Spice Up Your Drums With Pedals
Looking for more character in your drum recordings and mixes? Learn how Vance Powell (Jack White, The Raconteurs), Tchad Blake (Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys) and St. Vincent get juicy with pedals 🥁✨ No fancy studio required – just a few guitar pedals and the courage to experiment!
Puremix
Record snare with distorted delay for character and depth
Vance Powell employs a unique technique to add character and depth to the snare by using a dedicated mic, which he calls the "Sprinkle to taste" mic, placed under the snare as an effects mic. This mic is routed through a chain of guitar pedals, including the Pigtronix Polysaturator for distortion and a custom analog delay pedal, which together create a reverb-like sustain. The delay and distortion enhance the snare's sustain, giving it a deeper, more textured sound. Powell uses a gate on his console to eliminate noise when the snare isn't being played, ensuring a clean and focused effect. By experimenting with phase alignment, Powell further refines the snare's sound, ultimately deciding that the out-of-phase setting provides a more desirable tonal quality. This creative approach results in a snare sound that stands out with added character and depth.
Mix with the Masters
Blending drum mics with parallel processing for character
Tchad Blake explores the creative potential of blending traditional drum mics with heavily processed signals using techniques like delay, compression, and distortion. By experimenting with different mic combinations and processing, Blake demonstrates how to quickly achieve a versatile palette of drum sounds that can adapt to various musical contexts. This approach allows for exciting and dynamic drum recordings, ready to fit seamlessly into a mix without extensive setup time. Blake emphasizes the importance of being prepared to record at a moment's notice, even without full knowledge of the session's specifics. He highlights the flexibility of using different equipment with strong sonic character, such as the SansAmp distortion pedal or the Spectra C610 compressor, to achieve unique textures and tones, ensuring that the drum sound can be tailored to the needs of any project.
Reverb.com
Breathing life into MIDI drums with pedal effects
St. Vincent breathes life and vibe into MIDI drum patterns by using a creative chain of effects pedals. The Chase Bliss Habit and Hologram Microcosm, which function as both delays and phrase loopers, introduce randomness and chaos, transforming otherwise lifeless drum sounds into vibrant, manipulated, and interesting textures. To enhance the character and aggression of the drums, St. Vincent employs the Walrus Audio Janus for distortion, adding a gritty edge that makes the drums stand out with more personality and intensity.