Art and Design for opening my ears to the
world around me, Erin Timmerman for helping me pursue my dreams, and all the
incredible people in Savannah for making my college experience so wonderful.
Table of Contents
1. List of Figures……………………………………………………………….…….1
2. Thesis Abstract………………………………………………………………….....2
3. Introduction………………………………………………………………………..3
4. The History of Drum Replacement and Augmentation………………………...…5
A. Roger Nichols and The Wendel……………………………………………….6
B. Doug Rogers and EastWest……………………………………………….....10
C. Modern engineers that employ Drum Replacement and Augmentation……..11
5. An Overview of Modern Drum Sample Libraries……………………………….12
A. Fxpansion…………………………………………………………………….12
i.
BFD2…………………………………………………………………13
ii.
Expansion Packs for BFD2…………………………………………..19
6. Native Instruments Abbey Road Drums…………………………………………21
A.
B.
C.
D.
The 60’s Drums………………………………………………………………22
The 70’s Drums………………………………………………………………25
The 80’s Drums………………………………………………………………25
The Modern Drums…………………………………………………………..26
7. Techniques in Drum Augmentation and Replacement…………………………..27
A. Massey DTM………………………………………………………………...27
B. Alternative Tools and Methods………………………………………………30
8. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….34
9. Appendix…………………………………………………………………………35
10.
Works Cited……………………………………………………………………41
Vargo,
List of Figures
1. The Wendel Drum Computer
2. Conga transients displayed in the edit window of The Wendel
3. The interface of the Wendel-izer Software Plug-in
4. The Packaging for BFD2 by Fxpansion
5. A photograph of a recording session for BFD2 taken at AIR Lyndhurst Hall Studio 1
6. The Ludwig Vistalite drum kit in BFD2
7. The Ludwig Black Oyster drum kit in BFD2
8. The Main interface of BFD2
9. The BFD2 Control Bar
10. The BFD2 Mixer View
11. Individual Drums printed to audio tracks from the main instrument track in Pro Tools 9
12. The Ludwig Blue Sparkle Kick Draped in chains for The 8 Bit Kit
13. The REDD 17 Valve Mixing Desk
14. The Abbey Road 60’s Drum by Native Instruments main interface
15. The Abbey Road 60’s Drums Mixer Interface
16. The Abbey Road 80’s Drums Gate Control
17. The Massey DTM Interface
18. The MIDI Import Options Window in Pro Tools 9
19. MIDI Velocity Information created by Massey DTM
20. The Beat Detective Feature In Pro Tools 9
21. A Region of audio with separations on each transient created by Beat Detective
22. Using Grid Mode to lay samples beneath individual drum hits
23. Non Phase-Aligned Snare Samples
24. Using Control+Click in Pro Tools 9 to phase align samples
1
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The Evolution of Drum Replacement and Augmentation in Recorded Popular Music
Ian Sandler Vargo
May, 2011
Throughout the history of recorded popular music, a clear, full, powerful drum sound has
always been one of the integral elements in achieving what is perceived as a great sounding final
mix. This thesis serves to shed light on the many significant advancements in technology, tools,
and techniques that allow a mixer to replace or augment individual pieces of a drum kit. These
tools and techniques have been used by some of the most highly successful engineers and
producers over the past 40 years, and are effective for virtually any style of music. Additionally,
thanks to modern technology, one can achieve professional sounding results easily, and quickly.
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Introduction
The modern music producer or mixer needs to have an historian’s approach to sound if he or she
wants to be able to create mixes that are not only pleasing, but also artistically relevant. One
must know, and appreciate all the sonic landscapes that have been visited using the instruments,
recording gear, and mixing approaches employed during the brief history of recorded sound. In
modern popular music, a powerful and familiar drum sound is integral in achieving what most
perceive as a great final mix. Whether you are mixing Top 40 Pop, Dance, or Heavy Metal, an
appropriate drum sound is needed to place a song in the proper context, spatially and
aesthetically. A drum sound is one of several key ingredients in a mix that serve the song as a
whole, not unlike the different flavors in a dish that interact together to create a pleasurable
dining experience. (Miller) The tools and techniques that the modern music mixer has at his or
her disposal make it incredibly easy to achieve these varied drum sounds without the need for a
session drummer, or a world-class recording studio, thus making it possible to sound
professional on a small budget, and with limited time. It is easy with the vast amount of power
and possibility found in the modern Digital Audio Workstation to lose track of the pursuit of
empowering the song, but with a knowledge and appreciation for the history of music recording,
one can use the tools and techniques that have been refined over the past few decades, to a great
advantage.
Throughout the course of this paper in this thesis the writer will examine several of these tools
and techniques, including augmenting and replacing individual drum tracks with samples, a
process that has been used in popular music since the late 1970’s, when engineer Roger Nichols
invented ‘Wendel’, a computer that he used to enhance the drum tracks on Steely Dan records. A
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4
more modern version of this tool is the Massey DTM Audiosuite plug-in for Pro Tools, which
reads the waveform found on an audio region, and using an advanced algorithm, creates trigger
points for its transients, which can then be converted into MIDI notes that retain velocity
information depending on the dynamic range analyzed waveform. With these MIDI notes, it is
then possible to trigger samples to augment or replace individual drum hits. The quality of these
drum samples has grown exponentially better since the days of drum hits created using synthesis.
Following the precedent by software company EastWest, companies such as Xln Audio,
Fxpansion, and Abbey Road in association with Native Instruments have meticulously created
highly expressive and versatile drum sample libraries that can be used to build realistic sounding
drums as standalone VST inserts, or additionally used to augment or replace existing drum hits.
