Mixing Drums: Part 1 - Acoustic Drum Kits
Some Advice on Dialing in a Perfectly Decent Drum Sound
I originally noted down an idea for an article titled 'The Complete Guide to Mixing Drums,' and while that’s still my goal and intention, it became clear that breaking it into a series would be the smarter approach. So then, what better way to start off than by focusing on how to make actual recordings of drums sound great in the context of a full mix? In future parts we will get fully into electronic drums for synth- and sample-based music, so stay tuned for more tips, tricks & techniques!
Drum Setup and Mic Placement Basics
Recording acoustic drum kits starts with an understanding of the mic placement techniques that shape the overall sound of the mix. The different methods not only influence the resulting recording but also determine the flexibility and character that will be available at the mixing stage.
It’s important to at least be aware, so I thought I would talk about three popular setups:
Close Miking with Overheads
With this method, each drum (e.g. kick, snare, toms) is spot-miked to capture its direct sound, and overhead microphones provide a stereo image of the entire kit. This setup offers precise control over individual drum elements and an overall combined sound from the stereo overheads.
Glyn Johns Technique
This minimal setup places two microphones equidistant from the snare—one directly above the kit and another off to the side of the floor tom—along with a mic for the kick drum. The result is a natural, balanced stereo image with fewer microphones and less phase interference.
Room Miking with Spot Mics
Room microphones capture the ambience of the drum kit, adding depth and space to the sound. Spot mics on important drums like the snare and kick capture the definition. This approach is great for creating a blend of room tone and direct sound. Of course the room itself is what needs to actually sound good to begin with for this option to be worthwhile!
Understanding these setups provides insight into how the drum tracks were recorded, making it easier to shape your mix around their strengths and limitations.
Balancing the Drum Kit - Levels and Panning
Start the mixing process by organizing the drum tracks with clear labels such as "Kick In" "Snare Top" or "Overhead L". This makes for a smooth workflow. Then, adjust the levels and panning to create a natural, complete stereo image.
Center the kick and snare to anchor the mix.
Pan toms and cymbals to reflect their natural positions in the kit or the perspective of the audience.
Experiment with panning the overheads wider for a spacious sound or narrower for a more focused mix.
Phase Alignment
With multiple microphones, phase alignment is important to prevent frequency cancellations that can weaken the sound. Phase issues often happen because of slight differences in mic placement. To fix this:
Use the polarity flip function on your DAW for tracks like the snare top and bottom mics. Proper alignment restores low-end punch and overall clarity.
Fine-tune overhead and close-mic alignment. Nudging waveforms to sync transients can restore the missing punch.
Phase alignment isn’t about strict rules—it’s about finding what sounds best for your mix.
EQing Drums for Clarity and Punch
EQ is there for shaping the tone of each drum while maintaining a balanced mix. Here are some general tips.
Kick Drum: Boost around 60–80 Hz for low-end punch and 3–6 kHz for beater click. Use a high-pass filter to remove subsonic rumble if necessary.
Snare Drum: Emphasize 2–5 kHz for brightened attack and reduce boxiness around 400–500 Hz.
Toms: Add fullness by boosting 100–200 Hz and clarity by reducing 300–600 Hz if needed.
Cymbals and Hi-Hats: Use a high-pass filter to remove low-end bleed and tame harshness around 5–12 kHz, you can use a deesser for this. You can definitely add a lowpass filter as well if they are excessively bright.
Make adjustments that enhance that drum’s role in the mix and at the same time keep the overall sound balanced.
Compression Techniques
Compression controls dynamics, which is desperately needed for an even sound, but also shapes the tonal character of drums. Depending on what the track needs, you can adjust these settings.
Fast attack: Tames transients, resulting in a smoother sound and enhanced room ambiance.
Slow attack: Preserves transients for a punchier, more dynamic & intimate feel.
Moderate ratio: (e.g., 4:1) Offers controlled dynamics without overdoing it.
Use bus compression to glue all the drum tracks together, making sure they sit well in the mix without losing their natural energy.
