Overhead EQ

[Sly]

I'm curious, how do you guys EQ overhead mics ? I know it depends on a lot of factors (how many mics, mics position, which kind of mics etc.).
I generally have two big condenser mics (like AKG 414s) for the whole kit, and individual pencil condensers for china, ride, splash etc...
For metal, I generally try to have a nice snare sound into the OHs, not too prominent.

When I mix I tend to low cut them @ 500/600/650 Hz, but I find that I often have a bit too much mids in there (@700 or 800 Hz). So I reduce the midrange a bit and it's sounding OK but not amazing. I tend to boost high end a bit if the mics are a bit dark. I never use any compression, but I should try.

How do you process your OHs ?

 

[mburton21]

I just rolloff at 590Hz and maybe boost the higher frequencies to find a nice spot that doesn't add too much KHHHHHHT.

Maybe add some dips in the midrange if I feel it needs it.

 

[BLUElightCory]

Dudes are rolling off a lot! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I usually high pass between 100-200Hz (just to get the rumble out) and will also make some narrow cuts around 500, 1000, and 3000Hz to smooth things out if need by (though it depends on the drummer/cymbals/etc.). I don't like boosting highs on cymbals recorded with condensers; it usually sounds harsh to me. I'd rather cut lows/mids, it sounds more natural.

 

[ze kink]

Pretty often just highpass and maybe a slight boost for air, and occasionally I might use some saturation if it sounds cool. I have used some slight compression sometimes but I'm not sure if I like it or not. I highpass a lot lower though, at about 200hz or even lower.

A bit offtopic, but it really makes me wonder why so many people - especially in metal - mix the overheads so damn low nowadays. It bothers me a lot and I feel like it takes away a lot of the power in the drums; there's just a slight constant pssh pssh with no body that you could completely take out and replace with some highpassed pulses of white noise, and nobody could tell the difference. Haha, well, perhaps not totally seriously, but you get the point.

I mean, at least all the good metal drummers I've recorded or played with really blast their cymbals and it sounds great (obviously needs good cymbals, but that's self explanatory).

 

[Sly]

A bit offtopic, but it really makes me wonder why so many people - especially in metal - mix the overheads so damn low nowadays. It bothers me a lot and I feel like it takes away a lot of the power in the drums; there's just a slight constant pssh pssh with no body that you could completely take out and replace with some highpassed pulses of white noise, and nobody could tell the difference. Haha, well, perhaps not totally seriously, but you get the point.

+1000

Cymbals/OH mics are the energy in a drummer's playing, lots of dynamics. Too bad many metal records have barely no cymbals at all but a "shhh" instead. Many rock engineers ride the overheads when mixing, which can be very creative and good for dynamics (listen to RATM's first album !).
I also find that because of the general use of samples in the drum sounds, cymbals tend to be eliminated or mixed very low. It's tricky to have defined cymbals AND samples (Andy Sneap does it well though !)

 

[Morgan C]

A bit offtopic, but it really makes me wonder why so many people - especially in metal - mix the overheads so damn low nowadays. It bothers me a lot and I feel like it takes away a lot of the power in the drums; there's just a slight constant pssh pssh with no body that you could completely take out and replace with some highpassed pulses of white noise, and nobody could tell the difference. Haha, well, perhaps not totally seriously, but you get the point.

Soooo true, and I hate it. Since the drums are quantized, all you can hear is kick/snare and it sounds like a drum machine, playing some complex hip hop beat. In rock too, a lot of songs all you can hear is kick on 1 and snare on 3, that's it :/ I'd rather mix the cymbals too high than too low.


As for EQ, it always depends. For a more rocky mix I'll highpass only at like 100hz, boost at 100-200hz, and cut at 300hz. Not much else goes on.. it gets harsh really quickly in the highend unless you've got an awesome source and monitoring environment.

 

[Ermz]

Roll-off anywhere from 80 to 350hz, depending on material and what I can get from it. Usually a bell or a shelf at 100hz. Cut around 300 to 500hz. Usually cut around 2 to 3k (for the vocals) and shelf from 10k upward.

Good EQs help. ITB can get pretty harsh here. I'm considering using strictly Nebula for my high boosts from here on.

