Recreating the original Amen Break with Clive Deamer

We invited Bristol drumming legend Clive Deamer to dBs to recreate the Amen Break sound using the same recording and mixing techniques that were used during the original.
The Amen Break is the most sampled break in history and has become an iconic and integral part of drum and bass and jungle culture. So, as a drumming and recording exercise, we invited Clive Deamer, who has played with the likes of Portishead and Roni Size, Reprazent as a session drummer, to the dBs Institute to help us recreate the original sound as accurately as possible
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00:00 - Introducing Clive Deamer
01:18 - Roni Size and drumming drum and bass
05:13 - Introducing Kris Burton
06:00 - The aim of recreating the Amen Break
07:09 - What the Amen Break is
08:34 - When and how the Amen Break was recorded
10:10 - The drum kit setup
12:53 - The mic setup
14:18 - Playing the break
16:00 - Taking the project further
#amenbreak #drumandbass #drumbreak #drumbreaks #jungle #dnb #samples #drumsamples #soundengineering #musicindustry #musicproduction
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dBs Institute is a multi-location, music, audio and digital education specialist based in the UK. Our mission is to effect positive social change through the creative arts, providing excellent specialised training and support for our students, fostering enduring relationships in our community, and developing innovative solutions to make the world a better place.
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[@voyageDnB1]

Nice work...

[@dBsInstitute]

Thanks 🙌

[@demolitionkid2]

Run it through a mixer from the 60s , something with tubes or a recreation of it. Capture the break with close mics and room mics but play hard not soft . That break was at full throttle during a drum solo. Also ot was played much slower then was sped up on vinyl

[@dnbkilla]

Thank you for your hard work! I hope the students will be able to repeat the same Amen Break sound)

[@dBsInstitute]

Glad you liked the video!

[@philvanderreyden1228]

love your work Clive. Been a massive fan ever since I saw your peformance the live in New York Portishead show videos. Big up the bristol sounds. Loving this video

[@dBsInstitute]

So glad you enjoyed this video, Phil!

[@mayson2669]

It's amazing that even with all that knowledge, experience and equipment, you still can't really recreate the amen break...commendable effort nonetheless.

[@dBsInstitute]

Hey! Glad you liked the video. As Clive says, replicating the flow of Gregory S. Coleman and the precise recording environment is always going to be a challenge. The key may be in the mastering but we think they got pretty close!

[@dBsInstitute]

If you liked this video and you want to learn more about this project, you can take a behind-the-scenes look at how we set up the mics and recorded/mixed the sound on our in-house API 1608 console here: ua-cam.com/video/UyAXfIuAfU8/v-deo.html

[@paullawson8610]

Cool project would have liked to have seen more in depth the recording process

[@dBsInstitute]

Hi Paul! Glad you enjoyed the video. We have some more detailed footage of the recording process for our students as an educational resource, so we might release that from the vaults in the future... Keep your eyes peeled 👀

[@paullawson8610]

@dBs Institute thanks look forward to seeing it

[@dBsInstitute]

@@paullawson8610 Hi Paul! You asked and we delivered... A behind-the-scenes look at the recording and mixing process premiering at 8pm tonight: ua-cam.com/video/UyAXfIuAfU8/v-deo.html

[@paullawson8610]

@dBs Institute thanks guys so cool

[@hotbeatz0]

I looove Clive Deamer, but if we're going to get nerdy and go deep, I think this sounds way too clean. If you're going to hew to only using the original signal chain, maybe the original was hitting the preamps and tape way harder to get that saturation/distortion? Also I really think that crash is on the cymbal, no the hats.

[@dBsInstitute]

It was definitely a challenge to get this right and so much of the original sound depended on the environment and flow of the drummer on the day!
Hopefully you enjoyed watching the process though! If you want to see more from Clive, we also dropped a behind the scenes video on the session which goes into a bit more detail on the recording and mixing process.

[@LexvanDijk]

Please be aware of dust particles while moving around the studio?

[@markklimaszewski7360]

Amazing work but yeah it still far off the original... Talk about a perfect accident. I wonder if anyone will ever manage to catch that sweet spot in the studio ever again

[@dBsInstitute]

Yeah it's such a moment in time, isn't it? We had a good go but the original is completely unique!