digiskunk
New member
Hey guys, just wanted to share some of my own drum mixing techniques with FLStudio users who want louder, crisper tones in their drum beats without having to purchase or acquire specified sample packs. I hear a lot of stuff on here that seems to lack in the drums department regardless of the sample's qualitative nature, and I figured I'd throw in my 2 cents for anybody who needs some help.
Before we get started, I just wanted to remind you that these are merely tips - not a guide to follow. Mixing has its variables and it always depends on the nature of the track you're producing, the samples you're using, the direction you're aiming for, etc.
Now let's get started. If you don't have time to read all of this, just refer to the bold text for specific subject matters or the italicized text for key points.
01. If you haven't already tried doing this, start designating individual channels on the mixer for your samples. Make a channel for your kick, hats, snares/claps, sub-bass/bass-drum, and whatever else you want. This will allow you to mix cleaner and bring out the potential bang of your samples. You'll be able to approach each sample and tweak it the way you want to, and eliminate any muddiness this way.
02. If your drum samples sound too bland/dry, throw a Fruity Parametric 2 Equalizer on the sample's mixer channel and tweak it carefully to achieve the sound you're looking for. This is pretty much basic knowledge.
If your kick lacks boom/bump, use the equalizer to make a small boost at around 150Hz and 250Hz with a small drop in between them - perhaps, 200Hz (of course, it all depends on the sample you're using and/or what you want out of it). Make sure to use the "BW" knobs to give it a tighter Q so you don't hog up too many frequencies. If you don't know how to tweak the Q, just refer to the far right of the EQ and you'll see "BW" knobs. That's them. If you want, you can even boost some of the higher frequencies to achieve a more crisp tone. If your kick still doesn't sound "solid" or hard enough, throw a Fruity Compressor on it and add some gain while tweaking the other settings. If that doesn't work, try the Fruity Soundgoodizer and raise the preset "A" just a tad bit - maybe 10-20%. Tweak it carefully until the kick sounds about right to your ears.
As for hi-hats that lack crisp tone, just use the Fruity Parametric Equalizer 2 on your hats' mixer channel to boost the higher frequencies (around 5000Hz-8000Hz). This should bring out the treble you're seeking. If you feel as if they lack a bit more 'character', try using a VERY small amount of the Fruity Reverb. Put it on your hats channel and turn the reverb down to 1-4% - you may notice a more "excited" tone. Of course, tweak the settings of the reverb, but like I said, use it so minimally that it's practically unnoticeable. Also, if you're a 'clean mix' freak, you may want to drop some of the lower frequencies on your EQ; those are bass frequencies, and they are unnecessary, and eliminating them is totally rad.
Snares or claps not banging hard enough? Just like the last 2 tips, use a Fruity Parametric EQ2 on the mixer channel. Boost around 500-750Hz if you want to give the sample more 'body' or 'strength'. Of course, appropriately boost higher frequencies (especially around 2000Hz and 6000Hz) for some more tone. And for a crispier tone, boost around the 8000Hz range. If your snare/clap still lacks punch, refer to the Fruity Compressor and use some compression as opposed to EQ boosts - you don't want to go overboard. If you want to add more "flavor" to your snares/claps, use some Fruity Reverb. Tweak the low-cut and the decay (1.5-2.5 works great for decay; 3.0 is good for R&B) and all the rest of the knobs until you get what you want out of it. But, that's only if you have to/want to.
As far as mixing sub-bass and/or bass-drums: use an EQ to boost the very low frequencies (50-70Hz), but start making dramatic drops on the EQ as you encounter higher frequencies (200Hz-300Hz+). The higher the frequency, the less useful it becomes for sub-bass. Eliminating higher frequencies can really help clean up your mix and eliminate any potential muddiness.If you're having a problem mixing the sub with a kick you've previously EQ'd + compressed, use an EQ on your sub-bass to counter what you did on the kick. For example: if I boosted 3.5Db at 60Hz on my sub-bass, dropping some of the low frequencies around that area on my kick will really help them blend together. This is when using a tighter Q on your kick's EQ boosts can be vitally important. If your sub-bass/bass-drum still lacks punch, use the Fruity Compressor to give it some added punch. Don't resort to over-EQing.
If you have some effect samples in your track, try using some EQ, reverb, and maybe even some delay to make them fit in the way you want them to. Pan those ****ers a bit to the left and right to help balance out the beat.
For the most part, that's pretty much it: utilizing the EQ and compressor for specific drum samples to get some more punch/whack out of them. If you can, try not to over-boost with your EQ - you're going to need those boosts for EQing other things in your track. Instead, sometimes resort to lowering/dropping frequencies as opposed to boosting (or use compression).
03. Also, one last tip to help "spread out" your drums: Panning. The sub-bass/bass-drum and kick should always be center, but pan some of the hats a bit to the left and right. If you have percussion sounds, pan them even further out. Try to create some variety and balance; this way, it won't sound so jumbled when you play it. No, really, seriously. Panning is important.
