Hi-hat bleed.

  • Thread starter Thread starter frosty55
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frosty55

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Is there any way of cutting out hi-hat bleed into a snare mic. by just using a cheap behringer eq and a mixer?
 
Not really. you can try moving the mic but it comes down to the drummer. Tell him to go easy on the hats.
 
What are you recording the snare with? Look at the pick up pattern of the microphone. Place the mic so that hats are in the area of most rejection. Keep in mind, even the SM57 has a lobe all around the back side that picks up 1K quite strong. At the very back end, there is an 8k spike. Around a 75 degree angle the the HH's is what I go for.

Aside from that, yeah, what Track Rat said, get the drummer to ease up on the hats. Or move them further away, though changing a drummers setup right before tracking is not so good for the performance.
 
Track Rat said:
. Tell him to go easy on the hats.
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Yup,
or harder on the snare, sounds like the same thing, but its amazing how much easier it is to get a good clear sound from a drummer with a nice pop on the snare and strong foot on the kick.
 
If you point the mic so that the opposite side to the capsule is pointing towards the hi-hats then this can help lower the bleed when the polar pattern is cardioid.

G
 
Don't know what mics you have in your locker but a mic with a tight pattern can help a little. I like an MD-441.
 
Just for the fun and a recap;
Hat at the back of the mic? If there's that much room.. (for most mics.. not.
Another factor in there is a lot of the really nice snare tone placement options involve the mic back away from the snare a bit.
Fig-8 opens up some nice options.
But this;
Yup,
or harder on the snare, sounds like the same thing, but its amazing how much easier it is to get a good clear sound from a drummer with a nice pop on the snare and strong foot on the kick.
Click to expand...
Makes this;
Embrace. The. Bleed.
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a nice working solution.

..Or buy DrumaDog :D
 
Get a better drummer or get them to play better. Raise the hi hat. Keep your hands off the eq thats going to do absolutely nothing for your bleed problem. Check your phase if you're using multiple mics your snare may be having phase issues and its getting canceled while your hats not. A better more sensitive snare drum can work wonders as well.
 
I made a little hat for my 57 out of a dixie cup and shredded auralex. It works!
 
Greg_L said:
I made a little hat for my 57 out of a dixie cup and shredded auralex. It works!
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Plexiglas, 7"x7" or so about 30% of an eight inch radius. I lined it with 5/8 foam and mounted it on one of those goose neck thingies. Helped a little. (I say past tense 'cause mostly it just sits in the frikin box.
 
I personally hate hi-hat bleed in the snare mic and try everything to minimize it. I'm not a very dynamic drummer though and I bang the shit out of my snare so usually a simple gate takes care of it if it bothers me. It's not always a problem, but sometimes when playing fast, I can't beat the snare with the authority that I'd normally like to. A gate works in those situations.
 
Try a little trick the Queens of the Stone Age did: record the hi-hat separately. Then you have total isolation. :)
 
Greg_L said:
a simple gate takes care of it if it bothers me. It's not always a problem, but sometimes when playing fast, I can't beat the snare with the authority that I'd normally like to. A gate works in those situations.
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A gate to cut out the hats in the snare? Why? The hats will still be in the snare when the snare is being hit and then they will disapear when the snare is not being hit.
This will sound strange!

G
 
ecktronic said:
A gate to cut out the hats in the snare? Why? The hats will still be in the snare when the snare is being hit and then they will disapear when the snare is not being hit.
This will sound strange!

G
Click to expand...

Lol. Okay then. Do you really think I'd do it if it sounded strange?
 
ecktronic said:
A gate to cut out the hats in the snare? Why? The hats will still be in the snare when the snare is being hit ..
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But it can still work fine. That part's always the case- what's attenuated is in there when a gate's open, but remember it's just part of the whole (both are still in the O/H).
Depends on the snare/hat mix and style of playing, then it becomes a supplement.
 
I've had good luck with the Sennheiser E604 snare mic. I just turn its ass toward the HH, and tip it down a bit at the snare, and the rejection at the rear is pretty darn good. I don't use it with the clip-on adapter. It goes on a stand.

My OH mics are what pick up the HH. I never spot-mic the HH.
Besides, I don't think mic bleed on a drum kit is a really big issue if you are using OH and room mics too. For the spot mics, you can manipulate them with EQ well enough to take out stuff, since they are only there to support the OH mics.
But...I know some folks like each drum/piece miked close, and free of all bleed if possible....which is a tough trick with a whole kit.
 
Greg_L said:
Me neither. Hat level in my overheads is never a problem.
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Same here. And the little isolation cap for the mic works pretty good for me too.
To the OP, what's your snare situation ? If you're damping it too much it could simply be a problem of not too much snare as opposed to too much HH.
 
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