Record live drums in a room that was built for it.
A tuned Ludwig kit that lives in a purpose-built Santa Monica live room, a Coles ribbon pair up as room mics, and API and Neve preamps waiting on the other side of the glass. Sessions start at $200 for 2 hours with our engineer included — there is no separate drum rate.
The signal chain
Named gear, not adjectives.
Every studio in Los Angeles says it has a great drum sound. Here is the actual chain, so you can decide for yourself before you pay for anything.
The kit
A Ludwig kit that lives in the room and stays tuned — kick, snare, three toms. It is set up and mic'd before you arrive, so the first hour of your block is playing, not tuning. Bring your own snare, cymbals and pedal if you're particular; most people don't need to.
The mics
Beta 52 inside the kick, six SM57s across snare and toms, and a pair of Coles 4038 ribbons up as the room pair. That last part is the whole point — the ribbons are what make a kit sound like it's in a room instead of in a plugin.
The front end
API 512c preamps for punch, Neve 1073 when you want the mids forward, Tube-Tech CL 1B on the way in if the take needs holding down. Into a UAD Apollo x8p plus an x16 — enough I/O to print a full kit without submixing anything you'll wish you hadn't.
The room
A purpose-built live room with a high ceiling, not a converted office or a garage with foam on the walls. Ceiling height and untreated distance are what a ribbon pair actually records; you cannot add them in the mix.
What a drum session costs.
Drums book on the same duration blocks as any other session — engineer included, whole studio, no drum surcharge. Two to three hours is a realistic block for one song’s drums; four hours usually covers three or four if the band is rehearsed.
- 2 hours$200
- 3 hours$250
- 4 hourspopular$300
- 6 hours$450
- 8 hours$600
- 12 hours$850
Four ways in
Not every drum session is a record.
Tracking drums for a record
The standard session. Our engineer sets up, mics the kit, dials the chain and tracks. Most bands get a song's drums in two to three hours once the tempo map is done, and a four-hour block comfortably covers three or four songs if the band is rehearsed.
Book a sessionDrum replacement for a demo that outgrew programmed drums
You have a finished demo with a drum machine on it and it's holding the song back. Bring the session, bring a drummer, print a real kit over the top. This is a two-hour job more often than people expect.
Book a sessionYour engineer, our room
You have an engineer you already trust. Take the whole studio with the recording rig live at $50 an hour and run the session yourself — the kit is still tuned and the mics are still up.
Bring your own engineerJust playing loud
If you want the kit and the room without recording anything, that's a rehearsal booking at $30 an hour — same kit, same room, no rig running.
Rehearsal spaceHow to not waste your block.
- Know the tempos before you arrive. Deciding whether the chorus is 142 or 146 on the clock is the most expensive hour in recorded music. Rehearse to a click first — you can do that in this same room at $30 an hour.
- Bring fresh heads if yours are your own. Ours get changed on a schedule. If you are bringing a snare you love, bring a head for it too.
- Decide who is in the room. Tracking drums live with bass and a scratch guitar usually gets a better feel than a drummer alone to a click. Say so when you book and we will set up for it.
- Bring references. Two or three songs whose drum sound you want is worth more than any amount of description.
Questions about tracking drums.
- Can I record live drums at Paradise Recording?
- Yes — it is one of the main things the room is built for. There's a pre-tuned Ludwig kit permanently set up in a purpose-built live room, mic'd with a Beta 52 on kick, six SM57s across snare and toms and a Coles 4038 ribbon pair as the room mics, running into API 512c and Neve 1073 preamps and a UAD Apollo x8p plus x16 for full-kit I/O.
- How much does it cost to record drums in Los Angeles?
- At Paradise, drum tracking is priced as a normal recording session — there is no separate drum rate. Blocks run $200 for 2 hours, $250 for 3 hours, $300 for 4 hours, $450 for 6 hours, $600 for 8 hours, $850 for 12 hours, with our engineer included. Across LA generally, engineered studio time with a room that can take a full kit typically runs $100–$300 an hour.
- Do I need to bring my own drum kit?
- No. The Ludwig kit stays set up and tuned in the room. Plenty of drummers still bring their own snare, cymbals and kick pedal because those are the parts that feel personal — you're welcome to, and you're equally welcome not to.
- How long does it take to record drums for one song?
- For a rehearsed band with the arrangement settled, two to three hours covers setup and a usable drum take for one song. A four-hour block will usually get three or four songs tracked. The variable is almost never the gear; it's how well the band knows the material before they walk in.
- Can I bring my own engineer to record drums?
- Yes. Bring-your-own-engineer dry hire is $50 an hour for the whole studio with the recording rig live, 2-hour minimum. The kit is tuned and the mics are up either way; the difference is who's driving.
- What's the difference between a drum room and a regular recording studio?
- Ceiling height and isolation. A kit is a loud acoustic instrument played in a room, and the room is a meaningful part of the recorded sound — which is why the room mics matter as much as the close mics. A vocal-booth-sized studio can mic a kit but cannot record the room around it, and that difference is not something you can add afterwards.