Mixing Drums Tutorial

Here we talk about mixing drums in Cubase, covering the bass drum (kick drum), snare drum and hi-hats.

We also touch on "isolating sounds" using the Cubase EQ mixing panel to boost or cut and there's also some tips for avoiding a "muddy" mix sound production.

Drums in the Mix

This Mixing Drums tutorial is part 2 of our Mixing Audio Tutorial and interview with Rick Snoman, Pro Sound Engineer to the stars.

Mixing Drum Loops

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Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
We may be able to better tackle this if you described what you would do when presented with a whole drum sample loop

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
lols, your turn, muwah ha ha

Snoman says:
LOL

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
did ya get that last message about the drum sample?

Snoman says:
yeah

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Thats a similar type prob I guess, where you've got to isolate the bass drum from the cymbals - how would ya tackle that..

Snoman says:
if you have a drum loop from a sample cd they're usually compressed and EQ'd correctly in the first place, so very little modifications are needed, however you can adjust certain parts of it with EQ

Snoman says:
for example

Snoman says:
If the hi hats are sounding a little thin, you can try a small boost around 8 and 12Khz

Snoman says:
this should lift them in the mix making them more prominent

Snoman says:
kick drums usually use 60-300Hz

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Ok, but how would ya approach this in cb's eq mixer - given that you've only got 4 controls?

Snoman says:
the full loop ?

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
yeh

Cubase EQ Mixing Panels

Hi-Hats

Snoman says:
If the hi-hats needed to be brighter then I would use one of the 4 EQ sections (left) set to a wide bandwidth⁽⁵⁾ to boost around 12Khz⁽⁴⁾ (although this all depends on the sound of the loop, its a case of scanning the area to find the best sound which can range from 8 to 12Khz)

Kick Drum

Snoman says:
then use the second EQ unit to scan around the 60-300Hz area to find a pleasant sound for the kick

Snoman says:
applying a small boost ⁽³⁾

Snoman says:
the third would be used to possibly cut in between the 300-800 if the loop sounds a bit muddy

Snare

Snoman says:
then the fourth would be used to boost between 800-3Khz (sweeping in between this range) to find the right setting to bring out the brightness of the snare (if there is one) and the brightness of the kick

Snoman says:
obviously this is down to your creativity.

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Okaay - ya see, i've been obsessed with tryin to isolate things after our last convo so they have a place to sit.

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
What if ya have, say, a bass note that reaches thru to the mid freqs?....

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Ya know, it might, how can i say, a deep bass sound in the 20 - 300 range, but then has an "overtone" reachin upto p'haps the 700 - 1000 range

Snoman says:
the first question is does it cause a problem with mix ?

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Well, aren't we travellin thru the "illegal" 250 - 800 range

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
But, yeh, i see ya point

"Muddy" Dull Mix

Snoman says:
the 250-800 isn't exactly an illegal range - it is acceptable to use this area, but its the main reason a mix sounds muddy. For example a kick, bass, snare, and a lead line will all be present in this area, which results in a muddy sounds, by applying cut to most of the instruments you can reduce the muddiness

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
I see

Snoman says:
you should try and keep this area very thin on the ground and have few instruments using it

Snoman says:
it all depends on the style your mixing

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Isolating Sounds in the Mix - Hi-Hats

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Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Ok, lets investigate that further.......

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Lets go back to basics and isolate a single instrument say, the good ole hi-hat agin?

Snoman says:
aye

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Ok, i've got that darned hi-hat loaded and me eq mixer is open - I should pick a range in the first column of 8khz - 12K, right?

Snoman says:
it all depends on the actual sound of a hi-hat, most usually they dominate the 8 - 12Khz area, so yeah you would first apply a boost of say 3dB and then 'surf' the area until you find a sound which is suitable for the mix

Snoman says:
for example Hip Hop has a very tinny hi sounding hat so its most usually boosted around 6-10dB around 12Khz

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
ok

Snoman says:
but for a more gentle choon it might be only 3dB around 9Khz

Snoman says:
when mixing its important to take into account the style and genre of the track your mixing, they all have certain ways of sounding

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
right ok - so i set the upper and lower freqs in column 1, to 8 - 12khz, and, in the second column I boost the gain to say 3db, and then pick out say the 9khz frq?

Snoman says:
not neccesarily pick out 9Khz, it would be easier to just turn the knob listening out for frequencies which make the sound fit with the mix

Snoman says:
as you sweep through the range you'll hit parts which make the hi hat stand out as you need

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
ok, yeh, gotcha.....

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
so once we're happy with the initial sound at this stage, we move onto the next column. _ Now am I right in rememberin that we use one column for the "lower" desirable freq, then the other one for the upper desirable freq too?

Snoman says:
the problem with EQ is that its subjective, although you may have found a frequency which sounds right for your mix, you need to remember that you can change the width of the bandwidth, for you hi-hat it may be preferable to use 2 thin bandwidths and just boost two thin area's. However you may just be able to aquire the right sound by using a wide bandwidth on just one channel, but you also need..

Snoman says:
to take into account cutting frequencies as well

Snoman says:
when you cut certain frequencies it may improve the sound rather than boosting certain frequencies

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Yeah, this is my conumdrum

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
I want to get at this notion of isolatin a sound in it's "compartment" so to speak

Snoman says:
its a mix of both cutting and boosting, and thats something which comes with experience as you begin to learn the frequencies contained in a sound and what will work for the mix

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Ya know, I bet you can detect a freq just by listenin to it, just as I can very much put my finger on the right fret of me bass when i try to play a tune i'm listenin to on the radio can't ya?

Snoman says:
hehe yeah, sad aren't I

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
then so am I

Snoman says:
LOL

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
ok, lets ride with this some more...

Snoman says:
ok

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
is cb's eq mixer akin to a parametric equaliser?

Snoman says:
yeah its parametric unlike most 'home' hardware desks which are paragraphic

Snoman says:
the ability to select a specific bandwidth makes it parametric

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
Ok, ya see I can relate to that - soundforge has a much better graphical way of displayin what ya doin

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
So... I've got me hi-hat attuned to 9khz, for the purposes of this eg, and now I find the "upper" desirable freq I'm after

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
in the 2nd column

Snoman says:
it depends, there may be no need to boost on any more channels, does it sound right as it is ?. You don't have to use all 4 EQ units in a channel

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
ok, but say it creeps down into the mid range where the guitars/synth or vocals reside?

Snoman says:
when you EQ a sound you need to consider the frequencies it uses and which make the sound and which don't contribute to it. A hi hat is a high sound, therefore the frequencies you'll want to work around will be in the higher range, However hi hats can use frequencies as low as 5,000Hz, and these don't neccesarily contribute to the sound - they only serve to take up space in a mix

Snoman says:
by applying cut to 5,000 for example you'll thin out the sound which will also affect the sound of the hat

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
OK.....

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
So say I've selected 9khz as me focal point....

Snoman says:
ok

Mike@TheWhippinpost says:
How much room either side should I leave before cuttin

Snoman says:
again its up to your ears, you may not need to apply any boost to the hi hat whatsoever, you may just need to cut some frequencies to thin out the sound a little and help it fit into the mix.

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In Part 3: Let's Mix: Step-by-Step Mixing Guide Rick goes on to explain in more detail how he'd mix the kick drum, snare drum, hi-hat and vocals in a hip-hop track.

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