Engineering tools such as Wendel and DTM allow the mixer to retain the feel and articulation of
a human drummer. Drum machines lack the ability to emulate a human drummer’s artistic style,
which can be heard though one’s effort in understanding and deriving the hidden information
from the musical score, but because these tools retain slight deviations in tempo, and dynamics,
the expressive feel that only comes from human articulation remain in tact. (Lui, Horner, and So.
2010. Page 1032) When used properly, drum replacement and augmentation can enhance the
emotionality of a drum performance, especially when poorly recorded drums prevent the
performance from achieving a certain level of emotional resonance. (Sisti) In regards to fidelity,
these tools allow one to achieve the sonic quality of previous decades with a fraction of the time,
budget, and resources that were available to older engineers. A knowledge of the history of these
technological and artistic developments can only enrich one’s appreciation for the musical
aesthetic, which is perhaps the most important part of being a modern music mixer or producer.
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5
The History of Drum Replacement and Augmentation
The process of augmenting or replacing individual drum hits with samples is not a new concept.
Grammy Award winning producer/ engineer Roger Nichols was perhaps the first to take full
advantage of the technique. Most notably working with Steely Dan. On January 17, 1978, Roger
Nichols used a COMPAL-80 computer as a 12-bit, 125 kHz sampling sequencer to build the
rhythm track for Steely Dan's “Hey Nineteen,” using samples from the kits of Jeff Porcaro, Rick
Marotta, Steve Gadd, and Bernard Purdie. He called his invention ‘Wendel’ (Figure 1) Most
Steely Dan tracks up to that point were recorded to a click track created by a Urei metronome,
but the click for ‘Hey Nineteen’ was created by Nichols using the Wendel.
(http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/md1.htm)
“The drum pattern for the song was based on an eighth-note click track,” recalls Nichols. “The
audio from the click track was fed to Wendel, where it was converted to a digital (format) for
triggering. The computer would count the clicks and figure out where each of the sampled
drums should be played.”
(http://emusician.com/tutorials/emusic_drum_replacement_primer/index2.html)
Not only useful for creating a click track,Wendel could be used to trigger samples based on a
drummer’s performance, retaining the feel of a live drummer, with the sonic versatility of a drum
machine. Wendel would create, map out and save a performance upon analyzing the
performance that was fed into its input from the console. Wendel had a master pitch control that
allowed for tuning of drums, which made it a very versatile studio tool.
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Figure 1
Nichols speaks on the necessity for such an invention,
“We found that there were certain feels that we couldn't get out of real drummers -- they
weren't steady enough. So we had to design something that would do it perfectly, but
with some human feeling, the right amount of layback. Instead of just one high-hat sound
that repeats machine-like over and over, we had sixteen different ones, so it had the
inflections. Wendel can play exactly what the drummer plays -- if he plays a little early
or a little hard, Wendel plays it a little early or a little hard. Play it once, Wendel
memorizes the song, then you play it again and it repeats what it hears.”
(http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/21nichols.htm)
Unlike a typical drum machine of the day, the Wendel could actually use samples taken from
real drum performances. One could simply plug Wendel into the console, enter “Store Mode”,
play the sound that was to later be used in the context of the mix, and Wendel would create a
sample, and then store that sound on a floppy disk. Wendel fit seamlessly into the workflow that
Steely Dan used while tracking albums, which included using multiple session musicians on a
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single track. It wasn’t atypical for Nichols to build a final drum performance from a variety of
takes by different drummers, on different days. (Nichols, 1979, Page 4)
Over the next few decades, Nichols continued to develop tools that aided in drum replacement.
In 1981 the Wendel II was released, which included a digital IO to be interfaced with the 3M
Digital 32 Track recorder, and in 1984 the Wendel Jr. Percussion Replacement System (which
could be used with all types of percussion including a drum kit) was released, which came
complete with cartridges that contained individual drum samples recorded by Nichols himself,
and many optional cartridges that could be purchased.
Highly editable samples found on these cartridges included several snares, several kick drums,
toms, hi hat, ride cymbal, cross stick, claps, conga (Figure 2) among others. Included in the
manual for Wendel Jr. were descriptions of the samples, and advice from Nichols on what type
of musical contexts these samples may fit in, and even possible ways to treat the samples with
equalization to make them mix properly. The description for Snare 1-B is as follows, “The SN1B cartridge is a deep ballad type snare drum. Plenty of low end, lots of crisp snares. If the
amount of tone contained in this snare bothers you, then notch out 6db or so at 320 Hz.”
