Saturday, December 22, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Drum Sounds - Consider the Source
I have been getting emails about my video posts on mixing drums, and many folks want me to do a series of videos on mic placement and tracking, apart from the processing side of things. The appreciation for the raw drum sounds makes me feel really good, but when I consider the possibility of doing videos like that (which would require much more effort than a screen grab using Screenflow, btw), I am struck by the fact that, with no one actually in the room with the drums, hearing the raw drum sounds in that environment, instruction on placing mics has real limitations in its usefulness.
There is no shortage of instruction on drum miking techniques (including earlier, fairly comprehensive posts on this very blog). But I fear too many folks value the technique, and the equipment the engineer uses, more than the quality of sound being produced by the drums and drummer in the room.
How can I demonstrate for you, in a video, how a drum sounds in the room? The only way you will be able to hear it is by my use of a microphone, at which point all the factors of miking have come into play. Put simply, drums sound different through microphones than they do in the room.
I remember many years ago, when I was new to the studio environment, hearing a killer drum sound through some studio monitors and walking out into the room where the drums were and playing them -- they didn't sound much at all like what I was hearing in the control room. I would have insisted that the snare was tuned too low and was too ringy, the kick too out of control, and the toms too bright (single-ply, coated heads on the top), but the miked sound was fabulous and big. This is the rub when it comes to making videos -- trying to explain, with words, what a good drum sound is BEFORE you consider with mic selection.
I will attempt to address this in future posts and videos, but for now please consider that when you're getting drum sounds, push yourself to make necessary changes at the source rather than in the control room to better achieve the best raw tracks. For example, if the snare sounds too dead or too short/not enough body, consider removing muffling (I personally use very little muffling on snares) and/or tuning it down a touch (tuning the top head too tight will create a staccato sound with no body... in fact, the bright, ringy snare sound that lots of people like is actually better had with a metal drum tuned just barely above its midrange (not cranked up like a marching snare!) with very little muffling... back off the mic a bit so the low-mid content doesn't dominate -- and then compresssss......).
Some of the things you do to achieve your desired sound by manipulating the source may surprise you, but you will learn great things in the process. Leave your processors and plugins alone -- get your hands dirty, and make your tracks sing!
Peace to all.
Joel
PS - fixing the sound at the source works well for all other instruments too, not just drums :)
There is no shortage of instruction on drum miking techniques (including earlier, fairly comprehensive posts on this very blog). But I fear too many folks value the technique, and the equipment the engineer uses, more than the quality of sound being produced by the drums and drummer in the room.
How can I demonstrate for you, in a video, how a drum sounds in the room? The only way you will be able to hear it is by my use of a microphone, at which point all the factors of miking have come into play. Put simply, drums sound different through microphones than they do in the room.
I remember many years ago, when I was new to the studio environment, hearing a killer drum sound through some studio monitors and walking out into the room where the drums were and playing them -- they didn't sound much at all like what I was hearing in the control room. I would have insisted that the snare was tuned too low and was too ringy, the kick too out of control, and the toms too bright (single-ply, coated heads on the top), but the miked sound was fabulous and big. This is the rub when it comes to making videos -- trying to explain, with words, what a good drum sound is BEFORE you consider with mic selection.
I will attempt to address this in future posts and videos, but for now please consider that when you're getting drum sounds, push yourself to make necessary changes at the source rather than in the control room to better achieve the best raw tracks. For example, if the snare sounds too dead or too short/not enough body, consider removing muffling (I personally use very little muffling on snares) and/or tuning it down a touch (tuning the top head too tight will create a staccato sound with no body... in fact, the bright, ringy snare sound that lots of people like is actually better had with a metal drum tuned just barely above its midrange (not cranked up like a marching snare!) with very little muffling... back off the mic a bit so the low-mid content doesn't dominate -- and then compresssss......).
Some of the things you do to achieve your desired sound by manipulating the source may surprise you, but you will learn great things in the process. Leave your processors and plugins alone -- get your hands dirty, and make your tracks sing!
Peace to all.
Joel
PS - fixing the sound at the source works well for all other instruments too, not just drums :)
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Useful tips -- Absolute Polarity
I want to take a moment to talk a bit about signal polarity and its importance to your mixing.
Firstly, what do I mean by "polarity?" The polarity of a signal (also commonly called 'phase', though in truth the two are different -- whichever word you prefer is not critical for this discussion) can be described rather practically as whether or not the signal is perceived as moving toward you, the listener, or moving away from you. Sometimes this effect is quite easy to hear. For example, try miking an open back guitar cabinet from both the front and rear, simultaneously, without flipping the polarity on either mic. As the cabinet's speaker moves toward one mic, it moves away from the other. Now pan those signals hard left and right, and stand in the middle with your eyes closed, listening.