Well, I guess that's it for now. I know a lot of people here won't agree with these techniques, but remember, I'm just lending out some helpful tips from my perspective to people that really need to improve their drum mixing. I hope some of this has been helpful!
Peace out fam!
-- Gary
Before we get started, I just wanted to remind you that these are merely tips - not a guide to follow. Mixing has its variables and it always depends on the nature of the track you're producing, the samples you're using, the direction you're aiming for, etc.
Now let's get started. If you don't have time to read all of this, just refer to the bold text for specific subject matters or the italicized text for key points.
01. If you haven't already tried doing this, start designating individual channels on the mixer for your samples. Make a channel for your kick, hats, snares/claps, sub-bass/bass-drum, and whatever else you want. This will allow you to mix cleaner and bring out the potential bang of your samples. You'll be able to approach each sample and tweak it the way you want to, and eliminate any muddiness this way.
02. If your drum samples sound too bland/dry, throw a Fruity Parametric 2 Equalizer on the sample's mixer channel and tweak it carefully to achieve the sound you're looking for. This is pretty much basic knowledge.
If your kick lacks boom/bump, use the equalizer to make a small boost at around 150Hz and 250Hz with a small drop in between them - perhaps, 200Hz (of course, it all depends on the sample you're using and/or what you want out of it). Make sure to use the "BW" knobs to give it a tighter Q so you don't hog up too many frequencies. If you don't know how to tweak the Q, just refer to the far right of the EQ and you'll see "BW" knobs. That's them. If you want, you can even boost some of the higher frequencies to achieve a more crisp tone. If your kick still doesn't sound "solid" or hard enough, throw a Fruity Compressor on it and add some gain while tweaking the other settings. If that doesn't work, try the Fruity Soundgoodizer and raise the preset "A" just a tad bit - maybe 10-20%. Tweak it carefully until the kick sounds about right to your ears.
As for hi-hats that lack crisp tone, just use the Fruity Parametric Equalizer 2 on your hats' mixer channel to boost the higher frequencies (around 5000Hz-8000Hz). This should bring out the treble you're seeking. If you feel as if they lack a bit more 'character', try using a VERY small amount of the Fruity Reverb. Put it on your hats channel and turn the reverb down to 1-4% - you may notice a more "excited" tone. Of course, tweak the settings of the reverb, but like I said, use it so minimally that it's practically unnoticeable. Also, if you're a 'clean mix' freak, you may want to drop some of the lower frequencies on your EQ; those are bass frequencies, and they are unnecessary, and eliminating them is totally rad.
Snares or claps not banging hard enough? Just like the last 2 tips, use a Fruity Parametric EQ2 on the mixer channel. Boost around 500-750Hz if you want to give the sample more 'body' or 'strength'. Of course, appropriately boost higher frequencies (especially around 2000Hz and 6000Hz) for some more tone. And for a crispier tone, boost around the 8000Hz range. If your snare/clap still lacks punch, refer to the Fruity Compressor and use some compression as opposed to EQ boosts - you don't want to go overboard. If you want to add more "flavor" to your snares/claps, use some Fruity Reverb. Tweak the low-cut and the decay (1.5-2.5 works great for decay; 3.0 is good for R&B) and all the rest of the knobs until you get what you want out of it. But, that's only if you have to/want to.
As far as mixing sub-bass and/or bass-drums: use an EQ to boost the very low frequencies (50-70Hz), but start making dramatic drops on the EQ as you encounter higher frequencies (200Hz-300Hz+). The higher the frequency, the less useful it becomes for sub-bass. Eliminating higher frequencies can really help clean up your mix and eliminate any potential muddiness.If you're having a problem mixing the sub with a kick you've previously EQ'd + compressed, use an EQ on your sub-bass to counter what you did on the kick. For example: if I boosted 3.5Db at 60Hz on my sub-bass, dropping some of the low frequencies around that area on my kick will really help them blend together. This is when using a tighter Q on your kick's EQ boosts can be vitally important. If your sub-bass/bass-drum still lacks punch, use the Fruity Compressor to give it some added punch. Don't resort to over-EQing.
If you have some effect samples in your track, try using some EQ, reverb, and maybe even some delay to make them fit in the way you want them to. Pan those ****ers a bit to the left and right to help balance out the beat.
For the most part, that's pretty much it: utilizing the EQ and compressor for specific drum samples to get some more punch/whack out of them. If you can, try not to over-boost with your EQ - you're going to need those boosts for EQing other things in your track. Instead, sometimes resort to lowering/dropping frequencies as opposed to boosting (or use compression).
03. Also, one last tip to help "spread out" your drums: Panning. The sub-bass/bass-drum and kick should always be center, but pan some of the hats a bit to the left and right. If you have percussion sounds, pan them even further out. Try to create some variety and balance; this way, it won't sound so jumbled when you play it. No, really, seriously. Panning is important.
Well, I guess that's it for now. I know a lot of people here won't agree with these techniques, but remember, I'm just lending out some helpful tips from my perspective to people that really need to improve their drum mixing. I hope some of this has been helpful!
Peace out fam!
-- Gary
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