techno drum track mixing setup

[Dave Elyzium]

i know a topic has been floating back months ago about peoples methods of mixing their drum tracks ie sub groups and sidechains etc
wonder if anyone can drag the old topic out of the depths or perhaps suggest a few methods they use please? any help appreciated!

[Dave Elyzium]

no one?

[TriBand]

what software do u use?

[Dave Elyzium]

cubase sx :)

[Mindful]

My fave subject.

Not sure where to start :eh:
First I will put my kick patternS(i hardley ever use just one and rarley a 4/4) in a separate bus, usualy I will compress and eq them separately with track inserts then put them all in one bus together.Next I usualy compress,eq,sonic maximiser and finaly limit them together in the bus then set the level to a reasonable erm...level.

next usualy for me is toms ect(the lowest mids)which I will EQ separate then compress and EQ together(and whatever other proccessing I feel sounds good)
then again set the level.

Next claps and weird percs will be again eqd separate then bussed eqd maybe compressed and any other affects I feel then set the level.

Then I usualy put my lower high freaq hat patterns (crunchy type ones)in there own bus and Eq together(i rarley compress these together usualy separate if attall)and usualy find myself adding treble maximiser,stereo spreaders and a bit of distortion)and again set the levels

then all other hats (the crispy sparcley ones will be eqed together in a bus with a bit of deley or verb and a bit of sonic maximiser then set the level.

Also I will have a buss set up with a big verb on it for filling out the sound scape further back in the mix.

There is then the main perc parts that I wish to stand out a bit more that I will not buss ,just treat separetly.


and thats usualy my blueprint(if I have one that is)


Also I have to say that I allways have my bass line and a few musical elements(usualy atmospheric pads for feel and vibe )rolling away as im doing all this.

Phew :twisted:

[Mindful]

Also subtractive EQ and plenty of high pass filters and notch filtering experimentation(and judgement)is amazingley important.

[etnarama]

Sidechaining with the tc works is ....
You put the compressor in the bassline and press input 1and the sidechainer in the kick then adjust the compressor of the bassline, be carefulli have noticed that if you save the project and restart you need to go back to the compressor and press the 1 again.
This works very well if you have a tight bassline/kick, also to make the kick more clicky lower the attack and release, usually i put them very low and threshold -10 and compression as your taste likes it.
I am starting to produce hardtekno and in my case is better if i dont put it into groups, dont now why but for me it sounds better, i never put fx in the master, after bouncing it to wav i do start mixing with fx and everything else. When i produce other types of music i use the groups and just use about two, the drums and then all the rest, loops,pads,synths watever, but i always leave the drum track including bass in just one group, its easier to control, or even better bounce the midi track to wav 24bits and then work from there with everytinhg else...
Hope this is a good tip, but it depends the sound you are after, use your ears and compare with other tunes from the same style......

[Dave Elyzium]

wow thanks for the tips guys - will have a go with these now :)

[vadarfone]

So basically...

Have everything on a seperate track.

EQ it.

[loopdon]

start of with the kickdrum leveled to about -8 dB (the bassline between -8 and -12 or so, depends)... all the other stuff will be quieter.

keeps some headroom..

(i heard as well that in 'traditional' mixing a kick/bass relationship
-5/-5 dB is used.)

this helped me to a certain extent, just having a kind off fixed value for levels.

would be very interested at what level you have your highhats etc.
playing!

one advice i gathered here is to make the highats linear in volume so they fade out with the track when you pull the levels of the track down and don't stand out..