Mixing drums

dru · Post by **dru** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:40 am

I'm pretty new to production work and just wanted to know steps to take when adding racks on a midi drum pattern. At the moment I just play around and add random racks, compression, EQ, etc. but I wanted to know if there's a particular order and how I could get the best sound.

At the moment I'm playing around with Toontrack EZDrummer with a Vintage kit using the preset drum loops, so I'll be adding racks to the pattern as a whole, not on individual sounds (kick, snare, hat, etc).

7G · Post by 7G » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:12 am

Ok dru,
Here is what i do and believe me is so simple you won't believe it....

I would tell you exactly which plugins i'm using but you can try some others also in the exact order...
First i take care of my master section by putting first a Sonalksis MKII EQ and cutting with a HighPass Filter (6dB/octave) at 40Hz just to wipe off that muddiness..After that i stick the saturator plugin from PSP's Mix Pack and set it to preset "Tape 1"..At the end i stick the utility plugin so i can check my final mixes in mono(this way you can sort out any phasing problems caused by heavy effects eq's and shit....)Ok that's all for master section.
Then i take care of my drums by putting the compressor again from PSP's Mix Pack preset "drums 1"...Also you can try placing an Eq before the comp so you can sculpt the sound anyway you like.Don't forget to put an exciter at one of your returns so you can add that good old vintage sparkle to any elements in the track you like,just try not to over do it though(a -12dB hit is good)...
This will be the base of your mix...If things are good then the other elements are easy to fit in with the use of Eqs,reverbs,delays and stuff...
"Panefkolo" as we say in Greece...hehehe!!!

Yorgos

The Phat Conductor · Post by **The Phat Conductor** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:59 am

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic. ... ht=nefilim

kidrobot · Post by **kidrobot** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:00 am

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I have 2 going already and my question sort of fits here so i'll post here:

What is the normal method to sampling and mixing drum sounds?

Is it better to:

sample drums in stereo and have them output to a mono channel?
sample drums in stereo and have them output to a stereo channel and panned to taste?
sample drums in mono and have them output to a stereo channel and panned to taste?
sample drums in mono and have them output to a mono channel?

Also I just realized this but should there be an order to the fx I am dropping into a midi/audio channel? Like always put EQ before a reverb etc/compressor before reverb?

snakedogman · Post by **snakedogman** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 12:13 pm

the only time you'd want to sample anything in stereo is if the sound you're sampling inherently has some kind of stereo effect going on (ie: room ambiance for a live drumkit)

the order of fx depends on the kind of sound you want. For instance, generally you wouldn't want the reverb to be affected by the compressor, but then again it might be just the sound you're after. Same for EQ and compressor, just remember that any effect in a chain also affects how the effects later in the chain respond.

Personally I usually would do things like eq and compression before any special fx like delays, reverbs, flangers etc.

Paul Nolan · Post by **Paul Nolan** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:44 pm

i always mix dry before i mix wet where possible

eq and dynamics, then fx....and then maybe a bit more dynamics and eq afterwards to finish it off!

obviously theres an inherent amount of fx required for writing certain forms of music, however if you've got everything eq'd and panned where you like, this gives you a really nice foundation to start working from, and you'll also find that when you get the fx going, they'll sound a lot cleaner, and more inspirational