Feels like your head is being twisted off your neck, no? The sound feels, on one side, as if it's coming toward you, while on the other it appears to be moving away from you. They may both be the same level, but one will feel more present (the one coming toward you) while the other will feel more distant, or even quieter.
You can exploit this phenomenon to affect the perceived balance of elements within your overall mix.
With stereo signals out of polarity it is quite obvious to know which is moving in which direction, but what about mono signals? Mono tracks don't reveal their absolute polarity quite so obviously. For this reason I believe too many engineers dismiss the value of a signal's absolute polarity when mixing, since it may not be clashing obviously with another track, but its polarity can still be critically important to achieving the right balance in the mix.
As I mentioned briefly above, when sound is perceived as coming toward a listener it tends to have more authority -- this is true even of mono tracks. Put another way, sounds approaching the listener feel louder, even though amplitude and polarity are not related. As a result, a signal's polarity can be manipulated as needed to alter the perception of its balance in a mix.
If you find yourself raising the level of a signal trying to give it more importance in the mix, yet you find that at one point it is too loud, while any lower it feels too soft, try inverting its polarity to see what effect doing so may have on its presentation. It can also be helpful to invert the polarity of other tracks that may be competing with it, particularly those that may share similar frequency content. [There is also a good chance that you may need to add or alter some dynamics processing to balance things, but that is another post for another time].
One thing to realize is that the perception of absolute polarity is a visceral thing. You feel it, you don't hear it (close your eyes as you listen, and try to feel the position of the track in the mix). It is also useful to note that the more LF content in the signal, the more noticeable its absolute polarity tends to be (that is, it's easier to perceive its polarity). Higher frequency signals aren't as obvious, though their polarity can still be critical when blending them with others.
Absolute polarity isn't a sexy topic -- certainly not one that garners much discussion on audio forums and in magazine articles, but it is a powerful tool for mixing. Oftentimes the most subtle tricks can have a profound impact on the final result. Respecting absolute polarity, IMO, definitely qualifies as one such technique.
Happy mixing!
Joel
Firstly, what do I mean by "polarity?" The polarity of a signal (also commonly called 'phase', though in truth the two are different -- whichever word you prefer is not critical for this discussion) can be described rather practically as whether or not the signal is perceived as moving toward you, the listener, or moving away from you. Sometimes this effect is quite easy to hear. For example, try miking an open back guitar cabinet from both the front and rear, simultaneously, without flipping the polarity on either mic. As the cabinet's speaker moves toward one mic, it moves away from the other. Now pan those signals hard left and right, and stand in the middle with your eyes closed, listening.
Feels like your head is being twisted off your neck, no? The sound feels, on one side, as if it's coming toward you, while on the other it appears to be moving away from you. They may both be the same level, but one will feel more present (the one coming toward you) while the other will feel more distant, or even quieter.
You can exploit this phenomenon to affect the perceived balance of elements within your overall mix.
With stereo signals out of polarity it is quite obvious to know which is moving in which direction, but what about mono signals? Mono tracks don't reveal their absolute polarity quite so obviously. For this reason I believe too many engineers dismiss the value of a signal's absolute polarity when mixing, since it may not be clashing obviously with another track, but its polarity can still be critically important to achieving the right balance in the mix.
As I mentioned briefly above, when sound is perceived as coming toward a listener it tends to have more authority -- this is true even of mono tracks. Put another way, sounds approaching the listener feel louder, even though amplitude and polarity are not related. As a result, a signal's polarity can be manipulated as needed to alter the perception of its balance in a mix.
If you find yourself raising the level of a signal trying to give it more importance in the mix, yet you find that at one point it is too loud, while any lower it feels too soft, try inverting its polarity to see what effect doing so may have on its presentation. It can also be helpful to invert the polarity of other tracks that may be competing with it, particularly those that may share similar frequency content. [There is also a good chance that you may need to add or alter some dynamics processing to balance things, but that is another post for another time].
One thing to realize is that the perception of absolute polarity is a visceral thing. You feel it, you don't hear it (close your eyes as you listen, and try to feel the position of the track in the mix). It is also useful to note that the more LF content in the signal, the more noticeable its absolute polarity tends to be (that is, it's easier to perceive its polarity). Higher frequency signals aren't as obvious, though their polarity can still be critical when blending them with others.
Absolute polarity isn't a sexy topic -- certainly not one that garners much discussion on audio forums and in magazine articles, but it is a powerful tool for mixing. Oftentimes the most subtle tricks can have a profound impact on the final result. Respecting absolute polarity, IMO, definitely qualifies as one such technique.
Happy mixing!
Joel
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