(Nichols, 1987, Page 8)
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8
Figure 2
The drums were recorded on a 3M digital mastering system at 50khz sample rate, allowing up to
92db of dynamic range with a 20khz of bandwidth. There was no equalization used while
tracking the drums, and the samples never left the digital realm by being transferred to analog
tape. The Wendel Jr. could track drum rolls and flams played by the drummer, and even detect
when the drummer performed a roll that used both hands. If this was the case, Wendel Jr. would
use an alternate sample (if the dual hand cartridge was loaded in it) to prevent the drum from
sounding like it was played by a machine, or as it is known today “Machine-gunning”. (Page 4)
Wendel, and its predecessors, were used by many engineers in studios that facilitated final
mixdown. Artists (and their mix engineers) that used Wendel for drum replacement,
augmentation, or as a standalone device to create drum tracks include Pink Floyd, Stevie
Wonder, Paul Simon, Supertramp and many, many others. (Page 3)
In 2007, Roger Nichols and his audio technology company Roger Nichols Digital released The
Wendel-izer plug-in. (Figure 3)
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9
Figure 3
Available in Virtual Studio Technology (VST), Audio Unit (AU), Time Division Multiplexing
(TDM), and Real Time Audiosuite (RTAS) form, The Wendel-izer plug-in improved upon the
hardware by introducing psycho- acoustic drum mapping which could read the dynamics of the
input source, allowing for a much more realistic performance than the Wendel hardware could
ever produce. By placing The Wendel-izer as an insert on a drum track, one could use the side
chain triggering function to replace the sound on the initial track, and lock the timing to a
different track. In addition, the internal mixing function allows for an engineer to mix the
balance between original sound volume, and triggered sound volume, a feature important in
managing track counts. (http://www.rndigital.com/Wendel.html)
Although Nichols was known as a pioneer of drum replacement technology and its practical
mixing uses, he is certainly not the only engineer to creatively and effectively replace or augment
drums with samples. The process became so widely used, that by the late 1980s, engineers
began to produce CDs filled with personalized samples, either for their own use, or to distribute
Vargo, 10
among other engineers. In 1988, Doug Rogers, a producer and engineer who gained recognition
working with New Zealand band “Split Enz” founded EastWest. At that time engineers and
producers would bring their own personal “sample reels” to mix sessions. These sample reels
were basically collections of sounds taken from previous sessions that engineers liked to use in
the context of a mix. On one particular session Rogers forgot his sample reel, and subsequently
went looking for a commercially available sample library only to discover there weren’t any.
Rogers placed an ad in a Los Angeles newspaper looking for engineers who wanted to distribute
their own sample libraries, with a focus on drums, and immediately started to get responses.
Rogers would listen to records and try to find engineers that had drum sounds that appealed to
him. One of these engineers was Bob Clearmountain, who engineered acts such as The Rolling
Stones, Hall and Oates, and Madonna, among others. In 1989, EastWest and Clearmountain
released “The Bob Clearmountain Drum CD” which contained 900 wave files of drum samples
recorded in a variety of world class recording studios. Many of the audio files are stereo, with
ambience panned to one side, and the direct signal to the other, allowing the user to control the
balance in the mix. It became one of the highest selling sample CDs ever, and immediately
brought success and notoriety to EastWest, which has gone on to produce many popular sample
libraries and virtual instruments. This first example of a commercially released, and successful
drum sample library opened the doors for many other companies, several of which will be
discussed later in this paper. (http://www.museresearch.com/plugin_developer_interviews.php)
Today, the technique of drum replacement and augmentation is as popular as ever, used by
engineers on all types of music, even on mixes that retain a vintage feel and sound. Engineer and
producer Tchad Blake (Peter Gabriel, Los Lobos, Tom Waits) used the technique extensively on
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The Black Keys’ 2010 Grammy winning album “Brothers”, unique in that it was recorded using
vintage recording equipment at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, an older studio in Alabama, yet
was mixed in the box (using a computer) by Blake. Blake speaks on the technique, which was
used on several tracks on the record.
“‘Everlasting Light’ is a good example because they wanted the glam thing. Having the
drums put through a wide delay so its an exaggeration of what you might hear on a T
Rex record. Some of the bass drum tracks I could actually add some samples from
drums that I’ve recorded over the years. Some cool bass drums that I like. Some of the
things I used the most are the things that filtered the low-end of the bass drums because
I’ve got some pretty low subs. It’s an old Remo kick drum that I used to use with my old
partner Mitchell [Froom]. We used to use it on all these old records that we did. You
take off the mid-range of that drum and it’s got this beautiful low sub, it sounds almost
like an 808 drum machine bass drum or an old 606 Roland drum machine. I used a lot
of that on these tracks just to add to the bass drum that they had. “
(http://theblackkeysfanlounge.com/2010/03/interview-tchad-blake-on-mixing-the-black-keysblakroc-and-brothers-albums/)
Other engineers and producers that use samples to enhance their drum sounds include Andy
Wallace (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Ben Grosse (Ben Folds, Marilyn Manson), Mike Shipley
(AC/DC, Def Leppard), and Dave Way (Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow). It is a process that can
be used to enhance virtually any style of music, and when done properly, certainly add to the size
and depth of a drum kit within the context of a mix. There are many techniques that can produce
transparent results. One of these techniques is simply taking advantage of the impressive array of
high quality drum sample libraries that are currently on the market, and using the sounds to
substitute or augment the production drum tracks.
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An Overview of Modern Drum Sample Libraries:
EastWest led the way in creating and distributing drum sample libraries, but they were by no
means the only company that made significant strides in producing tools and libraries that
producers and engineers use consistently to aid in obtaining the drum sounds used in their mixes.
In addition to creating vast collections of meticulously sampled drums, many companies have
made innovations in developing and implementing interfaces that allow the modern digital audio
workstation (DAW) user to make professional sounding drum tracks, even on a restrictive
budget. The following is an overview and analysis of several of the most prominent software
developers that have created useful tools for the modern producer or engineer.
Fxpansion:
Fxpansion was founded in 1999, headquartered in London, England, with a mission of pushing
the boundaries of audio software. In 2003, the company released BFD, a virtual instrument that
included a 9GB library of meticulously sampled drum kits, and a unique mixer interface that
allowed users to adjust drum panning, overhead and room mic levels, in addition to several other
parameters. It received several press rewards including Electronic Musicians “Best Drum
Software”. In 2007, Fxpansion redesigned the BFD interface, and recorded a 55GB sample
library of modern, vintage, popular and rare drumkits and released BFD2.
