I’m not new to mixing, but am totally new to mixing all the separate elements of a live drum kit… till investing in SD3, most of my percussion was loops & layering.
3 main questions:
- Are there any tried and tested strategies for setting relative levels? e.g. once I’ve chosen my drums, should I get the kick level where I want it, then add snare, hats, and then bring up the overheads, then ambient? Or vice-versa?
2) With drums with multiple mics (i.e. kick and snare) is there a convention as to which mic to bring in first, e.g. would you get snare top to the level you want it, then add lower mic to taste? And same question with kick – I can guess the sub comes last, but which is usually the dominant mic between in/out positions?
3) If I wanted to to keep things simple to start with, what are the basic essential mic positions to concentrate on – I’m guessing this would be all the close mics, the OH dynamic, and the ribbon ambient?
So far I’ve been getting some idea of what works from studying/tweaking the presets, and also I found this article that lays out two good strategies: https://www.izotope.com/en/blog/mixing/2-approaches-to-mixing-live-drums.html
But any other tips or starting points (or links to any relevant info/resources) would be much appreciated!
