The UK bassist-engineer-producer Mike Pelanconi gets some smokin' old-school reggae drum sounds - here are his tips:Īmorris wrote on Sat, 29 August 2009 16:33Īnd 57s all around. 'Why do old reggae records sound so good?' Here's links to a bunch of choice PSW threads on the reggae recording topic: Though reggae has penetrated the musical vocabulary Worldwide & many drummers can 'cop the feel' - the accuracy, discipline, art, feel and consistency has been mastered by only a few who ever lived IMHO which is why a handful of drummers played on the majority of classics (not to mention inventing the standard beats and styles). IMO reggae drumming is highly underrated as a skill. Sometimes one needs to bust out the tea towels, chamois cloths & gaffer tape If its an old school reggae sound - try minimal miking eg: 1 mic in total or kik/sn/oh. ↳ RECORDING MACHINES (ANALOG TAPE, HD MULTITRACKERS, ADAT.

↳ SPRING REVERB - FISHER K-10 SPACEXPANDER.

↳ TAPE DELAY - ROLAND (SPACE ECHO, 101, 301.

However, the type of drums you play matter very little, its mostly how the heads are tuned. If I'm not mistaken he played Ludwig drums. His toms were dry (definitely not double layered pinstripe type heads), and pretty well dampened. Carlton Barrett, I think, used a chrome snare, muted with pretty tight heads, and with the snares very tight as well. 22' bass drum is a perfect size for reggae, add a wood beater and its even better. With jazz and reggae, you are learning more of a system rather than just a beat.

That is what makes it so much harder than say rock beats. There is A LOT of syncopation in reggae rhythms, almost as much as jazz. However, in order to get a really good feel for the music, you're just going to have to listen to it over and over and play along with the music. If you are just learning drums, I would probably get a reggae book and learn some basic patterns as a guide. Learn how to play the rhythms by listening to as much reggae as possible. There's really no specific formula for getting a good reggae drum sound although there are some basics. Greetings, I was alerted to a reggae drum topic (I guess I'm a few months late but oh well).

Reggae sounding drum on kit