(http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=13&tab=54 )(Figure 4)
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Figure 4
The sample library was recorded at AIR Lyndhurst Hall Studio 1. (Figure 5) AIR was founded
by George Martin, best known for his work as producer of The Beatles. Studio 1 is a medium to
large sized room, with a fast decaying reverb time. For the recording of the drums, the room was
portioned into a slightly smaller space, while still retaining the room’s “explosive” reverberant
quality. (Maha, 2007, Page 11) The mixing console in Studio 1 is a Neve with custom AIR
Monsterrat microphone preamps designed by Rupert Neve with consultation by George Martin.
All sounds were recorded through this console, and then into Pro Tools using Prism ADA-8 XR
converters, at 24- Bit resolution, with a sample rate of 44.1. No Equalization, compression, or
any additional processing was used while recording the drum samples.
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Figure 5
The BFD2 library contains two drum kits with historical relevance. A Ludwig Spiral Vistalite
that was at one time owned by Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, and a Ludwig Black Oyster
kit that was owned by Ringo Starr, which was used on several albums. (Page 11) (Figures 6, 7)
Many hits at different velocities were recorded for each drum, some of the snares have up to 96
different velocity layers, additionally, the drums were recorded with different articulations
(sidestick, flam on the snare, open, half open, closed hi hats) resulting in very natural, human
sounding performances if used properly.
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Figure 6
Figure 7
A collection of vintage and modern microphones were used to record the drum kits. A variety of
microphones were set up for the recording of each drum, with mics with the most appropriate
sound for each drum being selected after recording. (Page 12)
Kick Drum Inside: AKG D112, ElectroVoice RE20
Kick Drum Outside: Neumann FET 47, CAD VX2
Snare Top: Shure Sm57, Neumann KM84
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Snare Bottom: Neumann KM84
Hi Hat: Neumann KM84
Toms: Sennheiser MD421
Cymbals: Neumann KM84
Overheads: Coles 4038 and Manley Gold Reference
Room 1: 2 AKG C12 used in Mid Side Configuration, which results in a better mono room
sound if needed.
Room 2: Sony C800s placed roughly 23 feet away from the kit, and 20 feet high in the room.
(Page 12)
The Main Interface (Figure 8):
Figure 8
The Main interface is the default view that shows up when BFD2 is launched as an insert on an
instrument track. Once one loads a kit or individual drums, pictures of these drums are visible in
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this interface, as well as the controls for many parameters that can be changed to tailor the sound
of the individual drums, or the entire kit. Upon selecting on an individual drum, one can change
the volume and panning, raise or lower the pitch of the drum, and control the dampening which
shortens the decay of the drum, resulting in a tighter, dryer sound. One can also control the send
of the drum to the overheads, Room 1, and Room 2 (called Amb3). Additionally, the global level
of the direct, overheads, Room 1, and Room 2 can be raised, lowered, muted, or soloed. At the
top of the Main interface is the control bar (Figure 9) which allows the user to switch between
interfaces, load and save presets, change the master gain, and access help for BFD2. If so
desired, the user can load individual drums to create and save customized drum kits. This allows
for an incredible amount of sonic variety and personalization.
Figure 9
The Mixer (Figure 10):
Figure 10
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The mixer view is extremely versatile in that it allows for volume, and pan controls for all the
individual drums, and allows the user to change the balance between inside and outside kick
drum mics, and top and bottom snare drum mics. BFD2 comes with a large collection of effects
including equalization, compression, distortion, as well as time based effects such as reverb, and
delay. The width and distance of the overheads, and room mics can be adjusted, allowing for
virtually limitless sonic possibilities.
Upon completing a drum performance via MIDI, it is advisable to print the different individual
drums (1 instrument per track), treating them as if they were a traditional live drum kit. By
soloing and then printing the direct kick, snare, tom mics, the overheads, and rooms separately,
this allows the mixing engineer to apply processing to the individual elements of the drum sound.
One may want to heavily compress the room microphones, and then apply some notch
equalization to the snare drum; it all depends on the direction in which the mixer wants to take
the song. By taking advantage of the new feature in Pro Tools 9 that allows the user to create a
new track by clicking on an existing track’s output path, (in this context it would be the output of
the Instrument track that BFD2 is inserted upon, in a similar way that Kontakt is inserted on the
figure beneath.) This process can be done quickly and easily. (Figure 11)
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Figure 11
Once these tracks are printed, it is entirely possible to treat the entire recording as if it were a real
drum recording, but more importantly it allows the user to bring the Pro Tools session to other
computers that may not have BFD2 installed upon them. Additionally, although BFD2 is a very
efficient piece of software, by printing these tracks and then making the instrument track with
BFD2 inserted up on it, the user will cut down on using digital signal processing power, which is
quite a commodity when mixing sessions with large track counts.
Expansion Packs for BFD2:
The library that comes standard with BFD2 is substantial, but if a user wants more variety,
Fxpansion and several other companies have released expansion packs that are compatible with
many of the percussion based virtual instruments, including BFD2. These expansion packs
include but are by no means limited to acoustic drums, allowing BFD2 to cover an even greater
array of musical styles. Perhaps the most unique expansion pack to date is the “8-Bit Kit”, which
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was conceptualized by recording engineer S. Husky Hoskulds, who has worked with a diverse
selection of artists including Tom Waits, Sheryl Crow, and The Wallflowers.
