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Get all the vibe… and the fidelity.

Welcome to Unleashed Drum Studio. My mission is to help you achieve the full potential of your songs with the highest quality custom drum tracks, production and mixing. In addition I offer drum set lessons to students of all abilities, based around my award nominated drum method books. All of my services are offered in-person or remotely to wherever you are in the world.

My name is Blake Paulson, I built and operate Unleashed Drum Studio. I’ve been drumming professionally since 1998 and writing/producing/mixing songs since 2002. I’ve recorded over 500 songs in dozens of studios around the country and had the great honor of recording for big stars like Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato; Grammy nominated producers and songwriters like Aris Archontis, Chen Neeman, Drew Lawrence, Rob Kleiner, and Miklos Malek; and dozens of talented indie singers, songwriters, and producers. You can read my full Bio HERE

Unleashed Drum Studio offers commercial quality, multi-track drumset recording and song production/mixing services. I use the highest quality instruments, heads, microphones, tuning techniques, and mixing techniques to achieve a wide range of great production tones.

Please visit my other pages which outline the details of my services and feel free to contact me with any questions.

Endorsements: A&F Drum Co. (Drums); Sabian (Cymbals); Remo (Drum Heads); Mogami (Cables); Humes & Berg (Drum Cases); Snare Weight (Drum Dampeners); BagEnd Loudspeakers (Subwoofers); is an Ultimate EarsAmbassador (In-Ear Monitors); and Vic FirthEducator (Drumsticks). In addition, Blake works directly with Drum Workshop (Hardware, Pedals); Avid (Recording Software); MakeMusic (Notation Software); FabFilter (Recording Plug-ins) and Sennheiser (Microphones, Headphones).

Recording

Don’t sell your songs short.

There is no need to settle for anything less than real, custom drum tracks recorded just for you. In today’s highly competitive song market, drum loops, samples, and programmed tracks won’t cut it. Although helpful during the songwriting process, these tools simply cannot match the parts, grooves, energy, and tones of a custom recorded drum track for your song.

Create the most meaningful songs and have the best chance for success by having me create a one of a kind, custom drum track for your next single, EP or full length record.

ONLINE/REMOTE DRUM RECORDING

What does online or remote drum recording mean? Unleashed Drum Studio is located in Los Angeles, CA, the heart of the modern music world. Online/remote recording is designed for singers, songwriters, and producers who don’t live in Los Angeles but want high-end, major label drums on their songs. In fact, I work with artists from all over the world.

How does it work? It’s surprisingly easy. Regardless of your location, you simply send me a song that you need drums recorded for. I record the drums for your song and send you back a stereo reference mix for your approval. At that point you are able to make specific changes to the drum parts or request a full new take. When you are completely satisfied with the drum parts, I will send you a link to download your great sounding, full multitrack drum performance. The whole process usually takes less than 12-hours.

For more details, please visit the FAQ page HERE

IN PERSON LOS ANGELES DRUM RECORDING

If you live in Los Angeles or are visiting to create your music, Unleashed Drum Studio is a great alternative to a commercial studio. Through years of recording at the big studios and working closely with top engineers, I am able to achieve drum sounds that equal or improve upon the very best commercial facilities. You can listen to samples HERE.

The advantages of Unleashed Drum Studio

1) Consistently great drum tones. Each time you go to a commercial studio the results vary, regardless of how impressive their gear is. The actual quality of the drum tracks you leave with is unknown before the session. You can preview my sounds on this site; you know exactly what you are going to get before you book a session at Unleashed Drum Studio.

2) Save time. Commercial studios require a lot of setup time to get great drum tones. This is understandable because drumset is the most challenging instrument to record. I have two drumsets setup and mic’d at all times, fully dialed in and sounding great! At Unleashed Drum Studio you don’t waste setup time and you don’t pay for it.

3) Save money. When booking a commercial session you pay for the studio, the engineer, and the drummer. 1-hour of these three expenses is typical more money than you will pay to spend a full 3-hours at Unleashed Drum Studio completing your new song. You will save at least 50% over booking a commercial studio.

Gear

Creating the perfect vibe… with all the fidelity.

