What makes some drum sample libraries (like ) better than others?

If you thought all drum sample libraries were created equally, you are in for a little surprise. Turns out there are lots of details that go into making drum samples that work well with our music. And it’s those details that aren’t often talked about by the drum sample companies.

However, I dissect the samples in Bogren digital’s latest drum sample library, and show you what to look for when choosing a drum sample library.

Nuances of Drum Sample Libraries

There are several things that are discussed in the video below that you need to know when picking your next drum sample library.

• Phase coherency of direct mic’d samples: This is basically the timing of the drum hits and making sure the mics are in phase with each other.
• Number of velocity layers: The velocity layers are basically little pools of drum samples for a particular articulation of a drum hit – for example, you might have a hard, medium, soft, and very soft velocity layers.
• Number of samples per velocity layer: this is the number of actual samples for each of the velocity layers.

Why do these things matter? If you have poor phase coherency between the various samples, your drums may sound weak or inconsistent when you blend in or replace the raw drum track. Having more velocity layers makes the drums have more dynamics and feel more natural. And having many samples per velocity layer makes it so it’s less likely that you will get a “patterns” of drum sounds in fast parts or fills. Think of the classic “machine gun” kick drum sound for really fast double bass parts.

Finally, in the video below, I’ll share with you some best practices for using drum samples in your music so your drums will always stay powerful and punchy!

🎁As a bonus for being here and learning with me, our friends at Bogren Digital are offing you a coupon code that you can use to get 10% off your purchase!

💥 Get 10% OFF Products with Coupon Code: “Raytown”

📹TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
0:26 Problem with Drum Samples
1:45 🎁 Best FREE plugins for Mixing & Mastering eBook
2:15 Considerations for Drum Samples and Libraries
3:37 Importance of Many Velocity Layers
4:40 Number of Drum Samples MATTERS!
5:18 Separate Dry and Wet Drum Samples
6:08 Best Practice When Choosing Samples
6:50 Identifying Out of Phase Drum Samples
9:20 Breakdown of Snare Samples from Bogren Digital Signature Drum Samples
10:28 How to Verify All Direct Drum Samples Have Same Polarity
12:32 Dealing With Partially Out of Phase Samples
14:25 Room and Overhead Drum Samples
15:52 Time To Get NERDY 🤓 Calculating Distance of Mics
17:28 Summary and Recommendations
18:57 Your Homework For Making Better Sounding Drum Tones