FXpansion BFD Premium Acoustic Drum Module Mixing with BFD - Manual (Page 20)

0
Mixing with BFD www.fxpansion.com
4. Processing techniques
Before you start piling on the plugins, ask yourself if you really need to do it, and what you
want to achieve at the end. It’s easy to slap on the processing because you want to ‘make
it sound big’. However, will a huge, heavily squashed drum sound actually suit the context
of the rest of your song?
EQ (equalization) and compression can be used in a variety of ways. The traditional
approach is to use these processors in a subtle way so that instruments fit together better
in the mix, tame over-dynamic tracks to ‘level them out’ more, and so on.
In terms of getting a good mix, well-balanced levels (between the various drum mic
channels, and between the drums and the other instruments in your song) tend to be
more important than EQ or compression. Both EQ and compression are often misused by
inexperienced mix engineers, since both can alter the level of a signal, more often than
not making it louder - although of course this is not the only thing that they do.
Therefore, be sure that it isn’t simply the ‘louder’ aspect that you prefer. Seasoned mix
engineers will use heavy amounts of EQ and compression only as a last resort, usually to
fix a poorly-recorded instrument or as a creative effect.
The more processing you apply, the more it intrudes upon the sound and feel of your
song. This may be undesirable, especially if you use lots of digital processors in a
predominantly acoustic or warm electric context. On the other hand, this may be exactly
what you want.
On a digital system like a computer-based DAW, using less processing also has the
convenient side-effect of using less CPU or DSP power.
There are no rules! However, it’s good to have a knowledge and appreciation of different
approaches, so that you have more options available to you when mixing.
4:1. Important: learn how to use your gear!
It’s vitally important to know how your sequencer or host works, especially the audio
routing and mixing engine and its methods of dealing with plugins. This is no-one else’s
responsibility but your own! A few hours of studying the manuals of your software and
equipment will reap the rewards of increased speed, efficiency, direction and creative
possibilities when using it.
The cheap and easy access to complex and feature-rich audio workstations today is a
far cry from the ‘good old days’, when you had to get a job as a tape-op in order to get
anywhere near a multitrack recording system. You had to spend a great deal of time
making tea and doing menial tasks before even getting the chance to learn how to use
the large scary SSL mixer.