compressed drum aux mix

wesley tanner

wesley tanner

New member
how do you guys create um? Lately i've been loving bussing everything(drum wise) to an aux and then compressing using antares tube modeler set to heavy breakup (an otherwise... rarely used plug) to created a boombastic filler to bring up under the drums. i'm pretty new to this trick, so i'm sure i'll be experimenting with a lot of other things too... i was just curious how everyone else handles this.

oh, and on one tune i accidentaly stuck in another aux send on the snare track to the comp aux and it made the most lovely aggressive snare. beginner's luck there, i guess. :cool:
 
I dont bother bussing for drums as i just get them to sound how i want them with the tracks they are on. No need for auxiliarie tracks in my case (as of yet).
 
i am an analog console guy. I send them to a sub group and compress the sub group and send the group to my LR mix or bing them back to channels.

I sometimes send the kick and snare to a sans amp for more agressive sounds
 
I too look for an aggressive sound from the kit. One thing I found with aux and the kit is I'd send the overheads and toms to a bus then leave the kick and snare out. Compress the aux seperately and the snare and kick are free to sit on top and stand out as they should be. Now you can beef the snare and kick without effecting the overhead compression. Then you end up with four stems to ride in your mix.
 
I love this technique and personally can't get enough of it. First I make a mix and get everything sounding the way I like it. Personally I find it hard to judge a drum mix if the rest of the instruments aren't mixed in as well. Then I send all of the drums to a stereo aux (with some bass guitar too sometimes). I send an even balance of my drum mix aside from the overheads. I turn them way down in the aux bus. Then I compress the ever-loving snot out of the aux bus with usually a quick attack and a long release. Most of the time I'll give the aux bus a big ol' smile EQ too. Put the whole thing in so it's juuuuuust audible under the "natural" drums and there you go. Like I said, I love doing that.
 
Chibi Nappa, what exaclty do you hear what is different in using the method you explained and not using the bussing? I cant see the point really. All it is doing is boosting the level of the drums a little and having the lo volume of the drums really compressed. I cant get my head around it. PLease explain.
 
I use pro tools which has audiosuite.
Audiosuite is a printable version of whatever plugin you choose.
If your system has this function great, if not, you probably dont want to read any further.

Ill take and bounce/render the Kick, snare, and toms (gate the toms, that cymbal bleed can ruin this trick) to a stereo track, and then import it back in to the session.

From there ill use the printed compression and eq effect of choice on that drum submix.

Then just tuck it underneath your mix and BOOM! Bigger, more consistent drums!

-Finster
 
Is it quite noticeable using heavy compressed drums under the original drums?
Tried it once or twice but didnt get anything special so didnt bother with it.
 
ecktronic said:
Is it quite noticeable using heavy compressed drums under the original drums?
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Gosh ecktronic, i really notice the difference when using this trick.

How are you going about it?
 
I cant totally remember as it was a while ago, but i think i bussed the drums to two auxliary tracks and compressed them alot. And placed them at a lo level. Do you alwasy do this trick? Does it maybe fool you into thinking the drums sound better because you are boosting the level more? (no disrespect intended)
 
ecktronic said:
Do you alwasy do this trick? Does it maybe fool you into thinking the drums sound better because you are boosting the level more? (no disrespect intended)
Click to expand...

No no it totally changes how the drums sound man.
If i just wanted them louder id turn the fader up silly. :rolleyes:
Could i possibly hear an example of one of your recording over at the clinic sometime?
 
Cheers man. Yeah he's a great singer. Im most proud of the drums on "Live track" not my band. Especially the toms, they sound well tight and punchy. I put it down to well tuned drums and maybe a bit of know how in comp and EQ.
 
ecktronic said:
Cheers man. Yeah he's a great singer. Im most proud of the drums on "Live track" not my band. Especially the toms, they sound well tight and punchy. I put it down to well tuned drums and maybe a bit of know how in comp and EQ.
Click to expand...

Sure thing.

Ya know having a nice room dosent mean that you cant get an in your face sound.
That has alot to do with mic placement.

But in reguards to overhead micing i couldnt imagine how a nice room would hurt.

Perhaps we are just trading opinions.

At any rate it sounds like youre on the right track, best of luck.

-Finster
 
xfinsterx said:
Sure thing.

Ya know having a nice room dosent mean that you cant get an in your face sound.
That has alot to do with mic placement.

But in reguards to overhead micing i couldnt imagine how a nice room would hurt.

Perhaps we are just trading opinions.

At any rate it sounds like youre on the right track, best of luck.

-Finster
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Cheers Finster. Ive only been recording for about a year now and i have only recorded about 13 tracks in total as i dont have a studio to work in alot. Ive just been using the college studio and im about to do my last recordings in a few weeks. Bahh. Ive got 4 days though to get a rock track and an acoustic track down. Im gonna make these mixes fekin great. First time i will actually ba able to spend any time at all on getting the sources right before recording them!
Do you work in that Geomana studio? Looks like a cool place man.
 
ecktronic said:
Cheers Finster. Ive only been recording for about a year now and i have only recorded about 13 tracks in total as i dont have a studio to work in alot. Ive just been using the college studio and im about to do my last recordings in a few weeks. Bahh. Ive got 4 days though to get a rock track and an acoustic track down. Im gonna make these mixes fekin great. First time i will actually ba able to spend any time at all on getting the sources right before recording them!
Do you work in that Geomana studio? Looks like a cool place man.
Click to expand...

Right on, best of luck with your recording friend. Making the source as good as possible is definetly the key to good tracks.

And yes i own and work at Geomana, thanks.
-Finster
 
No way! thats like a dream of mine. How exactly did you get started in your own studio? Is it in your own house? How long you been going for and is it a success in terms of business?
 
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