Recording - January 2016 - 37

I have a similar process for my overheads and rooms. For overhead processing, I
love multing the overheads and smashing my mult with a FET compressor. The reason I reach for a FET here is that I can get the overheads dirtier and more exciting; I
can get the cymbals loud and enhance the overall image of my kit. FET compressors
I typically use for overheads are Universal Audio's 1176 collection or Softube's FET
compressor. Both are awesome for overhead smashing and adding a high-mid presence to the kit. I will mix my crushed overheads underneath my dry overheads and
balance the two out for some much-needed parallel compression. Nothing makes me
happier than parallel compression when working on drums!
Next, I do a couple of things to my room mic sounds. Going in, I want a mono
room mic track and a stereo room mic track so I have options for balancing and
multing. Typically I will mult the mono room and spank it with Universal Audio's
Empirical Labs Fatso Jr. The setting on there is literally called "Spank", and the hard
compression/limiting on that setting is a color similar to that of the Talkback mic
compressor found on an SSL 4000 Series console. That sound is aggressive, nasty,
and huge. The reason I go for that in mono is because I love what it does to my
snare, which I want in the center of my drum image.
The stereo room mics then get the Boz Labs +10db compressor for a huge ambient pumping John Bonham sound. While I am partial to the Compex sound of the
Boz for what it can do here, I could also achieve great results with compressors such
as Cytomic's The Glue, Lindell 254e, Universal Audio's Neve 33609, Fairchild 670,
1176, Manley Vari-Mu, Slate Digital's VBC, Soundtoys' Decapitator, or many other
compressors.
At this point, I have two mono room tracks, a crushed stereo room sound, and my
Addictive drums overhead/room blend from before. Once those four tracks are summed
together, I now have a sound that is enormous, ambient, and flexible for the mix.
I feel that processing overheads and room sounds are what create great drum
sounds, whether you are talking about acoustic drum kits or samples. While the
close-miked tracks give you the punch, the ambient tracks give you the sound of the
drums, the image of the kit, and the depth you'll need in the mix.
Next, I will balance out my kit and make sure my new tracks are in phase and
happening in my drum mix. Once I am happy with the drum submix, I will add in

the bass and rhythm guitars and see
where I am in terms of energy, excitement, and vibe. If all is well, it's ready
for mixing. The finished drum mix, if we
are keeping score at home, is roughly
20 or so tracks. Sometimes I have more
going on and sometimes less-it always
depends on the song and the genre.
Bring it on home
Please note that this is the workflow
and method for drum processing that I
use and what works for me and my
clients. The goal I have with drums is to
make them exciting, aggressive, and full
of life. You may want to tweak things a
bit depending on the specific sound
you're looking for in your songs.
While it may seem odd to look for life
in sampled drums, I think the methods
I've described here-and more importantly, the thought processes behind
them-will absolutely help you inject
flesh and blood into your ones and
zeroes. Have fun!
Brian Marshak (marshak@recording
mag.com) is a Los Angeles-based producer, engineer, and guitarist/composer
who creates music for bands, television,
film and scoring. Learn more at
brianmarshak.com.

http://www.brianmarshak.com http://www.ADKMIC.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2016