1 overhead gone, can this mix be saved?

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legacygone

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So I recorded my band, my first full-on recording.

After all the tracking has been completed, i discovered a terrible buz on the right( drummers right) overhead. I recorded using 4 mics. 2 overheads kick and snare.

Although the sound is full on the left over head ( toms sound fine, all cymbals are fine.) I can't do much panning.

Is there anything I can do to save the mix, because re-recording at this point is not an option.
 
Sure. Pan your good overhead to center.
 
Track Rat said:
Sure. Pan your good overhead to center.
Click to expand...

or slightly ADT it (artificial double tracking)

it won't be true stereo but it might add an element of space

oohhhhhhhh just noticed that this post is my (shudder) six hundred & sixty sixth.................................. :D :D :D
 
you could try and find a plug in that can sample the noise and reduce it to reasonable level or elimanate it all together. waves makes the x series of noise reduction plugs that work well.
 
I'd try all three approaches, noise reduction first.

If what you have is a buzz, it should make a fairly simple noiseprint and hopefully be easily and fairly surgically removed from the track by a decent noise removal program. Waves has a good one, as do both Sony and Steinberg.

If the buzz is too intrusive and won't go away cleanly, then I might try double-tracking the good overhead with slightly different EQ curves to the two tracks; EQ the right to bring out the HFs of the hat and the snare a bit more, and EQ the left to emphasize the meat of the toms and the brass a bit more.

If that just doesn't sound good (it could go either way, really, depending upon a dozen other variables), then yeah, a mono OH is better than no OH at all.

G.
 
I had the same thing happen on one of my band's recordings. I just went with the mono overhead approach. You're already gonna get snare in the close snare mic. Maybe it picked up some hi-hat too.
 
If you are using a DAW, there are also a lot of plug-ins for taking a mono track and turning into a simulated stereo one. In Pro Tools I use the Waves PAZ plug-ins with great results - occasionally to fix exactly the same situation you are in.
 
On Tool's most recent album, the drums are mono. :cool:
Except the toms were individually mic'd and panned.
 
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