I know I "shouldn't" but I still feel like I sometimes should have done "more." But to tell the truth I spend way, way more time on my drums when chopping up a break than I ever did programming my own drums on a drum machine.

I used to have a rule that I couldn't use all of the sounds from one break and I still do that a lot. Like I'll use the kick from one break and the snare and hats from another. Or use a break but use a different snare. Sometimes I'll layer parts of 3 or 4 breaks, and I'll often layer individual drums sounds with breaks (like stronger kicks or snares).

I was surprised that I found myself being a little disappointed in The Jungle by Marco Polo (on Pharoahe Monch's PTSD) because the second I heard it I recognized the break with just a different snare on it. (I confirmed that from a making-of video on Youtube.) It's a fantastic beat and I love the song maybe it's just the fact that there's less mystique surrounding it but that just comes with being more aware of the production process.

I had a similar experience when I first heard the break used for Hip-Hop Hooray years ago. I think that's dumb though. If it's dope then it's dope. Of course if it's dope and was tough to make then it gets some kind of bonus "head points".

I also have another rule that I use sometimes that says that you can use a full break as long as you change the drum pattern. Of course I wouldn't follow this every time as a producer is most likely going to be getting a pile of inferior patterns if they did this 100% of the time.

You guys have any other self-imposed rules?