Drum mixing -balancing

[Klosure]

I have had an issue with getting drums right for a while.


I have a tendancy to mix the close mics louder than I should. This gets even harder you use samples as the overhead information gets removed.

So do you lot have issues with this. If you are not careful and you mix a close mic too loud the mix gets flat. However I hear some stuff very pointy. I imagine that this is more to do with compression than close mic volume (unless its using a transient shaper).

When you use samples they are actually a mixture in many cases of room+close mic is this correct (ie take the slate samples).

 

[KHE]

when i use a lot of samples (snare, kick toms 100% replaced), i often set-up a "room-bus", sending all close-mikes/samples (and a tad of the overheads) to a bus with a nice room-IR, process it with eq, comp, saturation and mix it to taste to the normal drum-bus. works very well, give the whole kit a nice space and depht!

cheers!

 

[Klosure]

If you are balancing up your stuff whats the best way to give drums more snap without making them too small.


Ie I been listening to Lacuna Coils new album alot and Don Gilmore seems to get his drums to sound really pokey but maintain the size of the mix.

 

[RedDog]

Lately I've ben experimenting with rooms and sample-induced room tracks, I find slight compression in your direct tracks work for the punch and attack, with room for sustain. My rooms usually sit about 6-10 db below, but that's just my taste. You can get away with a lot more room than you'd think.

 

[Jordon]

If you are balancing up your stuff whats the best way to give drums more snap without making them too small.


Ie I been listening to Lacuna Coils new album alot and Don Gilmore seems to get his drums to sound really pokey but maintain the size of the mix.

Am I the only one annoyed by the lack of dynamics on the snare drum in those mixes? Sounds like one velocity layer of a Slate sample the whole way through. I usually LOVE Don's productions, but this one just seems weird to me. There's also a strange sibilance on the vocals.


As far as balance, I use fake rooms if dealing with a lot of samples, and natural or sampled, there's a LOT of room sound in my mixes....Not that I'm a pro or anything, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I deal mainly with heavier rock, though, so I can get away with a looser/roomier drum sound than I can when I'm doing a strictly metal project.

I find the hardest part for me to balance are the toms...I hate toms.

 

[Fandus]

Transient designer to add crack, compression to add sustain. For me anyway!