Drum loops
are fantastic tools to get the creative juices flowing and programming drum beats are an excellent way to get your ideas across. But, pre-made drum loops don’t know what is happening in your music and to program a believable drum performance is a tedious task even for a drum programming expert.
Custom Drum Tracks
When you want to go beyond a stock drum beat, an experienced session drummer will bring another dimension to your music. With custom drum tracks, every note played or omitted will be done to complement and enhance everything else going on in your songs.
You are best at what you do:
playing your instrument, singing or songwriting. I have spent over 23 years living and breathing drums. Take advantage of my talent, experience and skills to your benefit.
Did you know?
90% of our drum tracking clients own some sort of virtual drum plugin or use drum loops. Even if they hire me to replicate exactly what they had programmed with good-sounding plugins, the human performance brings another dimension to their music.
No need to spend time looking for a reputable recording studio, competent drummer, scheduling, driving there, setting up, sound-checking…
Everything here is already set up and ready to go!
No need to spend time looking for a reputable recording studio, competent drummer, scheduling, driving there, setting up, sound-checking…
Everything here is already set up and ready to go!
Having me on your record is straightforward.
Order your tracks using this form which will guide you through the whole process. You will be able to specify all the requirements and upload your guide tracks.
After submitting the form, you will be directed to PayPal for payment. Once the payment is made, the session is confirmed.
As soon as drum tracks are recorded, you will receive mp3 mixes of all the takes to approve or request a revision.
If you were happy with the results, you will be sent a link to download the HQ multitracks of all takes. If you requested a revision, you will be sent mp3’s of the revised recording to approve before being sent the full quality multitrack files.
As a drummer, I’ve been in countless musical situations ranging from Jazz, Pop, Blues to Rock, Funk, Latin and everything else in between.
As an audio engineer, I’ve spent years in pursuit of the perfect drum sound recording.
Symbiosis of these two trades means that beautiful-sounding drums will be rocking and grooving your songs, whatever your music style is.
As a drummer, I’ve been in countless musical situations ranging from Jazz, Pop, Blues to Rock, Funk, Latin and everything else in between.
As an audio engineer, I’ve spent years in pursuit of the ideal drum sound recordings.
Symbiosis of these two trades means that beautiful-sounding drums will be grooving your songs, whatever your music style is.
"I am very impressed with your drum performance and especially your drum sound. I found that for the most part I did not have to EQ any of your drums, except for the bass drum, where basically I used just the "inside" mike with a bit of EQ. Your room mikes sound terrific! Great room, you can make the drums sound as big as you want or as tight as you want just with the room mikes, which is the right way to do it."
Bob Katz
Mastering Engineer/ Digital Domain
Goran recorded drums for the soundtrack "Just A Coffee Bean" on Shanghai Calling movie.
Goran tracked drums on a soundtrack for the movie "Cry Now".
Drum tracking of a Jazzy Krupa beat for a Toffee Dodgers commercial "Tappin' Toffee".
Drum tracking for a Rock jingle on Toffee Dodgers commercial "Jamie"
Goran recorded all drums for Royal Caribbean production show "COLUMBUS", created by Loren Van Brenk, playing on Harmony Of The Seas, one of the largest cruise ships in the world.
Goran was the sole producer, drummer, and engineer for the entire content on BeatBuddy drum machine pedal, as well as exclusive producer for BeatBuddy Library..
Goran self-released his solo album Rista World in 2008, which he produced, mixed and mastered. He played drums, percussion and programmed various instruments. It features his original compositions.
Drum tracking for Tommy DeCarlo's solo project. Tommy is the lead singer of the renown Rock band Boston.
Goran recorded all drum tracks for Jamie Craig and her band Indigo Dreamers' debut release "Dreaming In Blue".
Goran lent his drum tracking and mixing skills to Aure, a New Caledonian solo artist on her album "Nouveau Depart".
Goran recorded drums on 2 songs and mixed the album "Jazzissimo!" by Italian guitarist, Toty Viola.
A Christian artist with a unique voice, Todd Olivas' featured Goran Rista on drums on his album "Kid Heart."
Drum recording and mixing for German singer/ songwriter Tom Keller's upcoming album.
Goran shared drum recording duties with Kenny Aronoff and Marc Minnemann on Jason Sadites release "Broken'.
Goran recorded all drums on Australian independent artist, Simon Kelly's release "The Secret Dreams Of Sceletor Jones".
Drum tracking for solo singer songwriter Krystle Tugadi.
Drum recording for Tini Grey, a singer-songwriter based in Hawaii. Debut 5-track EP.
Drum tracks for Australian guitarist, Simon Kinny- Lewis' fusion release "Strat Attack".
...and 100's of other singles, albums and demos for artists from all over the world.
Goran shared the stage with Latin superstar, Ricky Martin, on drums and percussion in 2 concerts as a part of his band.
Goran played drums live in a concert with legendary New Zealand singer-songwriter, Neil Finn of Crowded House.
While living in Puerto Rico, Goran was a part of Carli Munoz's Jazz trio. Carli is a former member of The Beach Boys.
Goran played Jazz drums with the legendary bassist, Eddie Gomez, while in Puerto Rico.
Multiple Grammy Award-Winning songwriter, Estefano, hired Goran as a drummer for his live shows to launch a solo album.
Goran was a member of the backing band for Michael Barrymore's comeback tour in New Zealand. Michael is a British TV celebrity and a comedian.
Live drums for a Brazilian songstress, Kenia in her Miami concert.
Goran backed legendary Broadway star, Ben Vereen, as an orchestra drummer for some of his solo performances on a cruise ship.
