MY MIC SOUNDS NICE, CHECK 3
Apr 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Jason Scott Alexander
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Parts one and two of this series explained the different types of microphones and recording techniques for each one. But after using this knowledge to record tracks, it’s now time to mix. This final installment deals with setting up the ideal microphone signal path in a track-by-track look at which plug-ins work best at “cleaning up” the raw captured material, along with what settings to use. This microphone-channel theme is not a mixing tutorial per se, so it doesn’t discuss levels or send effects such as reverbs or choruses. Also, every scenario is unique, so these tips are only meant to be general starting points in creating your own custom-mix templates. As a bonus, I asked multiplatinum selling, Grammy award–winning mix engineer/producer and Remix Hotel panelist Ken Lewis to chime in with tips and suggestions along the way.
KICK IN THE HEAD
Your direct kick sound will typically come from an inside mic as well as an outside mic. Therefore, you’ll want to have two channels in your mix template, as well as a third “sub master” channel to combine and balance the two signals while processing with the same dynamics.
On the inside-kick mic channel, first place a 4-band EQ to bring out the punch, remove some of the mids and emphasize the attack. That can be done by boosting a few decibels on the low frequencies (LF) around 70 Hz, cutting by roughly the same amount on the low-mid frequencies (LMF) around 200 Hz with a 1.5 Q, adding a sizable 10 dB gain around 2.5 kHz in the high-mid frequencies (HMF) of the same Q factor and a gentler 5 to 7 dB of high-frequency (HF) shelving boost at 5.5 kHz. Naturally, microphone choices, positioning and drum models/age will influence those frequency choices, but they’re great for starters.
“If the sub bottom is too woofy or too resonant, I’ll sometimes first filter below 40 Hz or so, which allows the impact frequencies from around 60 to 120 Hz to be more effective,” Lewis says, suggesting that if your EQ plug-in doesn’t have an integrated filter, you should instantiate one first in your kick chain and be able to flip it on or off as needed, session to session.
Copy this EQ to your outside mic track, but focus the LF mostly on the sub lows in this case, and take out the top end to reduce some of the noise and kit bleed.
Then on the separate kick-drum sub master, start off with any “coloring” plug-ins such as DUY Valve or McDSP Analog Channel for a sense of warm, analog punch. Next in line should be a gate, ideally using a copy of the kick track advanced by 70 to 80 samples in time to trigger it without chopping off any attack. Gating times and thresholds will obviously depend greatly upon your individual signal material and what the song needs, but generally attack settings of 0.1 and release of 150 ms will do the trick in isolating the kick and getting rid of kit leakage without sounding artificial or abrupt once in the mix. Following this is your choice of fast-attack limiting or compression. If you have a choice, try using an “opto” setting for maximum impact. In case you feel the need to tie the inside mic and outside mic frequencies together a bit more, it’s wise to have another multiband parametric or graphic EQ like the URS A-10 inserted into the sub master template right here.
DOUBLE DOG SNARE
Similar to the kick, you may want to set up channels for both the top and bottom snare mic tracks so that you can blend and EQ the tracks individually before sending them to a third channel, acting as snare sub master. Here’s where you place a triggered-gate with very fast attack (0.1 ms) and slow release (around 140 to 150 ms), but always adjust to taste for what the song needs. Because snare is often played with far more dynamics than the kick, it’s best to add some multiband parametric EQ before compression to notch out what doesn’t belong and broadly emphasize what works with the song.
EQ settings for a typical pop/rock snare might consist of a 2 to 3 dB boost at 200 Hz, 7 dB at 2.5 kHz with 1.2 Q, 10 dB at 6 kHz with 1.2 Q, 12 dB of HF shelving boost at 16 kHz and a highpass filter set to cut below 60 Hz to help remove any kick bleed from the snare. That will yield a warm yet bright-, snappy- and punchy-sounding snare with lots of air remaining for reverb processing.
Next, compress or limit as needed by the song. Settings are hard to nail down now because threshold, ratio and gain are subject to signal material, but typically you want a slower attack and mid-to-fast release. “The EMI Limiter plug-in works really well with a fast release,” says Lewis. “It lets a little of the transient spike through, which I like.” Finally, saddling something like DUY DaD Tape or McDSP Analog Channel at the end of your snare chain can help to absorb some of the top end through warm saturation.
TIP O' THE HATS
Processing hi-hats is fairly simple and is best kept that way. No matter how well your isolation techniques (discussed in “My Mic Sounds Nice, Check 2,” March 2007) worked during tracking, you’ll likely want to start off your plug-in chain with some highpass filters to clear everything out up to around 250 Hz. Following that, gently boost around the 1.5 to 3 kHz region, zeroing in on the timbral color of the hat used, and boost again in the 10 kHz region to bring out the sizzle and air.
THE KIT, NOT THE KABOODLE
Because of their naturally boomy, long decays, both rack and floor toms can benefit from some careful trimming. By clearing the roar between fills, it allows for easier mixing control and a more defined, in-the-pocket spread when panned and processed with reverb.
Many mix engineers today don’t gate toms; rather, they edit out silence around them in the DAW. If you choose to go with a gate, use forgiving thresholds so as to be careful not to chop off the full sustain. Compress with a high ratio (6 to 1 is common), superfast attack and around 70 to 200 ms of release, adjusted to taste. Cut below 70 Hz, and any equalizing to make the toms fit the song should be done at the end of their individual chains.
On overhead mics, the first step is to filter out some of the lows that bleed in from the rest of the drum kit. Also, gently pull down a few dB around 200 Hz if there’s excessive “gong” and boost a few decibels around 10 kHz for hardness—perhaps more around 15 kHz for brightness. Compress post-EQ to add sustain and bring out the rest of the kit from the overheads. That also helps present the big picture of the drum kit and glues it well to the direct mic tracks of the other kit elements. No gates are used on the overheads.
Here’s a twist: “If there’s a ton of harsh cymbal bleed in the room mics, I’ll actually use a de-esser to pull the cymbal crashes back, which usually leaves the rest of the room tracks sounding more natural,” Lewis says. “After the de-esser, if needed, I’ll use a fast attack and moderately fast-release compressor or limiter, like an 1176, to knock down the transient and increase the sustain of the snare and kick hits in the room tracks.”
Adding a multiband EQ to notch out the resonant or boxy low mids provides a warmer overall drum kit sound that you can blend in with the punchier and more tightly gated direct-miked tracks. “Sometimes I’ll add a filter to remove the superhighs around 12K and up, as those frequencies often just add white noise to a mix on room tracks,” Lewis hints.
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