Behind the vocal, the drums are usually the most important part of any song. So for a mixing engineer, getting them right is a must! After all, this is where most of a tracks rhythm and energy lives, so poorly mixed drums can leave the rest of the song feeling lifeless or flat.
Whether you want the kick and 808 to jump out of the speakers, a live kit to punch through the mix or your percussion to groove along with the rest of the song, there are certain common elements and techniques you want to get right.
Here are the most important things to consider when mixing drums like a pro:
Phase:
Nothing sucks the life out of drums, electronic or analogue, like poor phase alignment.
Phase is often considered when recording a live drum kit. Keeping the multiple microphones used in phase is essential. However, phase is just as important in modern productions too. These days, it is very common to layer sounds like kicks and snares. While this can be a great technique to make the sounds bigger and punchier, if not done properly it will have the opposite effect.
There are a few different ways you can make sure your drums are in phase. The first and most important one, is to LISTEN. Most of the time a mixing engineers main job is to listen. So the first step is to use your ears to determine if there are possible phase issues. If you are not sure, listen to each sound on their own and then together. If it sounds quieter, or certain parts of the frequency spectrum disappear when sounds are combined, then chances are there’s a phase issue.
One you’ve identified it, an easy way to see what might be going on is to simply look at the waveforms. Zooming in and seeing if the peaks and nulls are aligned can quickly tell you what the problem is. Manually nudging your sounds can fix this, however this will only work if they are consistent through the song (e.g. Kick and snare samples).
Example of two out of phase tracks
If you are working with more complex sounds that don’t have simple waveforms, or you cannot obviously see the issue, there are phase alignment tools you can use instead. FUSER from Mastering The Mix can analyse the two signals and either Match or Rotate the phase to get them in line. Alternatively, manually altering the phase with something like the Little Labs IBP Phase Alignment Tool from UAD can also help.
Transients:
A transient in audio is the initial peak of the sound, or put more simply, it is the first spike in the waveform. In terms of what we actually hear, it’s the very first part of the sound.
Visual representation of the transient of a waveform
This is particularly important when it comes to drums, because most of the information and power we want is contained in this transient. Think of the thud or click of a kick drum, the smack of the snare or the pop of a bongo. While controlling these transients is essential for a balanced mix, squashing them too much will mean we lose a lot of that important audio information. The result: drums that sound flat or simply will not cut through in the mix.
If a drum sound has been too heavily processed (which in the world of samples is sadly all too common), and the transients have been squashed, you can use tools such as the SPL Transient Designer or Izotope Transient Shaper to try reintroduce or emphasise them.
Clippers have become a popular tool for making drums, in particular kick drums, ‘knock’ or ‘slap’. These can do a great job at introducing distortion that can help the sounds cut through the mix, however overuse can be detrimental. As the name suggests, clippers “clip” the audio – or chop off the peaks – when pushed very hard. As we just read, these peaks hold important information so we need to preserve them!
An example of an original Kick Drum sound (top) and what it looks like when it’s been clipped too hard
Parallel Processing:
So how do you make use of the above tools but still maintain the integrity of the audio transients?
This brings us to one of the best tools in the mixing engineer toolbox for making your drums powerful and punchy – parallel processing.
In simple terms, parallel processing is a mixing technique in which a processed signal is combined or blended with the original (or dry) signal. A basic example of this would be sending the kick to an auxiliary track that has a clipper on it and sending both tracks to the Drum Buss (using the faders to blend the two tracks to your liking).
The benefit of using parallel processing is that your main (or dry) signal maintains all those beautiful transients, whereas the parallel (or processed) track does not need to. This will keep your drums punchy, but also allows you to be much more creative with the processing you apply.
An example of parallel processing in action! Notice the difference in the waveforms – the unprocessed signal (top) has a bigger transient than the parallel signal (bottom). In this example, by looking at the fader levels we can see that the unprocessed signal is actually the quieter one and is only being used to subtly add some punch.
Of course, always be sure to refer back to our first point here and ensure that any parallel processing is still in phase with the original signal!
Some examples of parallel drum processing from a mixing engineer:
- 1176 (all buttons mode) adds huge amounts of energy and excitement (great on live drums and room mics). Tip: Play around with attack and release times to add punch or bite.
- SSL 4000 E Channel Strip, driving the signal through the microphone input stage saturates the signal and increases the perceived punch and power of the sound
- Tape saturation can boost the low end and smooth out the top while still adding energy and vibe (for more information on how to use tape saturation see my earlier blog post)
- Distortion is great for adding loudness and power. Some of my go-to plugins for drums include the Black Box Analog Design HG-2 or FabFilter Saturn 2
Create Space:
Crafting huge drums in isolation is great, but they can easily disappear or cause issues when added to the rest of the mix.
Create space for your drums through techniques like sidechaining or dynamic EQ to ensure they don’t get swallowed by other elements.
On the other hand, don’t let the drums overpower the rest of the mix and eat up your headroom. By using good technique, being mindful or your phase and transients, and making the most of parallel processing, you can achieve the big bold drums of your dreams.
If you’re struggling to get your drums to sound as big as you would like, or would like some more tips on mixing techniques, drop me a line and I’d be happy to help!