FXpansion BFD Premium Acoustic Drum Module Mixing with BFD - Manual (Page 13)

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Mixing with BFD www.fxpansion.com
3. Mic channels, outputs, mixing levels and panning
3:1. Mic channels and controlling ambience levels
You must pay close attention to the blend of mic channels. You don’t need every fader
turned up to maximum, unless you specifically want a very live sound - a subtle amount
of the ambient channels works wonders without taking over your song. Some situations
simply don’t demand any ambience at all - turn them all down to zero for an intimate, dry
and crisp sound.
During drum recordings, room and PZM channels are typically recorded much hotter
than they are mixed, and this is also the case in BFD. In recording situations, it’s good to
have a strong signal to maximise the signal-to-noise ratio - the hotter the signal, the less
noise is present. BFD was recorded in the same manner. When you mix these signals,
you don’t necessarily need much at all - think about the levels you would normally set on
a reverb unit. There would usually be very few occasions when you’d set the reverb return
to a very high level!
You can use the Kit-Piece Trim controls to vary the amount of ambience for each Kit-
Piece. Effectively, these controls act as a ‘reverb send level’ to the overhead, room and
PZM buses. Some parts of the kit are traditionally picked up better by the overhead mics.
Cymbals are the best example - it can be good to use less direct mic signal for these
and more from the overheads and perhaps the room. This will make them spread better
and sit in the mix more realistically. A ride cymbal, however, can definitely benefit from a
louder direct signal - this can give more definition and focus to the attack of the ride.
Alternatively, you can stick to just using one of the mic buses - it’s very common to use
just the overheads for example, while many older recordings were made with just a
few mics. It might be useful to use a bit of the directs on the kick in these scenarios, to
reinforce the low-end, and perhaps even on the snare.
Using the Distance controls for the ambience channels can create some striking effects
when using more than one mic bus. Using smaller amounts can create subtle changes
to the sense of space in the drum mix (it behaves similarly to a ‘pre-delay’ control on a
reverberation unit), while larger settings can create wild slapback effects!
3:2. Output routing
The Output Options panel allows limitless freedom for drum mixing. It’s important to read
chapter 10 of the BFD reference manual to fully understand mic channels and output
routing.