Why Your Drum Mixes Sound So AMATEUR (4 Easy Fixes!)
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2023
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Mixing drums can feel like an uphill battle, especially when you're doing it all on your own in your home studio. How much EQ and compression is too much or not enough? Should you use parallel processing? What's the deal with that room mic track, anyway??
In this tutorial, I share the 4 most common drum mixing mistakes that I come across. I also where how you can easily avoid making them simply by changing your approach within the mix.
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CYMBAL MICS!! Changed my drum recordings to my clients, well done !
I actually prefered the drums in the first example at 0:05 xD
More soft but that fitted the vibe in the song to my ears
Really?? To each their own!
Yeah. It sounds like the mids got scooped when the drums was mixed. That little space could have gone to the bass or something idk. But i think both have their pros and cons. I think the one he mixed will be better for modern car stereos ect
Great info, thank you!
Hey, just stopping by to say you make amazingly helpful tutorials. Has helped me get my music to a point where I am actually happy with the way it sounds. Thanks mate and keep up the good work :)
We've used a lot from your videos to clean up our mixes. I love the process and continuous Improvement!
Fantastic info that could have saved me HOURS of frustration. Simply commenting to help more folks see this with the algorithm because it’s totally worth the watch!
Happy to have been a help, hunter!
i recommend really upping your mics. i know it’s expensive but it’s necessary. get a mixer, get good mics. i have sm7db for kick (sm58 for out mic), sm57 for top snare (AKG c451B bottom snare), sennheiser MD 421 for tom’s, (i personally use a NT4a for overheads but i would buy josephson c42s if i could hold onto my money), any good condensers for room mics, and i have two golden age project r1 mk2 mics for kit L and R. more mics, more sound to work with, just gotta check phase. i have about a total of 13 recordings after playing the drums. (kick in, out, snare top, bottom, tom rack, tom floor, overheads, ride, rooms, kits) of course if you’re a great artist, you can make people love your music even if it’s bad quality, but just starting with something that gives you good sounding quality even if it isn’t a great recording, is amazing for me because it gives me a lot better ideas while i’m working on stuff too. (not a professional btw, i’ve been teaching myself music since 7 years old, i just go with what i hear and feel)
Awesome lesson
I found that placing a ribbon mic outside of the live room (in addition to 1 or 2 in room condenser mics and direct mics) really helps glue the drums together and makes everything sound huge.
the hi-pass on OHs is sometimes necessary to keep kick out, because you had to edit kick separately, when drummers aren’t tight enough... some people fix the problem by using a kick pad instead of a real kick drum
Yes, it's a great technique for tech death stuff!
The best compressor I've found for snare, to really get that THWACK, is the TDR Molot (or the free Molotok). I've pretty much stopped using transient shapers because of it
I don't use real drums but even with the virtual drums, the biggest revelation I had was with the room channel, there's no way the drums will fit in a mix without the proper level of room channel. And another tip I found extremely useful was from Warren Huart , he said if you are struggling with harsch cymbals or room mics , try some lo Fi saturation in parallel instead of de essing or Cut frequencies with eq.. damn man that was a game changer! Great content Bobby as always
For live drums with bad room tracks I use at least a snare room sample. Sounds way better than reverb, in my opinion.
Same here!
Do u guys filter out the kick out of room mic ?
@@behtashmiri1283 i use steven slate and i have a compination of 2 kicks , one kick has no room at all the other has a lil bit
@@constantinranis Tnx
The spot micing cymbal thing is the game changer...
Great tutorial mate! I always love to see tutorials where HEAVY use of compression and EQing is encouraged. If it sounds good, why should you be afraid of it?
Agreed!
Cool information, Thanks
No problem!
I am not using tons of compression on my snare, like -5 db max with 3 to 1 ratio, slow attack and fast release. Nonetheless I use S Hoop on the batter side, which is rumoured to give a "compressed" kind of sound, and most importantly, I use parallel compression with a generous amount of output volume, in which snare is predominant.
Thanks Bobby!
Happy to have been a help!
So, bobby, how much mics do you need for "cymbal" micing? I use 6 cymbals plus 3 fx ones. What about 3 nt5, one for 2 cymbals?
I usually do 1 mic per cymbal or 1 for every pair of cymbals.
@@FrightboxRecording mic em from beliw, like a snare bottom?
@@marcus-mit-c8953 Check out this video on my channel: ua-cam.com/video/KO_SaBaNl80/v-deo.htmlsi=pzsKnJG2xzE2Xqxh
Man I used to eq everything at the end of the chain 😂😂🤣🤣 and then comp like crazy, man I had the weirdest problems ever. Nowadays I have different stages of compression, check phase all the time, but honestly the "room mic" tip was my biggest mistake, I used to mute the room mics 🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂ once you learn how to use it properly it's magic! Man overheads can really destroy the drums, Still have a hard time trying to get rid of the hi hat, if you choose the wrong hi hat it's very hard to mix at the end.
Yeah man , hats can be a pain. Some drummers like to smash the hell out of those things.
What is a good rule as far as how many inches off the cymbals should mics be?
I go with 1-2 feet above each cymbal for crashes. Usually 2-4 inches above the ride and hats.
@FrightboxRecording pretty much a general rule with any type of mic used? Thank you for replying.
What makes you think my drum mix sounds anything like the first example here0:03?
I'm offended.
Mine sounds even worse lol
I'd love to hear your drums!..send a sample of your music to bobby@frightboxrecordingacademy.com
Right, so don't use compression but also use the crap out of compression. And, don't focus on individual mics but also forget your overheads and focus on individuals. OK got it!! Jokes aside, I'm only just starting in the drum recording but getting good results treating overheads as a whole kit sound. And yes, have also found the room mic to be a very powerful tool!
If it works for you, stick with it!
at the beginning, i actually think the first mix sounds better lol
Good tips. I wish people would talk more about gating when recording real drums. Not many seem to talk about this. Everyone seems to just talk EQ and Compression to death. When you just use EQ and Compression (with no gate) you end up boosting the hell out of bleed too. I always Gate , EQ , then Compress.
It depends on how well the drums were recorded. The better the recording, the less gating I need to do.
How is that hi hat bleed working for you with all that compression. ?
The snare was mic'd properly, so the bleed isn't an issue. It's only an issue when the drums are recorded poorly or when the drummer hits the hats too hard.
your mix lacks low end and separation though,also you have a lot of mud in a harsh and its very narrow...
*WACK* 2:24
Because they're a car salesman and don't know how to mix real drums
Call me crazy but i prefer the first drum sound. I hate the second drum, too much compression, characteristic of 2010's drum sound