how do you guys treat overheads and hats?

[broken81]

well i know the high pass up to around 600hz to get rid of snare and stuff but i was wondering what are some eq approach you guys take. What freq you like to cut or boost most of the time on overheads and hats??

I'm always seeming to make my cymbals to chimey sounding and fake were they bother you to listen and then if untreated (eqed) there usually dark and dull just need some direction on this please

Maybe some of your favorite plugs you guys use on overheads chain also?

 

[smy1]

Use a surgical EQ like the Q10 and eq the OH tracks to make them sound the best they can on their own. For the full kit that is.

If you get the kit sounding okay/decent/good in the OH tracks alone, then you will have such an easy time blending in the close mics.

Same goes for room mics.

I usually start processing my drums by listening to the OHs soloed, eq them and then add the rest of the kit.

 

[CJWall]

i find it's also important to note how extreme your highpass is (dBs per octave). i use the Sonalksis SV-517 for almost all of my filtering and it has different options for high/low passes. 6, 12, 18 and 24 db ranges. (as does Digi's EQ3, might i add) i used to always go full smack with the 24db option but i was finding my cymbals sounding quite how you described.

so going back and playing with the different slopes of the highpass, i found i could get some of the body back in my cymbals while still killing all the stuff i didn't want muddying up the mix. this goes for almost everything i high/low pass. i kind of just mess with the different slopes and find what sound best in the mix.

 

[the_man361]

it seems a bit different to other people here, but i like to get a half decent (but not too bassy) 'kit' sound from them, and then add in the individual close mics afterwards, to accentuate the main drums, like kick and snare.

 

[Tachy]

Like smy1 says, I listen only the oh first, and I usually cut the bass frequencies hard until the kick and toms sounds thin...then I boost the hig....this is my point of view.....

 

[Fredrik-Ablaze]

I second the above posts, i try to eq out everything but the cymbals themselves. It's usually a bitch trying to get rid of all the bleed without killing the sound though.
Having done that I add some compression and usually some distorsion.

 

[greyskull]

i hi pass at around 250,-300,if the oh sound is good that is, coz i liketo capture some of the kit, then just a light touch of compression, otherwise the snare will creep in

 

[broken81]

i find it's also important to note how extreme your highpass is (dBs per octave). i use the Sonalksis SV-517 for almost all of my filtering and it has different options for high/low passes. 6, 12, 18 and 24 db ranges. (as does Digi's EQ3, might i add) i used to always go full smack with the 24db option but i was finding my cymbals sounding quite how you described.

so going back and playing with the different slopes of the highpass, i found i could get some of the body back in my cymbals while still killing all the stuff i didn't want muddying up the mix. this goes for almost everything i high/low pass. i kind of just mess with the different slopes and find what sound best in the mix.

Yea Ive been really digging the eq III in protools and i had the Sonalksis but it was just a demo but i liked both the eq and compressor from them. What you usually high pass to though? And do you also make cuts like others or just boost some highs?

 

[smy1]

Btw, I boost low frequencies (100hz) quite regularly in the OH mics as I am not a fan of the high passing cymbals unless you want a very sterile/clean sound. The boost sometimes gives me an extra "boom" in the kick and toms.

Doesn't work for superfast music though.

 

[Gnash]

I have never been happy with OHs in a mix. My next sesion will have my LR OHs real fucking close to the crashes, a ride mic directly on the cymbal, and every other fucking mic can pick up the stupid fucking hi hat. I'm getting close, just to get rid of that fucking hat.

 

[CJWall]

Yea Ive been really digging the eq III in protools and i had the Sonalksis but it was just a demo but i liked both the eq and compressor from them. What you usually high pass to though? And do you also make cuts like others or just boost some highs?

it depends on the source, as far as what the mics/room/cymbals are playing to the overall sound, but usually fairly high, anywhere from 300 - to about 600hz max.

i'll usually make at least one or two cuts, usually just to get rid of that annoying 'ring' that OH's can tend to take on and from their maybe a very slight high shelf.

i also compress my OH's, only hitting like 2 or 3 dB's on snare hits. slow attack, fast release.