Thanks to this Sneap forum, I am finally learning that Recording, Mixing and Mastering is an ART form not a game of numbers. However, when I first began as a "new guy" I wanted the forum (meaning all of you) to give me the answers. I started with the user fearcomplexmusic and constantly looked for his insight and "presets" and signal chains (this was mostly through YouTube). I basically ended up copying him! Not good folks.
Then I shifted my focus...actually in a worse direction. I got to following Ola Englund. This guy drove me insane! He was so good at the tone game, I couldn't keep up. I even had an identical chain and he always managed to get a better sound! My initial guess was that some "in the box" trickery going on...but all he had was a HPF and a Limiter to keep from clipping. It soon became clear that I was missing the point.
No matter the tone...Guitar, Drum, Bass, or whatever....we all want the best sound we can get. This is directly related to the GAS syndrome, which sadly we all get caught up with. There is currently no cure either...
However, I just thought I would save you "new guys" some search time here on the forum by posting all these tid-bits I found here. I hope they help you understand that getting the mix in your head is only achievable with your own ears and that there are NO secret numbers or presets.
Life is simple:
Use what gear and knowledge you have. The forum is here to help if you have questions.
Find and drink your OWN cup of tea. Do not copy each other for the sole purpose of laziness. I learned this the hard way, and it is much more rewarding to discover something for yourself as opposed to copy someone.
AND LASTLY,
Because I know for a fact that most of you new guys don't give a shit about anything I have said thus far because you are too crazy scanning the page for a "golden number" or "preset"...I will humor you in listing my notes I have gathered over the past couple months here on the forum. Keep in mind, this is for those youngsters who have not quite learned that mixing is an art...they still desire numbers...so I will give them some numbers. Some may help...others may not.
My notes are as followed. I tried to organize them by topic and keep in mind, these are not really "my notes" but things gathered from the forum by great contributing members...not myself.
Mixing Tip:
Start with Bass Drum (or Bass) compressed and peaking at around -18dB. The Master Fader at 0dB (with a limiter on at 0dB). Now work until the mix is balanced and the Master Fader is peaking anywhere from -6dB to -12dB
Drum Tuning:
Toms: Batter head tuned slightly lower
Mastering Chain
If you have a favorite compressor slap it on the bus. Mine is the Waves SSL compressor. Use a ratio of 2:1 with 4-5dB of attenuation. You can also use a Tape simulator in the chain, and of course a limiter with various settings.
Tracking REAL Drums:
If something goes wrong, your best option may be to rerecord. However this could cost money, so maybe piecing the faulty drum section together again with a trim and cross fade method is best. Always make sure drummer tracks to a click that brings out the best performance.
Bass Drum, Tom, and Snare Compression:
-20dB Threshold (varies)
4:1--8:1 Ratio (varies)
10ms of Attack or less
50ms--100ms Release (varies...speed of hit)
Determine make up gain.
EQ on Toms
Solo tom and cut around 800Hz with a Q of 3. If that sounds good then double check by comparing the response when cutting 500Hz with a Q of 3. If neither sound good try 400 Hz. Just shift around the mid frequency spectrum and look to get rid of the boxy sound.
Small Toms: add 3--6dB of 100--150Hz
Mid Size Toms: add 3--6dB of 80--100Hz
Floor Toms: add 3--6dB of 60--80Hz
Drum Bus Compression:
Send the Bass Drum, Snare, and Toms to a heavily compressed bus that is roughly half in dB volume to the current drums.
Reverb
Usually do NOT use reverb on a compressed bus. Try to use similar reverbs for snare and toms on their individual tracks. They should sound HUGE with the right reverb.
Common Drum Plate Reverb:
I use Waves Rverb. The Bass Drum usually gets no reverb. The Snare gets a long pre-delay. The Hihats get no reverb. The Toms usually get different amounts due to the closeness of drummer (I try to get a drum perspective with panning and reverb).
