Florian Gouello on Modern Studio Tools, Workflow, and Sound Design
Cover Photo Credit: David Maurel
9 minute read
Meet Florian Gouello—a French drummer, producer, and engineer based in LA who’s built a reputation for his top-tier studio work. From platinum albums to drum loops used by Grammy-winning artists, Florian brings feel, creativity, and great sounds to every session. In this interview, you’ll pick up fresh, unique studio techniques and insights that will level up your own sessions.
It’s increasingly popular for drummers to record themselves in a home studio and provide tracks to clients. As a successful drummer doing this, with an excellent tonal sensibility, what is your advice to drummers wanting to record themselves at home? What should they focus on?
I think it all starts with tuning. That, and the acoustics of the room you’re recording in. Phase relationships between the mics matter a lot too. And your playing: the mix starts with your playing.
Sure, there are tons of plugins out there now and it’s way easier to make a drum recording sound good, technically speaking. But none of it matters if you’re playing your cymbals or hi-hats too loud. You can spend all the money you want on mics, preamps, or a fancy interface, if your room doesn’t sound good, and your drums aren’t tuned right, you’re not gonna get the result you want.
Of course, “good” or “right” is subjective. Your drums might sound great to your ears in your practice space, but I remember during my first recording sessions, it was wild how different my kit felt when I brought it into a new studio. My perception of the sound changed depending on the space.
Some engineers would ask me to tune the drums a certain way (damped, open, whatever) but it didn’t always match how I wanted them to sound. It all depends on the style you’re recording. Tuning and dampening will shift a lot between a ’60s soul track and a modern pop record. So many variables: the drum itself, tuning, your playing, mic choice and placement, the room, the processing… it’s a rabbit hole.
You’ve worked with huge producers like John Hill and Rick Nowels—what’s your mindset walking into those kinds of sessions?
I’ve learned that those kinds of people know a lot of great musicians. There’s no need to try and impress them with chops or something they haven’t heard before. I feel like the best way to do a good job is to be kind, listen to their vision for the song, and be able to read the room.
Are they busy figuring out something in the arrangement? Talking to the engineer? Is the artist in the room? Do they need space and time?
Those things are just as important to me as bringing the right musical ideas.
As crazy as it might sound, it’s not a big deal. I’ve been waiting to play on major records my whole life, wondering how it would feel. Be on time (sounds obvious, but don’t forget it). Be prepared, though honestly, most of the time I hear the songs for the first time in the studio. Don’t get stressed if you don’t figure it out on the first take. The most important thing is getting the right feel for the song. That helps guide your tuning, your ideas, and the way you interact with the producer. You can always punch in a fill or fix something later. And… have fun. I don’t feel like I have to hold back when it comes to ideas, drum sounds, or taking initiative (even make bad jokes with my stupid French accent). Once the vibe is good and everyone feels comfortable, it’s usually welcomed.
Photo Credit: Danielle Ernst
When tracking drums for artists remotely, what’s your workflow from start to finish?
Clients approach me in different ways. Sometimes they’re about to finish the song and want to replace their drums (programmed drums, drum loops – some have been using loops from my packs) and they know exactly the kind of aesthetic they want, with references and everything. Sometimes they just have a rough drum idea and let me come up with my own take. In every case, I start by setting up the right drums, with the right tuning. I decide if I’ll record crashes or rides separately (which I often do for modern or pop stuff – gives the client flexibility. If they’re unsure about that crash on the downbeat, they can just mute it without having to edit the whole drum take). I also think about what kind of processing I’m going to use. I import my template, drop in some markers with notes (structure, little cues or words that help me stay focused). Then I start recording and if I’m happy with the raw sounds, I start processing right away to see if it’s heading where I want. I usually send a first take via WhatsApp or email, and we go back and forth from there. Once they’re happy, I export everything. If they hired me for full drum production, they get a folder with the produced tracks (my EQ, gates, compression, etc), all the individual tracks, a drum bus, and any parallel processing or reverbs. I send it all through WeTransfer Pro.
How do you dial in drum sounds for different genres? How do you supplement the record producer’s tonal vision with your own?
In the past I’ve done a lot of research and experimentation to understand how to get a certain tone or feel while recording drums. I was always limited by the size of my rooms and had to work with what I had. So if the sonics call for big rock stadium drums, I’ll try to get the best possible drum sound (including room sound) even if it’s a close or small room sound, before diving into room emulations and reverbs. Part of how I get what I want is by not being too precious. That’s hard when all the tutorials are about doing this EQ move then hitting that compressor, nothing wrong with that, it’s just that I try to avoid being in a cerebral mode when I work. That usually leads me to frustration and eventually starting from scratch. I try to trust the process and my intentions at every step. The producers usually trust me and aren’t controlling at all on the technical side. The most important thing is what I deliver and how it sounds and whether they’re happy. Long story short: experimentation, research, tuning, processing, trusting my gut.
Your Instagram is full of videos that are creative and unique in their own way. Where do you get the inspiration for the tones and tools that you use?
Thanks! I listen to inspiring music, it could be modern or older stuff. Sometimes I get inspired by music that doesn’t even have drums and I imagine what I’d add and how it would sound and sit in the mix. It involves a lot of creative choices along the way. If it’s a super retro-sounding song, that might mean one mic, the right compressor, and some reverb or saturation. I try to respond to what makes me move more than applying a specific technique or mixing trick. I often make extreme choices in terms of processing just to get a vibe going. I dive into the details later to polish things. A lot of it is just experimenting with mic balance, older or newer plugins (no rules and no restrictions for this). I’d say a good starting point is getting the right mic balance and making sure the phase relationship is solid. You might not even need every mic in your setup. Once the balance is right, with no processing on individual tracks, I’ll usually start by processing the drum bus, then go back into the individual mics. As far as tools, I work with a pretty limited set of microphones and instruments. The biggest changes to the sound always come from tuning, mic choice, and placement.
