MusicRadar

View in gallery

Drums and percussion

1. The number one tip we can give you for mixing drums is: compress, compress, compress! Intelligent compressing, mind you. For sharp, punchy kicks, you want the attack between 3-6ms (to allow the 'crack' through) and a short enough release that the compressor is able to return the volume to full before the next hit.

2. Wherever possible, it's useful to have drums on separate tracks, even if you then send them to a group for more processing. You can then adjust relative levels and process each individually, making for a much more controlled mix.

3. For that Phil Collins-style gated-reverb effect, try sticking a big reverb patch after your toms, and then insert a gate after it so that the reverb tail is quickly cut short. Alternatively, you can add subtler 80s space with short reverb settings and a compressor inserted afterwards.

4. You can give sharper and punchier attack to all manner of sounds by inserting a gate and then setting the threshold higher than it needs to be. With the attack set as close to zero as you can get it, the signal will burst through very quickly, and at a very high level, making the sound that bit punchier.

5. If you find your rhythm section isn't gelling properly, try sending all the different elements to a separate group and compressing them together. This makes for a much more coherent sound. It's usually worth leaving the kick drum separate, though, as it can really affect the compressor's action on a percussion group channel.

6. Unless they play electric guitar, most producers would never think to apply any distortion to their sounds, but it can be a great effect on almost anything when used in moderation, including drums. Try applying some subtle distortion to things like hi-hats, cymbals and snares. It also works brilliantly on breakbeats, often making them sound older than they are. Of course, you can always crank it up if you want to get extreme...

Equalisation

7. If you're using lots of EQ boost, particularly to upper frequencies, just make sure you remember that the human brain has a tendency to instinctively prefer louder signals when placed side by side with quieter ones. They might not be objectively better when heard separately, so always increase EQ gain in small increments.

8. Ear fatigue is a common problem whenever you listen to music loud for extended periods, and, because of the nature of the ears, the first thing to go is the ability to hear treble. People tend to overemphasise the treble to compensate, so, if you're not careful, when you come back the morning after a heavy mixing session, it'll be too trebly. Always check out the final mix with a fresh set of ears.

9. As a general rule, you should use EQ cut on elements to make space for other elements rather than boosting everything (which just makes mush), but if you must boost, try to get your hands on the best EQ plug-in you can. As a test, you should be able to add 8-12dB of gain to the treble of a track without it sounding harsh.

10. When you're trying to hone in on a problem frequency, the best way to do it is by applying excessive gain with a quite narrow bandwidth (Q) setting, then sweeping the frequency back and forth until you hit the right area. With the frequency identified, either pull the gain down - or into minus figures if you're trying to remove it - before adjusting Q to taste!

11. Be careful when adding EQ before compression - EQ can dramatically affect the level of a signal, radically altering the way the compressor responds to it. The same goes for level settings (particularly following a compressor) - whenever you apply any kind of serious EQ gain or attenuation, you should check the level is still right.