More Equalization Guidelines: Drum Track Processing Tips, Part 6 by Thai Long Ly
This is part six of my overview series on the processing drum tracks. Here we will focus on equalization of overheads, toms, hi-hats, and rooms.
First let us discuss overheads. Where do I begin? Applying EQ to an overhead track depends entirely upon the artistic approach you’re employing for your song and their respective drum tracks (I suppose this is true for anything, but stay with me here). If you want the overheads to function purely as cymbal mics, then you will want to roll out most of the bottom end using a Hi Pass Filter.
Dump everything below approximately 500Hz and sneak the track up in level so that the cymbals sit in a proper place (with the drum tracks and the song in general) when struck. You might boost above 12kHz for some “air” as well.
If you want the overheads to convey location of the individual elements of a kit in a realistic way (as well as to capture the kit overall), a fairly broad cut centered around 400Hz-500Hz should pull some honk out of the kit to make room for the rest of the drum tracks and other instruments. Again, some lifting above 10 or 12kHz is nice to bring out some presence and sparkle. Dip down towards 7kHz for more snap out of your snare drum track.
Now let’s discuss toms. “Lamb Of God”-type toms? Kill the bloom and resonance (below 250Hz) and accentuate the stick hit and attack (1kHz – 4kHz) of the tom drum tracks. How about a Modern R&B project? Bring up the resonance of the shell and let them ring. Find the resonant frequency and boost until they’re howling. Now fit that in with the overheads and listen to how the drum tracks sound in relation to the song. What seems like overkill when soloed now feels right when the rest of the track is playing. Always take that into consideration regarding your drum tracks.
How about hi-hats? Dump everything below 500Hz unless you want the sound of the session drummer’s foot thumping away. Adding air above 10kHz can be helpful. Just don’t overdo it or you may end up with overly sizzly sounding hats. That sounds terrible, and can ruin your drum tracks (thusly your song).
Now lets address rooms. Just mangle the snot out of these. Or don’t. Filter them. Effect them. Or don’t. Make ‘em dull. Or don’t. Make ‘em bright. Or don’t. See where I’m going with this? Good. Use your ears to decide what is best for your drum tracks.
So there you have it. A basic set of concepts to get you up and rolling towards amazing sounding drum tracks. And as if it hasn’t sunk in by now… experiment! Find your own voice and signature sound when mixing drum tracks. Copying someone else’s sound is cool for educational purposes, but ultimately what will set your project apart from the pack is what you discover on your own. Remember, the drum sounds you create in a mix will affect the overall power and presence of your recording. What sets a demo apart from a master-quality recording? Drum sounds. Good luck processing your drum tracks, and enjoy.
This is the third installment in my series of tutorials on processing of drum tracks. We focus here on parallel compression.
So your guitarist has decided that he’s going to triple track all nineteen of his brilliant ideas using his Mind Bleeder distortion pedal and your keyboardist wants to layer every rad Moog and Nord patch he’s ever programmed since the 80’s. Your bassist insists on playing nothing but chords he learned in Bass Frenzy magazine on his custom Booty Humper Low F# seven string. So how do you deal with trying to get your drum tracks to punch through this wall of sound?
You should experiment with parallel compression of your drum tracks. Simply put, you’re blending a compressed drum track with an unprocessed track for more “oomph”. I don’t generally care for this technique on anything Jazz related, but if you’re dealing with a wall of mud and you can’t carve out the proper space any other way (or don’t have the time), this technique is worth exploring.
How do we do this? Once you’ve gotten your drums in a good place, take a few elements of the drum tracks… say your kick, snare, and toms and bus them to the input of a compessor in wait via an aux send. Remember your drums are still being bussed to the master out in addition to the aux send you’ve just created. Knowing you have a clean signal as well, feel free to smash the snot out of the compressor and gently blend the output of this mangled signal with your original drum tracks until you start to feel the drums gaining weight. You may find that you won’t need much… just a “hint” is all it may take to cut through that wall of doom. Essentially, you’re increasing the perceived loudness of the drum track without resorting to radical EQ or unjustified levels of gain. Many pro mixers have mastered this subtle art and have produced amazing drum sounds that we hear day in and day out on the radio.
Play around with it and see if it works for you. Hell, if you’re really feeling frisky (audio – wise) mess around with some slight distortion on the snare and kick drum tracks, too.
Enjoy your experimentation with parallel compression on your drum tracks, and be sure to read part four of this series on drum track processing. In part four, I will discuss ambiance.
This is the second installment of my series of articles addressing the processing of drum tracks. My focus here is on compression.
I tend to use compression for two distinct reasons – either to color a signal or to control its dynamic range. While I much prefer hardware, software can get you there too. Rather than functioning as a technical manual on how to use a compressor, this article will touch upon some desired approaches regarding drum track compression.
Let me first mention that there are four different types of compressors: Vari-mu (Delta-Mu), VCA (voltage controlled amplifier), FET (field effect transformer) and Electro-Optical (opto). For drums tracks I’d recommend sticking with FET’s or VCA based designs, although you can get anything to work if you try hard enough.
Let’s talk about color. By altering a compressor’s attack and release
controls, one can alter how much sustain, attack and punch a track will exhibit. For example, by compressing a kick drum track, you can control how much articulation or “click” you hear versus how much “body” and thump is heard. If you want more “snap” out of a kick, simply slow down your attack to allow more of the initial transient through. Want more “shell” or “bloom” in the kick drum track? Crank up the attack and slow down the release. Here the initial click is caught and tamed while the tone of the shell is boosted. This is a way to EQ the signal without resorting to an actual EQ. You are essentially manipulating the attack and sustain of the drum tracks in order to produce more bite and punch, or conversely, to round off transients for a more mellow, round sound. Stylistically speaking, Modern Rock drum tracks seem to beg for massive amounts of compression, whereas Jazz and Folk tracks prefer to be untouched.
Ratio and threshold are also definitely important to drum tracks, but to me the key to proper compression is entirely in the manipulation of attack and release. If you’re using an LA2A, forget what I just wrote and carry on.
The other reason compression is employed is to simply reduce a signal’s dynamic range. For instance, perhaps you have a snare drum track that has varying intensities in amplitude (meaning the session drummer hit some notes harder than others). If you want a more consistent level or placement in the track, you may want to slap a compressor on it to keep the output consistent. You could also place a limiter on the snare drum track. Here a limiter would keep the snare from spiking into the red (overloading) while preserving most of the original dynamics. Compressing or limiting overhead mics is a common practice and you may find that just a touch of compression here and there can help reign in especially loud hits. If you’re looking to present a more honest and natural drum track, then slight hints of compression at low thresholds and low ratios will be the prescription of choice. Also, if you do decide to strap a compressor across the drum bus, I prefer to keep the compressor in dual Mono, as opposed to linking the compressor in Stereo. Listen for yourself and do what gets your sound, but dual Mono seems more exciting and natural. It allowins the drum tracks to “leap out” of the speaker during fills and crashes.
Remember, experimentation is key with compression of drum tracks. Have fun and be sure to read my other articles in this series which address gating, parallel compression, equalization, and other concepts.
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