Yet another installment of mix goodness.
The important thing to remember for mixing drums is that while you can enhance and solidify sounds with a good mix you are not going to get *that* far from your source recordings--so make sure that your drums are tuned, free of rattles and pings, not too dampened or dead, and sound great *before* pressing that little red record button.
Let's take a look at a typical track list of drums:
1: Kick Drum
2: Snare Drum
3: Tom 1
4: Tom 2
5: Tom 3
6: Overhead Left
7: Overhead Right
8: Room Left
9: Room Right
10: High Hat
First thing to do is stereo merge your overheads and room mics into single track stereo files. Now your track list looks like this:
1: Kick Drum
2: Snare Drum
3: Tom 1
4: Tom 2
5: Tom 3
6: Overhead Stereo
7: Room Stereo
8: High Hat
Now mute everything but your overheads--we are going to start with these.
OVERHEADS:
The overheads are in many ways your primary mics because they capture the ENTIRE drum kit. To capture a natural, big sound you have to insure that your overheads sound amazing. A *LOT* of this depends on the effectiveness of your miking and recording techniques, but let's pretend that you did a great job.
For heavy rock drums a BombFactory (BF76) or
Universal Audio 1176LN model is a great compressor to start with. Try setting a 4:1 ratio with the input a little bit shy of 12 o'clock. Adjust the output gain to be equal to the gain of the uncompressed signal by bypassing the effect and watching your meters.
For a more pop sound
the Focusrite D3 plugin offers a bit more control and sublety than the 1176 model. Try setting a ratio around 3:1 with a threshold around -22db. Adjust the output gain to equal the gain of the original signal. Now let's move on to EQ.
Eq'ing overheads is fairly simple and requires *broad* bandwidth equalization. Excellent tools for equalizing overheads include the Sony Oxford EQ (mode 3, Neve emulation), the Focusrite D2 (for a poppier sound), and the BombFactory Pultec series (tandem MEQ and EQP1).
First thing, no matter what style of music, you should yank down a wide boost in the vicinity of 500 to 900hz on your overheads. This will eliminate boxiness and tighten up the drum sound. I would venture to say that 50% of a "professional" drum sound is tied up in this cut--so make sure to get it right! Typical targets are actually 600 and 800hz, but this can vary depending on the source and desired sound.
A typical example for a tight rock sound would be a 800hz, -8db cut with a bandwidth around 2-3. Less severe cuts require slightly broader bandwidths.
I typically apply a highpass filter around 80hz on overheads to cut down on the low end mud. A 12db/octave cut should suffice and clean things up while still remaining natural sounding.
Finally, a 2-3db boost for your high end will increase your sparkle and sheen. Try aiming at 10, 12 or 14k (but be careful at 14k--things can get *too* airy and brittle up here).
For punchier overheads a small boost around 4k or 5k can work wonders. Aim it at 4k if you want more kick, and 5k if you want more snap on your snare and toms. Keep this boost fairly wide and gentle--no more than +3db.
Once your overheads are inline and sounding good we'll move on to the room mics.
ROOM MICS
The room mics should support the overheads and help build a sense of depth in your mix. The secret is not to get carried away with them. Compressor and EQ choice are very similar to overheads--in fact, I will use almost identical tools and settings for my room mics.
However, I recommend that you go light on your EQ. Drop a highpass filter on it and cut your 500-900hz midrange like you did with your overheads. Don't feel the need to add any undue highend--that's what your overheads are for. The idea for the room mics are to make them sound tight and clean, and a little bit in the background of your real microphones.
The secret to good room mics is that they should add subtle ambiance. When we set up our reverb busses we'll come back to them. For now we are moving on to the kick drum.
KICK DRUM
When I talk with younger engineers they often complain about getting their kick drums to sound right. Most of "that" sound they are looking for involves some serious EQ and compression; needless to say you have to pick not only the right settings but the right EQ and compressor for the job!
For rock styles of music the BF76 is one of my standard kick compressors if I'm looking for a big fat kick. If I need something a bit more dainty or controlled
the Focusrite D2 is an excellent compressor for kick drum. If I'm looking for something a bit more vintage the Digidesign Smack! can be incredible (or totally wretched).
Set your compressor with a fairly fast attack, and the release time should reflect how "boomy" you want the kick to sound. Faster styles of music should aim for having a quicker release time so that kicks don't "mush" together. A 4:1 ratio is a good place to start, and the threshold should be set fairly low (-25db or so). Make up gain should be applied so that the compressed signal is at the same volume as the unaltered track.