Do you mix your own drum takes? If so, what are your go-to tools or techniques?
Yes I do. More often than not my mixed versions stay in the final mix of the track. When working with band Camilo Septimo recently (huge band in Mexico and Latin America), I did some production on their tracks (they wanted all the steps from playing to processing I added to the tracks), I got in touch with the mixer who told me he literally used the stereo drum bus in the main mix. That’s because when I send a bounce to a client I always try to make it sound already mixed and finished. This didn’t happen overnight, took me some confidence and years to put myself in that mindset. Some of the tools I use the most are the Fabfilter pro-g, Pro q4, pro-L Studer a 800 tape emulation (for saturation and as an eq as well), pultec EQP-1, transient designer, decapitator etc… Nothing too groundbreaking – once again it’s not about plugins, but the combinations you get with them and how you use them.
Photo Credit: Santiago Warren
What does your current drum recording setup look like? (Mics, preamps, room treatment, etc.)
I do pretty much everything in the box. I’m running 2 Universal Audio Apollo 8p’s and 1 Apollo Twin, so 18 inputs total. I actually started my remote recording setup with just 8 inputs, which is totally fine if that’s where you’re at. I change the preamp emulations depending on the session. When I’m producing the drums I send to clients, I rarely use more than 10 microphones. I see the 18 inputs as options, not a rule. In terms of mics: 3x SM57s, Beyerdynamic M201 and M160, AKG D12VR, Telefunken M82, Audix D2 and D4, KM184, 2x AKG C451s, 2x Coles 4038, SM7B, Reslo ‘The Beeb’ x2, and a Universal Audio Sphere DLX. Room treatment in my LA studio is pretty simple, panels on the walls, some bass traps, and a cloud over the kit. I’ve also got acoustic curtains on one of the walls to help cut reflections.
Do you have any favorite items that you find yourself using frequently? For example a particular tambourine, snare, or shaker…
Pretty much every recording I’m doing features my 70’s Hayman drum kit. It sounds fabulous. 85% of the time I use one of my 70’s Acrolite snares too. I love my 22″ Zildjian Bounce ride, as well as the 20″ Cluster crashes. For hi-hats, I usually go with the 16″ Zildjian A hats, but I’ve also been into this 70’s 15″ A hi-hat I picked up recently. For percussion, it’s a whole world. I have five favorite tambourines: one Rhythm Tech, two Meinl, one toy tambourine I love, and another one I got at Pro Drum in Hollywood (I don’t remember the brand). They’re all great, it just depends on the song. Same for shakers. I think it’s worth slowly building your own collection over time. I just got this amazing pair of Gon Bops congas from the 70’s that were recorded on some Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin albums.
Your Splice loop packs are used by major producers—how do you approach creating loops that feel new and edgy, but still usable?
I’m just not that interested in recording overly complicated stuff. The loops I make are really just what I love in terms of feel and tone, both the playing and the processing. I have more fun chasing a vibe than noodling behind the kit. I’m usually aiming for energy, not complexity. Honestly, I get more joy out of processing drums and shaping the sound than noodling around. A beat that feels solid, is simple, and just sounds great, that’s the goal. And honestly, that’s hard to do.
What’s also wild is yeah, people use my Splice loops, but they also go crazy for the signature packs I drop on my site. Some really big names are grabbing those. I’ve been putting out these sample packs for almost 3 years now. They’ve reached over 3000 producers around the world.
You’re a drummer, producer, and engineer—how do you keep all those skills sharp without burning out?
Well, I do burn out aha… I’m also a marketer, I hire people for design, photos, and videos for my drum loops, I produce projects from A to Z, I’ve got a solo project under the name Gouello that I just started releasing songs with (I produce and write the lyrics), and I’m about to launch a podcast. And I have a girlfriend. And I exercise… yeah, it’s starting to be quite a lot.
I think exercising and allowing myself to rest, super hard for me because music and all these projects drive me—is essential. I know a lot of people in music and other creative careers can relate. One thing that helps me stay focused is just the basics: good sleep, eating well, and I’ve been using this device called Brick that blocks social apps until I physically tap it to unlock.
There’s always a reason to say yes to more things, especially living in an expensive city, and after working so hard to get people to call you in the first place. So being busy is good. But it’s also essential to make room for yourself, your partner, your friends, and your own creative projects too.
What’s something you wish more artists or producers that request your services would understand about your workflow, or your approach to your craft?
I realize it can be a bit unclear sometimes what I’m really offering. The whole process of getting the drums to sound better than the Splice loops or any other samples they used in their demo comes down to thoughtful production. Some beatmakers call themselves producers just by assembling samples and making a beat. I do that with my playing, but I also handle every step in between that’s crucial to the final sound and vibe. Each recording is unique, with its own setup, ideas, and approach. I’m not just sitting behind the kit and recording the song, that’s only part of it. I put in the work to make the drums feel like their own thing while fitting and respecting the overall production.
I want the drums to serve the song first and foremost, and bring something that feels alive and real. That’s what makes the difference for me.
Thank you, Florian!
Find Florian Gouello on his website, Instagram, and TikTok.
