Id recommend investing in some really solid sample cds, Beyond that, one thing to consider is that it might be worth getting the track going without spending too much time editing samples, then replace/tweak the sounds once you have your track taking shape, as you'll have a much better understanding of how the drum samples work with the rest of the elements of the tune.

Also, remember that the sound of your drums will develop as you mix and master your track. For example I found placing a compressor over the drum mix can really help bring out the groove of the drums and percussion, and gel the drums together. I rarely get the drum sound i am looking for without careful compression/eq of each drum track, but when im programming/creating the drums during the writing stage, i rarely worry about that sort of thing. Personally i find i work more efficiently if i leave that until the mixing stage.

Thats how I work at least! Interested to hear other people's methods too.

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i'm starting to think its just a perfectionist thing that keeps me from settling on anything, even if it sounds good. That means i should take a break from this track for a little while lol

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quote:

Originally posted by jason_bradberry Id recommend investing in some really solid sample cds

I have to second this one. Having good source samples is half the battle when coming up with good drum lines. I, like many others, make extensive use of the Vengeance sample libraries, and they are pretty much all I use for drums. As a bonus, if you use Logic, the Vengeance sample CD's come with EXS24 patches already programmed with the samples mapped across the keyboard, which makes it super easy to audition samples and get a good sound going.