by Damien on May 29, 2010 in Uncategorized
This is the third part my series of tutorials on processing of drum tracks. We focus here on parallel compression.
So… your guitarist has decided that he’d like to triple track all nineteen of his brilliant ideas using his Mind Bleeder distortion pedal and your keyboardist wants to layer every cool Moog and Nord patch he’s ever programmed since the 80’s. Your bassist insists on playing all the chords he learned in Bass Frenzy magazine on his Booty Humper Low F# seven string. So how do you deal with trying to get your drum tracks to punch through this sonic wall?
You may want to experiment with parallel compression of your drum tracks. Simply put, you’re getting more “oomph” by blending a compressed drum track with an unprocessed track. I don’t generally care for this technique on anything Jazz related but if you’re dealing with a wall of mud and you can’t carve out the proper space any other way (or don’t have the time), this technique is worth exploring. Here is how to do it.First, get your drum tracks sounding great utilizing the techniques described above. All finished, right? Call the wife and tell her you’re coming home early and that you’re feeling frisky!
Kidding. Seriously… once you’ve gotten your drums in a good place, take a few elements of the drum tracks… say your kick, snare, and toms and bus them to the input of a compressor in wait via an aux send. Remember your drums are still being bussed to the master out in addition to the aux send you’ve just created. Now smash the snot out of the compressor in any manner you deem fit and slowly blend the output of this mangled signal with your original drum tracks until you start to feel the drums gaining weight. You may find that you won’t need much… just a “hint” is all it could take to cut through that wall of sound. Essentially, you’re increasing the perceived loudness of the drums without resorting to radical EQ or unjustified levels of gain. Some of the mixers that have mastered this subtle art have produced amazing drum sounds that we hear every day on the radio. Play around with it and see if it works for you. Heck, if you’re really feeling frisky (audio – wise) mess around with a bit of distortion on the snare and kick drum tracks as well.
Have fun experimenting with parallel compression on your drum tracks, and be sure to read part four of this series in which I will discuss ambiance.
May 29, 2010 | No Comments Posted in Uncategorized
