After placing each drum channel in the stereo image I usually start by gating the kick, sub kick, tom tracks, snare top and bottom tracks. Most gates allow you to adjust the frequency of the input to allow for better accuracy of the gate sometimes know as keying. Example: Using the kick as an example sharply reduce the higher frequencies above 1k and below 50hz this will only affect the trigging of the gate and NOT the frequency of the output of the gate. Repeat this action for each drum keeping in mind what fundamental frequencies will produce the best results.
Next Check the phase relationship between the kick and sub kick. Pull up just the kick and sub kick channels both panned to the center. With a phase plugin in the sub kick channel try switching the phase leave it in the position that produces the most low end energy. Repeat with the snare top and snare bottom.
Next I will work on EQ here are some general rules.
In the processing chain gate BEFORE you eq!
Sub-Kick- In general I drastically reduce frequencies bellow 20hz and above 125hz
Kick- Boosting 50-65hz gives you the fundamental, 2 to 5 k is where the beater attack is.
Snare top- 125hz to 250hz will warm/fatten up the snare 2 to 5k for the attack
Hat- high pass filter that reduces frequencies below 300hz
High tom- I usually find the lower resonating frequency by moving the filter in the 100 to 200hz range, attack is in the 2 to 5k range
Low Tom- low resonating frequency is in the 70 to 125hz range, attack in the 2 to 5k range
Overheads- I usually use a high pass filter reducing frequencies below 60hz, with a bell curve filter I reduce some of the frequencies in the 400hz range to reduce the boxy sound.
Room- as I usually don’t use a lot of room sound when I mix i usually use a high pass filter reducing the frequencies below 25hz.
No seriously. First, start with great drums that are perfectly tuned, then strategically place microphones to capture the optimum sound. Run the mic’s thru great mic preamps that capture every detail. The preamps should be run into great A/D (analogue to digital) converters, which take the drum sound and convert it into digital information. You want a converter that captures every small nuance of the drums and transients of the cymbals. You want the drummer to be highly skilled, so each stroke of the drum or cymbal, is in the right place. You can have the best equipment in the world, but if the drummer has poor drumming technique, the sound will suffer. You’ll spend hours trying to repair the performance and the sound quality of the tracks.The technique of the drummer counts as much towards the sound as does the proper choice of equipment. Why do I care about this? Well here comes the shameless self promotion. I have recorded thousands of drum tracks. In that time I have worked with many producers, songwriters and musicians. Most don’t understand the amount of time involved in getting a great drum track. On average I spend about 4 to 5 hours per song. I talk to the client thru email, on the phone or skype. I want to understand what they are looking for. After they upload their song to my ftp, I listen and consider my approach. If the client has given some direction, such as ( I want a vintage sound), I may put up one of my vintage drum kits and start placing the microphones. After the microphones are properly placed and checked, I’ll start writing a chart for the song. Ocasionally I get charts from my clients, but most of the time I don’t . I start recording the drum track, and by the way, you can now watch your drums being recorded in the studio, live on skype. I may have to go through several different grooves to find just the right one. Depending on the style, I might place some samples in conjunction with the raw tracks and I may process the drum tracks (gating, eq’ing, compressing,etc….). I then decide if any percussion instruments are needed. For example, I might add a shaker in a verse or a tambourine in the chorus. Once I am happy with the track, I send an MP3 of the song to my client. He/she decides if any changes are needed. After the track is approved, I’ll bounce the files (12 to 18 tracks). Then I”ll upload them to my FTP and notify my client that they are ready to download. I love doing this and I hope it shows in my final product!! Check out my site