(http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=22)
The 8 Bit Kit, with its unorthodox drums and recording methods was, according to Hoskulds,
“made purely to end up with the funkiest, most unique sound possible.” (Maha, 2008, Page 4)
The library contains many exotic, custom, and rare acoustic kit pieces, as well as a
comprehensive collection of vintage electronic drum machines. Some of the unique acoustic
sounds include mismatched and cracked hi hats, Remo Rototoms, several custom built snare
drums, a Ludwig 16 inch Tom turned on its side used as a kick drum, a 1967 Ludwig Blue
sparkle kick drum draped in chains (Fig. 12), a 10 inch Martha Stewart cooking pan lid, and even
a fight bell manufactured by Don King for Mike Tyson. The electronic drum library includes
samples from such classic machine as The Oberheim DX, The Linndrum LM-1, and “Unknown”
808 and 909 machines from the early 1980s. (Pages 7- 21)
Figure 12
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Hoskulds recorded the sounds at Los Angeles recording studio The Sound Factory in a small
room, resulting in a very tight, dry sound for the acoustic drums. The microphones and
processing used to record these drums aids in making this expansion pack so unique. The
overhead microphones were Calrec Soundfield models processed with an Alan Smart SSL Copy
stereo compressor and an Avalon Stereo Equalizer, and the ambience microphone was a
parabolic “spy” microphone processed with an Electrix Filter Factory analog synth filtering unit.
Additionally, after initial recording, some of the sounds were sent out and re-amplified using a
Vocalmaster P.A. and an Edison Grammaphone Horn. All sounds were recorded through The
Sound Factory’s heavily customized API recording console. (Page 4)
The 8 Bit Kit is just one of many expansion packs that have been created for use with BFD2,
Platinum Samples has released drum libraries created with engineers Joe Barresi (Tool, Weezer),
Andy Johns (The Rolling Stones, Led Zepellin), and Sonica has created an extensive library of
Japanese Taiko Percussion.
Native Instruments Abbey Road Drums:
In 2010, Native Instruments released its first collaboration with legendary recording studio
Abbey Road, Abbey Road 60’s Drums. Since then they have together produced the 70’s Drums,
80’s Drums, and Modern Drums libraries, all for use with Kontakt. These libraries were created
with an historian’s approach to recording, using the exact same drum kits, room setup,
microphones, outboard gear, consoles, and tape machines that were used on the most popular
recordings created at Abbey Road during those respective decades. The result is not only several
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high fidelity, flexible drum libraries, but also a veritable history lesson on what techniques and
equipment that one of the world’s most famous recording studios has used on the countless
records it has produced over the past five decades.
The 60’s Drums contains two sought after drum kits, one containing kit pieces exclusive from
the early 1960’s, and one with pieces from the latter half of the decade. The Early 60’s kit is a
Gretsch Round Badge (Jasper Shell) with Zildjian cymbals, and two different Ludwig snare
drums. The kit was placed and tracked in Abbey Road Studio Two, which due to its ability to
handle virtually any kind of musical style, hasn’t been changed since the early 1960’s. For
recording, Abbey Road and Native Instruments used vintage microphones such as the STC 4033,
Neumann KM 56, and the AKG D 19, through the REDD 17 Valve Mixing Desk (Figure 13)
printed onto 4- track one inch tape via a Studer J37 tape machine. (Stiles and Maurer, 2009,
Page 10)
Figure 13
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The Late 60’s Kit is a Ludwig Hollywood, containing cymbals from the late 60’s, Ludwig
Supraphonic 400, and Radio King snare drums. Recorded in Studio Two using microphones
such as the Sony C-38 A, Neumann U 47, and the AKG D 20. The console was an EMI TG mkII
Mixing Desk, (The transformer based mkII console replaced the older Redd desk at Abbey Road
in the late 60’s and was used on the final Beatles album, “Abbey Road”.) All drums were
recorded to 8-track 1 inch tape via a Studer A80 tape machine. Included in the library are hand
claps, tambourine, and shakers. All analog to digital conversion was done using Prism ADA-8
converters. (Page 10)
Once one of these drum kits are loaded into Kontakt, the drum interface appears, which includes
a picture of the selected drum kit, and several knobs modeled after those of the REDD Desk.
(Figure 14) These knobs control several parameters of any selected drum. The pitch, overhead
and room send, attack, hold, and decay are all variable. Upon selecting the snare, one can choose
from the two different snare drums, and adjust the balance between the top and bottom snare
microphones, selecting the kick allows one to balance the blend between inside and outside kick
drum microphones. Additionally, one can map different drums to a Midi controller, and can
choose between the different articulations that were recorded for each drum, (one of the snare
articulations was with a tea towel laying on top of it, resulting in a fast decaying, dry sound used
on many Beatles recordings. (Page 9)
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Figure 14
The mixer interface (Figure 15) allows further control over the individual sounds, with pan,
volume, mute, and solo controls. Also found on the mixer page is a control over the room, mono
and stereo overhead microphones, including a width knob for the stereo overheads and room.
Figure 15
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A special feature of The Abbey Road 60’s Drums is to be able to use the exact same microphone
setups that would’ve been used during a session at Abbey Road in the 1960’s, these are labeled
the Early and Late 60’s “Vintage” kits. The Early 60’s Vintage Kit uses only the overhead
mono, and direct kick microphone, and the late 60’s Vintage Kit uses only the overhead mono,
snare bottom, kick direct, and tom direct microphones. (page 16)
Each of the additional Abbey Road Drum libraries include similar special features. The 70’s
Drums include both kits recorded using the Glyn Johns 4- microphone technique (Johns was an
engineer at Abbey Road and worked as an engineer on albums by The Kinks and The Beatles.)
Information on Johns and his widely used drum recording method can be found at
http://danalexanderaudio.com/glynjohns.htm. To view a tutorial video on creating a drum track
using the Abbey Road 70’s drums visit http://vimeo.com/21235868.
