Drum Track Tips, Part 6: More Equalization Guidelines By Thai Long Ly
October 28th, 2010
This is the sixth installment of my article series on the processing of drum tracks. Today’s focus is on equalization of hi-hats, overheads, toms and rooms.
First lets talk overheads. Now, where should I begin? Applying EQ to an overhead track depends on the artistic approach for your song and their respective drum tracks (which is true for anything, but stay with me here). If you’re simply using the overheads as cymbal mics, then you’ll want to roll most of the bottom end out by using a Hi Pass Filter. Simply dump everything below 500Hz or thereabouts and sneak the track up in level so that the cymbals sit in a good place (with the drum tracks and the song in general) when struck. You might also want to boost above 10kHz for some “air”.
If you’re looking for the overheads to convey location of the individual elements of a kit, as well as to capture the kit overall, then a fairly broad cut centered around 400Hz-500Hz is all that’s needed to pull some honk out of the kit to make room for the rest of the drum tracks and other instruments. Again, a bit of lifting above 10kHz is nice to bring out some sparkle and presence and you may want to move towards 7kHz for more snap out of your snare drum track.
Now lets talk toms. Do you need “System of a Down”-style toms? Get rid of the bloom and resonance (below 250Hz) and boost the stick hit and attack (1kHz – 4kHz) of the toms. Doing a Modern R and B thing? Bring up the resonance of the shells and let ‘em ring. Find the resonant frequency and boost ‘em until they’re howling. Now fit that in with the Overheads and listen to what happens with the drum tracks in relation to the song. What seems like overkill when soloed now feels right when the rest of the track is playing, does it not? Good. That’s what it’s all about to begin with! Always take this into consideration regarding your drum tracks.
Next lets discuss hi-hats. Dump everything below 500Hz unless you want the sound of the session drummer’s foot thumping away. Adding air above 10kHz can work too. Just don’t overdo it and end up with overly sizzly hi-hats. That sounds awful, and can destroy your drum tracks (and therefore your song).
Lastly, lets talk about rooms. Just mangle the insert expletive out of these. Or don’t. Filter ‘em. Go ahead and effect them. Or don’t. Make ‘em dull. Or, don’t. Make ‘em bright. Or don’t. You can probably see where I’m going with this? Good. Decide what is best for your drum tracks based on what your ears tell you.
So there you have it: a basic set of concepts to get you up and rolling towards amazing sounding drum tracks, assuming you’ve had the right computer training so you have the basic computer skills. And as if I haven’t said this enough by now… EXPERIMENT! You can find your own voice and signature sound as you mix your drum tracks. Copying someone else’s sound is great for learning purposes… but ultimately what will set your project apart from the pack is what you discover on your own. Remember, the drum sounds you create in a mix will dictate the power and presence of a recording. What is going to set a master apart from a demo? Your drum sounds! Best of luck to you processing your drum tracks, and have fun.
Categories: Music and Gadget
