problem with mixing toms :/

[motyl]

hey guys

can you give me some advice on mixing toms? I just can`t get them working right... they always sound so muddy and interfere with kick and bassgtr, i tried low passing them - then they sound so wimpy, compressing etc:/ any advice?

chhers

 

[SoundSpiral]

You can get rid of the mud with an eq. Just find the fundamental frequency of the tom by sweeping thru the lows with the eq. When you find the low frequency that has the most power just double that frequency and make a cut there.
Also cut everything below that fundamental low frequency (not straight before it, but leave a gap of 30hz or something). And add a boost to the high frequencies that have the click of the stick hitting the drumhead.

What comes to the wimpy sound. Tell the drummer to hit harder =) And use some compression. You can find a post with info about the tom compression from this forum. Just search...

This is quite easy to do but really hard to explain =))
Ask away if I you didn't get what I was trying to explain...

 

[beyond dead]

parallel compression is your friend when mixing toms

 

[VH100R]

besides the EQ and compression mentioned panning is extremely important.

don't pan the toms close to the center so that they don't get in the way of kick and bass and you will have a big spread out in the stereo field too.