Old 07-11-2019, 06:14 AM   #1
WarringtonCJ
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Default Present Snare without being Cranked?

I think this is probably one of the better mixes I've done (feel free to destroy it) but the main thing bothering me is the snare. I seem to get it to really pop. Currently i have a wide q eq boost on the snare track at around 200hz for body and then some compression going on on the actual bus taming the snare a bit (about 2-3 GR). Also running a p-comp in tandem with it. Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated

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Old 07-11-2019, 06:51 AM   #2
Judders
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Hi, I don't have the chance to listen right now, but generally I find giving a boost to the high mids (or low highs, if you prefer) really brings a snare out. Anywhere between 2-3 kHz.

As for compression, try a slower attack time with fast release to bring more transient through.
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Old 07-11-2019, 10:57 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by WarringtonCJ View Post
I think this is probably one of the better mixes I've done (feel free to destroy it) but the main thing bothering me is the snare. I seem to get it to really pop. Currently i have a wide q eq boost on the snare track at around 200hz for body and then some compression going on on the actual bus taming the snare a bit (about 2-3 GR). Also running a p-comp in tandem with it. Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated

https://instaud.io/3Vum
I can hear the snare just fine. And I'm listening on a single bluetooth earbud.

Can you be more specific about what's bothering you? I'm not certain what it is you'd prefer to hear.

I can see it being a bit too peaky or clicky, if that makes sense.

I would avoid big boosts in the eq.

Rather, I'd encourage you to cut the sounds you don't like, then see where you're at.

After that, any boosts that are needed will be much easier to hear.

That's a very tightly-packed mix/arrangement. Frequency masking will absolutely be an issue. Subtractive eq is your friend here.
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Last edited by kirk1701; 07-11-2019 at 11:03 AM.
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Old 07-11-2019, 10:59 AM   #4
WarringtonCJ
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I can hear the snare just fine. And I'm listening on a single bluetooth earbud.

Can you be more specific about what's bothering you? I'm not certain what it is you'd prefer to hear.
I feel like its being masked a lot by something or just not forward enough. The snare is the pillar of my mix and everything is volume adjusted around it but even still it doesn't jump out like I want it to.
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Old 07-11-2019, 11:28 AM   #5
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Agreed. It sounds good to me but if you want it to be more noticeable, it could be due to how you've compressed it (or "transient-enhanced" it). You might want a more punchy sound with less snap on the attack. I find ReaComp works well for this (not so much for the snappier sound, so I'm guessing you're not using ReaComp on the snare as the main compressor). Check the attached image for a setting that might work. Adjust threshold so it's getting around 6dB gain reduction (then adjust "wet" as the output level). You can also reduce the knee size to make it hit more like a hammer.

One of the key components to making loud/in-your-face compression is a somewhat fast release time.
I guess I could be a bit more specific.

Snare Track:
Nothing here but an EQ boosting a bit of 200hz.

P-Comp:
Using a distressor clone to obliterate it then high passing it.

Snare Bus:
Mostly there to just sum the snare and pcomp but apparently i cut 650hz out of it for some reason I don't remember.

Drum Bus:
EQ with some small moves done to balance out the overall kit

SSL G384 compressor clone with the side-chain HPF engaged at around 150hz (so the compressor ignores the kick drum basically) hitting about 2/3 GR on snare hits. Im not infront of my desk to tell you the exact settings but its pretty fast on both settings. The attack is a tad slower than the release.

Limiter, which isn't really doing much. It's a couple db of GR every now and then with really hard hits.
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Old 07-11-2019, 11:42 AM   #6
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Can you isolate the snare track and post a sample clip with/without enabling the "obliterating" plugin?
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Old 07-11-2019, 11:45 AM   #7
WarringtonCJ
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Can you isolate the snare track and post a sample clip with/without enabling the "obliterating" plugin?
Just the raw snare track? Sure I can when I get home in a few hours. That "obliterating" is only taking place on the parallel comp bus so I can just mute that.
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Old 07-11-2019, 11:53 AM   #8
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Yeah if I can hear what's affecting the snare and what it sounds like without the effects for comparison, that would probably help. If none of the other busses downstream of the snare track (and its parallel comp bus) are affecting it much, it's probably just how the snare and its parallel comp bus sound.

Maybe disable those downstream bus effects for the sake of this comparison too. If when disabling those bus effects you notice the snare "comes to life", then you probably don't need my 2c anymore.
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Old 07-11-2019, 11:57 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by WarringtonCJ View Post
I guess I could be a bit more specific.

Snare Track:
Nothing here but an EQ boosting a bit of 200hz.

P-Comp:
Using a distressor clone to obliterate it then high passing it.

Snare Bus:
Mostly there to just sum the snare and pcomp but apparently i cut 650hz out of it for some reason I don't remember.

Drum Bus:
EQ with some small moves done to balance out the overall kit

SSL G384 compressor clone with the side-chain HPF engaged at around 150hz (so the compressor ignores the kick drum basically) hitting about 2/3 GR on snare hits. Im not infront of my desk to tell you the exact settings but its pretty fast on both settings. The attack is a tad slower than the release.

Limiter, which isn't really doing much. It's a couple db of GR every now and then with really hard hits.
Far too much compression, as I suspected, not enough eq shaping on the actual snare track.

I'm assuming that "snare bus" is parallel compression?

Compression should be the last thing you reach for if you want the sound to jump out, oddly enough. It sounds paradoxical, but too much can add mud. I learned this the hard way. Take all my advice with a grain of salt. I'm still learning. I only offer this now as it's in the forefront of my thoughts these days.

I would lose the sidechain comp at the very least and opt for a gate right on the snare channel, if you're trying to get an explosive sound. ReaGate has an awesome preset called "snare gate" that works really well for this.

Do you have room mics? Or if you're using a virtual kit, you can run the kick, snare, and toms to a separate channel and squash that to hell. This you send to an over all drum submix, along with the close mics. Blend to taste. This is just parallel compression, which you have a good handle on, it seems. Here's a Kenny tutorial that I refer back to often:

https://youtu.be/_-55L5yXyXQ

For me, parallel compression didn't make much sense till I started thinking of the parallel tracks as completely separate. I even go so far as to print the output of kik/snare/toms to a separate channel. That way I have to two separate sets of audio. I stole that idea from this video:

https://youtu.be/__9gWehqz6I

http://joelcameron.com/blog/2016/5/2...n-mixing-drums

The reverb idea was very eye-opening.

I would also suggest using "Hot For Teacher" as a reference track. That's a very speedy, dense mix, but it punches hard.
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Old 07-11-2019, 12:17 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by kirk1701 View Post
Compression should be the last thing you reach for if you want the sound to jump out, oddly enough. It sounds paradoxical, but too much can add mud. I learned this the hard way. Take all my advice with a grain of salt. I'm still learning. I only offer this now as it's in the forefront of my thoughts these days.
It all depends on the attack and release times. But, in general you are right, compression makes things sound smaller/further away, but with long attack times and fast release you can enhance transients, rather than rub them away.
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Old 07-11-2019, 12:41 PM   #11
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It all depends on the attack and release times. But, in general you are right, compression makes things sound smaller/further away, but with long attack times and fast release you can enhance transients, rather than rub them away.
Totally agree. I haven't developed the skills for such deft work though. In 24bit resolution, we've got so much headroom, it doesn't make sense to crush everything.
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