The 80’s Drums include some creative engineering from the talented staff at Abbey Road,
“Abbey Road’s technical department specially built from original circuit diagrams an
SSL E-Series Talk back compressor for the 80s Drums project. The compressor was
designed for use on the talk back section of the famous SSL B/E series mixing console.
The idea was to have a single talkback microphone in the studio connected to the mixing
console via this extremely aggressive compressor so that the engineer could hear anyone
in the studio area, no matter if they were near the talk back microphone or not. The story
is now a thing of legend, but one particularly famous drummer was playing along to a
drum machine in his headphones when the producer opened up the talkback microphone
and heard “the sound”. The talkback microphone output became a regular request to
feature on the patchbay of studios throughout the world, and this enabled the talkback
compression sound to be recorded to tape. Some would argue that the SSL talk back
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compressor was a major contributor to some of the drum sounds of the 80s.” (Stiles and
Maurer, 2010, pages 12-13)
This can be used in conjunction with the gate feature found unique to this library (Figure 16) for
a very convincing 80’s drum sound.
Figure 16
The Modern Drums contain sounds obtained using a hybrid of modern and vintage equipment,
including the modern technique of rewiring a Yamaha NS-10 speaker wired in reverse and used
as a kick drum microphone. Some other equipment used on the production of Modern Drums
are classic sounds like SSL 9k microphone preamps, Fairchild 660 limiters, and more
contemporary pieces like The Empirical Labs Distressor, which is a staple in the modern
recording/ mixing studio. (Stiles and Maurer, 2010 pages 15-19)
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Techniques in Drum Augmentation and Replacement:
Although there are dozens of drum libraries and virtual instruments to choose from that can help
the modern producer/ mixer create realistic and detailed drum tracks, the practice of setting up a
great drummer, in front of a great drum set, using high quality equipment, in an acoustically
appropriate recording space, and tracking live drums with (hopefully) not be discontinued
anytime soon. Many modern recordings, regardless of budget, still involve a live drummer in
one way or another. For the times when the drum recording is affected negatively by any number
of factors (poor tuning, microphones, or engineering) we fortunately have many solutions that
are based on the concept of Nichols’ Wendel, to efficiently find a way to augment or replace
individual drum sounds.
Massey DTM:
One of the most effective pieces of software to do this is the Massey DTM, or Drum to Midi
plug-in. DTM uses an advanced waveform detection algorithm to analyze audio regions, and
create trigger points based on transient information. After DTM finishes it analysis, it can turn
these trigger points into MIDI notes. The MIDI notes are not only aligned with the original
transients, but also contain velocity information. Within a matter of minutes, a user can create an
instrument track with sample accurate MIDI notes which can be used in conjunction with any of
the aforementioned sample libraries (many of which were recorded with many different
velocities per drum), resulting in a highly transparent, and realistic sound. Additionally, using
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any sampler such as Structure, (which comes standard with Pro Tools 9) one can trigger original
samples, essentially making the “sample reel” practice easier than it has ever been.
After installation, DTM will show up as an Audiosuite plug-in in Pro Tools. All one needs to do
is select a region (kick, snare, or a waveform that contains many fast attacking transients work
best) and select DTM from the Audiosuite> Instrument folder in the menu bar. Once DTM
loads, simply click the green button labeled “Analyze Selection”. DTM will read the region,
creating yellow trigger points for every transient with an amplitude above a certain threshold.
(Figure 17)
Figure 17
If DTM fails to pick up and create triggers for all the desired hits (perhaps if a snare drum part is
performed with many quiet ghost notes) simply adjust the threshold and sensitivity sliders so
DTM creates all desired triggers. Occasionally DTM will create undesired triggers from other
drums bleeding into the microphone of choice. If this is the case, just select a transient from the
Vargo, 29
drum one wishes to create triggers for and click the blue button labeled “Learn Drum”. DTM
will analyze the waveform of the selected transient, and upon re-analyzing the entire region, will
look for characteristics of the learned drum, blocking out any bleed from undesired drums. The
“filtering” slider works in conjunction with the learn drum feature, allowing the user to filter out
more or less of the undesired drums. The compression knob adjusts the dynamic range between
the triggers that DTM creates, if a snare drum performance is quite uneven in its dynamics, and
the desired sound is a very even, steady series of hits, simply turn up the compression knob.
At this point it is possible to click the purple “Drag and Drop MIDI” button into the Pro
Tools clipboard, this will create a MIDI Import Options window which allows one to select from
many different options as to how and where he MIDI data should be placed. (Figure 18) Upon
clicking okay, Pro Tools will create a MIDI track, complete with a region containing MIDI
notes, these MIDI notes will have velocity information embedded in them, depending on the
settings of the DTM plug-in at the time of dragging data.
Figure 18
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It is also possible to drag MIDI onto an already existing Instrument track, which I will do for this
example, to augment a snare. Upon creating an Instrument track, I set BFD2 as an insert upon
this track, and find a suitable snare. Then drag MIDI data from DTM, onto the track at the start
of the session. DTM by default creates all MIDI notes at C3, so one needs to place the notes
where the respective snare sample is on the MIDI keyboard. So select all the MIDI notes, and
while holding down shift as to prevent the notes from moving to the left or right, drag them until
the snare sample is triggered. The result is nearly sample accurate triggers, complete with
embedded velocity information so one can get the most out of sample libraries that are recorded
with multiple velocities per drum. (Figure 19)
Figure 19
(For a tutorial video on how to use the Massey DTM plug-in, visit http://vimeo.com/21904634)
Alternative Tools and Methods:
There are other options on the drum replacement and augmentation software market, such
as Drumagog from Wavemachine Labs, and Sound Replacer from Avid, but the sample
accuracy, and sensitivity to velocity found in Massey DTM make it a much more versatile tool.
