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[beau]

assuming that re tracking the drums is not an option. and the band wants the song mixed as is........

you tracked the project yourself, so you probably don't have this problem.  but i get a lot of tracks that were tracked by other people, and apparently they have never heard of phase.  

so one thing that helps me get drums to punch, is making sure all the tracks are in phase with each other.  and lining up the tracks so they are all hitting at the same time.  it is amazing how much of a difference a few milliseconds make in the body and punch of drums.  but use your ears and not the wave forms.  

i know that people have said that compression will make your drums cut less, but if you are savvy, you can shape the transient of the drum with a comp by playing with the attack time.  

also if you are really trying to avoid triggers, there is a piece of gear that spl makes, called the transient designer.  i rarely use it, but sometimes its the only thing that will make crappy drum tracks punch.  

and after all that being said, we really cant give you any useful advice on your situation without hearing the tracks.

peace,

beau

[bloodstone]

bert wrote on Mon, 22 May 2006 14:25

i want my drums to cut better through a mix with a lot of other sounds (guitars, etc.). i guess tape compression would do a lot, but since i don't have a fancy vintage tape recorder, what could help? thanks, b

I recommend putting the drums on a subgroup if you haven't already.  You can then compress the subgroup to give extra oomph.  Play around with that.  In some cases I'll compress all individual drum tracks and the subgroup if that's what it takes.

[maxdimario]

if the sounds are dry and you're going for punch and impact on the drums you're going to have to choose where you want the drum to stick through frequency-wise and make sure the other sounds don't occupy that frequency area at the same time as the drum hits.

My thing to do automatically is to avoid situations where there isn't enough room sound, as the room mics carry more information for the ear without sucking up energy from the frequency spectrum.

a lot of close mic drums look almost like modulated sinewaves on a display because of the heavy fundamental tones.

the ear hears complex non-sine waves best in a mix of sounds.

so if you close mic make sure the drums you are using have enough complexity to the sound that they will stick out in some way.

don't dampen the drums unless necessary.

[j.hall]

i'd rather cut drums in a really small, very well controled room then a big room with bad acoustics.

getting drums to cut through is a matter of experience and patience.

often times i think it's more a matter of the sounds your mixing around the drums then the drums themselves.

[rankus]

j.hall wrote on Mon, 05 June 2006 07:59

often times i think it's more a matter of the sounds your mixing around the drums then the drums themselves.

My thoughts too