How Many Compressors on Drums?

[Coldsnow]

There appears to be many ways to add compression to drums during mixes (each drum individually, just on the overall buss, sub with just kick and snare). How many is too many (ei if compressing each drum individually including overheads then using a drum buss compression as well)? What do you do?

[juniorhifikit]

As many as it takes. Usually, the more dense the mix, the more compression is needed. I've found that more stages of lighter compression combined with parallel processing sounds better than just slamming a drum sub.

[Jay Kahrs]

It depends on the style of music but I usually hit the kick, snare and room mics while tracking. During the mix I might start with a mult and add from there, possibly hitting the kick and snare again. The only thing I almost never compress are the overheads, I can never really get that to work for me.

[Alécio Costa]

I never compress overheads also. I use dbx to compress during tracking, then at mix a combi of plugs from board and PT.
The Vintage Warmer from PSP has helped me achive much better results lately, considering Kick, snare and bass guitar.

[Steve Smith]

Originally posted by Jay Kahrs
The only thing I almost never compress are the overheads, I can never really get that to work for me.

I allways find that making OH compression is very very very tracking room dependant... more than individual drums by a long shot.

[imacgreg]

When tracking, I usually slam the mono U47 FOK with 1176 four button thing, take a few db off of kick in with a distressor, and a snare bus (top and bottom) go to the 2nd distressor getting slammed.

During mix (I like to mix analog with PT as tape deck and automation), I do a couple things. Kick and snare go through DBX's, while I send the toms, kick, and snare to a pair of distressors (pair because of stereo toms) and bring the outs on two channels of the console. Then I mix to taste. Sometimes EQ on that too. I don't think you can have too much compression, it's sooo good.

[jazzius]

Originally posted by imacgreg
I don't think you can have too much compression, it's sooo good.

Think some more

[drundall]

Last record I did I had four compressors on the drums. Started getting radio play last week.

[Jules]

I add compression to a lot of COPY tracks

So I may end up with

4 snares
4 bass drums
2 sets of overheads

And do different crushing things to the copies

But I always have the original to push up in the mix...

Folks on analog do this all the time via "mults' or parallels....

Andy Wallace is said to work on as many as 3 copies of the overhead tracks to get what he wants from em.. I sorta based my current methods on this information..

[Alécio Costa]

Jules, I imagine you have lots of attention around phase, plug-in delay. do you nudge tracks or always apply the very same plugs to the copies but with ZERO settings sometimes?
Nice wednesday

[bassmac]

Originally posted by Jules
I add compression to a lot of COPY tracks

But I always have the original to push up in the mix...

Having tried soooooo many different ways to compress drums - I like this the best.

The squashed copies add smack and fullness, and the dry tracks keep the kit breathing and natural sounding - mix to taste.

Alecio - Use the Time Adjuster plug on the dry tracks to line 'em up with the copy/compressed tracks.

[viaspiaggia]

fwiw i usually track drums in a very dry, very small recording room (not my choice, but hey you make it work). i almost always compress the overheads on these tracks (varying amounts depending on song style of course).

-a-

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

I like to make mult's of the Kik, Snr and OH's. i then **** with them with what ever i want and keep the originals but use the mults to add vibe, tone, excitement, sustain, body or whatever i feel that the originals are lacking in the first instance.

Favourite tricks:

OH-->mults --> Urei 1178 --> CLM 'Expounder' Eq --> Vari MU then return on a another set of faders and mix to taste. The trick here is to watch that the cybmals in partiuclar are not compressed within an inch of thier life as the originals wont be compressed during mixing so these mults will sustain longer and its sounds shit when ur get almost like a flanging efffect cos of the sustain times of the different cymbals. However if its adding meat and body to kik and snare and overal kit image i usually LPF below 8-12K with the expounders so that it cuts out and the compressor wont see all the HF content and start clamping down and bringing the HF up... this is almost a must of its one of those crazy drummers that likes to bang away like a fool with open hi hats etc!

Snare: mult out 3-4 copies of this snare!! as well as the originals and use each mult copy for a different part of the audio spectrum and treat accordingly with different Eq and compressors that i think will be complimentry to each part of the spectrum.

Eg--> say i tracked snare with SM57 and KM84 and a 58 on the bottom.. i would send the KM84 to a nice top end EQ where i can dial in the transients and attack better than i would on a 57. And then EQ and comp the 57 for better body and fullness if its lacking.

If there a bit of a roomier sound needed i would then send the 58 underneath the snare as an AUX send to key a key for all the gates i have on close room mics (dont key the far rooms mics as it can sometimes get too swampy) so that they will see the snare action as soon as it happens not a few MS after teh hit and the gates ont he room mics open.. this makes a difference and is essentially like nudging tracks forward in PT only in real time so there is no need to nudge..

all this talk of cool tricks makes me want to get a transient designer!

Excited
Wiggy!

[Alécio Costa]

Thanks guys. Please, let us keep them coming. Also try the Vintage Warmer with kick snare, bass and p´robably Toms.
You won´t get regretted.