For those who have a few favorite samples of their own that they would like to blend beneath
drum tracks, but no drum augmentation or replacement software, it’s entirely possible to work
Vargo, 31
around this issue using some features in Pro Tools. Firstly, one must make cuts at the beginning
of each transient on the audio region containing the drum that one is wishing to replace. This
can be done several ways, either by using the Tab to Transient function in Pro Tools and making
separations on each transient by using the make cut keyboard shortcut “B”, or more efficiently
by using Beat Detective. Select the desired region, and under the “Event” menu tab select Beat
Detective (BD), once BD appears, in the operation window, select “Region Separation”. Then in
the detection window, hit the “Analyze” button, from here, adjust the sensitivity slider until a
purple line appears at the start of every transient on the audio region, (Figure 20) and hit the
“separate” button. The result is the entire selection separated at the start of each transient (Figure
21), which is needed for the next step in the process.
Figure 20
Figure 21
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At this point one should import the desired sample to replace or augment the original sound into
Pro Tools, making sure that there is very little space (if any) between the start of the sample
region and the beginning of the transient. If the song was recorded to a click track, and has a
drum part with a traditional backbeat, one can go into grid mode and repeatedly copy and paste
every few measures, paying attention to whatever drum rolls there may be, until the samples
closely match up to the original drum hits for the entirety of the song, (or any particular section
of the song that is desired to be replaced/ augmented.) (Figure 22)
Figure 22
Now, in the interest of making sure the samples and the original drums are phase aligned and not
flamming, select the individual regions of the original drums (Figure 23) and control+ click the
nearly aligned samples, this snaps the beginning of the sample regions to the beginning of the
original drum regions. (Figure 24)
Figure 23
Vargo, 33
Figure 24
This method is simple and effective, unfortunately it does not have the velocity tracking ability,
or the efficiency that the DTM method in conjunction with a sample library does, but still works
well depending on the application. If needed (and the time is available) one can go through and
automate the volume of the samples to closer match the original drums.
Vargo, 34
Conclusion:
With all the tools that are available to the modern DAW user, and with a certain degree of
creativity, it is entirely possible to get high fidelity, professional sounding drums that retain the
emotionality and nuances of a live drummer, without a budget that can afford studio space,
professional session musicians, equipment rental, and other devices that were used to produce
professional recordings in previous decades. This can be credited to advances in technology and
technique forged by individuals or groups with ingenuity, a comprehensive knowledge of
musical aesthetics, and a desire to go beyond the boundaries that the technology of their day had
set for them. However, it is entirely possible to become overwhelmed with the volume of
possibilities that these modern technologies offer us, and if one hopes to create a sensory
experience that resonates on an emotional level, as well as retains respectable sonic fidelity, it is
necessary to know and respect the history of the art form, and what has brought us to the current
state of our art.
Vargo, 35
APPENDIX
Contemporary Manufacturers of Sample Libraries
EastWest Libraries and VST Instruments:
Chris Hein Horns Volumes 1-4 (44GB)
Chris Hein Bass (12.7 GB)
Chris Hein Guitars (18GB)
Symphonic Orchestra Gold Mic Bundle and Symphonic Orchestra Virtual Instrument
(194 GB)
XSample Chamber Ensemble (14.3 GB)
Gyspy Virtual Instrument (Flamenco, 11 GB)
Goliath Virtual Instrument (180 Instruments, 40GB)
Symphonic Choirs Virtual Instrument (40GB)
Hollywood Strings (310 GB)
Fab Four Virtual Instrument (Based on a variety of Beatles sounds, 13GB)
Ministry of Rock Volumes 1-2 (A collection of hard rock instrument sounds 77GB)
Stormdrum Volumes 1-2 (Collection of Drums and Percussion, 12GB)
Ra Virtual Instrument (World and Ethnic Instruments, 14GB)
The Dark Side Virtual Instrument (Various Instruments, 40GB)
Evolution Series (World and Ethnic Instruments, 220GB)
Spaces (Convolution Reverb Plug-In, 450MB)
Modern Pop (Collection of Drum Loops made for Modern Pop and Electronic Music, 2.2GB)
Forest Kingdom (Collection of Nature and Fantasy Sounds, 7GB)
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K-Size Electro Edition (Electronic Drum Loops)
ElectraX (Modular Synthesis Instrument)
Pianos Virtual Instrument
Voices of Passion (Collection of Female Solo Vocals)
Silk (Collection of String and Woodwind Instruments from China, Persia, and India)
Sounds of the 70’s (Various Instruments)
Vocaloid LOLA (Virtual Female Soul Vocalist)
Vocaloid 2 Prima (Virtual Female Vocalist)
Vocaloid 2 Sonika (Virtual Female Vocalist)
Vocaloid Leon (Virtual Male Vocalist)
