Analog or Digital Equalizer for snare?

nelsonpaschoal

New member
Hello Friends,

I have another question for ya, saturday I was recording drums in my studio, if you want to check up here it is: , it´s unmixed, just just the bass drum. The snare is the heart of the drum, IMHO, I am a drummer too. To track the snare I set as this: SM57 > M-Audio DMP-3 > compressor > Mackie Onyx line channel > computer , after that I run equalizers in the daw, but I was wondering if i can improve the sound inserting a parametric equalizer in the chain or eq´ing in the daw can do the job?
 
These things all change the sound. Improvement is something totally different and an artistic decision. You've already got a complex and potentially degrading signal chain with the two quite decent preamps using the analogue compressor in between - have you tried the Onyx direct from the mic and added compression in the computer - might sound even nicer? Some compressors are nice and transparent, others far less so.

I pick EQ from what I have available and will be most appropriate for the sound. I cannot imagine me going back to external compression and eq.
 
The compressor is not a problem, I have a very decent unit. I like the analog feeling, because it adds a personality of the studio, I listen to some bands and sounds almost the same "studio" recording, the drums all replaced with digital sounds, guitar direct to amp simulator, I really love the 80´s death metal recording, I know my limitations but the more I approach that sound the better.
I tried to put direct into Onyx, but it sound no good to me, I prefer the snare in the m-audio preamp.
 
If you already feel you are most of the way there I would go with plug in eq. As has been pointed out you are already going through enough outboard to cause some signal loss and the more cables you add the more that can go wrong. Plus once you get the plugin eq set the way you like you can create a preset and never have to mess with it again unless you want to.
 
...but I was wondering if i can improve the sound inserting a parametric equalizer in the chain or eq´ing in the daw can do the job?

Honestly, it depends on the hardware EQ you have, the software EQs you have, and which sounds best for the particular application.

I'm starting to move in a more hardware/analog direction myself, at least for the instruments I have a pretty good idea how I'm going to want them to sit in the mix when everything's said and done - I mostly record my own (instrumental rock) music, so I've taken to tracking bass and guitars with EQ engaged (I grabbed a couple Neve 551s recently, which sound absolutely stellar). I know how I want a recorded guitar to sound to get it to sit in the mix, I really like how the hardware EQ I have at my disposal sounds... so, I track with EQ on.

If, on the other hand, I didn't love the sound of that EQ on an instrument, or was tracking unfamiliar material, then I'd absolutely go with a software equalizer.

At the end of the day, they're both valid tools and have their own unique sounds. Neither is necessarily "better"... save for the fact that anything you do while tracking is impossible to undo down the road without re-recording, so you have to be comfortable commiting to a sound. I tend to have a bit of analysis pparallysis when it comes to mixing, so I've found that by tying my hands a little (for example, I don't record DIs or reamp, even though it would be easy as pie to run my guitar through my Apogee and capture a DI as well as a mic'd amped signal) and forcing me to commit to decisions up front, I tend to work a lot faster, and often better, when it comes time to mix.

But, that's a matter of knowing your tools and figuring out what you're comfortable with. No right answers here.
 
At the capture, for snare, concentrate on the gain-staging. Use the compressor as a limiter for the 'overs'. Tune the snare to sound like you want it to sound on the track. Over-thinking or adding so many things to the signal chain at the initial capture only makes it harder to mix. Mic placement and frugal application of 'gels' is your friend.
 
Hello Friends,

...The snare is the heart of the drum, IMHO, I am a drummer too. To track the snare I set as this: SM57 > M-Audio DMP-3 > compressor > Mackie Onyx line channel > computer , after that I run equalizers in the daw, but I was wondering if i can improve the sound inserting a parametric equalizer in the chain or eq´ing in the daw can do the job?
Hey Nelson.

You have to have a fucking amazing parametric equalizer in order for it to outperform a plugin equalizer in the context of a recording. Though there are some analog EQ's that can't be replicated or matched by any digital effect currently on the market, my general recommendation would be to NOT use analog outboard gear unless you have a specific reason to. Of course it does not hurt to experiment with it thought! Give it a try... you don't have anything to loose! ;)
 
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