Hi hats - How do you find the right balance

[The Divide]

Ive seen topics for bass/compression Eq and so on...

Never seen one on high hats, may aswell get one strarted as the hats are as important as the kick/bass (sorry Mig is this has already been done).

Recently I have been really been finding this a problem area for my mixdown, how do you draw the line between too crisp and clean to dirty but missing in high clarity (if that makes sense),

I sometimes check my mixes on a crap pair of sanyo headphones (don’t laugh), I have found that a lot of well produced tracks don’t hurt my ears with them and the highs sound warm and cut thro. I would check some of my mixdowns using them and if threes a problem it would be much more noticeable, especially if it sounds a bit too harsh. This is not as apparent when using the monitors. I was under the impression it was more about having the right samples than been able to make the ones you have sit as you want them which is not the case.

I have found that using a combination of sample pitch, overdrive, eq and (even steep low pass filters?!?!) you can get your hats to sit better. It takes me a long time to do this and I always find it hard to be satisfied. Is there something I am missing, perhaps a way of adding more warmth to the hats or is it all about having some bad ass professional kit and higher sample rates.

Interested in what you think on this.

F

[dirty_bass]

Hmmm interesting.
I apply loads of methods, but I guess nothing beats well tuned subtractive EQ.
I also use some hard compression to really get em fizzing sometimes.
Or a little overdrive.
Sometimes screwing with the bitrate too.
I dunno, I think it is mainly down to good EQ. Look at some of the stuff that is getting used for hats these days in techno. The 909 is getting used less and less (thankfully), and with good EQ, loads of things can sit well.

[The Divide]

Absolutely...

I too am a sucker for using 909 closed hats because the sit nicely within the mix. Time to focus on finding my own more unique hats I think

[herman]

I used to have a mad obsession with compression etc on hats but now i just use a basic parametric boost at 16khz (this is only if im using a raw drum machine hat ,loops are another thing altogether). I have very rarely used any compression on my hats for the past couple of years after a particulary nasty vinyl mastering episode ;)

[Ritzi Lee]

Well thi one's very simple.
So the the question actually is:
When do i notice my HH's are to hard or soft in the mix?

Well the solution is to mix down the HH till it's lineair in the volume, meaning:
- If you fade out the whole track to almost silence, you will hear the HH fading away with the rest of the sounds. If you still hear the HH while everything else is faded away, you're hats are too loud. If not, it's a job well done. :)

[MARKEG]

some brilliant things to consider there. i think subtractive eq is great to get the punchyness on a few of your most prominent hat sounds (overdirve is extrememly good too i think) but alot of the time doing stuff your 'not' supposed to do - like adding on shit loads of eq, turning the vol down and distorting the hell out of it can really make some really beautifully dirty hat sounds underneath.

i also like that idea of fading the track down to zero and seeing if the hats follow. this is totally logical and a great way to get the volume right.

[The Divide]

i also like that idea of fading the track down to zero and seeing if the hats follow. this is totally logical and a great way to get the volume right.

Wickid, I never try this.

Some good points on this thread, anyone ever bother using chorus?

Subtractive EQ is something I have found recently, cutting spikes into the highs seems to remove some of the unwanted ringing you find in some samples.

Distorting the hell out of them has got me thinking, I could apply some distortion via the aux busses when sending them into a delay unit

[maco]

It makes total sense to listen to your mix on as many different systems as possible.I allways give a mix a shot thru sum crappy Walkman spkrs,as well as nice studio monitors and the car.

[DJZeMig_L]

I luv a high pass on the hats (sometimes I might even take out a he* of a lot so u get a more clean and processed hats, kinda of Rock n' roll cymbals)... not much more I might add a touch of eq around 10-12 depending on the hat sound or i might go a little upper if I want them 2 have more "air" !

Z

[The Divide]

Danmit, if only I knew all this years ago :lol: :lol:

[DJZeMig_L]

10 years from now U'll say the same about something else, and so on! ;)


that's the fun bit right! ;)

Z

[tekara]

are these the methods you guys use to get that layered cymbal and highhat sound?

You guys know what im talking about!! In almost every famous techno track, it always contains a part in the song where a layered cymbal/hihat kicks in and just floats over the rest of the mix for about 4 bars and then gets cut out.

I love it!!! (Although after many months of trying to program the same effect, i never has that swingy feeling. must be doing soemthing wrong!)

[DJZeMig_L]

compress, distort 2 fizzle, cut a lot of the "bass" with eq!... also use a very busy and repetitive sequence... U might add a little verb 2!

Z