Cymbal Panning Help In Superior Drummer!

JohnnyAmato

JohnnyAmato

New member
Hi all, I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I'm still very new to Superior Drummer, so please bear with me.

It seems Superior Drummer by default has all the cymbals panned hard left and hard right. Doesn't sound horrible, but it is definitely quite noticeable in the few recordings I've done so far. I've watched a few YouTube vids and got a little advice in the mp3 forum, but I would like to hear some more input. I've been messing with it all night on my main kit that I have saved, and it seems there's a few different ways it can be done. Not sure which is the most "correct" way though.

Do you create new cymbals as X-drums and then give them their own channel/mic? I was first trying that, and it was working, but as soon as I would create a 3rd cymbal, it would then route them all to the newest mic channel and disengage the other new ones I made. Happened 3 times in a row. Hence I couldn't individually pan them anymore.

I then noticed that my "Amb Close" mic, which is always off, also has all the kit pieces, so I turned off the cymbals in the OHs and turned them all on in the "Amb Close" mic. They sound the same quality-wise and aren't panned as hard left and right anymore. But that can't be the right approach, since cymbals should be in the OHs. I'm running in circles and not sure what to do. Not asking for secrets, but I would like to hear some examples of how some of you approach it.

Any help/suggestions?
 
Hey, don't you see these cymbal panning options? You're using SD and not EZD, right? Different kits within the SD lineup have different mic and panning defaults. This is my default setup for The Rock Warehouse expansion kit. I'm pretty sure the NY Avatar stock kit has the same.

SD - cymbals.jpg

(I tested out the image to make sure it didn't stay so small. Keep clicking it and it'll enlarge, eventually.)
 
Nope, the Avatar kit goes right from the OHs to the Amb mics. No individual channels/mics for the cymbals, only the hats.
 
You are on the right track...X-Drums is what you need to use...and yes, be aware that the AmbMic tracks are also often in play. Not sure of the problem you are experiencing other than it just might be which cymbals you are picking. I don't think you can pick the same X-Drum cymbal twice or more...and pan each where you want. You have to make each X-Drum a unique pick/sample...I'm pretty sure that's how it is, and maybe that's what you are experiencing...?

I never put out more than 4 cymbals...so I leave two of them default, and use X-Drums to bring 2 more closer into the center L/R.
TBH...I never needed more than 4 cymbals in a kit setup, so I never used 3+ X-Drums for cymbals, but I do use other X-Drum elements. Yes, they will by default be wide...but you have the option to pan them tighter as you like.

Also...I tend to shrink the L/R panning of the default OH and Amb tracks down to like 60-70% of default, which also tightens the entire kit rather than it being super wide...and then the individual Kick/Snare/Tom tracks, I pan accordingly to go with that.
 
JohnnyAmato said:
Nope, the Avatar kit goes right from the OHs to the Amb mics. No individual channels/mics for the cymbals, only the hats.
Click to expand...

hmmm... well, that's the original panning setup anyways, for The Rock Warehouse. Without adjusting cymbal pans or even looking at them, they are already spread out a little bit. Then there is a separate OH mic too. Are you sure the cymbals are all panned 100% L & R? Is it the NYA kit?
 
Yea, the NYA kit. They do seem 100% panned, if not then damn close. Some sound worse than others, so I'll just make an X-Drum for the two that seemed panned the hardest, and go from there. Doing more searching online, seems a lot of people have the same issue, looking for ways around it. Like miroslav said, creating just a few X-Drums is probably the best solution.

Did the Rock Warehouse pack come with cymbals separated like that in your pic? Or did you make them?
 
That's how Superior loads up when I select that kit. It gives individual cymbal channels.

I just loaded the NYA kit and you're right. Only one OH channel. However, I moved the L and R sliders for panning on that channel inwards the same amount, and it appears there is a little separation between the cymbals. After moving L to 72 and R to 72, I watched the meter rise when I hit each cymbal. To my eyes, it looks like the farthest cymbals on the sides have more volume than the inner cymbals...and to my ears, it sounds like it too.

Try it and see what you think.
 
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