The age old problem of unwanted spill down the snare mic is as old as close mics themselves, but gating can present problems of its own. We try an alternative which could turn in more transparent results.
In Summary
Gating can throw out lower level playing along with the unwanted spill from things like hi hats. Using an advanced spectral tool instead can make that spill less of a problem by tuning out harsh problem frequencies to make the spill itself sound acceptable. This makes the snare mic more usable at any level.
Going Deeper
Gatecrashing
Snare close mics can be the engineer’s friend where control over level, or a bigger more immediate sound, or both are required. Inevitably, positioning mics must be a compromise, and one of the biggest factors waiting to spoil the engineer’s snare drum party is the sound of hi hat spill.
This has the unfortunate ability to hit cardioid mics at an angle where the most colouration in their sound can develop. The problem can also be exacerbated by poor technique (louder hats vs quieter snare) and the inherent close position of the hat itself relative to the snare.
Having optimised everything else, engineers frequently fall back on the humble gate across snare to tune out mid-heavy hat spill. This can of course only work when the wanted hits are louder in the mic than the unwanted spill. With all but the most basic parts, any quieter ghost notes frequently lie low alongside the spill, making them susceptible to being taken out with the trash.
Better Spill?
Capturing ‘better spill’ can be one option with the use of patterns other than cardioid, but for pre-existing recordings made with directional mics, one option can be to create better-sounding spill and run with it. This means that fading the snare mic up to punch above the drum in the overheads is not accompanied by a cacophony of clanky hi hat spill.
In the video we use Soothe2 to massage a close mic sound’s hi hat bleed. This tool is described by Oeksound as a dynamic resonance suppressor, and on snare its floating filters are ideal for taming the trash. By making the hats sound more natural in the snare mic, and closer to their sound in the other mics, the snare level can be at whatever level the engineer wants without the spill becoming a problem.
Prevent, Cure, Or Soothe?
While there can be a net gain in using snare close mics for a number of situations, they are not magic. Drawing in spill from their nearest metallic neighbour in a number of situations, this can be helped or hindered by the drummer. For many, the classic gate is hard to beat when the recorded sounds are in already in shape, but even then intricate ghost notes cannot survive all but the most judicious gate or expander.
Sometimes the engineer might do better to just fix the spill itself in the snare and keep all of the good stuff that comes with it. Thanks to the use of an advanced tool such as Soothe2, one of the drum mix’s perennial problems just got a little easier on the ear.
A Word About This Article
As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.
Drums photo by Jason Pofahl on Unsplash