Free TCI Drum Samples for Slate Trigger & WAVs of Gretsch Kick Drum

Bad Racket is giving away free samples made by Henri Rapp of our 22” Gretsch birch kick drum in WAV and Slate Trigger Samples (TCI Format) with 8 variances per each of the 5 velocities, and 4 microphones. When recording this kick drum sample set I wanted to make it versatile in just about any mix which is why I took 4 very different sounding sets of mics where each has a distinctive character. They are all phase locked and any combination can be blended.

Audio Samples

Kick In Solo’d – Shure Beta 91 Condenser Mic Sample

Kick Out Solo’d – AKG D12E Sample

Sub Kick Solo’d – Electro-Voice 12″ Sub Kick Mic Sample

Room Mic Solo’d – Mid-Side Neumann U87s Kick Room Mic Samples

All 4 Mics Solo’d and Summed

Kick Drum Sample in Context with a Drum Kit

4 Mics To Choose From

I provided 4 distinctive mic sets consisting of a Shure Beta 91, AKG D12E, EV 12” Sub Kick Mic, and 2 Neumann U87 Mics in Mid Side. The Shure Beta 91A boundary condenser mic is extremely punchy with a very nice snap that instantly let’s your kick cut through a dense mix. The AKG D12E is full of character, perfect to add give the kick a little vibe. It’s got a bit more low end then the Beta 91, while still having great attack with a beautiful mid range punch. Our final close mic is a sub kick we made out of a 12” woofer from an old pair of Electro Voice Studio Monitors.

Having an awesome 1000 Sq. Ft. Live Room at Bad Racket Recording Studio, I thought In addition to the close microphones, I would also take a stereo pair of room microphones to give the kick drum a sense of real space which can also help the kick drum samples sound a bit more realistic in a mix. Opting for a mid side stereo pair gives the most flexible options in come mix time since it collapses down to mono perfectly. This lets me decide whether I want it to be a stereo or mono room later. Using 2 U87s about 15 feet from the kick drum keeps a nice punch with a decent decay time.

The close microphones were all recorded through API preamps and the room microphones through Hairball Audio Lola Mic Preamps. Light EQ and Compression were applied on the way in….nothing to extreme, just subtle stuff I would do to nearly every drum recording I do.

The Drum

The kick drum we sampled was a 22” birch kick drum with brand new drum heads on it. On the batter side is a clear Remo Powerstroke 3. It’s quite punchy with a solid low end. It’s tuned to its lowest point without wrinkling of the head occurring. The resonant kick drumhead was a ported Remo Fiberskyn Powerstroke 3 with a 6” hole. This head gives a little bit of resonance to the low end and a great mid range punch It is tuned slightly higher than the batter head helping the whole drum resonate at a deep low tone while the hole dries it out and keeps it from getting sloppy. Additionally it is dried out further with a small piece of wool inside the drum.