Should you sample your own drum kit, or just buy one of the many industry-standard drum libraries and be happy with it?
Or both ways?

Everybody has an opinion on this. But I wanted to find out myself.

Further below an excerpt from croquesolid's comprehensive user manual. The plugin includes sample triggering and comes with a small library of multilayer samples from the TOURAGE DSP inhouse studio/live kit. [You can expand its library with own samples (WAV format).]

Sampling kick, snare and 2 toms were made here under normal home-studio conditions, although in an acoustically treated room (for mixing). A (matched) pair of small condensers (sE 8) and a dedicated kick mic (EV PL-33) were the only mics. Signals went into a Tascam US-16x08 and recorded with Samplitude Pro-X. A comparibly inexpensive journey. It just requires time.

The initial idea was to have a library that can be used for inhouse band production work. I once had built my own hardware drum module (we still use it every week), and the samples I equipped it with (including all my cymbals) are integral for all our band rehearsals and demo recordings. Since it turned out that the samples do actually work, I decided to ship their main parts (kick, snare, toms) with croquesolid as add-on content (Default Sample Pack).

[I will do a blog post of that hardware module at a later point, guessing it might be interesting for others into embedded audio gear design, and yes, the plugin borrowed quite a bit of code from the trigger part as well as the multi-layer/round-robin sample-player architecture.]

I want to shed some light on sample production here, which I found scary and very challenging at first, like everybody perhaps. People say it's hard, you need perfect acoustics, a highly experienced drummer, the best drums and mics you can get etc. etc...
In hindsight I can safely say I should have done this way more earlier in my 'audio career'. It was definitely worth it, I've learned a lot. Everybody will. It's fun and rewarding. Go do it!

Quoting myself from the manual now:

There are plenty of resources available online about recording drums, microphone placement, and studio techniques. While everyone has their own approach, modern studio drum sounds follow a general consensus, making it easy to find inspiration.
However, when it comes to sampling acoustic drums, there’s far less widely available information, and the process is often treated as a kind of 'black magic'. Many commercial sample libraries might give the impression that creating your own drum samples isn’t worth it, suggesting that you need high-end gear, vintage drum kits, pristine studio acoustics, and extensive experience to do it right.
We strongly encourage you to experiment with recording your own drum samples, even if it’s just a few hits for your own productions. If it’s not perfect on the first try, there are still great benefits:

• Your sound, your identity. Custom samples are unique to you, becoming part of * your signature as an artist or engineer.
• A backup for mixing. If you’re already tracking drums, it’s easy to take a few minutes to record extra hits for later use.
  These can save a mix if a performance isn’t quite right or needs subtle reinforcement.
• A great learning experience. Sampling teaches you a lot about individual drum sounds, mic techniques, and the fine details of editing and consistency.
  The extra attention to detail will pay off in all aspects of production.

Approaches to sampling a drum kit

When recording drum samples, there are two main approaches.

1. Full-kit studio setup:

• This method mirrors a typical studio recording session: miking up the full kit as if tracking a live performance. The advantage is that your samples will sound identical to the recorded kit, including natural snare buzz, sympathetic resonances, and the interaction between drums.
• Ideal for mixdown replacement, where the samples blend seamlessly into the original performance.
• Can include close mics only or room mics for a more spacious sound. 
• Requires proper studio space, multiple microphones, and more setup time.

2. Isolated kit piece sampling:

• This approach records each drum separately, without interaction from other kit elements.
• Fewer mics, simpler setup, and less reliance on room acoustics.
• Works well in home studios and is easier to repeat consistently (distances and mic placements can be documented).
• When recording in stereo, you can position mics per drum while keeping their relative spacing similar to a full kit.

The Default Sample Pack follows this second approach, with a few tweaks:

• The kick drum was miked conventionally: a mono kick mic, placed about 1/3 inside the shell, angled toward the beater.
• Snares and toms were recorded in stereo using an A/B pair of small-diaphragm condenser mics (cardioid pattern).
• The mics were spaced 30cm (~1ft) apart, angled inward, and positioned above the drum head, placed equidistant between the center and rim to balance impact and ringing.
• The recording space was a dry control room (RT60 ≈ 0.2s), so no additional ambience was captured.

Sampling process

• Recording multi-layer drum samples requires patience and consistency. If you’re recording alone, choose a time when you’re fresh, focused, and relaxed.
• Consistency is key. Striking a drum at consistent velocities, gradually increasing power step by step, is crucial.
• Our recordings typically contain 15–20 velocity layers per drum, from ghost notes to full power hits. More layers come with better dynamic resolution, but require more work, discipline and of course memory on disk and in RAM.
• Most snare and tom samples in the Default Sample Pack have five variations per velocity layer, helping to avoid the machine-gun effect. Typically, having more inter-layer variations is more important than the absolute number of layers.
• Since recording more variations than needed provides flexibility, we recorded extra takes and later selected the best five during editing.

Editing and exporting

• For best results, samples must be cleanly cut, properly levelled, and consistently formatted before being imported into croquesolid.
• The workflow may vary depending on the tools you use (external audio editor or DAW), but the key steps remain the same:
  • Ensure each hit is accurately sliced, with no unwanted silence before the attack.
  • Apply consistent gain staging across all layers to preserve dynamics.
  • Keep recorded dynamic range intact, don’t over-process.
  • Avoid clipping (0dBFS), especially with integer WAV formats.
  • Light high-pass filtering may be useful for snares and toms, depending on mic choice.
  • If needed, use envelopes or fades to shape the decay of each sample.
  • Export files in WAV format while maintaining a uniform bit depth and sample rate across the entire set.

While there’s no single right way to approach this, finding an efficient workflow with your preferred tools will make the process much easier over time.

Most importantly: have fun!