A guitarist friend of mine said that it would be cool if I learned a Reggae beat he called the "one drop".  A quick google revealed that the one-drop is a basically a beat where you *only* hit the bass drum on '3'. 

Ok, I can get the basic idea, but was curious what songs might be a good example of how this beat 'feels'.  I am not very reggae-literate so it would really help me better understand just how it is used.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Checkout this thread from last year:
http://www.drummercafe.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,2/topic,18532.0

One Drop just means that you don't play on beat 1 ... you are still in 4/4 or Common Time; the time signature doesn't change. If you've been playing Reggae then you're probably already be doing what I'm talking about. Don't make it harder than it is! 

Beat one is silent ... that's a One Drop.

Now, just for clarity, especially for all the Reggae purists out there ... all of this does NOT mean that you can't ever play on beat 1. You can do whatever you want, placing the HiHat, Snare, Tom, Cymbal, anything on beat 1 if you want; its not a rule set in stone. You can even put the Kick on beat 1 if you want ... but you need to only do that occasionally or it will cease to be a One Drop.

If you are not doing so, you need to be listening to Reggae; this is the best way to learn.

Here's a One Drop example for you. Listen to Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" from the Legend album. The tune is slow and the opening is exposed so you can really hear what the drummer is doing; this is a one drop.

Perhaps pick up THIS album too.

I had posted a short sound file of me playing a Reggae One-Drop in the thread I mentioned above. You can also read my entry in the Drummer Cafe Dictionary/Glossary for the One Drop.

Hey-Great stuff guys-thanks!

Let's see if I learned anything...

Anyone remember The Bed's to Big Without You, by the Police?  I'm thinking one drop.

The scariest thing about it is how few notes they actually play 

Discipline man, discipline...

Thanks again!

Well ... you are right, there's a big beat 3 ... but it's because of the absence of beat 1. You drop beat 1, which leaves beat 3 as the backbeat. If you are playing a One Drop, beat 1 isn't "sometimes" empty ... it's almost always empty as far as the groove is concerned. Fills and figures are typically the only time you are putting anything on beat 1.

I guess all of this is sort of the "is the glass is half-full or half-empty".

this feels like a "half-time" groove to me... except that the normal kick note on count_1 is "dropped" ... one of my favorite ways to play this is to use a loud rimshot on count_4 at the end of each musical phrase... or instead of a snare rimshot, use a timbale to get that stark contrast in sound... that groove just feels good, huh?

If you listen to the bass line, you'll find it often resolves on "3".  The drums punch out that resolution point.  As with the bass, you can get as busy or sparse as you like, but generally you want to avoid the "1" and be sure resolve your phrase on "3".

You'll also notice that good Reggae rythm sections are brilliant at getting out of the way of the vocals.  Musicians tend to focus on the rythms, but for most people Reggae is all about the vocals.