By 1999, rock drums were starting to sound different. Tape was still around, but Pro Tools was changing what engineers could do after the performance was captured: tighter edits, cleaner tom mics, more accurate samples, and a new level of control.
Few tracks point toward the 2000s quite like Blink-182’s "What’s My Age Again?"
In this episode of Drums Through the Decades, Jessica and Noam break down Travis Barker’s drum sound on the track, from the kit itself to the production tricks that helped define the next era of pop-punk.
The setup starts with a Gretsch kick, Ludwig toms, a Ludwig Supralite snare, and Zildjian K Sweet cymbals. But the defining details are in the mix. A snare sample adds extra snap and consistency without replacing the feel of the original drum, while hand-edited tom mics keep the fills punchy and controlled.
The compression is just as important. Inspired by the heavy, polished approach of Tom Lord-Alge, the drums lean on parallel compression to get that hyped-up energy without flattening the performance. The result is tight, explosive, and still full of touch.
For mics, Noam uses a Beyerdynamic M 88 and FET 47 on kick, SM57s on snare, AKG 414s on toms, Schoeps V4Us overhead, and U 47-style room mics. A Lexicon-style reverb brings the snare, toms, and sample together in one controlled space.
It’s the sound of the late ’90s turning into the early 2000s: real drums, edited hard, compressed harder, and polished into something larger than life.
Watch the full breakdown to hear how it comes together.