Sorry, but I've yet to hear a Yamaha demo where I thought 'this sounds like a live drummer, compressed in the studio'.

To be honest, very little arranger work I've heard here makes much of a nod towards the drummer, often treating that part as just a timekeeper, rather than an integral part of the musical ensemble. You hear it in mixes (where the solo voices are always too damn loud and the drums are too damn quiet) all the time.

Maybe it's all part of not looking the drummer in the eye, and realizing that he IS at least 1/4 of the MUSICIANS on stage with you. Many of us think of him as an afterthought, just a fancy metronome (which we go ahead and ignore, anyway! ).

But listen to any popular music, and one of the first things you feel is the groove... Lose that at your peril! Not enough of us listen back to ourselves and ask ourselves 'Am I louder than the drums?', which you'll hear happening on VERY few pro pop records. Plus, of course, you get louder than the drums, and there goes your timing if you can't hear him well

Give the drummer some..!