Enhancing Drums with Reverb & Ambience
Reverb adds depth and places drums in a 3D space. Choose the type of reverb based on the track’s style, and perhaps make use of what FX buses you already are using elsewhere in your song production.
Short Reverb: Adds liveliness and tightens the sound, suitable for faster tracks.
Long Reverb: Creates a spacious, ambient feel, ideal for slow songs or cinematic tracks.
Room Reverb: Enhances a natural room sound for a realistic tone.
Blend the reverb carefully to make sure it complements and doesn’t overpower the drum sound. Very little, goes a very long way. You can also pan certain reverb buses to one side, and balance that with having dryer drum sounds further to the opposite side for interesting results.
Parallel Processing - Adding Power
Parallel compression is great for mixing drums. Here’s basically how it works.
Send your set of drum tracks or full drum bus to a separate aux channel, so that you have a copy of your signal.
Apply heavy compression to the parallel channel with fast attack and high ratio settings. You can also add distortion to emphasize all that even more.
Starting at zero volume, blend in the parallel channel with the original drum tracks to add grit and sustain, without sacrificing the dynamics from the original sound, which remains the same.
Parallel distortion or saturation in general, can also add nice mids and character, making the drums feel more present in the track.
Using Drum Samples and Layering
Augmenting recorded drums with samples or layering multiple samples is a common and widely used technique to achieve a fuller, more precise sound. It provides better control over the tonality and dynamics, allowing the mixer to build a sound that fits seamlessly within the track.
It also creates a consistent tone across different productions/albums the producers worked on. Check out Andy Wallace for example, all the kicks & snares sound amazingly similar across dozens of albums!
To begin, analyze the recorded drum’s tone. A snare might sound decent on its own but could benefit from reinforcement to cut through or align better with the song’s overall vibe. Adding a sample for its attack, sustain, or tonal boost can make a BIG difference.
So how does this magic even work? Well it’s easy.
Triggering Samples with Hit Points: Most DAWs can detect transients or “hit points” in an audio file. By setting a threshold, the DAW places markers whenever a drum hit occurs. These markers can then be converted to MIDI notes, which are sent to a sampler or virtual instrument that in turn is loaded with and play your chosen drum samples.
Using Drum Replacement Plugins: Tools like Slate Trigger or Drumagog simplify this process by detecting hits and triggering samples automatically, with customizable sensitivity and blending options. But it is essentially the same thing.
Blending Samples: The key to natural results is blending. Maintain the character of the original recording by keeping the sample subtle. For instance, add a deep kick sample for extra low-end or a snare sample with more attack to enhance clarity. But of course, many producers do completely replace drum sounds on the regular. It’s all preference!
Drum layering isn’t limited to fixing problems, it’s an opportunity to get totally creative. Experiment with unconventional samples like handclaps, white noise bursts, or even processed tones for unique textures that elevate whatever sound you want.
Creative Effects - Distortion, Saturation, and Beyond
Once the foundation of your drum mix is solid, creative effects can add character, grit, and warmth to enhance the sound. Effects can either be used for helping the drums blend in with your song more, and be less obvious. Or the opposite, and become more noticeable and stand out!
Distortion and Saturation: These can add a harmonic boost and energy. Apply saturation to the drum bus for warmth or heavier distortion to individual elements like the snare for a gritty, aggressive tone. Tools like tape emulators or analog-style plugins are great for this. They also tend to soften the transients and may help bring the sound into the background.
Full-Bus Processing: Use EQ and compression creatively on the full drum bus to shape the overall tone. For instance, a gentle high-frequency lift can make the cymbals shimmer, and low-mid boosts add weight to the kit. Compression with a slower attack can emphasize transients, making the drums feel brighter and snappier, and fast attack/release settings enhance perceived liveliness and enhances the reverbs and also the sustain.
Finally, think about your broader-mix-context. Do the drums need to be more subdued, or maybe brighter? Should they stand out or blend into the arrangement? Use these creative tools to change the drum sound, making sure it complements the rest of the music.
Above anything else, trust your own ears and experiment, and you might stumble on a sound that is only yours.