How To Make A Drum Kit [Ultimate Guide!]
How To Build A Hip-Hop Drum Kit That Sounds Incredible
The music industry has transformed so much in the past few decades, and it has done so with drum kits!
The genre has influenced countless artists in so many ways, and it is no wonder why.
Hip-hop’s beat-heavy nature has served as the perfect entryway for producers to make a name for themselves.
6 Easy Steps To Create Your Own Drum Pack
- Establish a vision before making a drum kit
- Acquire a decent microphone to record the drums
- Find a good drummer optional
- EQ each drum sample to perfection
- Compress your samples into a zip file
- Get a cover art for your drum kit
Ready to make your own drum kit?
With the right combinations of hardware, cymbals, and kits, you can construct a hip-hop drum kit that sounds amazing.
In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about how to build a drum kit that sounds incredible.
I'll be discussing the components you need and the essential tips for success.
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What To Consider When Building A Drum Kit
When building a hip-hop drum kit, there are several things you need to consider.
Firstly, you need to keep in mind the skill level of your drummer.
If they are beginners, don’t expect the best sample of all time.
You also need to remember that different drum components produce different sounds.
As you will see in the following section, there are several different components you can use to produce a wide range of sounds for your kit.
Step 1. Establish A Vision For The Drum
Start by breaking down the type of music you are playing.
If you are playing hip-hop, then you likely have a lot of kick-based sounds.
As such, it is important to have a kick that's powerful enough to keep up with the high-speed nature of the genre and has a good sound.
Rock, Pop, And Hip-Hop Don't Use The Same Drums
Similarly, with a lot of hip-hop drumming being based around snares, you need to have a snare drum that has enough weight to keep up, depending on the genre.
If you are looking for more of a jazz-sampled drum sound, it is important to get toms that can support the sound you are going for.
Snares typically have a lot of high-end frequencies, which can sound dull when paired with a tom, so toms will give you a much more interesting sound.
Types Of Drum Sounds You Need In Your Drum Kit
Now there are no drum kits without good samples.
Essentials for a proper-sounding drum kit:
- Cymbals
- Kick Drum
- Toms
- Loops optional
- Bass drum
- 808s
- Snare
- Hi-hat
You can use other components, but they are less necessary.
Just because your drum has a gong stick doesn’t mean you need it.
The Essential Cymbals For A Great Kit
The cymbals are the most important components of a drum kit.
Not only do they give your kit its unique sound, but they are also the first thing people notice when listening to a drum kit.
When choosing the cymbal for your kit, there are a few things you will want to keep in mind:
- Drum cadence when recording
- Distance from the instrument when recording
- Recording sample rate
Sample rate matters for all samples.
On the flip side, cadence and distance only really matter when creating drum loops in the kit.
The Perfect Kick Drum For A Killer Kit
The kick drum is one of the most important components in a hip-hop drum kit.
Aside from the bass drum, this is the most essential.
If you do not have a powerful kick, your kit will be incomplete.
Out of all the drums in your own drum set, kick and bass drum are the most essential.
The most durable kicks are hybrid-drum kick drums.
Hybrid-drum kick drums have a plastic shell and a nylon drumhead, which is great for when you are playing on any type of surface.
The nylon drumhead is what gives the kick its punchy sound, while the plastic shell is durable and can withstand a lot of abuse.
These sound amazing and can be easily recorded.
The Essential Toms For A Punchy Kit
The toms are just as important as the cymbals for a great kit.
Toms make the drum set complete.
When people think about great drum kits, they typically think about the cymbals and kicks but do not put enough thought into the toms.
The toms are what give a kit its punchy sound, so if the toms are not punchy enough, the kit will sound dull.
You want to record toms with different microphones.
Floor tom requires a different sound design than a deeper bass sound.
Step 2. Select A Microphone To Record Drum Samples
Chances are you want your drums to sound good.
It can be tricky making drum kits without a solid microphone.
Getting a good snare sample is hard enough, imagine that with a bad mic.
Investing in a good microphone can make your drumming far more accurate.
5 Best Microphones For Recording Drum Kits
- Beyerdynamic DT-12
- Shure SM-57
- AKG C 1000
- Yamaha Pro Audio AD-H5
- Blue Spark Electro-Voice RE20
But first, here are the best practices for recording bass drum samples:
If your microphone gain is too quiet, you won’t be able to capture any good sound.
As you get louder, you may start to lose some of the subtleties of your kit.
This is why it’s important to record again with different microphones and settings.
Finally, make sure you’re playing cleanly.
If you’re getting a lot of unwanted noise, try insulating the room or recording in a different location.
A clean drum performance will make for great-sounding drums.
Step 3 Find A Qualified Drummer
Looking for a session drummer to record your drum kit?
Drumming is an integral part of almost every type of music.
From rock to country, pop to hip-hop, and everything in between, drummers play a key role in every song.
It’s essential to have a session drummer available for recording your drum sounds.
What You Need To Know Before Finding A Drummer
Drums are an essential part of making music.
While most people can learn to play drums well enough to get by, it takes a special person to make a career out of it.
That’s why it’s important to do your research before finding a drummer.
5 Best Websites To Find A Session Drummer:
| Website | Reviews |
|---|---|
| Fiverr | Many options, fast turnaround and good prices |
| Airgigs | Trusted brand, highest quality |
| Twine FM | Smaller assortment of drummers |
| SoundBetter | Quick turnaround, very reliable |
| Stefan Loebus | Lots of experience, very skilled |
Step 4. How To EQ Drum Samples Effectively
You don’t want to make your producer go into work mode to use your drum kits.
Ideally, you want the samples to sound professional from the start, so you may have to EQ some of the drums yourself.
4 Easy Ways To EQ Your Drums:
- Boost the lower frequencies
- Boost the higher frequencies
- Apply compression on the sample
- Add reverb to the drum
Step 5. Compress Your Samples Into A Zip File
To create a kit you need to put these samples into folders.
3 Best Tools to Compress Audio Files:
- Winrar Windows
- Compressor Mac
- 7 Zip
- WinZip PC
Use any of these, they’re all free to use and safe for your computer.
I recommend you put the bass drum and other drums in different sub-folders.
Ideally, make a different folder for your loops too.
Step 6. Create A Cover Art For Your Drum Kit
This is the easiest part of making a drum kit.
Your artwork is the packaging of your project.
If you have never made cover art, you can pay somebody on Fiverr to do it for you.
Best Method To Make Drum Kit Cover Art:
- Download an image of person or aesthetic
- Upload image to Canva
- Add text to image to label the drum kit
- Download the image from Canva
- Paste the image on top of a box template
The cover should convey the kind of drum sounds in your drum sets.
Having the right cover can lead to more sales.
WHO WE ARE
Meet the Team
Jabari
Has helped over 1,000 artists find sounds that work. Knows exactly what makes a song blow up — from the 808 to the top line.
Josh
10 years deep in production. Made his first $10K selling type beats while still in high school. Builds every kit from the producer's perspective.