Goran traveled the world as a part of Rumba Flamenco show, Ole Ole, lead by guitarist Luis Mejia. Goran played a combination of drums and percussion.
As an orchestra drummer for RCCL, Goran backed classic band The Coasters.
Goran played drums with The Diamonds on several occasions as a part of an in-house orchestra with RCCL.
Goran played drums live for about two dozen production shows for Royal Carribean and Carnival cruise lines, featuring remakes of best known Broadway shows.
...and many, many other bands, solo artists and production shows on land and sea, concerts, theater performances, TV appearances, etc.
Bachelor Degree In Jazz Performance, drums major
Rotary Club Scholarship
Ken Avery Memorial Scholarship
POP
ROCK
BLUES
COUNTRY
FUNK
REGGAE
BRAZILIAN
JAZZ
FLAMENCO
LATIN
WORLD
DRUM & BASS
We are committed to exceeding your expectations. We work hard to provide the very best service in all aspects. If you are not satisfied with the drum tracks you get from us, you'll get your money back. Terms and conditions apply.
Ready to get your custom drum tracks?
Welcome to GROOVES RECORDING STUDIO, state of the art facility, custom built for drum tracking. This is where magic happens, where hundreds of drum tracks have been recorded and where all of the award-winning BeatBuddy sample drum sets were produced. This is where your acoustic drum tracks will be recorded too.
Impecable Acoustics
Grooves Recording Studio's complex design features a number of sound defusers, reflectors, absorbers and bass traps resulting in highly controlled and rich sound. Unique ceiling of irregular shape helps further break down any standing waves. Acoustical treatment was designed by world-renown acoustician Ross Alexander. Drums recorded in this studio sound clean, clear and well-balanced.
Choice of natural ambiance
While the main room provides dryer sound by controlling early reflections, the Live Room offers huge natural ambiance at the same time! The two rooms are connected by a way of 9' glass sliding doors and enable to capture the ambiance separately from the close-miked drums.
Dry or ambient sounding drums? The choice is yours!
Drums and Cymbals
The beating heart of GoranGroves is the Yamaha Recording Custom kit. A studio classic, this model of drums produces punchy, full-bodies sound that has been staple on countless hits over the past 4 decades.
This kit in particular has seen been upgraded with special tom mounting (RIMS) that enable drums to resonate to their fullest potential. These drums sound greater than ever!
For Jazz recordings, a custom made GoranGrooves kit with a different tuning is used.
A hand-picked selection of fine cymbals by Bosphorus, Istanbul and Zildjian completes the set up.
Microphones
Microphone choices are the result of many years of experience and experimenting with various types of mics and mic brands for drum recording. The microphone choice by GoranGrooves is a full set of High Definition Earthworks mics, some of the most accurate and natural-sounding mics ever made. They capture every subtlety of performance while preserving full bodied, the punchy character of the drums in their natural ambiance.
Overheads: EarthWorks QTC40's (pair omnidirectional)
Kick: Earthworks SR20LS
Snare: Earthworks DM20 (top), Shure SM81 (bottom)
Hi-Hat: Earthworks SR25
Ride: Earthworks SR25
Toms: Earthworks DM25's
Room (dry): Earthworks M30's (pair omnidirectional)
Room (live): Earthworks TC30K's (pair omnidirectional)
Preamps and Converters
Quality preamps and converters are of extreme importance for the signal path when tracking drums.
Our choices are:
16 channel of Focusrite ISA828 preamps
8ch of Merging HAPI preamps and converters
16ch Lynx Aurora N converters.
These are some of the finest quality preamps and converters to ensure nothing is lost between the drums stick strike and DAW.
Premium Drum Tracks
For those that demand the very best, Premium drum tracks are recorded using a full set of Earthworks's High Definition microphones. These are some of the most accurate mics ever made and they capture the entire kit with breathtaking realism. This is as good as it gets and it is perfect for album releases!
Total of 13-15 mics.
You get 4 good drum takes.
Price: $249
Professional Drum Mixing
To benefit the most out of recorded acoustic drums, there are number of steps needed to be taken during the production process. Take advantage of this service if you are unfamiliar or inexperienced with drum tracks production.
Guaranteed to produce outstanding results and significantly save you time during the mixing stage of your project. Goran is not only a pro drummer, but an accomplished audio engineer. You'll be getting the best combination possible.
You will be provided with individually processed drum tracks in 32-bit or 24-bit format, which you can just drop into your project for amazing-sounding results right away. You will still have the flexibility of adjusting individual components of the kit.
Price: $49 for one take of your choosing. Each additional take of the same song is $39.
Choice Of Snare Drums
To better suit various genres and style of production, a range of snare drums is available. In combination with various tuning and muflings, a wide variety of sounds can be achieved. Tight and funky, deep, warm, punchy, ringy? The choice is yours!
What you need to provide:
- A stereo audio track of your music without drums (mp3, WAV or AIFF- it can include percussion)
- Any additional instructions you would like the drummer to follow during the recording
- Optional: Drum chart/ lead sheet or similar outlining the form of the song and the length of sections - Example 1 Example 2 Example 3
- Optional: Reference drum tracks ( could be a drum track you programed)
The submition form will guide you through this easy process.
Before you go...
take this gift with you!
Just enter your email and you will receive the download link.
What You Get:
- Professionally recorded drums as 11-14 individual raw drum tracks (kick, snare, tom1, tom2 etc.)
- 24bit or 32bit format, 44.1K/ 48K/ 88.2K/ 96K sample rate (whatever your preference),
- WAV or AIFF format
- At least 4 drum takes of each song.
- All drum tracks will be perfectly in sync with your project.
- If you order drum mixing, you will receive processed individual drum tracks as well as the raw files upon request.
