"Funky Drummer" Production Techniques

[HeatMan]

hah.. everybody is talkin bout the roots.. what about beat assailant? search them on the net..

a damn well band..

btw, Im in the hip hop/rnb buissines, and I play bass, ac/el guitar and keyboards.. pretty good, I might add.. but not as good as I want my playin to be.. anyhow, everybody that I've met, and that heard me playin were amazed.. "This dude is playing 3 ****ing instruments?!?!?"

and that is just the way it is.. in the era of sampling, sliceing and programing, ppl are amazed that somebody actualy plays an instrument.. and that kind of shit just gets on my nerves..

everybody is a musitian nowdays, melodyne is singing (auto tune as well), sx's warp is drumming, keys are strumming, and the world of music that we once loved has come to an full stop.

peace

[Igotsoul4u]

you might want to check out the tom dowd video. It has a lot of insight into older recordings by the father of modern recording.


Tom Dowd and the Language of Music - Home

[Colossal]

hope i'm not going too far off the subject here, but whats with this over respect of famous productions?

why would somebody find it so hard to believe that funky drummer was tracked simply? it was tracked in 1969 by great musicians! no offence but i'm sure if the o.p hadn't heard it in so many hiphop tracks it wouldn't be getting this sort of attention. that break doesn't hit particularly hard by modern standards, but it's been used in great modern productions so it must do, right? tutt

some people on this thread are talking like black magic (other than clyde ) was involved.

similar thing happened on here a while ago, some stuff about "can i get string sounds with my computer as realistic as the keyboard strings scott storch uses?", as if the triton or whatever scott happens to use sounds anything like real strings. if it wasn't scott, that assumption wouldn't have been made.

anyway, has anybody typed bernard perdie into youtube, if for some reason you haven't i suggest you do, check out the drum lessons or showcase vids he does, sick drum sound, even though the medium it's recorded onto and being watched on is abviously aweful, by the fact that we can't see any mics in those videos, i'd say the production values weren't too good.

the funky drummer sound is all about the playing, picked up faithfully by decent micing. theres a reason it's not called "elaborately produced drummer".

peace.

[peterpiper0815]

Originally Posted by Colossal

hope i'm not going too far off the subject here, but whats with this over respect of famous productions?

why would somebody find it so hard to believe that funky drummer was tracked simply? it was tracked in 1969 by great musicians! no offence but i'm sure if the o.p hadn't heard it in so many hiphop tracks it wouldn't be getting this sort of attention. that break doesn't hit particularly hard by modern standards, but it's been used in great modern productions so it must do, right? tutt

some people on this thread are talking like black magic (other than clyde ) was involved.

similar thing happened on here a while ago, some stuff about "can i get string sounds with my computer as realistic as the keyboard strings scott storch uses?", as if the triton or whatever scott happens to use sounds anything like real strings. if it wasn't scott, that assumption wouldn't have been made.

anyway, has anybody typed bernard perdie into youtube, if for some reason you haven't i suggest you do, check out the drum lessons or showcase vids he does, sick drum sound, even though the medium it's recorded onto and being watched on is abviously aweful, by the fact that we can't see any mics in those videos, i'd say the production values weren't too good.

the funky drummer sound is all about the playing, picked up faithfully by decent micing. theres a reason it's not called "elaborately produced drummer".

peace.

In case of the "funky drummer"....yes.
But what about the sound of the "Its a new day" or "Impeach the president" (sounds like.......HipHop ) or "God made me funky" (crazy snare. sounds a little bit like bad phase between two snare mics).
I know there was no magic going on but I think it would be interesting how the engeneer did his part (beside a great drummer) to make it sound that way. Oh I think what many people (who want that sound) maybe dont think of is a good tuning of the drumset

peace

[Colossal]

for sure, i totally agree with you, i guess the whole secret production voodoo thing is starting to grate on me now. those guys could have done anything to get that drum sound, but it's not smart to rule out truckloads of talent and a bit of thought as the answer to the question in hand.

trying to find out how the funky drummer sound was a achieved is a good way to spend time. and i commend anybody who would put effort into that instead of recycling the same break for the millionth time

just bare in mind it's not always about "tricks". usually it's about who, not what. when getting a good sound. hope i didn't sound like a dick.

[jedilaw]

First...it's "Purdie" not "Perdie." If you want to name check people, it helps to spell them correctly, no?

Second...I know there's no "magic" involved. BUT, the sound of the recording is distinctive, distinct from the playing itself. Sounds like a combination of maybe a plate reverb and a compressor, but it worked. I'm interested to know what they did, even if it's as simple as a straightforward signal chain and a set of common-sense settings.

[Colossal]

Originally Posted by jedilaw

First...it's "Purdie" not "Perdie." If you want to name check people, it helps to spell them correctly, no?

every win counts for something, i guess.

[jedilaw]

Originally Posted by Colossal

every win counts for something, i guess.

Indeed it does. Had you not taken the superior tone, I'd have seen no need for even that small victory...tutt

[Methlab]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

Also,Mandrill's drummer is awesome

Thanks. I need to check them out.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Methlab

Thanks. I need to check them out.

They have been around since the early seventies.
Check out "Fencewalk"

[jedilaw]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

They have been around since the early seventies.
Check out "Fencewalk"

Yeah mos def you should check Fencewalk. It shows up on funk compilations now and again. Probably on iTunes.

[peterpiper0815]

Yeah Mandrill is great. I like "two sisters of mystery". PE introduced it to me.

peace