Toms let it bleed or not

[Supra1]

Hi,

I really ask myself if I should clean all the bleed in my Toms tracks or should I let all the bleed (hh, snare, etc..)

i would like to know what you done in your session ?

 

[bryan_kilco]

Search?

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/production-tips/713662-fixing-toms.html

It's a matter of personal preference, really. A lot of people seem to automate their bleed.

 

[grywolf627]

Personal preference. But I definitely clean up the bleed. I don't like sloppy sounding kits. But I don't automate. I cut out all parts where the toms aren't being played. No use keeping tracks that are 80% unused.

 

[Sloan]

INSERT ROLLING STONES YOUTUBE VID HERE.

 

[Revson]

Depends on the song/style of music and how well the mic reacts to bleed. I've been using 421's on toms lately and anything that's not the tom sounds like ass. It's just really, really ugly sounding and I don't want that in my track. Also, if you're tracking in a less than good sounding room you'll want as little room tone as possible so killing the toms when they aren't being played will almost be a necessity. I've never automated the bleed like some, but I routinely just cut and make fades. I'll even do that on my ride/hihat tracks when I spot mic them because I hate excess bleed that much. Oh, be sure you do this AFTER you slip edit or beat detective the drums and have the final edits consolidated/bounced down. The chance for things to get FUBAR is exceedingly high.

 

[voidar]

Regardless whether it sounds good or not, the bleed really wastes a lot of space in the mix that would be put to better use with something else.

 

[crillemannen]

^

No.

Bleed is awesome. If hhte drums are recorded well with a great drummer then bleed is what makes the kit glue together and sound as a unit. I usually have the toms like 6db lower then automate them when they are hit. But i still get some more snap to the snare because of the bleed.

 

[Heabow]

^
Bleed is awesome. If hhte drums are recorded well with a great drummer then bleed is what makes the kit glue together and sound as a unit.

+1
When a proper recording and a good drummer, bleed is just a part of the real drum sound that you want to keep if you want your drums sound big and natural. My opinion...

 

[crillemannen]

^
Which is a good opinion

A few years ago bleed was my enemy, nowdays when im pretty good at what i do and i love bleed. I bought ambience microphones a couple of months ago, improved my drums allot.
If you got some reverb on your toms (i usually keep the reverb pretty short) then you can get some short plate snapp on your snare for free. People that have that "no bleed" kind of approach have not worked with great recorded drums. Of course in more extreme kind of metal genre this can't be applied but towards rock and more slow metal bleed is awesome.

 

[voidar]

Sure, snare in the toms is usually no problem but rather adds to the kit sound. Typically if you gated the toms the snare would trigger off the gates anyway.
Cymbals is a different matter.

 

[grywolf627]

People that have that "no bleed" kind of approach have not worked with great recorded drums.

Yes, I have. It's just that we come from different eras of recording. We gated the living hell out of toms (and snares, and kicks), usually to tape, to get a tighter drum sound. For room/bleed sound...that's what room mics were used for. Not saying it's right or wrong, just that it's still the drum sound I prefer and go for today.

 

[drew_drummer]

Regardless whether it sounds good or not, the bleed really wastes a lot of space in the mix that would be put to better use with something else.

Stop posting. Start reading.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

depends