Each and every sound engineer has their own tricks to help make their mix sound the best. Whether it be a specific EQ for an instrument or voice, a specific mic or placement or using all of the above and effects at their disposal for the best optimization.

The base of every mix with a drum kit are both the kick drum and base guitar...if the specific genre of music allows. I have found a priceless tool that is built into the Digidesign series of consoles that allows you to make your kick drum sound the best it can...all with the help of some Plug-Ins that the console has built in.

First and foremost, proper mic placement within the kick drum is always the first step in obtaining a good overall mix. I would always recommend double mic'ing the kick if you have the necessary equipment. Secondly, proper EQ and compression (Smack compressor is my favorite for vocals and kick) on the channel will allow your kick drum to "pop" and not sound like a soggy noodle. Third...the Digidesign consoles have a built in "Signal Generator" within the Plug-Ins that ship by default with the board. Place this Plug-In on the Direct-Input of an unused channel at about 50Hz. Add a gate to that, and key it to the kick drum channel. Configure the gate accordingly, and mix the key and the drum together for a solid and impactful "kick" impact for your mix.

Again, Digi always amazes me with their top of the line products. I love their stuff. What tips can you share for others to use? Would love to hear them. If you have any questions with this process, send me questions. I love this stuff, so maybe we can learn something together. Hope you find this useful.

-Ken

Labels: art, audio, digidesign, drums, effects, enginnering, foh, front of house, kick, mix, mix down, multi-track, music, oscillator, plugins, profile, protools, sc48, venue