What do you do with REALLY unbalanced overhead tracks?

[nwright]

Here's the scenario...I have some demos my band recorded in the spring, and I was remixing them as a test with Cubase 5 (just got it installed).

The overhead tracks sounds pretty nice, especially for the ghetto mics we used. The only issue is the ride is practically nonexistent. Every other cymbal is heard just fine, but when our drummer is playing the ride, you can barely hear it. He's a hard hitter, but his ride cymbal kinda sucked at the time. He's since picked up a fancy Zildjian with a huge bell and it cuts like a knife.

Anyway, in this scenario, what would you do? Compress? Limit? Automate levels?

The only avenue I've tried is automating, but to get it to a proper level it introduces too much drum kit sound, and it's obvious.

 

[Soundlurker]

If it's really bad you can add samples either manually or via midi + ez drummer or similar.

You could boost the highs whenever he's playing the ride but it may bring the drums up as well and make them harsh...depends on you tracks. Still, you could try a combination of multiband compression and level automation.

 

[::XeS::]

You can add a midi track with the ride hits and dfhs.
Do you have a dedicated ride track or only OH's?

 

[Soundlurker]

^ Probably not. A lot of people don't use a dedicated mic. I always do, and I always end up using it, even the OHs are enough for the ride to be audiable, it gives a fuller sound and can be a lifesaver in some situations.

 

[006]

I always mic the ride as well as overhead mic'ing, I usually end up using the ride mic in the mix, sometimes I get enough in the overheads though.

Honestly Nate the best option would be to program it. This is a situation where a nanoPAD would come in handy

 

[nwright]

this was just a demo session we did with our new drummer. Not anything special. But the scenario got me thinking about what I would do in the "real world" if it popped up. In this case it was truly the inferiority of the cymbal, as the rest of his setup sounds pretty good. And, since he's bought a new ride that works well now, it's a non issue. Honestly, as a guitarist, I tend to gloss over when drummers talk cymbals. The only thing I can say is I tend to like thinner crashes and hats, as they produce a sound I like. Other than that, I used to think "meh, it doesn't matter THAT much." Once he brought in this huge ass 22" ride with a bell the size of most splashes, I changed my mind pretty fast.

here's the demo in question. Mind you this was ghetto, the OH's were a pair of Behringer C-2's, so the OH's are buried in general...skip to 1:41 to hear the difference...the ride comes in at 1:55. The mp3 compression kinda kills the high highs, so it probably all sounds like ass, anyway.

http://geetarguy.tripod.com/Victim_of_Mine_FINAL_041609.mp3

 

[Soundlurker]

I'd raise the OHs overall and maybe limit them a bit since every now and then they seem to pop out.

Anyway if you have enough mics/inputs/stands/etc. I'd advise you to give the dedicated ride mic a go.