CASSETTE DRUMS FROM MARS

Acoustic Drums and Percussion Recorded to Cassette

Analog recording mediums like tape and vinyl have always been a big part of how we make samples because of the punch, character, transient shape, and analog depth they add - especially to acoustic sources. But until now, we’d never really explored cassette. What we learned is that cassette tape isn’t just for lo-fi sounds - with the right machine, it can produce hi-fi, buttery, analog, re-pitched, and richly colored acoustic drums and percussion.

Cassette Drums From Mars is a collection of acoustic drum and percussion one-shots that captures the full range of cassette tape processing - clean and natural to crunchy, saturated and re-pitched. This pack is a must-have for anybody looking for the charm, character, and noise of tape.

Tracking The Drums

Our journey began with recording drums at Gary's Electric Studio, a beautiful live room known for its depth and natural ambience. The roomy, natural sound felt like the perfect counterpoint to our usual tighter, punchier drum aesthetic.

The kit we recorded here was a very open-sounding jazz kit - completely different from how we’d normally tune or approach drums.

Next, we wanted to capture our classic sound - expanding on the feel of our Vinyl Drums packs, but through cassette tape. So we tracked our tighter and punchier vintage Rogers kit, along with percussion, hand claps, finger snaps, and roto toms.

Multiple close mics, overheads, and room mics gave us a wide range of perspectives, which we brought up on an API console and processed in different ways - often sidechaining the overheads and room mics to the direct mics to reshape punch, movement, and space.

Lo-Fi Grit vs Hi-Fi Weight

The first stage of cassette recording happened through a Tascam Portastudio 424 MkIII. It immediately gave us that classic Indie texture that only cheaper machines can. We utilized some of the onboard EQ and clipping to taste.

But while the Tascam gave us a sound we all recognize and love, it stripped away too much of the lowend and generally reduced the size of the drums. So we reached for the  Nakamichi MR-1, a gorgeous sounding, hi-fi cassette deck. With repro-head monitoring, it allowed us to hear exactly how the tape was responding in real time. So we were really able to dial in our full, detailed, and open sounding drums, while still carrying the softness, compression, and movement that cassette naturally adds. We couldn't believe it was cassette! 

Next, we repitched the sounds on the Nakamichi and recorded them back in with and without noise reduction, building up a wide range of tonal variations and reaching for saturation, compression, EQ, clipping, and hardware processing before printing them back again for a second generation of tape. 

To Boom Bap and Beyond

Inside you’ll find 430 one-shots and 16 pre made kits for instant jamming, with a variety of kicks, snares, hats, toms, cymbals, and percussion - leaning heavily toward classic boom bap, but flexible enough for hip-hop, house, lo-fi, and anything that benefits from acoustic drums with strong character.

Cassette has a unique way of reshaping dynamics and texture, making drums feel glued together, worn in, and instantly musical. Tape compression, saturation, noise, and subtle instability give these drums a finished quality that’s hard to fake digitally. The pack spans everything from clean cassette warmth to heavily processed crunch, with acoustic hits that blur the line between live drums and electronic percussion.