It’s time to learn how to use reverb, vintage EQ, compression and saturation to deliver a distinct character to your drums

#03

Programming drums using multiple sound sources can result in them sounding incoherent. The solution? Apply a few processing techniques to a drum group.

In this tutorial, we will discuss the balancing of individual channels and sending all of the drum stems into one group ready for processing. Reverb will be used in order to imprint a distinct ambience and affect the way in which the drums will be perceived.

Before modern advancements in digital technology, vintage outboard equipment was used to shape and colour the signal path. Current digital emulations of sought-after vintage gear have come a long way, sounding extremely close to their predecessors. We can apply the same techniques and access a distinct character of the past without breaking the bank.

The main benefit of grouping is the ability to affect all the individual stems with the same processor. This is especially useful when the aim is to accomplish a more unified instrument group. More notably, it’s the tools that introduce harmonic distortion are the ones that make the biggest change to the personality of the sound.