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Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:18 pm
by antman
Hey dubstepforum fam, been a while since I asked a question.

Ive been making a lot of tunes lately and realizing my drums are rather thin. When I listen to other peoples tunes their tracks are well mixed and their drums sound fat as hell!

I seem to struggle with getting my track loud enough and also allowing the drums to punch through.

What are some things you guys do to let your kicks and snares punch through? Sidechaining? :corndance:

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:24 pm
by bennyfroobs
compress em n that n be better at mixdowns ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:26 pm
by Aufnahmewindwuschel
def sidechain
and maybe play around with chains where you keep the original drum rather untouched so you can add room and all that and check for the volume while doing it

and the samples you use can change alot
i like to find some vinyl crackle to just put them on top of a bassdrum or a clap just tiny bit sounds nice

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:41 pm
by curmee
Loud,loud,louder...people we need bring back dynamics,loud is soooooo 2013 :)

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:43 pm
by press
if i feel everything is balanced and mixed well amongst the other sounds, i just turn everything else down and let the drumz ride in the front of the mix a lil more. hard to tell what someone may need without specific examples but im willing to bet the problem is more in levels and or sound selection over needing to compress or duck shit.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:47 pm
by Aufnahmewindwuschel
ah dunno its about loud really but as far as i can tell antman is about this snappy requake etc sound which i def like but you cant say its quiet lol
and its not like real brostep either its a own thing but its still as hard as brostep but imo cleaner

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 6:56 pm
by ChadDub
Side chain and pick better samples. Mostly the second one.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:22 pm
by AxeD
'Ah I can't get a good mix, what do I do?'
DSF wrote:Uhm, sidechain, multi-band, analogue tape, compression.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:25 pm
by m8son666
what do you suggest then genius

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:46 pm
by antman
AxeD wrote:'Ah I can't get a good mix, what do I do?'
DSF wrote:Uhm, sidechain, multi-band, analogue tape, compression.
No no, see this isn't a mix down thread.

This is a "how do I balance a heavy hitting snare and kick WHILE maintaining a proper mix.

I can create a clean crisp mix but I find that many songs have drums that hit hard and ALSO keep a clean mix. I find my tunes being eaten alive by drums if I try to get them as crisp and loud as others.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 8:23 pm
by Hex047
curmee wrote:Loud,loud,louder...people we need bring back dynamics,loud is soooooo 2013 :)
Agree with this, Loud music is ear fatiguing.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:17 pm
by AxeD
m8son wrote:what do you suggest then genius
I don't suggest a single 'trick' because I know there's hundreds of other things that
affect this and it's depending on the mix in question. You learn about all these things in an audio engineering course for example.

I'm no genius, but that's very flattering :oops:

Yeah so I disagree, I'd say it is a mix down question.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:28 pm
by bennyfroobs
definitely a mixdown question

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:32 pm
by ChadDub
AxeD you're fucking retarded and mad. Sidechaining (which is a vague term), and compression DO help your mix. Of course it's not the only answer though. The key to a good mix is the right set of sounds used in a good song. I've had beats that were just missing something. I changed the kick drum sample and it was 100% better and it completed the track.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:35 pm
by AxeD
Thanks for your reply. I hope you don't mind I stopped reading after you called me retarded.
I know I said I am not a genius, but still..

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:50 pm
by ChadDub
but still... You're fucking mad

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:51 pm
by curmee
just do your thing.......

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 9:58 pm
by AxeD
I agree I would have been mad if I ever said what you accuse me of saying.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 10:05 pm
by NinjaEdit
Having a smile-shaped frequency response sounds louder, so try boosting the fundamental of the kick, removing some lower mids, and boosting the highs of the snare.

Re: Getting fat drums without eating your headroom!

Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:13 pm
by 123kidd
On top of eq and compression, saturation and parallel compression( does eat up headroom, so just balance the volume at the end)