![superior drummer 2.0 mixing superior drummer 2.0 mixing](https://filecr.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/toontrack-superior-drummer-free-download-02.jpg)
Going strong in the studio world since 1999, he loves long walks on the beach, baskets full of puppies, and writing in the 3rd person. Jeffro is a recovering gear-aholic who spends somewhere between 2 and 300 hours per week mixing music. If the genre you’re working with allows you to get away with it, do whatever you can to make it slam!īig thanks to the guys in Cone for letting me steal their drums for this post! Screw all that noise, we’re here to make awesome mixes, not to stick to some outdated moral mixing code. I have zero qualms with doing whatever is necessary to make the mix shine (specially considering that I have no control over the quality of the tracks that I receive) something my formerly purist-self would have turned his nose up at. Do they always sound great on their own? Nope, they sure don’t. Would I prefer that the natural acoustic drums sounded great on their own? Yup, I sure would. I’d recommend starting with Digidesign Lo-Fi if you’re rocking a ProTools setup.ĭone right, this trick can tastefully enhance a drum sound that isn’t slamming on its own. But if you have some particularly weak drums, especially those recorded through sub-par gear, some distortion and compression (try slow attack, quick release) can really help fill out what is lacking. For extra bonus points, add some subtle distortion, compression, delay, or whatever ye heart doth desire.Ī lot of times, I’m just looking to add some depth. Of course, you’ve already checked your phase relationships, right?Ħ. In this particular mix, here’s how much I used: The beautiful thing with your newly created kick and snare tracks is that you can push it completely over the top or you can use it as a subtle way just to add depth. Sneak these new kick and snare tracks underneath the acoustic recordings. That’s why I bring in plenty of the SD room tracks and that magical “bullet” mic.ĥ. You could just bring in the close mics, but typically if a drum sound is lacking, the original overhead/room tracks aren’t going to be adding near as much kick and snare “bigness” as they should. A combination of direct mics, overheads, and those massive room mics will add the most.
![superior drummer 2.0 mixing superior drummer 2.0 mixing](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tIek8VESDBM/maxresdefault.jpg)
![superior drummer 2.0 mixing superior drummer 2.0 mixing](https://www.producerspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/superior-drummer-instruments.jpg)
Run this midi signal through Superior Drummer (or similar drum program). No limp wrists here, hit it like a rented mule.Ĥ. Make sure your velocities are really slamming in the kick and snare during the balls-to-the-wall sections. If you’re mixing rock and the drummer hit the drums like a 12 year old girl, you’re gonna need to help him out a bit. Adjust the midi velocities so they are hitting like a good drummer should But that’s a whole different post for another time.ģ. If the drum tracks are particularly noisy or the drummer was using wet noodles for drumsticks, you may have to get creative with a noise gate and EQ to only get the hits you want. Play around with the settings to make sure you’re getting only the hits you need and not getting any double-triggering. Personally, I use the old school Massey DTM plugin, but there are plenty out there. Use an audio to midi plugin to convert your original kick/snare tracks into midi signals. So how can we use a drum program with acoustic drums when it’s time to mix and the drum sounds are…lacking? Well, let’s cheat a little, shall we? The kick and snare are the most important drum elements and thankfully the easiest to fake.ġ. Ya gotta adapt with the times and I’m doing my best to do just that. Bands program drums or record drums in a basement somewhere. The problem is that the music world is changing. There are still other great options out there like Trigger 2 (which I still use), but to my ears, Superior Drummer adds far more depth.Ī quick disclaimer: I prefer acoustic, natural, well-recorded drums 100% of the time. I actually did a few session in the A-studio at Avatar where they were recorded and I can personally attest to the fact that it is indeed a perfect room for recording drums. The SD drums regular drumset was recorded at Avatar Studios. In fact, it was, “Wow, great recording!”Īnd my love affair with this program has only grown since. I wasn’t told that it was SD…and my first thought when loading them in wasn’t, “Oh great, fake shitty drums”. The band sent me the individual audio files, labeled as an acoustic set would be (kick in, kick out, snare top, etc.). I still remember the first mix I did using the SD drums. I am in no way paid by the folks at Toontrack (unless of course they’d like to start!), I just freaking love their product. Now I might sound a bit like a fan boy in this post, so I apologize ahead of time. I never heard one that I thought sounded even remotely close to lifelike.Īnd then, along came Superior Drummer. Lifeless, soulless, plastic, 2-D sounding pieces of junk. Ten or fifteen years ago, I freaking hated drum programs.
![superior drummer 2.0 mixing superior drummer 2.0 mixing](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Usp0J0gSoVo/maxresdefault.jpg)
Remember how old school drum modules sounded?