In this article I try to explain the fundamentals and basics of mixing drums to help teach people who are just starting out or would like to know more about mixing drums. This article is perfect for anyone who is recording or mixing drums in a home studio environment with limited mics, room treatment or plugins. Everything I use for the mix is are stock plugins found in Logic Pro and SSL plugins, however, these concepts can be applied to any DAW and even some live sound applications.
I use the Logic Pro Vintage VCA Compressor that emulates an SSL-style compressor, known for it’s tight, punchy and glue-oriented compression. It’s fast, clean, and controlled rather than colorful or gritty.
I use the SSL X-Gate on each channel, for example on the Closed HiHat, because it’s clean and has precise gating (modern SSL behavior). It does also rhythmic gating without chatter or pumping. Compared with older analog gates, SSL X-Gate is very controllable and transparent, especially around transients.
Use the Range, not full mute because thatsounds more natural. Dial sidechain EQ first and then threshold:
- If it chatters → increase Hysteresis or Hold
- If it clips transients → slightly slower Attack
- If it sounds chopped → longer Release
Instead if using the SSL X-Gate, you can also use the Logic Pro stock plugin Noise Gate:
I make a send 2 to bus 9, which is the Drum Parallel Bus and add the Vintage VCA compressor and dial in until it not sound to agressive. In the example below I dial-in around 0,0
I use a ratio of 8.0:1 too make it more aggresive, attack 29.0 ms and release 51 ms. Threshold I set on -34.0 dB.
The most common settings are:
- Ratio: 4:1
- Attack: 10 ms
- Release: Auto or 0.1–0.3 s
- Gain Reduction: 2–4 dB
- Makeup gain: level-match
Common mistakes are too fast attack on drums (that kills transients) and more than 2 dB GR on mix bus. Judging it louder instead of level-matched,
With the Send 2 Bus 9 I dail-in the amount of compression:
if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.