The studio and the recording

Back to School 1.0 was recording at Sonic Debris Studios in New York. The bright, lively main room is perfect for drums. This is a room you’ve heard on many recordings.

The drum kit is a combination of Dan Korneff’s favorite pieces from his extensive drum collection. The emphasis of Back to School 1.0 is small and tight, but the finished sample set is extremely versatile and has become Dan’s go to kit for many projects.

For a gritty, raw sound, the drums were recorded through a vintage SSL 4000 E/G console, and the gain cranked up to overload the channels just enough and not a bit more. The samples have natural, subtle hit inconsistencies. When mixed into your music, this kit will sound organic and human.

The room sound was recorded on Neumann U-87’s and fed into a vintage SSL talk back compressor, firmly squashed and mixed back in with unprocessed room sound. You can get a wide variety of classic and modern drum sound by changing the levels of the room sounds..