Drum Panning:
Bass Drum: C
Snare Top: C
Snare Bottom: C
Tom 1: L35
Tom 2: L15
Tom 3: R35
Floor Tom 1: R50
Floor Tom 2: R 56
HiHat: L 59
Overheads: L&R 82
Room: L&R 82
Guitar Scooping Frequencies with Graphic EQ:
Dark Scoop: around 630Hz and dip around -6dB
Tight Scoop: around 1.25kHz and dip around -6dB
Less Boxy: around 200Hz and dip around -6db (the snare should fill this frequency back up)
Vocal EQ:
Plosives around 100Hz
Nasal sound around 1.5 --3kHz
Presence around 4--5kHz
Sibilance around 8--12kHz (watch for the breath of the singer)
Air around 16--17kHz
More Low End on Bass Drums:
use a 4 band Compressor VST like the Waves Transx.
Boost the lowest band and cut the two middle bands.
TOP Snare processing:
-20dB Threshold
Attack (leave off)
0.100 Release
3 to 4 Ratio
More Bass: add 200Hz
More Snap: add 8kHz
BOTTOM Snare Processing:
0dB Threshold
Attack (fast attack on)
0.100 Release
8:1 Ratio
Attack Frequencies for Drums:
Bass Drum 3--8kHz
Snare 5--10kHz
Toms 3kHz(vintage)--10kHz(more modern metallica)
Steven Slate Bass Tips:
+6dB at 50Hz with a narrow Q
Add some dB around 1--2kHz
Compress with high ratio and get around 8 to 10dB of gain Reduction
Use another EQ and Dip 80Hz for Bass Drum room
Possible chorus send effect (thick chorus) with HPF at 300Hz
Room and Overhead Levels:
anywhere form -30dB to -24dB
Overhead Chain:
Filter 500-600 Hz and then compress.
This is all for now.
Hope this cuts down on some of the searching for any "n00bs".
As for you "Elders"...please don't hate on me. This is my first thread and I highly respect all of you for giving me the opportunity to learn and furthermore discover the beautiful craft of making heavy music.
Up the Irons!
(Down with the Lulu!)
Cheers from Ohio,
Ruff Records (metalhead3ecr)
Then I shifted my focus...actually in a worse direction. I got to following Ola Englund. This guy drove me insane! He was so good at the tone game, I couldn't keep up. I even had an identical chain and he always managed to get a better sound! My initial guess was that some "in the box" trickery going on...but all he had was a HPF and a Limiter to keep from clipping. It soon became clear that I was missing the point.
No matter the tone...Guitar, Drum, Bass, or whatever....we all want the best sound we can get. This is directly related to the GAS syndrome, which sadly we all get caught up with. There is currently no cure either...
However, I just thought I would save you "new guys" some search time here on the forum by posting all these tid-bits I found here. I hope they help you understand that getting the mix in your head is only achievable with your own ears and that there are NO secret numbers or presets.
Life is simple:
Use what gear and knowledge you have. The forum is here to help if you have questions.
Find and drink your OWN cup of tea. Do not copy each other for the sole purpose of laziness. I learned this the hard way, and it is much more rewarding to discover something for yourself as opposed to copy someone.
AND LASTLY,
Because I know for a fact that most of you new guys don't give a shit about anything I have said thus far because you are too crazy scanning the page for a "golden number" or "preset"...I will humor you in listing my notes I have gathered over the past couple months here on the forum. Keep in mind, this is for those youngsters who have not quite learned that mixing is an art...they still desire numbers...so I will give them some numbers. Some may help...others may not.
My notes are as followed. I tried to organize them by topic and keep in mind, these are not really "my notes" but things gathered from the forum by great contributing members...not myself.
Mixing Tip:
Start with Bass Drum (or Bass) compressed and peaking at around -18dB. The Master Fader at 0dB (with a limiter on at 0dB). Now work until the mix is balanced and the Master Fader is peaking anywhere from -6dB to -12dB
Drum Tuning:
Toms: Batter head tuned slightly lower
Mastering Chain
If you have a favorite compressor slap it on the bus. Mine is the Waves SSL compressor. Use a ratio of 2:1 with 4-5dB of attenuation. You can also use a Tape simulator in the chain, and of course a limiter with various settings.
