Help getting Overheads out of kick drum

[idontpullout]

So I recorded drums and the overheads are really overwhelming on it. I can get rid of them with a pass and eq but then the kick just loses a lot of the click. Can anyone else suggest anything that can help me maintain this?

Thank you!

 

[MattGrave]

Turn the overheads down?

 

[idontpullout]

Sorry, I didn't specify but it's overhead bleed into the kick.

 

[Manicompression]

Duplicate the kick track, put then pull the volume all the way down and move it back in the mix timeline like 5-10ms and use it as a send to open a well tweaked gate on the the actual kick. If the actual kick in question lacks sufficient attack or punctuation you might need to use a transient designer or a really short gate (or whatever it takes) of on the send kick to get it opening the gate on the original kick track properly. This also works wonders on snare drum.

Also dont fret over a little leakage here or there, and dont obsess over getting it sounding like a sample solo'd. I think if youve made the decision to use the real kick rather than just sample replacing it your going after a more organic kind of sound in which case a little bleed is par for the course. Good luck

 

[Capitancambarro]

Did you make a sample of the kik before starting recording? If so, I'd use the low end of the original kik (use a high cut filter to filter out all the highs/cymbal bleed) and blend in the high end from the sample. This will sound very natural and you'll be happy. You can do the same with any other sample that has the desired characteristic in the attack/high end...

 

[amarshism]

Make a tunnel next time.

 

[jeid]

Gate?

 

[Contra Studio]

Just add a sample on top of your kick.

 

[Trevoire520]

If you're getting too much cymbal wash by the time you have the desired click then either:

A: The drummer didn't hit the kick hard enough
or
B: The kick/head/beater combo didn't give sufficient click in the first place

You could try duplicating the kick and splitting them into separate high & low tracks. Then you can use a very fast gate on the high track and a slower gate on the low track to let the bottom end resonance through.

An easier option would be to just sample replace the kick, or at least use a sample for the attack and keep the real mic for the bottom end)

 

[colonel_claypoo]

An easier option would be to just sample replace the kick, or at least use a sample for the attack and keep the real mic for the bottom end)

I was going to suggest the same.

 

[mva801]

All these solutions will help, but next time, you need to look at that before hand. I record a lot of drums, and I NEVER have a problem with cymbals in the kick. As Trevoire520 said, he wasn't playing hard, or something else was up. Start with a well tuned and dampened kick, put a (GOOD) mic inside, and it shouldn't really be a problem...

Is there a hole in the front head? Did you take the front head off? Did you build a tunnel? Where was the mic placed and what kind was it?

 

[plague_rider]

Make a tunnel next time.

This for next time, got to make sure its sorted in the way in...



For fixing it now... go in and edit around each kick drum, if need be drag a decent sample over any that are overwelmed by the OHs... though to be honest, if this is the case, you need to slap the drummer for being a pussy...

 

[solphilcox]

use a gate that has an automatic high frequency sidechain feature. don't know what you're using, but the stock pro tools digi 'exp gate' is fantastic, you just hit the button to activate the high frequency sidechain and turn the knob until cymbals (and snare if you need that gone too) are disappearo.

 

[ze kink]

Duplicate the track, strip silence it and nudge it a couple of ms forward in time. Use that track as a sidechain for gating the kick. Also, you might try expanding the kick instead of just using a gate, it usually sounds better than total on/off gating when there's a lot of bleed. Use a tight lowpass. Also, samples obviously.

 

[sbwakfk1]

Just add a kick sample in with the original and favor that sample over the recorded kick. Or just replace it all together. If you gate/expand it or edit, you will hear a burst of cymbals in the center every time the kick hits which will throw off the image of your overheads. Im sure you can learn from this situation for next time, but for now this is exactly what I would do. Its pretty easy to get away with replacing/sampling the kick. Also, overheads in the kick is not a common problem. Was one of the overhead tracks bussed in with the kick track?

 

[Charles J]

Make a tunnel next time.

+1, been doing this for years now in one way or another and it's essential IMO...even when I HAVEN'T done it; the kick is usually the LAST thing I have 'too much' bleed in, haha...

very odd problem but i'd suspect it boils down to the ROOM you're recording the drums in.... so important.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Is there a way to phase the OH out of the kick using the OH mic?

 

[sbwakfk1]

No. No way to do that.

 

[colonel kurtz]

+1 to the sample replacement

there's literally a dozen ways you could go about trying to reduce the bleed, but unless you're really proud of the mic'd kick sound, they're all gonna waste the shit out of your time and probably not sound as good as replacing the hits

 

[crillemannen]

Sample replacement.

Next time record with a Beta91, no bleed whatsoever!