talk to me about noise gates

  • Thread starter Thread starter BenWV
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BenWV

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so here's the problem,

I can't get away from nasty bleed between the snare and hi-hat no matter how I mic and my built in Digital Performer 5.1 compressor/gate doesn't seem to be cutting the mustard as far as getting the hi hat out (whenever the snare is hit the hi hat comes in with it) I can't get it out with parametric eq because then I lose the bite of my snare. Is there something I can do with an outboard noise gate that might sound better or be a solution. Also, my hi hat recordings in general are undesirable any thoughts?

PS. I haven't tried over and under mic on the snare - has anyone tried this? what were the results?

thanks,
Ben
 
You cannot eliminate hat bleed that occurs at the same time as a snare hit with any gate - once the gate opens, anything can come through.

What mic are you using and how are you placing it? Those things will be the most important factors, along with how the drummer is playing - if he/she bashes the crap out of the hats, it's probably going to sound crappy in the snare mic.
 
to mic the snare i usually have an sm 57 pointed near the rim of the snare. This drummer plays pretty hard, but i've had trouble in the past. Just looking for some solutions.
 
Do what you can to use the mic's polar pattern to your advantage here. Use the rear null area of a cardioid like the 57 to place the hats there where they wont be picked up. (As a note, figure 8 patterns have pretty good side rejection, which can be useful in some situations also)
 
You could try a phase reverse on the snare mic to see if that will help.
 
can you simplify the idea of using the mics polar pattern to my advantage. that's not quite comprehensible to me. thanks.
 
In Digital Performer. The track the snare is on is there a Phase Reverse option or reverse polarity? The cymbal is usually a circle with a stroke through it.
 
BenWV said:
can you simplify the idea of using the mics polar pattern to my advantage. that's not quite comprehensible to me. thanks.
Click to expand...

Well, the strongest rejection for a cardioid will be opposite the diaphragm, which coincides with the end you plug the cable into. If you position the mic such that the cable-end is pointing toward the hihat, that will give you maximum rejection. I like to bring the snare mic up underneath the hihat, pointing down at the snare. You might have to reposition the hat if it is too low. You cannot eliminate all hat bleed, but that may help some. Of course, talking to the drummer about his/her technique will also help. Tell him to hit the drums harder and the cymbals/hats softer for recording.
 
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