Mixing live multitrack drums is an art in itself. To get from tracked to radio-ready sounding drum mixes we must follow our ears and instincts while we balance a mixture of direct spot and ambient channels in our song. It’s no mean feat but there are some tried and tested techniques that many top engineers use to make this process a bit simpler. Many of which are covered in this free four-part video tutorial series showing you how to mix three different perspectives of kick drum as well as snare top tracks.
Watch and learn now if you work regularly with live drum tracks in Studio One.
Mixing Kick-in Channels Using Studio One Stock Plug-ins
Kick in channels provides the main impact and meat and potatoes in any drum mix. They are, by their very nature, direct and require attention in order for your drum mixes to succeed. In this episode, you will learn some essential techniques for focusing the sound of your kick in channels which involve reducing muddy frequencies while focusing on bringing the note of the kick peice out.
Mixing Kick-Out Channels Using Studio One Stock Plug-ins
Kick out channels are often used to complement the direct sound of kick in channels. Kick outs generally sound beefier and rounder though they can be prone to picking up spill from other surrounding kit pieces. Watch this episode to learn how to treat kick out channels using Studio One stock plug-ins. If you don’t usually place microphones outside of your kick drums when tracking, this video may encourage you to through an extra microphone up the next time you track drums as the results of this extra channel in this video demonstrates just how useful that extra bit of tone is when blended in.
Mixing Sub Kick Channels Using Studio One Stock Plug-ins
Sub kick channels are not widely used in multitrack drum recording as more times than not kick in and kick out microphones capture plenty, though there are times when sub kick channels come in handy. Like kick out channels, sub kicks also have a tendency of picking up spill which can cause tonal imperfections in the sound of other key kit pieces. Watch this episode to learn how to best utilize a sub kick channel in your next drum mix.
Mixing Snare Drum Channels Using Studio One Stock Plug-ins
The hallmark of any well recorded and mixed drum performance in is its ability to command a purposeful snare. In this episode you will learn how to transform a direct sounding snare top channel using stock plug-ins in Studio One. Snare channels are very easy to overegg in the mix. Using too much processing can quickly strangle the sound of a snare which, no matter how good the rest of your drum mix sounds, will ruin the vibe of your song. Learn how to mix your snare channels with taste and precision in this final episode of this free four-part mixing series.