Last Updated on February 7, 2025 by IDS Team

Many producers find themselves asking after a while how to make drums sound bigger. Especially if you started with generic low quality drum samples, or pre-programmed drums, you may find they seem flat or tinny compared to the rich sounds you imagine. Overall, how to mix drums is a complex topic. Yet, it’s easy to get started with a few quick tips and the best things about the internet is there are also a host of tools that can help you. So we’ll look at things like the best reverb for drums, best drum plugins overall, and how to make drums sound fatter.

What’s more, if you’re working in a genre that relies on power, such as metal, hard rock, or punk, you may find that bigger means a host of different characteristics that you struggle to pin down. This article is geared towards metal and other heavy genres but will help you look at all aspects of making drums ‘bigger’. Whether that’s fatter tones, more power, or other hard to pin down characteristics, it doesn’t matter. Some of these plugins – and tips – may be useful for other genres too., so, read on. 

Best Reverb For Drums: Valhalla DSP VintageVerb 

Valhalla DSP has created a number of high quality plugins over time. Other reverbs from the company may take the spotlight, but this is one less well known. We think that’s a shame, because it’s great. 

VintageVerb Quick Breakdown

Why it’s best:  If you want the most versatility between and across genres, this is the reverb for you. Valhalla VintageVerb has more sonic richness and character in its tonality than lots of other reverbs, making it equally applicable at different point. Whether it is the most intense moments of your track when you might have to simplify things to prevent muddiness, to the quieter moments that need more detail, you’ll appreciate having this trusty reverb at your side.

What it does: The valhalla vintage verb is loosely built around classic reverbs of the 1970s and 1980s but its still highly applicable to modern styles of production. It has specific modes for these eras if that’s what you’re after – especially if you’re working in classic thrash metal or want to take inspiration from early bands like Iron Maiden. However, its decay, bass frequency, shape, difference, modulation, and eq knobs mean it is much more customizable than this. The result is a reverb that feels highly up-to-date but preserves a lot of the character of vintage analog gear. 

Tips to use: Make full use of the subtle differences between dirty and clean reverbs, such as the dirty plate reverb, for when your track needs more character. Find it here.

Best Drum Plugins Overall (Pre Programmed Metal Drums): Ugritone Drum Packs

Why it’s best: Ugritone have been leaders in creating niche, metal-specific plugins for years now and we were sorry to see in late 2024 that they were closing down. Well, in a twist of fate they are back up and running now. And their drum packs span just about every  subgenre of metal imaginable with a few left-field addition such as ska punk, emo, and grunge. 

What it does: The Ugritone drum packs are all recorded in studio, organically, with real IRs and work with the rest of the Ugritone gear on their website. The company offers two kinds of drums. These are the basic drum packs, and then the MIDI groove packs, which offer pre programmed grooves across a vast variety of metal subgenres. What’s more, a lot of Ugritone gear is discounted at the moment – as the company was rescued from closing down in late 2024. Head to their website while things are still hot. 

Tips to use: Get the entire bundle if you’re working across multiple subgenres. Find them here.

Best Compressor For Drums: Waves SSL G Channel

Compression and EQ work hand in hand. So, if you’re hoping for bigger sounding drums, there’s a likelihood you’ll be layering a lot of your drum tracks. In this case, these two FX become indispensable for evening out your track, reducing unwanted frequencies, and preventing the peaks and troughs from diverging too much. 

Yet if you want to compress for a bigger sound and don’t want to suck all the life out of your carefully recorded drums, you’ll want a compressor that has enough versatility to let your track maintain its character. We recommend this multiband compressor from Waves Audio – the SSL G Channel. 

Waves SSL G Channel Quick Breakdown

Why it’s best:  The G channel series emulates classic SSL compressors that strike a balance between vintage and modern. This plugin offers you a compressor that can amp up the power without making things sound flat. 

If your sick of compressed instruments sounding overly artificial, tense, and unrealistic, the SSL G channel is for you. This is a compressor that will preserve the level of character that you may want for realistic sounding drums on a rock or metal pack that still pack a punch. 

