Interview with Kevin DePree: The Story Behind LA Session Drummer
1. How did LA Session Drummer get started?
LA Session Drummer went live late 2024, but the idea was born almost two years earlier when Zak St. John and I started discussing it while working at Drum Doctors in Los Angeles. Zak and I both share a love for drumming, but we’ve always had different focuses in the industry. Zak has extensive experience in recording and live drumming, while I’ve been immersed in music production for media. We saw an opportunity to create something better than what was available in the market, combining our expertise to create high-quality drum sample libraries.
One of the kits from our first batch was used in my track Storm the Field, which really gave me the chance to experience firsthand how well these kits work in real-world productions.
2. What sets LA Session Drummer apart from other sample libraries or services in the music production world?
What really makes LA Session Drummer stand out is our focus on the end-user experience. Rather than processing samples to fit a particular sound, we aim to give users a pure snapshot of a meticulously tuned, hand-picked drum kit. Every shell and cymbal is chosen carefully, recorded in top-tier studios, and delivered with the kind of quality you’d expect from a professional recording session. We also keep our user interface simple and intuitive, knowing that many producers will be using these sounds in their DAWs and may want to process them further. We give you the essentials, with routing options to match a professional recording setup. Whether you’re live drumming using an electronic drum kit or MIDI loops, our goal is to convince you it's a real kit in a studio.
3. How do you approach creating drum sounds for your sample libraries?
It really started from what don't we like about exsisting drum vst libraries. Don't take that the wrong way, there are amazing tools avalible. It just seems some of them are focused on features and not the quality of sound. LA Session Drummer is 100% focused on bring you the actually studio worthy drum kits used on countless recordings, played by working session drummers in LA every day. Precistion tuning, quality drums/cymbals, and the exact same microphone choices, placements, treatments, and processing used on some of music’s biggest recordings have been applied here, delivering a release-ready sound straight out of the box.
In our case Zak St. John is pulling these drums from his personal drum collection for our recordings, and we record them at his studio, Holiver Productions in Burbank. This unique combination of his expertise as a drum tech and my background in music production really allows us to craft sample libraries with authenticity and precision. The mix is kept very transparent to preserve the integrity of the original recordings, while our custom UI gives users the flexibility to shape the sounds to their own needs.
4. Can you walk us through the specific features of your DW Santa Monica Series drum kit?
The DW Santa Monica Series is one of our standout kits. Zak has carefully curated every element – from the shells to the cymbals – to give a cohesive, balanced sound. It’s not just a stock kit; it’s a complete, holistic setup designed to give users an authentic, hand-selected sound. The 80s USA Custom kit, for example, comes with a matching Tama Bell Brass snare and Paiste cymbals, perfectly tuned to the Gretsch shells.
We even offer a free Cymbal Rolls WAV download so potential customers can get a taste of the kit’s sound, either through stereo mixes or multi-track versions.
https://lasessiondrummer.com/products/paiste-cymbal-rolls
5. What types of music do you think benefit most from using your drum kits?
Anyone who is producing music digitally will benefit from these kits. If you understand drums a bit, you’ll be able to spot which kits suit specific genres. For example, the 80s USA Custom is ideal for rock, but there are no hard rules. I personally like to experiment with extreme tuning adjustments in our UI mixer. You can even use these samples for sound design, adding a unique dimension to your compositions.
6. What’s your process for collaborating with other artists to create drum samples or recordings?
Collaboration is key. Outside of LA Session Drummer, I’ve created numerous custom instruments for others and also for my own use in composing and proucing music. It’s all about understanding the sound composer/artist/project is looking for and delivering that vision.
For LA Session Drummer, Zak’s 15 years of experience working with Drum Doctors and his involvement with major bands gives us the credibility and skills to ensure we’re creating samples that musicians truly want to use.
7. Can you share some memorable feedback you’ve received from musicians using your drum kits?
One of the best compliments we’ve received is how much people appreciate our "less is more" approach to processing the samples. Users have pointed out that the transparency of our recordings allows them to easily integrate the sounds into their own mixes without feeling like they need to fight the sound.
8. What’s next for LA Session Drummer?
We’re excited to expand our line of drum kits and eventually introduce unique percussion instruments and auxiliary sounds. We’re still in the planning stages for these new products, but once we get rolling, things should move quickly. For now, we’re focusing on growing our online presence and telling the world about what we currently offer.
9. What advice do you have for aspiring music producers and drummers looking to create their own sample kits?
If you’re interested in creating your own sample instruments, go for it! It’s a huge learning process, and you’ll likely need to delegate tasks along the way. One of the most important things is to ensure you’ve used the types of instruments you want to create. Zak’s deep experience in recording and my background in production really helped us see what was missing in the market and how we could fill that gap.
10. Where can people find more about LA Session Drummer and the products you offer?
The best place to learn more is our website, where you’ll find product details, walkthroughs, and more information about our drum kits. You can also sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on special offers, free downloads, and product news. Be sure to join the LA Session Drummer community!
Keywords:
drum, virtual drum kit, software, rock music, synthesizer, snare drum, groove, virtual studio technology, sampling, music, digital audio workstation, midi, session musician, drummer, electronic drum, drum machine, electronic music, guitar, mac, bass drum, sampler, cymbal, pop music, hal blaine, gear, yoko ono, sound, jim gordon, songwriter, computer keyboard, the wrecking crew, pitch, macos, logic pro, sound design, song, jazz, beat, los angeles, audio engineer, demo, music genre, ringo starr, george harrison, rhythm, link, reference, tempo, microphone, steinberg cubase, the band, button, rock and roll, paul mccartney, bass guitar, americana, piano, api, album, hard rock, genre, band, jim keltner, google chrome, eric clapton, all things must pass, delay, pro tools, grammy awards, ride cymbal, tom petty and the heartbreakers, jeff porcaro, moon, the beatles, funk, rock and roll hall of fame, leon russell, javascript, machine, london, chord, modern drummer, ableton live, native instruments, distortion, headphones, pop rock, timing, favorite, steely dan, loop, metronome, soundtrack, living in the material world, musician, interface, internet, steve gadd, music theory, floor tom, blues, intel, harry nilsson, rimshot, time signature, john lennon, password, linux, earl palmer, wav, menu, algorithm, fl studio, monster, kenny aronoff, mastering, plastic ono band, general midi, billboard, bobby keys, california, drag and drop, musical instrument, electronic musical instrument, tambourine, bob dylan, hip hop production, diana ross, matt chamberlain, tom petty, computer, envelope, latency, apple silicon, crazy town, download, chris barber, roger hawkins, newsletter, china, son of dracula, england, philadelphia, acoustics, noise, josh freese, app, reply, music production, account, host, production, sounds, view, bfd player, developer, version, tr 909 vst, linndrum vst, drummachine vst, drum vst, double bass, frank sinatra, concert, dynamics, cakewalk, keith moon, carly simon, workflow, joel wanasek, john denver