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Post by keymod on Apr 24, 2015 3:48:34 GMT -6
For those of us with a console or summing mixer, how are we setting up our drum stems? I'm thinking a minimum of six channels??
Kick Snare Stereo Toms Stereo Cymbals/Overheads
I realize we can sub-mix within the DAW, and that we can gain access to Slate Trigger or Drumagog, etc,. While it's relatively ( easy ) to eq/compress the Kick & Snare tracks ( since they're isolated ) how do you approach doing the same with your Tom and Cymbal tracks? Most times the Toms come and go very quickly within the track and the Cymbals obviously have different sizes/tones, so it's difficult to nail down. Do you have somewhat of a global Tom setting that seems to work? Same for Cymbals?
I'm approaching this as someone who doesn't have access to a proper drum recording room ( yet;) ) and mostly working at the moment with a Roland Session Pro digital drum kit.
For a really polished finished product, I would probably prefer to send tracks out to someone like Hakan ( Drumrec ) to re-record.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Apr 24, 2015 4:27:23 GMT -6
For those of us with a console or summing mixer, how are we setting up our drum stems? I'm thinking a minimum of six channels??
Kick Snare Stereo Toms Stereo Cymbals/Overheads
I realize we can sub-mix within the DAW, and that we can gain access to Slate Trigger or Drumagog, etc,. While it's relatively ( easy ) to eq/compress the Kick & Snare tracks ( since they're isolated ) how do you approach doing the same with your Tom and Cymbal tracks? Most times the Toms come and go very quickly within the track and the Cymbals obviously have different sizes/tones, so it's difficult to nail down. Do you have somewhat of a global Tom setting that seems to work? Same for Cymbals?
I'm approaching this as someone who doesn't have access to a proper drum recording room ( yet;) ) and mostly working at the moment with a Roland Session Pro digital drum kit.
For a really polished finished product, I would probably prefer to send tracks out to someone like Hakan ( Drumrec ) to re-record.
This is exactly what I'm doing, but I'm using pluggin eq on the toms before hitting the console. If I have drum room tracks, I'll either send them to 7-8 or combine them with my overheads, depending on their treatment. |
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Post by keymod on Apr 24, 2015 5:10:13 GMT -6
Plugin comps and EQ would be fine, but how do you dial them in with the Toms? Toms are usually on a quick roll or fleeting hits here and there. Do you make a loop of, say, the Tom roll, and let it keep repeating to do your tweaking? Same with the Cymbals?
I should add that I am not a drummer.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Apr 24, 2015 6:08:22 GMT -6
Plugin comps and EQ would be fine, but how do you dial them in with the Toms? Toms are usually on a quick roll or fleeting hits here and there. Do you make a loop of, say, the Tom roll, and let it keep repeating to do your tweaking? Same with the Cymbals? I should add that I am not a drummer. I loop a single hit of the tom solo'd, tweak, pull the fader down, play the full mix, pull the tom up to taste, and do final eq/comp adjustments to taste. |
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Post by stratboy on Apr 24, 2015 8:56:30 GMT -6
When I mix drums, I always start with just kick and overheads. Especially with drums recorded in small rooms, this seems to work really well. I add a taste of snare to what's already in the OH, sometimes with a bit of reverb to make the hit stand out more.
I clean up the Toms using strip silence to get rid of all leakage, pan, EQ, blend with OH and I am 90% there. Sometimes a little bus EQ and compression if the track needs it. Less is more, most of the time, with small room drums!
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Post by svart on Apr 24, 2015 9:19:00 GMT -6
For those of us with a console or summing mixer, how are we setting up our drum stems? I'm thinking a minimum of six channels??
Kick Snare Stereo Toms Stereo Cymbals/Overheads
I realize we can sub-mix within the DAW, and that we can gain access to Slate Trigger or Drumagog, etc,. While it's relatively ( easy ) to eq/compress the Kick & Snare tracks ( since they're isolated ) how do you approach doing the same with your Tom and Cymbal tracks? Most times the Toms come and go very quickly within the track and the Cymbals obviously have different sizes/tones, so it's difficult to nail down. Do you have somewhat of a global Tom setting that seems to work? Same for Cymbals?
I'm approaching this as someone who doesn't have access to a proper drum recording room ( yet;) ) and mostly working at the moment with a Roland Session Pro digital drum kit.
For a really polished finished product, I would probably prefer to send tracks out to someone like Hakan ( Drumrec ) to re-record.
That's typically how I do it. Kick, Snare on their own channels, toms and overheads/room in stereo pairs. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Apr 24, 2015 10:39:43 GMT -6
Of course all of this is subjective, IMO for a big powerful and natural drum sound, get a great phase accurate image from your overheads, then dial close mic's from snare and kick, get them in good relationship to the overheads with placement, do NOT align phase, a close mic should never be in "start" phase with an overhead mic, they are much closer to the source and receive the sound much sooner in the timeline, although they shouldn't be in a rarefaction cycle either. Use some comps on individual tracks to achieve just enough density and transient shaving to nicely place as far forward/ front to back into the mix statically as you may want them, then use more comps and serially set attack and release to create MORE dynamics than were there to begin with, at least if you want to make the drum mix exciting. Then finally send your drum tracks to a stereo sub and lightly compress in the same musical fashion as the individual pieces, to glue them back up into a kit. I'd also suggest 86ing the idea of mixing into a stereo 2 buss comp, it's putting the cart before the horse imo, a couple of my buds who are multi platinum selling mixers dismiss the notion that mixing into a 2 buss comp is a good idea. On the occasion, if and when they add them, it's at the very end of their mixing process, and usually doesn't make the cut as the mastering engineer won't appreciate it(one of these guys lived on the SSL G for a decade).
Most definitely think twice about eqing on a drum stem imo, it usually has an adverse effect on phase coherency with all but the most insanely awesome eq's, i always go back and deal with eq on the individual tracks(overhead pair as one) before i'd do that, the inclination to eq a sub is a sign that somethings not right before hand imo.
I hope this helps, this is just my way of doing things, take it with a grain and do your own thing.
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Post by jimwilliams on Apr 24, 2015 10:47:24 GMT -6
Each drum gets a mic, everything is mixed in individually. Sometimes all of it is tossed for 2 overheads and a kick mic. I will cover everything with it's own mic to CYA, but usually I don't need to.
It worked in 1970, still works today. Not that much has changed over 40+ years.
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