What it does: With threshold, ratio, attack, release, makeup, and rate knobs, it operates similarly to any basic multiband compressor. However, it truly allows you to fine-tune larger amounts of instruments that you want to bring together seamlessly. It’s perfect for adding ‘glue to your drum bus – making sure it acts as a cohesive whole. In the end, the fact is, no matter how much you work on individual drums, a drum section that doesn’t hang together won’t sound as full to the listener.

Tips to use:  Whilst it is marketed as a master bus compressor, it’s very versatile and you can also use it on a drum bus, which is what we’d recommend. Bringing drums together can give a powerful illusion of them working together for a fuller, fatter sound. Find it here.

Best Underrated FX for Drums: Logic Pro Phat FX – How To Make Drums Sound Fatter

You may have done a double take reading this. After all, if you’re looking for subtle drum improvements you may not be a fn of the basic, generic plugins found on the world’s most accessible DAW. 

However, we’ve included Logic’s Phat FX here because it really is underrated. As a bundle of FX, it doesn’t really see the light of day in the same way the platform’s reverbs and compressors do. Yet it’s great for adding subtle color to tracks and deserves a mention here not just because many producers overlook it in the process of going out to find more exciting plugins. No, it’s not particularly flash, but it’s perfect for those times when your drums need something subtle and you’re not sure what. 

Phat FX Quick Breakdown:

Why it’s best: It’s easy to quickly dismiss the basic FX you get on Logic Pro, but the Phat FX bundle works so well because it combines them in a way that is intuitive and easy to use for producers of all level. The learning curve is very easy and by having these features in the same place, it’s easy to see how they interact with each other. 

What it does: Phat FX is great for things like subtly adding to the frequency spectrum. This is because there is so much control over specific parts of your drums (or any other instrument you are trying to add to). But what is it exactly? Part of Logic’s Multi FX section, it comprises of many FX that have been connected together including distortion, saturation, and more.

Tips to use: One of the cooler things about Phat FX is that it also comes with exciting presets such as reversed versions of the presets. Whilst it can make things sound big and gritty, where it excels is at adding to those parts of your drums that may just feel a bit lackluster but you don’t want to tamper with fully. 

Using Distortion On Drums: JST Heat – Distortion and Saturation Plugin 

The JST Heat is a combined distortion and saturation plugin from Joey Sturgis tones that answers a hard to define question – what exactly do you mean by ‘bigger’? 

Often, producers use the term without fully knowing what bits of their track their want to improve. However, it commonly means that they want their drums to sound fuller, richer, and to have more presence. This is especially the case for ones like the kick and snare, which can sometimes get lost in the mix compared to the hi hats. Often this comes through the process of adding sonic texture, so subtle bits of distortion – and by extension saturation – can simply create a ‘fuller’ drum sound. 

JST Heat Quick Breakdown

Why it’s best:  This plugin goes into a level of depth and detail when it comes to mixing and mastering saturation that few others achieve. Sometimes the reasons behind flat-sounding drums are subtle, but with the JST Heat you’ll be able to fine-tune your drums until the weak spots are all evened out. 

What it does: This plugin not only comes with unique processing modes for adding not just different levels but different KINDS of distortion to your track, it also lets you learn along the way by offering hints and tips. 

It also offers the choice to mix and master the distortion and saturation itself, with a global heat adjustment and per band filters. 

Tips to use: Due to the multiband feature, this has a phenomenal advantage if you’re trying to prevent muddiness as well as delineate different parts of your drum section. With this plugin, you can separate different frequencies and apply the distortion level of your choice in order to create more sophisticated, sonically complex and distinct parts of your mix. Find it here.

Final Thoughts 

Bigger is a subjective term, and it can mean different things to different people. Do you simply want to make your drums sound more intense? Pop out in the mix more? Or do you need them to fill the room? Hopefully the options here should point you in the right direction to some drum plugins that can help with bigger and more powerful drums. What’s more they can also explain the basic principles involved in boosting a single instrument like this. 

Remember, you can never really take too long over your mix (unless you’re overthinking!) Taking time to isolate the drums as well as listen to them in context really pays off in the end. With continuous feedback you will find that you can go from muddy mixes to powerful drums in no time at all. 

If you love more stuff specifically for drummers, check out these articles here, and here. Meanwhile, if it’s software you’re after, we cover some of the best and most underrated VST plugins in our software section here.