Bleed on tom tracks

[Heabow]

Yes but not every drummers can play well like this.

I've tried the split-track tip. It works but doesn't sound very good tbo. Will try again with a multiband compressor... I think I'll have to replace those guys :/

 

[Mago]

If you did everything you could to avoid bleed during recording, and it still is overbearing in the toms, then that must really been he also hit them like a pussy.

A performance like that doesn't really need to stay natural in such cases.

 

[Heabow]

Sure, he did not hit strongly as hell. I will replace the toms with the samples from the same kit tho. Not the best tom sound on earth but that way I will keep the original "vibe"... At least I hope.

Edit: Off topic - That was the first time I used Tunebot; this thing is great hehe

 

[Studdy]

can you share your drum sizes / info and your tunebot readings/findings. I have a tunebot but i still kind of struggle with it a little. i end up just using my ear. thanks.

 

[Jordon]

If you have samples of the kit from the tracking sessions, fly in the tail ends of the tom hits. Keep the initial attack, use the tail of the samples for the sustain.

If not, then all of the suggestions above are great as well.

 

[Heabow]

can you share your drum sizes / info and your tunebot readings/findings. I have a tunebot but i still kind of struggle with it a little. i end up just using my ear. thanks.

Sure! As it was my first use and I did not have many time, I actually get started from the manual recommandations then tweakted until I got something coherent in my point of view. The drummer had a good Tama kit with 12", 10" and 16" (in order of placement). I had to fight against bad harmonics between the 12" and the snare.

The tuning was approximately (in Hz):
10" - TOP 206 / BOT 294
12" - TOP 174 / BOT 248
16" - TOP 103 / BOT 147

For the snare (14x5,5), we took the lowest values (approximately):
TOP 229 / BOT 343

I particularly appreciated the simplicity and the possibility to check out the tuning after each track. And the drums sound better, really. Very useful indeed!

Edit - I found that touching lightly the drumhead with one finger during the tuning helps the Tunebot to detect the frequencies. Still have to practice tho. Also don't forget to switch to snare/tom mode.

 

[Studdy]

Are these the numbers at each lug or when you strike the drum in the center? Thanks.

 

[Heabow]

At each lug.

 

[Studdy]

Im gonna blow the dust off it and give it another shot. Thanks dude.

 

[Heabow]

You're welcome. I watched many vids before having it in hands (I borrowed it from a friend actually) and I was happy to see it works well. But you'll have to use your ears too. Make to have approximately the same tension at each lug before starting the tuning.

 

[jENK]

There's a few techniques you could employ. Firstly, have the drummer use the brightest tom skins possible (Remo Pinstripes work well) so that you're boosting less highs in the mix when EQ'ing attack into the toms. This will lessen the cymbals sticking out in the individual tom tracks. Delete all the spill out in Pro Tools (or whatever software you're using) and put a fade on the last tom hit. Another alternative is to just replace the last tom hit of every fill with a tom sample (always get samples of the toms prior). Or, just fully replace all the toms with his sampled toms. I'm not a fan of having the drummer play the cymbals separately but it can get good results. Sometimes using an expander works well. It sounds more natural than a gate. You'll still have spill but it will be less. Blend with sampled toms and you're on your way! I hope all that helps.

 

[El_Gato]

For me, 1-ply heads, hard-hitting on shells/ soft-hitting on cymbals, good tuning to reduce sympathetic snare buzz (use your ears to find a nice pitch, those dials and tuners work to an extent but I only find them useful when replacing heads. The watch tension just takes me back to the ball park faster), fader automation. I currently use sm57's, too.

It's impossible to get rid of the bleed on acoustic sets so don't get obsessed about it and, as someone said before, embrace the bleed. In the end, 99,9% of the listeners won't even notice it in the mix. There's some realism in it, too.

 

[Heabow]

There's a few techniques you could employ. Firstly, have the drummer use the brightest tom skins possible (Remo Pinstripes work well) so that you're boosting less highs in the mix when EQ'ing attack into the toms. This will lessen the cymbals sticking out in the individual tom tracks. Delete all the spill out in Pro Tools (or whatever software you're using) and put a fade on the last tom hit. Another alternative is to just replace the last tom hit of every fill with a tom sample (always get samples of the toms prior). Or, just fully replace all the toms with his sampled toms. I'm not a fan of having the drummer play the cymbals separately but it can get good results. Sometimes using an expander works well. It sounds more natural than a gate. You'll still have spill but it will be less. Blend with sampled toms and you're on your way! I hope all that helps.

Good tips! Especially the replacement of the last tom hit of a fill. Never thought about that. This thread is a good bunch of great ideas and techniques Can't wait to try some of these for my next drum recording.

 

[tgs]

Good tips! Especially the replacement of the last tom hit of a fill. Never thought about that. This thread is a good bunch of great ideas and techniques Can't wait to try some of these for my next drum recording.

Just a little addendum to that: I've done that in the past but often times my pre-recorded hits were too strong so the last hit would have more attack than the one before (sounds very unnatural). So unless you have recorded a wide dynamic range off each tom, keep the attack of the original hit and just replace (X-fade into) the sustain.