Please listen TO SAMPLES with pro headphones or studio monitors to better hear the differences in tone and vibe. You can choose the perfect instruments for your song, or have me choose for you. 👌

DRUMS

A&F Drum Co. Endorsement

IN HOUSE BASS DRUMS

(Listen to all 9 Bass Drums)

1930’s Ludwig & Ludwig Maple 14″ x 26″

1950’s WFL Mahogany 14″ x 22″

1950’s Leedy & Ludwig Mahogany 10″ x 28″

1960’s Samsonite Leather Hardside Suitcase 8″ x 26″

2016 A&F Drum Co. Black Club Mahogany 10″ x 24″

2018 A&F Drum Co. Black Club Mahogany 12″ x 26″

2022 Generic Child’s Drum 11″ x 16″

ADVANCED NOTICE BASS DRUMS (+$60)

1950’s WFL Mahogany 14″ x 24″

2000’s DW Maple 14″ x 24″

IN HOUSE SNARE DRUMS

(Listen to all 15 Snare Drums)

1920’s Ludwig Nickle Over Brass 5″ x 14″

1930’s Ludwig & Ludwig Maple 7″ x 14″

1960’s Leedy Mahogany 5.5″ x 14″

2010 Ludwig “Acrolite” Aluminum 6.5″ x 14″

2016 A&F Drum Co. Raw Brass 5″ x 14″

2017 A&F Drum Co. Black Club Mahogany 8″ x 16″

2018 A&F Drum Co. Raw Steel 5″ x 14″

2018 A&F Drum Co. Raw Brass 2″ x 16″ Pancake

ADVANCED NOTICE SNARE DRUMS (+$30)

1920’s Ludwig Black Beauty 4″ x 14″

1940’s WFL Mahogany 6.5″ x 14″

1940’s Ludwig & Ludwig Maple 5.5″ x 14″

1950s Ludwig Maple 4.5″ x 14″

1970’s Ludwig Black Beauty 5.5″ x 14″

1970’s Rogers SuperTen 4″ x 14″

1980’s Tama Bell Brass 6″ x 14″

TOMS

1930’s Ludwig & Ludwig 9″ x 13″

1930’s Ludwig & Ludwig 16″ x 16″

2018 A&F Drum Co. 9″ x 13″

2018 A&F Drum Co. 14″ x 16″

HEADS

Remo Endorsement

CYMBALS

Sabian Endorsement

10” Chopper

10” HHX Evolution Splash

12” HHX Evolution Splash

13” Paragon Hi-Hats

15” Crescent Fat Hi-Hats

16” Artisan Elite Hi-Hats

16” HHX Evolution O-Zone Crash

18” Artisan Crash

20” AA Apollo Crash

20” AA Apollo Crash w/ 3 Rivets

20” Artisan Elite Crash

20” HH King Crash

20” HH Thin Crash x 2 “The Twins”

20” HHX Evolution Crash

20” HHX Evolution Ozone Crash

21” HHX Groove Ride

22” Artisan Elite Ride

22” Artisan Medium Ride

24” HH King Ride

MICROPHONES

AKG C414 x 2 (Stereo Pair)

AKG C451

Audio Technica AT4047

Audix CX112B x 3

Coles 4038 x 2 (Stereo Pair)

Electro-Voice RE20

Neumann KM 184 x 2 (Stereo Pair)

Sure SM57 x 4

Telefunken ELA M 260 x 2 (Stereo Pair)

Warm Audio WA-47jr

PREAMPS

AMS Neve 1073 Class A Mic Preamps (12 channels)

Universal Audio Apollo X8P Interfaces (24 channels)

CABLES

Mogami Endorsement

ROOM

Custom Built: floating walls, ceiling and Oak floor

320 sq. feet – 2895 cu. feet

10 foot high cove ceiling

Sound Isolation -50db

ACOUSTIC TREATMENT

1 Custom Built Floating Overhead Drum Cloud

30 Bass Traps: Custom Built with LA Sound Panels Face Diffusers & Corner Traps

34 Skyline Diffusers: Custom Built from Pine

SOFTWARE

Avid Pro Tools

Final Cut Pro

Universal Audio, Waves, FabFilter Plugin Suites and many more…

Finale

SoundID Reference System

MONITOR SYSTEMS

Sennheiser HD800 Reference Headphones & HDVD800 Headphone Amplifier

Mackie HR824mk2 Studio Monitors with SonarWorks Tuning

Bag End IPS18E-I Subwoofer with SonarWorks Tuning

Ultimate Ear Pro Reference Monitors

4 x Behringer P16-M Personal Mix Stations (Small Group Recording & PreProduction)