Now throw in some EQ. My favorite are any of
the Pultec EQP-1 clones out there (Bombfactory is my standby although the UA ones are excellent as well). I will set the Pultec for a fairly fat 100hz boost (around 4-5 on the dial) and a huge 4k boost (around 5-6). Tighten up the bandwidth on the Pultec around 4.
Sometimes boosting the kick around 63 or 80hz will work instead of the 100hz boost. A 63hz boost can be a real chestbuster and shouldn't be used for fast music involving double kick--it's just TOO MUCH. Needless to say, if you need this level of precision you will have to look somewhere other than the Pultec style of EQ, because they aren't particularly precise.
Okay at this point things should be sounding good but... perhaps a little out of hand. The kick will be boomy. Now it's time for some surgical EQ to remove a little bit of what we don't want. For this secondary EQ I often use the GML Massenburg EQ (because of it's pristine, transparent quality) or the Oxford EQ in mode 2 (SSL mode). If I'm looking for something a bit more vintage I'll set the Oxford to mode 3 (Neve mode) to do my cuts.
The secret to a tight kick is the absence of lower mids. Zone in around 400hz and absolutely punish them with a -6db to -20db cut. Adjust the bandwidth until you have achieved a level of tightness vs. boominess that you need.
If you want a less modern kick sound, a deep and narrow cut (-12dbish, Q of 3.5 or more) around 200-250hz will get that sound.
Finally, engage some high and lowpass filters. A highpass filter around 55hz with a 12 to 12db/octave cut. You don't want or need that ultra low end garbage in your mix... because of the 100hz boost you will still have some energy down there after this rolloff; the filter just ensures that you have the right amount. Most of the time anything over 9k is useless on your kick drum so drop a lowpass filter with a 12db/octave around 9k. You don't need that cymbal and high hat junk anyways.
Let's move on to the bitch of the bunch....
SNARE DRUM
Snare drums are probably the most challenging drum to mix because of the sheer range of options and sounds that will confront you. The snare is technically the most important single drum for determining the *sound* of the drum kit. You biff the snare and your drums will sound like garbage no matter how pristine, fat or cool.
Snare compression should range from 2:1 to 6:1. Choose your compressor wisely! The Focusrite D3 provides very precise compression but doesn't do much to *fatten up* the sound like the BF76 or Smack! will. I generally prefer to use vintage FET based compressor models over optics as well.
For rock snare
my modus operandi is to set the BF76 to 4:1 and absolutely crank the input (which governs the input *and* threshold) to about 80%. Needless to say you will have to lower your output to accomodate this insane amount of compression. Also, don't try this unless you are gating your snare effectively before hitting the compressor (unless you want the shittiest sounding high hat bleed in the universe). The resultant snare, when properly done, is HUMONGOUS!
Because of the variance of snare EQ I will provide a handy dandy frequency guide:
<99hz: You don't want this!
100hz: Absolute lowest place to boost snare. Very 70's/80's sounding low end.
250hz: Tighter place to boost low end--results in fairly warm, woody snare sounds.
400-600hz: A lot of boxiness lives here--I usually cut this range no matter what type of snare sound I'm looking for.
1.2khz: A good place to get some thwack! in your sound. To get that Nirvana/Dave Grohl sound a boost here is recommended.
2khz: Generally this brings out the top end of shell resonance. I don't like this range myself, but it is great for punk/lofi snare.
3khz: You can get some edge and head noise here, but I find it interferes with the vocal too much. I usually ignore this.
4-5khz: This is the motherlode for *CRACK* sounds. A healthy boost here will add tons of definition and punch to your snare. Watch out--boosts here often make the high hat sound terrible; if you are gating your snare like I often do this isn't much of a concern. For extreme metal snares I've gone as much as +13db at 5k!
6-9khz: A lot of snare rattle and sizzle lives around here. Personally I don't like this range except for jazz drums. Another good place to boost lofi drums, however.... it adds trashiness to the snare.
10-12khz: This is often the top end of the snare and governs a lot of the brightness. A subtle boost here is often advised, but be careful because too much results in thin sounding snares.
13khz+ I don't recommend any boosts up here. Too airy and thin. If you did your homework with your other boosts you will be fine up here.
