drum mixing question

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Kingofpain678

Kingofpain678

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when mixing drums do you mix each drum in relation to each other and then mix that with the other instruments in the mix or do you just mix each drum individually with the entire mix?


im a complete newb to mixing so feel free to treat me like an idiot :D
 
I expect you will get a variety of answers, but I mix the drums in relation to each other first so that I get a cohesive drum part. It's possible that, having done this, you may need to make alterations after so that it fits in with the rest of the music.
 
yeah thats how i planned to do it but i wanted to make sure and see how other people do it.


btw thanks for always answering my questions man. i really appreciate it.
 
I try to mix the drums as one instrument instead of many. Make it sound good as a whole on it's own.
 
yeah thats what im gonna do and once all that is in the main mix ill do a little tweaking here and there if its necessary.

mixing each drum individually kinda seems like it might take a really long time :confused:
 
If you look at pics of mixing boards back in the 60's and 70's, they had masking tape along the bottom and the first track was labeled kick. I am of that, and I start with the kick, get it right, then add snare, get it right, then hihat and the rest of the kit.

When the drums are good, I add the bass, then the guitars and keys together and then the vox on top. So everything is built on the bass drum, it is the center of the band. The kick determines the whole volume of the mix and everything is in relation to it.

It's like building a house, you start with the foundation.
 
sounds reasonable. only problem is i dont really know what the kick and snare and whatnot is supposed to sound like on its own so how am i gonna know how to set it up for an entire mix?

i think i need a drum mixing lesson or something. i just assumed that i should get the drums sounding alright in relation to each other then hope that they worked in the main mix.


im such a newb :(
 
Maybe listen to some recordings you like. Or listen to some samples of drums, even on a drum machine, that will give you some ideas.

The sound of the kick and snare needs to match the song and the band.

A lot of times the kick will have two elements - kind of like the word "tug", where you have the "T" and that's the slap of the beater on the head and the "ug" which is the balls of the sound.

Snare can vary a lot, sometimes a "crack", sometimes a "chuck", it really depends on the song.

I usually run the kick dry and use some reverb on the snare. Usually slow songs will have more reverb (longer) and fast songs less (and shorter) but there's no rules and just use your gut feeling and of course your ears.
 
I am by far a great mixer, but I get the bass & kick sounding good together first. Then I mute the bass & mix the rest of the drum kit with the kick...starting with the overheads, then bring the snare up. If I mic'd the toms I'll bring them in after the snare. And a nicely placed room mic will really fill in the sound of the kit and bring it all together. ;) I like mixing drums.:D
 
Kingofpain678 said:
...i dont really know what the kick and snare and whatnot is supposed to sound like on its own...
Click to expand...

This is an important statement. You know what you dont know... and thats where the experience part comes in. You're going to have to experiment until you get things to sound they way you want them to.

IMO, it helps to listen to things in context, then you can mute the stuff you dont need to make tweaks, then listen again in context, then repeat... For instance, if you have all your instruments tracked- guitars bass drums vocals. Turn everything on and see where you're at. You can start by panning the things that you *know* you'll pan - like the drum overheads and tom mics and guitars if there is more than one (you can get it perfect later, but you have to start somewhere). Adjust levels so you can pretty much hear everything. Then, mute everything but the drums, and work on it from there. Do the same thing at the drum level- solo the kick track, but check context often by turning the rest of the kit back on to make sure you arent going down the wrong path. Repeat with the rest of the drum tracks.

In the end, all that matters is what the total mix sounds like.
Hope that helps.
 
lol i forgot to pay attention to the drums :D
i havent listened to rock n roll in a long while :/


i think ive kinda got the idea of the sounds. i think the thing that im gonna have the hardest time with is making the sounds fit the song/band. i always have problems with making things sound the way i want them rather than what fits
 
mixing drums

It depends on the stlye of music you are working with. A sample of hard rock mix may not be what you are after. I was listening to Marvin Gaye last night, and the drums on those mixes are far behind what today's pop/rock music is. Same for Jazz, bass drum is far back in the mix and it's also played heel down and tuned differently.

So what kind of music are you working with? Once that is answered look for good recordings of that music and work with that as a starting point.
 
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