I wrote the first edition of this guide way back in 2005, on the Andy Sneap subforum of Ultimate Metal. Little did we know, but the Andy Sneap forum was the breeding ground for what would become the next wave of Heavy Metal talent. Many of my friends from those days have gone on to have careers in the music business, whether it be recording, performing, or in my own case, hosting a successful Youtube show. Ask any number of modern day talents about where they learned and most of them will reference the Andy Sneap forum.

So I’ve learned a thing or two in the last twelve years, and after much dedication and hard work, I’m noticing a slight improvement in the sound of my records… and the foundation is the drums.

That being said, I hate drummers. I really do. These are the meatheads that show up to the studio with broken cymbals, a shit kit, with six year old skins held together by duct tape, give a crap performance, wonder why they don’t sound like Lars on “the Black Album” then look at you, the engineer, like it’s your fault.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had the pleasure of recording some truly amazing drummers in my time, but they’re rare birds. As an indie engineer, I mostly have to record “the other kind.”