To Much busing?

[Chris Jahn]

So I know the quick answer to my question is "get better sounds on the front end" , that time has past and now I'm mixing. And honestly I'm pretty happy with the sounds I've captured over all.

So my question? Say I compress, EQ, whatever a particular instrument. Let's say the kick for sake of argument. On its original Chanel I get the "thud" I like and the "punch". But I can't get the "click" so I send it to a bus and in that bus I compress the hell out of it and add the click. Then I send it to a third to get some volume out of it cause the first two are "hot" so I need a third bring it out in the mix in terms of Db's. Then it's also in a kick/snare/overhead "sum" bus sqished to hell. So now it's in four places.

Ok, now I LOVE the sound. Is this a common way to accomplish the sound you want? Is it way too convoluted? I tend to do this with lots of instruments, but mostly kick and snare. If I didn't have the "magic" of digital recording I wouldn't have this option. So in summation, is it a bad way to get a sound you like, does it really matter if the end resualt sounds good, and are there negative consequences to doing it this way? Thanks

 

[JimmyS1969]

Been there, done that. There is no direct answer to the question however. I have found that using the right compressor can change the whole concept of how you manipulate a kick drum. Or anything really. I never had any luck with the stock compressors in Cubase. So I went on a hunt for the right one. Well, there is no right one for everything, but I have had the best luck with the Waves API collection, specifically the 2500. My second choice IME, is the free Density MKII. That being said, I really like what transient Monster does to a drum track, to get the attack sitting right, before compression. It is free to try forever if you have no soul. I bought it two days after demoing. Give it a shot.

 

[Capt Hair]

There's nothing wrong with bussing things around to get a particular sound, knowing how to properly use signal flow is hammered into my head every single day, for good reason .

That's exactly how I would do it to be honest.

 

[ecktronic]

Too get a louder kick, why not bring all the other tracks down? This is one of the first things I do when Mixing. Means you have plenty of headroom to boost the kick if need be.

G

 

[Steenamaroo]

Taking your kick as an example, I'd generally use two mics if i really want to hear the two extremes like that.

There's nothing wrong with the way you're bussing though.

Often i'll duplicate the kick track, effect one for thud and one for click, then bus them both to an overall drum bus.

Same result (i think) and only one buys in use.