Lets talk about hats baby, lets talk about you and me

[Da hand]

The pitch of the hi-hats, and all the drum components for that matter, is quite important in making them either blend in the mix or stick out like sore thumbs - sometimes no matter how much you change the compression or volume. Of course, it may not be enough in some situations and you may have to change the sample, but to have a well sounding mix, everything needs to be in tune with each other.

I don't know if this is the situation here, but it may be something to consider.

[Dr Dub]

if you can change the sample, this is the best way i think.
Other good options to try would be a transient designer, deesser can be also a pretty good trick, especially if you have a Loop. (But nevertheless try it)

[bland_handl]

my gf and i hate hats. she prefers to ride when i am not using hats. she also likes rimshots and stick at the right times.

at least switch from hats to ride if you you're gonna finish with a solo

[ethios4]

One trick master mixer Bruce Swedien *mixed Michael Jackson's Thriller and many other grammy winning albums* uses to help with hats was to pan them in mono and usually there is one really present spot where it really sticks out and cuts through the mix, sometimes even a tiny sliver of an adjustment makes all the difference.

I've been using this technique lately and it is helping my mixes quite a bit. The end result is a mix with a nice stereo spread that doesn't sound panned, and things sit well in the mix. Excellent.

[beats me]

Do your hats sound more Pssss or Tsssss?

Regardless, open up your computer and place a spit screen between the CPU and RAM. That should solve your problem.

I'm currently working on a 45 minute album that is nothing but epic hats. And no you may not sample it.

[john gordon]

i find that putting a little chorus on them always helps soften them up.

[ciw]

I would try playing with live's phaser. Play around with earth/space, color, freq and depth to find a subtle but sweet spot, which may well make them blend in better.

Having done that, add a random or step lfo with the frequency set to ... er I forget what, put it in notes mode and make the lfo change every couple of hihat hits. Can add a lot of life

edit: (...and shameless plug...) good example of this in the track called A.I. on the oscillicraft link below