Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg B
I'll try running the kick and snare through the Pultec Pro. Any other tips for improving that snare sound?
I ran the Waves L2 to make it louder, but only let it slam a few DB. I don't want to compress it any more than necessary, but it's still quieter than the Jimmy Eat World song I was comparing it to. It's a real trick to make a song loud without it sounding "slammed" in a bad way.
Cool song.... mix sounds a little muddy... I agree that a better drum mix would really serve the song.
Here's an easy starting point for drums with the UAD... try something like this.:
Send all the drum tracks to a "Drum buss".
On the "Drum buss" Insert these plugs:
Slot 1. 140 plate with a small room preset (the "nice drum room" comes to mind). Notch the wet/dry knob to about 8 o'clock. (should be subtle)
Slot 2. Pultec Pro
Slot 3. 1176 - ratio 12:1, fastest release, slowest attack
Solo just your kick and snare channels so that they're running through the "drum buss"... tweak the Pultec Pro so that both the kick and snare sound better... a pretty generic set up would be a small boost at 60, 3k and 12k... then a small cut at 300k.
Now adjust the input of your 1176 so that you're shaving maybe two or 3 db with each kick and snare hit.
Play the rest of the song now with JUST the kick and snare playing through the "Drums Buss" ... adjust the kick and snare track volumes so that they sit well in the mix... they should feel upfront... like they're driving the mix.
Now mix the rest of the kit elements back into the drum buss with the goal of creating more space and dimension around your previous kick and snare sound.
This, of course, is just one approach to mixing drums for a tune like this...one I've had luck with in the past.
Hope this is helpful!