Compressing drums

[Argle]

Should you compress each element separately? Or the drum line as a whole?

I tend to compress each element by itself. Don't know if this is the right way to do things.

[zircon]

It's totally dependent on what type of style you're going for.

Among electronica producers - particularly those who do dnb/breakbeat - a common technique is to process the individual drum parts separately then route them all through one compressor (or effects chain that containsa compressor). I've tried it this way, and I think it CAN work, but I prefer to compress the bassdrum + snare separately. Sometimes I don't compress the bassdrum at all, in fact, depending on the sample I am using. Finally, I DO tend to compress premade drumloops or breaks simply because a lot of the time they have wacky dynamics, and compression followed by izotope vinyl (plus some possible distortion/saturation) really gives it some crunch.

[the_nihilist]

Protip: Overcompressed drums are awesome.

[Legion303]

I only compress the kick drum for more punch. I think the rest have a much more organic feel to them when I leave the dynamics alone.

-steve

[lazygecko]

Usually I put some subtle reverb on the drums, then a compressor over that.

[Chavous]

Usually I put some subtle reverb on the drums, then a compressor over that.

I do that too.

[zircon]

I guess to offer a contrasting opinion, I don't use reverb on any part of my main drumlines except the snare and sometimes the hats. I find that putting reverb on the kick just muds things up too much.

[Navi]

i compress kick | snare | hats | toms/etx | and then run them all through a final channel.

[Argle]

I guess to offer a contrasting opinion, I don't use reverb on any part of my main drumlines except the snare and sometimes the hats. I find that putting reverb on the kick just muds things up too much.

Agreed. I prefer a dry kick. I used to use a lot of verb on the rest of my drums, but lately I've been using it sparingly, and I think I like it better. Makes them stand out more.

[the_nihilist]

You can also really compress a drum track in a sub channel, and then submix it back with the main one, giving things a bit of an edge while still retaining most of the dynamics. The trick is compressing hard (around 10db or more of compression), the boosting around 100hz and 10khz on the submix about 6-10db for both. Blend it back in with the uncompressed signal to the point where you can barely hear it.

As for whether to compress seperately or whole... it really depends on your preference. If you're trying for room-heavy drum tracks, like say... "When the Levee Breaks", then of course you're going to compress it all as one track (and compress after the reverb you're using, which should be a nice, big, boomy stairwell IR). If you're going for punchy, tight drums, then you'll probably have a little more luck compressing and EQing each individually.

Remember, compression will emphasize the dominant frequencies, so you can get away with alot of tone shaping if you add it some EQ before you compress. This can really help sculpt your drum sound to perfection.

[Reasoner]

I tend to compress each element by itself. Don't know if this is the right way to do things

I'm not sure if you could ever say there's a right way to do compression. Just go for what sounds good in your mix. Rock That Comp!

[zircon]

Remember, compression will emphasize the dominant frequencies, so you can get away with alot of tone shaping if you add it some EQ before you compress. This can really help sculpt your drum sound to perfection.

I don't see how compression emphasizes dominant frequencies any more than simply turning up a volume knob would emphasize dominant frequencies, as it's just affecting dynamics. Maybe I'm missing something. This just seems a bit misleading.

[Argle]

I tend to compress each element by itself. Don't know if this is the right way to do things

I'm not sure if you could ever say there's a right way to do compression. Just go for what sounds good in your mix. Rock That Comp!

Oh I know. I just wanted to open up the floor for a li'l drum compression discussion. Always like to see any advice on this kinda stuff.

[the_nihilist]

Remember, compression will emphasize the dominant frequencies, so you can get away with alot of tone shaping if you add it some EQ before you compress. This can really help sculpt your drum sound to perfection.

I don't see how compression emphasizes dominant frequencies any more than simply turning up a volume knob would emphasize dominant frequencies, as it's just affecting dynamics. Maybe I'm missing something. This just seems a bit misleading.

The loudest frequencies will hit the threshold first, this is why you always add EQ after the compressor in your chain when you compress bass.

[Splunkle]

Remember, compression will emphasize the dominant frequencies, so you can get away with alot of tone shaping if you add it some EQ before you compress. This can really help sculpt your drum sound to perfection.

I don't see how compression emphasizes dominant frequencies any more than simply turning up a volume knob would emphasize dominant frequencies, as it's just affecting dynamics. Maybe I'm missing something. This just seems a bit misleading.

The loudest frequencies will hit the threshold first, this is why you always add EQ after the compressor in your chain when you compress bass.

Ummmm... I might be missing something, but unless you have a multiband compressor, then won't the whole signal will be compressed at once? That being said however, I have heard a subtle difference in the way things sound after compression, but I thought that was just a combination of dynamics and my poor ear. If it does do wome funky stuff to various frequencies, it would be nice to know what. Anyone care to elaborate?

[SnappleMan]

Depending on how you're planning to tackle the mixing process itself, you may need to use extensive compression or none at all.

Having control over the different microphones used to record a drumkit (like in a real studio situation or like in Drumkit From Hell Superior) REALLY cuts down on the need for a compressor.

As stated above, it all depends on the style. The most important thing to do is make sure you don't overdo it. Only use the properties of a drum that you want in your song. Learning how to use a compressor and EQ to get that sound is something that will take you a long time to master (but the learning process is extremely fun and rewarding).

Overall keep in mind that the most important things are to not overdo anything, and learn to mix a song well before adding any effects, meaning adjusting the volume levels and panning of your tracks so it sounds decent even before you do anything major to it, you'll find that if you do that you won't have to do much compression or EQ after all.

[klm09]

The style of music / drumming is also a factor in how one might to compress (acoustic) drums. Like with a laid back jazz-brush line, where you want to just even it out a little, a single band compressor over the whole drum mix would probably work fine. With rock / metal, if you want a really in your face drum sound by heavily compressing the snare & kick, you're going to need to at least separate the cymbals to a different compressor or channel, if you want to avoid obvious pumping. Or a multiband compressor might work. But basically, if you're not trying to make the drums as "hot" as possible, you're not going to need to put all the elements through different compressors.

It all comes down to what kind of sound you're after. Putting it all through one compressor can help gel the sound together with just a little compression.. but too much compression, and it starts pumping. If that's what you're after, fine. But put different elements through different compressors, and you can avoid pumping even if you're compressing heavily, with some loss of cohesion. But at that point you're probably not going for a very natural sound anyway.