 

[Charles J]

With my live room and OH mics (AT450's), depending on the drummer, I'm finding the more EQ I do, the worse the OH's sound. I'll do a highpass up until I start hearing the cymbals get thin, and then back it down a bit.

I like hearing a bit of snare and especially toms in my OH track (our live room is quite large with vaulted ceilings so toms tend to sound massive).

I always build a tunnel for the kick to keep it out of the OH/Room/Mono Room the best I can.

This is for extreme deathcore kind of stuff, though. For rock, totally different scenario with less rolling off and probably more akin to doing something similar to what Ermz advised.

And yeah, some ITB EQ's sound terrible when the highs are boosted.... my CL 7602 w/Carnhill trannies is the KING for high-shelf, ZOMG. =D. Too bad I'm a lazy bastard and usually can't be arsed to run tracks through it, even thought it's all routed and ready to go...

 

[amarshism]

Slight compression for glue. I like the waves API 2500. I often find a cut necessary between 700-10k to remove some honky freq from the cymbals.

 

[Jaymz]

Usually cut around 2 to 3k (for the vocals)

Interesting tip!

 

[The Front Studio]

A bit offtopic, but it really makes me wonder why so many people - especially in metal - mix the overheads so damn low nowadays. It bothers me a lot and I feel like it takes away a lot of the power in the drums; there's just a slight constant pssh pssh with no body that you could completely take out and replace with some highpassed pulses of white noise, and nobody could tell the difference. Haha, well, perhaps not totally seriously, but you get the point.

I mean, at least all the good metal drummers I've recorded or played with really blast their cymbals and it sounds great (obviously needs good cymbals, but that's self explanatory).

+1!!!
I agree totally!
Like you say it sounds better when you can actually hear what cymbals are being placed... they bring in the dynamics...

As for EQ, I often catch myself to roll of around 500 Hz to get the drum kit out of the OH, especially when I use samples, but if you want to have a more roomy sound, or just more dynamics on the snare/tom/etc, you should roll off around 100-200 Hz...
But eventually it's up to you to take these advices, try them out and see... well actually hear what works best for you!

 

[Ermz]

Interesting tip!

Yep, this can be key on certain OH tracks.

The record I'm wrapping up now had some weird X/Y mic technique on it, so there were mids flying all over the place. Ended up cutting around 5dB at 1.5k, around 3dB at 3 and 5k. After doing this I found you could actually start to hear the vocal again. Very important to keep this range unobstructed.

 

[soundsunderground]

for metal I usually HP at 300 or so. For everything else, I do big scoop @ 350 and boost some highs.

 

[Trevoire520]

Normally just a high pass (about 200hz on overheads and a bit higher for close cymbal mic's) and only if it needs it I'll do:

a small boost using a high shelf
a cut in the mids (800hz seems to be the most common when I'm mixing)

sometimes a little compression, something pretty transparent to just give it a little glue.

 

[mburton21]

I agree with everyone about the cymbals being mixed far too loudly on far too many albums lately.
And drums that sound completely mechanical kill the vibe for me, even if they are meant to sound like that.

 

[Jaymz]

I agree with everyone about the cymbals being mixed far too loudly on far too many albums lately.

A bit offtopic, but it really makes me wonder why so many people - especially in metal - mix the overheads so damn low nowadays

+1!!!
I agree totally!
Like you say it sounds better when you can actually hear what cymbals are being placed... they bring in the dynamics...

Soooo true, and I hate it. Since the drums are quantized, all you can hear is kick/snare and it sounds like a drum machine, playing some complex hip hop beat. In rock too, a lot of songs all you can hear is kick on 1 and snare on 3, that's it :/ I'd rather mix the cymbals too high than too low.

 

[chrisrivalry]

... fail

 

[The Front Studio]

epic... fail. you might want to rephrase that one mburton21

 

[LeSedna]

He just didnt write what he wanted to say guys

 

[Fox Mulder]

I really don't know how correct I am, so if anyone wishes to correct me I'd be more than thankful - It is almost impossible to make cymbals loud without getting them harsh and/or fatiguing in context to today's selection of guitar tones. The mids tend to clash and you got no other option than to make the cymbals a bit too dominant past the 8khz range, or leave the cymbals low, and that downright sucks.

Right?