SP Studio Systems SP-12 - Manual (Page 79)

MIXING AND PROCESSING
© E-mu Systems, Inc. 1985 Page 79
Enhanced by The Emulator Archive 2002 www.emulatorarchive.com
7A MIXING AND PROCESSING: OVERVIEW
Sure, the SP-12 sounds astonishingly realistic...but it doesn’t necessarily sound like
the drum sounds you hear on records. Why? Because when recording engineers
record acoustic drums, the drums become part of a stereo acoustical space
(“ambience”). Also, special effects may be added to various drums to make them
punchier, brighter, fatter, and so on.
The SP-12 can benefit from these same techniques. While you can simply plug the
MIX OUT jack into a tape track or amplifier, a better approach is to plug the different
drum sounds into a stereo mixing board (see Section 1M for information on how to
assign different drum sounds to different output channels). This lets you place the
drums in the stereo field, add special effects, and vary equalization (tone).
Don’t forget that you can also mix one drum sound subtly behind another drum
sound. For example, mixing the low torn sound in behind the snare at a lower volume
level results in a fuller sounding snare, while mixing the open hi-hat in with the ride
cymbal results in a different ride sound.
7B PSEUDO AUTOMATED MIXDOWN
Remember that you can change the song drum mix whenever desired (Section 3G).
By using this feature to change drum levels as required, you can create a sort of
automated mix down effect. You won’t believe how handy this is until you actually try
it.
7C CREATING AMBIENCE
In most cases, you’ll plug the drum outputs right into the mixing console, and pan
these sounds across the stereo field. While that will give you a good, clear sound,
some people may find it too clear and clinical. The solution is to add ambience -- a
feeling of acoustical space -- to help give a more “live” sound.
You may synthesize an acoustic space using delay lines, reverb, acoustic
techniques, or any combination of the three. The author recommends adding at least
one channel of acoustic ambience. The easiest way to do this is to consider the
signal coming from the MIX OUT jack as a sort of “ambience/reverb send” jack --
after all, it contains all the drum sounds mixed in their proper proportion. Feed this
output to an amplifier/speaker combination inside an acoustical space (preferably a
large, “live” room with fairly hard surfaces), and turn the sound up pretty loud. You
might also want to cut back on the bass as much as possible to keep the bass drum
out of the ambient mix. Next, put a good quality mic in the same room. This mic
should be at a distance from the speakers, and pointing away from the speakers
towards one of the hard surfaces. Feed the mic output back into the board to mix
some of this ambient sound in with the direct drum sound.
It’s very helpful to have someone who can move the mic around as you listen to the
results of these changes on headphones. You might want to mark the floor with chalk
or tape if you find some particularly sweet spots for mic placement.