I also recommend limiting yourself to boosting only one low range, one midrange and one high range frequency. I always recommend a cut around 600hz to cut some boxiness. The trick is to find the *best* boost area and find a precise freq in that range to boost. If you boost too many areas all you've accomplished is messing up your phase angles and increasing volumes! Try to accomplish the most with the least boosting.
My standard snare EQ is the Sony Oxford because of the wide range of control. I will use it in mode 3 (Neve mode) religiously.
TOMS
I highly recommend editing or gating your toms to reduce high hat and cymbal bleed. The frequencies boosted on toms often make high hats sound pretty godawful.
To get that explosive tom sound a 3:1 to 4:1 compression ratio is advised. I usually seek to use a compressor different from my other drums to further add a difference in tone. I find the McDSP Compressor Bank's DBX 160 mode to be pretty useful for toms, although if I'm doing something more poppy the Focurite works best.
For EQ I usually highpass filter the toms around 150hz. Normally I don't boost any low end, but I may zap them around 500hz. In many ways toms are *very* similar to snares in their frequency response. As a rule of thumb I will give a healthy boost to either 3K or 5K depending on what works for the song. Remember: 3K can interfere with the vocals so don't use this range on songs that have a lot of "tom riding" during the vocals!
I find the Focusrite D2 an excellent tom EQ, although for more natural sounds the GML Massenburg is good. Pultecs are sort of wasted on toms and lack the finesse required to get a good tom sound.
Toms dont' require tons of high end--I often lowpass filter toms around 10 or 11k just to clean up my top.
HIGH HAT
You should already be hearing ample high hat in your mix from the overheads and room mics--thus making this mic more of a polish than a primary sound source. The high hat mic is mostly there to add direction and some sheen to the high hat.
I'll usually put a 2:1 or 3:1 compressor on the high hat. Nothing fancy... the Focusrite D3 works out fine for me.
I find that a highpass filter around 400hz cuts out some nastiness. I often will cut the hat around 5-7k to "adjust" for any increases from my snare or overheads. Sometimes you may want to take down 9k if the hats are too bright.
A mild 14k boost can add sheen to the hats however. Nothing more than 2db.
ORGANIZING AND BUSSING
After I have my basic mix set up and adjusted I will create 2 stereo busses--one for "crushing" the drums together with compression and another for reverb.
Let's call these:
Buss 1-2: Drum Krusher
Buss 3-4: Master Reverb
I will buss kick, snare and toms to the drum krusher.
Then I will buss everything except the kick drum to the master reverb.
DRUM KRUSHER
On the drum krusher I will place a single compressor followed by a highpass/lowpass filter (Sony Oxford filters). I usually look for putting a vintage compressor on this buss like the BF76, Smack! and the like. Generally you want to crank the ratio to 8:1 or higher and just smash the drums (but not too much).
Then you will want to put a 24db/octave filter around 200hz to cut out some of the mud, and a 6db/octave lowpass around 9khz to cut out any strident frequencies and keep my high end clean.
Mix this around -12db along with your other drums. It will add some heft and weight to your main drums.
REVERB
Throw on an appropriate reverb set to 100%. You will control the amount of wetness per drum by how much signal you send to the reverb buss. I often aim for the "DC Live Room" setting in
TL Space, which provides a balanced, medium sized room sound.
I usually send only a little of my overheads to the reverb buss, but will buss a lot of the room mics. High hats tend to like reverb as well. Put enough snare and toms to balance out the kit but not wash out the sounds. Aim to keep things tight, yet with enough 'verb to provide some depth, size and space.
PANNING
Typically you want to keep the snare and kick center, while putting the overheads and room mics in stereo. Toms generally sound from right to left (highest to lowest). The high hat will typically be placed to the right.
Reverse these pannings if you are doing things from the drummer's perspective; i.e. the British panning method.
When you are panning your toms and high hat don't just pick arbitrary positions--LISTEN to where the drum sounds with the overheads and place the drum in that position. Do this for all your toms and high hat--the correct stereo placement will add that extra 5% to your drum mix! Your kit will also sound more natural.
Beware of hard pans for toms and high hats. It sounds pretty stupid and unrealistic.
If you mic'd the kit properly with your overheads and room mics panning should take you about 1 minute to do.
WRAP UP
Remember: drums sound heavy because of the CONTEXT of the rest of the song. Mix your drums to the sounds in the song and make them appropriate. Also remember that there is no such thing as a universal template--many of the things I suggest may be totally wrong for your mix! I break my own guidelines all the time if the song demands I mix things a little different. Use your own ears to decide what works and what doesn't for your mixes.