Superior Drummer 2 and room mics

[Klosure]

Ive been looking a my mixing technique with SD2 and its default kit with the room mics.

I thought I'd be spoilt for choice but I cannot figure out something and wondered if you guys could give me a hand here.

I find that my drums are always so bright.


If I just use whats there you have several room mic choices and our overheads plus a sort of trash mic.

When I play with them though I either find I cannot get a decent room sound, either the snare just sounds wild or if you start high passing them they sound toppy.

now I do reference the stuff I am doing so I wonder if the SD stuff is just recorded in a very bright room so i not useable for what I am doing which would be my first guess.

Second is I just am not getting the room mics properly. If you listen to any of the dark rock I do the crashes are a lot deeper ad the snares are short but have depth. And it doesnt sound like there is too much low end room info.

^^ well thats my perspective As I am realising though shit in shit out so I just wonder if SD2 basic drums are not good for me.

I also tried mixing more bass into the mix to compensate for the bright overheads but then I ended up masking the overheads when I had to raise guitars to compensate and ruined the mix.

 

[Machinated]

i love the SD sounds for the most part (kicks havent worked great for me), but the room sounds are insane and the rooms are some of THE BEST sounding rooms out of any studio in the world.

sometimes the cymbals in the avatar pack can sound a bit weird (more about placement/panning than anything else). when im mixing SD sounds, i dont really need to eq a lot, maybe a TINY bit on snare but dont overdo it!

id say just keep at it man.

 

[Klosure]

I never said they were bad, just bright, is that how most view them or is it to do with the room mics?

Do you lo pass the rooms a lots to get a darker sound?

 

[laszlozsolt82]

i love the SD sounds for the most part (kicks havent worked great for me), but the room sounds are insane and the rooms are some of THE BEST sounding rooms out of any studio in the world.

sometimes the cymbals in the avatar pack can sound a bit weird (more about placement/panning than anything else). when im mixing SD sounds, i dont really need to eq a lot, maybe a TINY bit on snare but dont overdo it!

id say just keep at it man.

totaly agree with this, rooms sounds good in SD to me
try to compress the overheads maybe it helps, and find balance

 

[crillemannen]

You shouldn't need that much processing on the DFHS 2.0 sets. It sounds good as it is.

If i where to mix a recording done only with DFH i would make them bounce the tracks so i could treat it like a real-recorded drumset. The kicks aren't that great in DFH but the snares and toms are ace. I don't know how experienced you are but you could use additional triggers with the DFH sounds to make it even better (im thinking mainly of the kick and snare)

You could need allot of tweaking to make the OH sit well in a mix. But it is a great tool nonetheless / good luck

 

[Ermz]

The rooms in SD2.0 Avatar are godly. If they're not sounding right chances are you're doing something wrong.

 

[reg3n]

AND, i'd recommend NOT compressing the OH's, that's a major fuckup for me, or i suck at it.

 

[crillemannen]

(had to.)

AND, i'd recommend NOT compressing the OH's, that's a major fuckup for me, or i suck at it.

then you suck at it!!!

 

[Klosure]

do you high pass the rooms a lot?

 

[crillemannen]

do you high pass the rooms a lot?

If you asked me.. It is hard to give you a straight answer but usually no. Especially not the DFHS rooms, which sounds awesome as they are. Perhaps smash them if that is the sound im after.

 

[Klosure]

but what about the snare sounding so... wild, most modern stuff the snare sounds dry?

 

[crillemannen]

but what about the snare sounding so... wild, most modern stuff the snare sounds dry?

It's all about what you are trying to achieve. If you mix in the ambience correctly you can get a great deal of snare-smack in your mix. Remember that the snare mic itself is just one part of making you're snare sound awesome in the mix.

That's why many people tend to mix the snare with 2 reverbs. One small ,about 0.6sec aka Ambience sound, and the other one about 1.2sec.

 

[reg3n]

then you suck at it!!!

Most probable thing, but i find comp on oh's makes the pumping so obvios you really can tell compression, i kind'a like the compression to be as transparent as possible but not an addition to the sound, if you know what i mean, i like it when it's done well, but i'd prefer like, a more transparent sound, not choking your ears.

 

[crillemannen]

Most probable thing, but i find comp on oh's makes the pumping so obvios you really can tell compression, i kind'a like the compression to be as transparent as possible but not an addition to the sound, if you know what i mean, i like it when it's done well, but i'd prefer like, a more transparent sound, not choking your ears.

Try Waves API 2500. Use the OH setting and use about 4-8db's of GR, that would do the trick

 

[Klosure]

yea but, this still leave me wondering bout the snare, the stuff I listen to the snare is quite dry, the overheads tend to sound more round you and the snare dry.

 

[crillemannen]

yea but, this still leave me wondering bout the snare, the stuff I listen to the snare is quite dry, the overheads tend to sound more round you and the snare dry.

Well thats probably them using allot of samples. But you have to practice allot, that is the key. There are allot of useful info around here so just practice and try to pick up tips along the way and you may (or may not) be a successful engineer.

 

[Klosure]

But Superior drummer is lots of samples?

 

[hurdy]

You can always layer more samples etc. layer & mix in a dry snare sample that adds a darker character

EDIT: You probably need to go into the OH or Room bleed mixer & turn down the snare if you don't want too much snare room sound

 

[NSGUITAR]

(had to.)

AND, i'd recommend NOT compressing the OH's, that's a major fuckup for me, or i suck at it.

Dude, fuck you. Take that down.

 

[laszlozsolt82]

Dude, fuck you. Take that down.