so on beat tips forums i was reading a tip that said that a good way to carv out your signature sound is to only use a select few drum samples for everything. I.E have maybe 5 kits, and then adjust them different for every track you do.

I personally just use random drums i come across all the time. I was wondering if any of you guys like to just use a select few drum samples that you like as opposed to using any you come across.

I think a signature sound is more in the way you treat you samples than in the sound of your drums. Some dudes use gritty basslines, some dudes use lo fi drums, others only sample jazz. Like, I know a mad lib track when I hear it. Or a preemo beat when I hear the samples and how they are arranged. I think it's more to it than just the drums.
I've been listening to a lot of flying lotus these past few days, and I couldn't put my finger on his "signature sound", many would try but they would all be wrong. I don't think artist aim for a certain sound, I think it's the audience who happen to peg them to a certain sound after years of listening.

^ cosign. Signature drum sounds are just a piece of defining your sound. Sure, I can recognize the O'Jay's hi hat or the Long Red break in a lot of Pete Rock's shit, but that's just a part of a bigger whole- the way he chops, filters, sequences etc. etc. etc. Knowing how to get any drums to sound the way you want rather than limiting yourself to a few different kits is a better way to get at a signature sound.

I use lots of different drums, just look for whatever sound I want paired with the samples.

its true it certainly gives a real unifying effect to your music.. I've been limiting myself to just a few drum sounds for a different reason - to try and really push my beat programming up further.. i tend to get carried away with the sound design and dont work on the rhythms, so using fixed sounds that I just process a bit differently for each song gives me the discipline i need to upgrade my skillz

This!^^^^

That's how I am too, always get carried away with the effects and whatnot and end up spending too much time on that stuff - but gotta learn that too so oh well. I mean, if you spend a bunch of time getting drumkits together then why not use em? Especially if you've got a good range of sounds, it's nice to have drums 'fit' together on a beat tape or something for example.

Drums can make your signature sound also the type of melody you build can determine your sound. Just stick to your unorthodox formula and your sound will develope.

don't quantize and you will get a signature sound/swing regardless of what drums you use

I don't really think about going for a signature sound, but I'm always building new kits, yet I tend to use the same few most of the time. Something about them brings me back for more! Lately I've been adding new stuff under these old faves to refresh em.

You signature sound with drums comes down to how you craft them. Which filters do you use (high,low,band), Compression(at what state in production, how much, which compressor, hardware/software), how your drums set in the mix(are the the loudest part of the song or low and below the instruments), attack, sustain, release, decay, & EQ.

Eventually you will reach a thing called Unconscious Competence.

i usually look at my drums for the quality of their sound, like is it some bumpin pete rock kick, or is it more for the rhythm of the break (maybe the hits are weak or sound a little different), and there are definitely plenty of breaks that have both, so maybe i'll use certain serious bumpin kicks or snappin snares (hi hats cymbals and percussion too!!) to layer with a weaker break a little more often, but i'll use any break i can find if the rhythm and timbre fit the cuts i'm workin with, in fact i love findin weird obscure breaks that haven't been used, not because its on the rarest record ever, but just cause there is somethin off about it, its not a full measure long and has to be cut and rearranged (but not into single hits necessarily), or it has a pitch from another instrument still fading off from before the break started, or its just not a strong soundin break, cause when the sound of a certain break fits great with a sample, man, you know that shit is loopin for the rest of the day

hank shocklee said he uses like 8 kits pretty much for everything. but also a snare might have 4 different snares layered, a hat might be 2 hats layered together, kick is 3 diff kicks together, etc...

so i think the signature is not coming from the limiting of kits but rather from the unique layering

I really depends on what you are after.

If you want a signature sound its possibly best to stick with a few sounds if drums is your signature.

If your goal is emulating other producers or keeping up with the trends then it may be a good idea to build your library...

Lastly it depends on your skill and how you like to work... Me personally as a sound designer I can sit with 10 drums and make any drum sound that is out there.

2nd. That's a sick idea.

I've been told I have a signature sound and I dont' even try...even when I make music across a variety of platforms, people say most of them can identify 'my style', mostly in the chords I use and the way the tunes progress.

I think if you're being honest with yourself while making a tune, YOU will come through, even if you try and hide it. Sort of like when Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman, but people recognized his style of writing. Everyone approaches the craft a different way and it will shine through regardless of intentions.