Drum replacement
Encyclopedia
Drum replacement is the practice, in modern music production, of an engineer or producer recording a live drummer and replacing (or adding to) the sound of a particular drum with a pre-recorded sample. For example, a drummer might play a beat, whereupon the engineer might then replace all of the snare hits with the sound of a hand-clap. It is considered by some to be one of the most arcane practices of the modern music production industry and is an example of the considerable influence of computers in modern music, even in genres not strictly classified as "electronic music
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while in the studio with Steely Dan
in the late '70s, and has grown in both popularity and complexity since. One of the most common uses of this technique is the replacing of every snare hit in a performance (which may or may not sound subjectively "good") with an "ideal" snare drum hit.
Should the decision be made to use drum replacement techniques, the actual implementation of the practice usually falls to an audio engineer during the mixing stage.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
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Origins
The practice is an extension of the recording techniques of the 1970s through to the 1980s, wherein the constant search for better or "more perfect" sound led to a variety of techniques being tested, including the extensive use of drum machines. Among these techniques was drum replacement, which was pioneered by producer Roger NicholsRoger Nichols
Roger Scott Nichols was an American seven-time Grammy Award-winning recording engineer and producer....
while in the studio with Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
in the late '70s, and has grown in both popularity and complexity since. One of the most common uses of this technique is the replacing of every snare hit in a performance (which may or may not sound subjectively "good") with an "ideal" snare drum hit.
Should the decision be made to use drum replacement techniques, the actual implementation of the practice usually falls to an audio engineer during the mixing stage.