Hardstyle Samples (Collection of Techno Drum Loops)
SoundSense Chilled Grooves (Various Instruments and Loops)
SoundSense Ambiosis (Atmospheres and Soundscapes)
SoundSense Elektrolytic (Atmospheres and Soundscapes)
Reggaeton meets Dancehall (Various Loops and Samples)
SoundSense Grime Scene (Various Loops and Samples from the UK)
LA Drums (Drum Loops and Samples)
Hip Hop RnB Producer Pack (Various Loops and Samples)
Urban Ammunition (Hip Hop Loops and Samples)
World Pack (World and Ethnic Loops and Samples)
Ethno World 4 (Various Instruments)
Phaedra Virtual Analogue Synth
Complete Classical Collection
Vargo, 37
String Essentials
Ecstatic Grooves (Drum Loops and Samples)
SoundSense Old Skool House (Various Loops and Samples)
Blazin’ RnB and Hip Hop (Various Loops and Samples)
Classic Disco (Various Instruments, Loops and Samples)
SoundSense Trance Inducer (Various Trance Loops and Samples)
ProPack (Various Apple Loops)
Gladiator 2 (Synth Instrument)
Dark Skies- Cinematic Ambiences (Various Instruments, Loops and Samples)
Distorted Dancefloors (Various Loops and Samples)
Galaxy Vintage D (Virtual Instrument Piano based on a vintage Steinway D)
Diamonds of Orient (Various Oriental and Ethnic Percussion)
Nexus Experimental Drum and Bass
Indian Dance Classics (Various Loops and Samples)
Production Tools (Various Instruments, Loops and Samples)
Black Pearls (Various Hip Hop Loops and Samples)
Ghu Zeng (Virtual Traditional Chinese Instruments)
Electro House (Various Loops and Samples)
Ethno World Professional and Voices (Various Instruments and Voices)
Cinematique Instruments (Various Instruments)
Halls of Fame (Reverb Plug-in)
Dancehall Vibes (Various Instrument Loops and Samples)
Satin Grooves (Various Retro Loops and Samples)
Vargo, 38
Brazil Chillout (Various Brazilian Loops and Samples)
Accordions (8 Virtual Accordions)
Phantom Files (Various Loops and Samples)
Certified Hits (Percussion and Drum Instruments and Loops)
Vocal Factory (Vocal Sample Library)
Disco Gold (Various Loops and Samples)
Progressive House (Various Loops and Samples)
Nu Joints -Droppin’ Like Its… (Various Hip Hop Loops and Samples)
FxPansion Libraries and Virtual Instruments:
DCAM Synth Squad (Multiple Synth Virtual Instrument)
Geist (Sampling Drum Machine)
Guru (Sampling Software Instrument)
BFD (Drum Sample Library and Virtual Instrument)
BFD2 (Drum Sample Library and Virtual Instrument, 55GB)
BFD and BFD2 Drum Sample Library Expansion Packs:
Jazz Maple
Sleishman Drums
Signature Snares Volumes 1-2
Heavy Expansion Pack
Japanese Taiko Percussion
8Bit Kit
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Orchestral Marching Band
BFD Percussion
Jazz and Funk
BFD Deluxe
XLN Audio Libraries and Virtual Instruments:
Addictive Drums
Addictive Drums Sample Library Expansion Packs:
AD Retro
AF Funk
Modern Jazz Sticks
Modern Jazz Brushes
Sonor Designer Snare
Reel Machines (Vintage Drum Machine Sample Library)
Addictive Drums MIDIpacks (Collections of Drum and Percussion Loops):
Heavy Rock MIDIpack (Loop Library)
Latin Afro MIDIpack (Loop Library)
Sloppy Grooves (Loop Library)
Ballad Grooves (Loop Library)
Punk Rock (Loop Library)
Hip Hop (Loop Library)
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Metal (Loop Library)
Retro Songs (Loop Library)
Rock Songs (Loop Library)
Vargo, 41
WORKS CITED
Simon Lui, Andrew Horner, and Clifford So. “Retargeting Expressive Musical Style from
Classical Music Recordings Using a Support Vector Machine.” Journal of the Audio Engineering
Society. Page 1032, Vol. 58. No. 12. December 2010. 30 May 2011.
Tabak, Alec. “Drum Replacement Primer.” Electronic Musician. 1 Nov. 2006. 30 May 2011.
<http://emusician.com/tutorials/emusic_drum_replacement_primer/index2.html>
Sweet, Brian. “Metal Leg: Roger Nichols Interview.” Granatino. April 1993. 30 May 2011.
<http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/21nichols.htm>
Micaleff, Ken “The Drummers of Steely Dan” Granatino. November 1992. 30 May 2011.
http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/md1.htm
Nichols, Roger. “Wendel User’s Manual.” 1979.
Nichols, Roger. “Wendel Jr. User’s Manual.”1987.
Nichols, Roger. “Wendel.” Roger Nichols Digital. 23 Feb. 2008. 30 May 2011.
<http://www.rndigital.com/Wendel.html>
Halaby, Chris. “Interview With Doug Rodgers.” Muse Research. 30 May 2011.
<http://www.museresearch.com/plugin_developer_interviews.php>
Brucini. “Tchad Blake on Mixing The Black Keys’ Blakroc and Bothers Albums.” The Black
Keys Fan Lounge. 31 March 2010. 30 May 2011.
<http://theblackkeysfanlounge.com/2010/03/interview-tchad-blake-on-mixing-the-black-keysblakroc-and-brothers-albums/>
Mayur, Maha. “Fxpansion BFD 2 Manual.” December 2007.
Mayur, Maha. “Fxpansion 8 Bit Kit User’s Manual. “December 2008
Vargo, 42
WORKS CITED (Cont.)
Mirek Stiles and Paul Maurer. “Native Instruments Abbey Road 60’s Drums User’s Manual.”
2009.
Mirek Stiles and Paul Maurer. “Native Instruments Abbey Road 80’s Drums User’s Manual.“
2010
Mirek Stiles and Paul Maurer. “Native Instruments Abbey Road Modern Drums User’s Manual.”
2010
Alexander, Dan. “Glyn Johns Mic Setup.” Dan Alexander Audio. Dan Alexander Audio. 30 May
2011.
<http://danalexanderaudio.com/glynjohns.htm>