Tracking REAL Drums:
If something goes wrong, your best option may be to rerecord. However this could cost money, so maybe piecing the faulty drum section together again with a trim and cross fade method is best. Always make sure drummer tracks to a click that brings out the best performance.
Bass Drum, Tom, and Snare Compression:
-20dB Threshold (varies)
4:1--8:1 Ratio (varies)
10ms of Attack or less
50ms--100ms Release (varies...speed of hit)
Determine make up gain.
EQ on Toms
Solo tom and cut around 800Hz with a Q of 3. If that sounds good then double check by comparing the response when cutting 500Hz with a Q of 3. If neither sound good try 400 Hz. Just shift around the mid frequency spectrum and look to get rid of the boxy sound.
Small Toms: add 3--6dB of 100--150Hz
Mid Size Toms: add 3--6dB of 80--100Hz
Floor Toms: add 3--6dB of 60--80Hz
Drum Bus Compression:
Send the Bass Drum, Snare, and Toms to a heavily compressed bus that is roughly half in dB volume to the current drums.
Reverb
Usually do NOT use reverb on a compressed bus. Try to use similar reverbs for snare and toms on their individual tracks. They should sound HUGE with the right reverb.
Common Drum Plate Reverb:
I use Waves Rverb. The Bass Drum usually gets no reverb. The Snare gets a long pre-delay. The Hihats get no reverb. The Toms usually get different amounts due to the closeness of drummer (I try to get a drum perspective with panning and reverb).
Drum Panning:
Bass Drum: C
Snare Top: C
Snare Bottom: C
Tom 1: L35
Tom 2: L15
Tom 3: R35
Floor Tom 1: R50
Floor Tom 2: R 56
HiHat: L 59
Overheads: L&R 82
Room: L&R 82
Guitar Scooping Frequencies with Graphic EQ:
Dark Scoop: around 630Hz and dip around -6dB
Tight Scoop: around 1.25kHz and dip around -6dB
Less Boxy: around 200Hz and dip around -6db (the snare should fill this frequency back up)
Vocal EQ:
Plosives around 100Hz
Nasal sound around 1.5 --3kHz
Presence around 4--5kHz
Sibilance around 8--12kHz (watch for the breath of the singer)
Air around 16--17kHz
More Low End on Bass Drums:
use a 4 band Compressor VST like the Waves Transx.
Boost the lowest band and cut the two middle bands.
TOP Snare processing:
-20dB Threshold
Attack (leave off)
0.100 Release
3 to 4 Ratio
More Bass: add 200Hz
More Snap: add 8kHz
BOTTOM Snare Processing:
0dB Threshold
Attack (fast attack on)
0.100 Release
8:1 Ratio
Attack Frequencies for Drums:
Bass Drum 3--8kHz
Snare 5--10kHz
Toms 3kHz(vintage)--10kHz(more modern metallica)
Steven Slate Bass Tips:
+6dB at 50Hz with a narrow Q
Add some dB around 1--2kHz
Compress with high ratio and get around 8 to 10dB of gain Reduction
Use another EQ and Dip 80Hz for Bass Drum room
Possible chorus send effect (thick chorus) with HPF at 300Hz
Room and Overhead Levels:
anywhere form -30dB to -24dB
Overhead Chain:
Filter 500-600 Hz and then compress.
This is all for now.
Hope this cuts down on some of the searching for any "n00bs".
As for you "Elders"...please don't hate on me. This is my first thread and I highly respect all of you for giving me the opportunity to learn and furthermore discover the beautiful craft of making heavy music.
Up the Irons!
(Down with the Lulu!)
Cheers from Ohio,
Ruff Records (metalhead3ecr)
