J A M B U Z Z !!!!

Now that you’ve received your raw drum tracks as WAV files from an online studio drummer, how should you proceed when it’s time to mix? In this series of brief tutorials, I will outline several processing concepts. in mind that if you ask 99 Engineers how to mix a drum track, you’ll definitely receive 99 differing opinions on what’s right and what’s wrong. The thing to keep in mind is that if it sounds good, it is good. Anything you have to do to convey the emotion of a performance is the right thing to do with your drum tracks. I will also assume most of you will be using a DAW (Logic, Pro Tools, DP, etc…) of some sort. That said, here are some tips on gating drum tracks.

When you use a sound gate you’re just silencing sections of audio that have no pertinent information (aka bleed) so as to present a more cleanly defined track. For example, you may want to gate the tom tracks so that they are heard only when they are hit, as opposed to howling sympathetically whenever the snare is hit. If you find this annoying, just gate the toms. Through silencing audio on the track when the toms aren’t being struck, you’ll produce a cleaner and tighter drum track overall. You can do this by using a noise gate as an insert (hardware or software plug-in) or by drawing down the volume via automation in a DAW or even muting whole sections in between actual hits. Each technique produces a different effect on the overall sound, so experiment with your drum tracks and see what works for you. Some will gate all drum tracks but the overheads, room, and hi-hat mics. This can be great for Progressive Rock, R and B, and Funk. Experimentation is very important.

Conversely, some engineers feel that drums should ring freely and by gating you run the risk of killing the “vibe” of a drum kit being played by a real drummer in a real room. I won’t argue this point as it’s a valid one, but the decision to gate drum tracks or not depends entirely on the type of material being performed and what you’re going for aesthetically. With that said, I generally wouldn’t gate anything for a traditional Jazz number or anything requiring a Bonham-esque vibe. In this case, the ringing and overtones produced by having all the microphones wide open contribute to the overall presence of the kit and the air that surrounds each element can make for a huge sounding drum track. Although no approach is perfect for all circumstances, this is certainly the most “natural” sounding approach. Think of it this way: not gating is big and airy, while gating is tight and dry. Have fun as you experiment.

Look for more of my drum track processing tutorials in the future. These articles provide a practical and artistic approach to drum track processing.

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