Adding Percussion

You don't have to add percussion after the main parts, sometimes it makes sense to do so before - when you've got drums, bass, and any pad parts in place. It depends on the song. Personally I often like to do percussion later on in the mix because you can get a better perspective of what the percussion is really adding to the mix. It also gives you a break after doing the drums and bass which have probably already given your ears quite a pounding.

The guidelines are similar to the lead parts; listen to what each part is "saying" and that will help you get your stereo placing. Some things will be intended to be almost part of the drum kit (such as cabasas, tambourines, and maracas, which often work in conjunction with the hi-hat). Other things are quite separate (like timbales) and deserve to be featured for only very short stretches at a time before they become boring.

You don't have to use all the percussion when mixing - in fact it is generally best not to do so.

The reason for this, is that when recording percussion, people tend to be overgenerous. They put lots and lots in "just in case" on the grounds that "it can always be taken out in the mix later". This isn't unreasonable, so bear it in mind, and consider using automated mutes on the mixing system to just bring in the percussion at particular sections that need a little more "colour" adding to them.

When EQing percussion, remember that if you want to get more top end, removing the low and mid will give you a more smoother sounding top end than simply cranking the high-frequency EQ up. It isn't that one is necessarily better than the other - they just produce different results.

For example, things that go throughout the entire song, like perhaps congas, cabasas, maracas and the like, normally respond to subtractive EQ (removing low and mid, rather than just boosting high) for a smooth sound - otherwise they tire and strain the ears. But things which are featured only briefly - such as timbales - benefit from the extra "thwack" that high-boost alone provides. Additionally, in the special case of something reinforcing an important drum beat - such as tambourine beating in time with the snare - such a sound can benefit from the extra energy that pure high-frequency boost gives, and make it stand out against the drum it is competing with.

Generally speaking, for most percussion it is not at all unusual to have to remove a fair bit of low-end to get the percussion to "cut through" the mix. Bongos and congas - no matter how well recorded - usually need to be "thinned out", in order to be properly heard on a busy pop mix.

Our old friend - the "small" reverb - is of particular importance when mixing percussion. To get a truly spectacular effect, try being generous with the small reverb, and try making the percussion sound like it is "outside" of the bounds of the rest of the mix - so that it sounds, further back, yet bigger, and "surrounding" the rest of the mix instead of being in the middle of it (unless of course, you are trying to get a 70's disco sound, in which case leave the percussion fairly dry). If you do this "wide spacing" using short reverb, it is often most effective if it is used only on some parts of the mix (like a percussion break) - if it is like this for the duration of the track it can be tiring on the ears, and distracting to the rest of the mix.

Balancing the levels of the percussion is a tricky business, and best done at fairly quiet levels on small monitor loudspeakers, otherwise there is a risk that one thing (like a handclap or tambourine) will dominate the final mix.

Date: 2015-02-28; view: 898