Avid Pro Audio Community

Avid Pro Audio Community

How to Join & Post  •  Community Terms of Use  •  Help Us Help You

Knowledge Base Search  •  Community Search  •  Learn & Support


Avid Home Page

Go Back   Avid Pro Audio Community > Pro Tools Software > Tips & Tricks

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 04-23-2000, 09:18 PM
ollie ollie is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Belbourne, Australia
Posts: 9
Default what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

hi,
when tracking drums directly to digital, what do you guys think are the best drum compressor configurations ?

p.s any opinions on eq's for the same application would be great too.

thanks,
ollie.

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 04-23-2000, 10:17 PM
coaster coaster is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: fargo nd usa
Posts: 1,042
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

i like 160a's or acp22 in a pinch. 1176 is nice on toms sometimes.
__________________
www.mp3.com/xtac
for the faint of goth
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-24-2000, 01:07 AM
Kenny Gioia Kenny Gioia is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: New York, NY USA
Posts: 3,003
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

Neve 2254's are killer on Kick & Snare
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 04-24-2000, 05:53 AM
Jules Jules is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: London, UK
Posts: 2,565
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

Tube tech on kick & snare

Distressor on 'nuke' on the room

I have used an SSL on overheads but it needs to be a really dead room IMHO

Note: because the noise floor of digital is so low compaired to tape. there is one school of thought that there is NO NEED to be compressing before the converters, and that the quest to 'load as much in' as possible near '0' VU is a waste of time.
Back on analog I WOULD compress the snare a little.
The 'leave it alone theory' fits in with the fact that with total reset and all the plug ins, you dont have to make potrentialy reckless decisions early on in a recordings life.

I find API mic pre's work well as they are a bit 'slow' which gives a compressed sound and combats the digital 'quickness'. (?!)

I lust after a pair of DBX 160's for kick n snare!

Jules

[This message has been edited by Jules (edited April 24, 2000).]
__________________
Jules
London, UK
Come hang with us here!
www.gearslutz.com
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 04-24-2000, 05:28 PM
coaster coaster is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: fargo nd usa
Posts: 1,042
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

your right about the 'leave it alone' before the dacs Jules. i usually do not use pre-dac compression for dynamic control, except for amatuer performers (who don't have mic skills). i use the comps for tambre adjustment, to alter the sound just a little. an acp22 set at 1.1/1 to pull off -3db has a distortion sound like an old peice of gear. it is a sound i like out of that compressor. it is not THD, but alters the transients. the 160's actually do a poor job of dynamic control, as they have no attack setting, so the initial transient blows through full volume. you know, that BIG spike on the tip of your kick drum. the 160's are a great SOUNDING compressor, and my favorite is on backup vox, kick and snare.
frankly i am tired of having to overcompress the balls out of everything to make it sound commercial. compare boston third stage to korn life is peachy. which sounds better? which is louder? which would you take with you on a road trip? boston is one of the groups that inspired me to do what i do with my life today. such high values of recording and performance. good sounds. inspirational shows. where did all that go? it has been replaced be editing hackers like you, I, and every one else who "fixes" that take by splicing and compressing. miss a note? i'll fix it later. if it's not smooth, compress it more.
i am depressing myself.

compression is a sickness, an addiction, and a useful tool.
i am still trying to learn to use it as a 'useful tool' instead of ...
__________________
www.mp3.com/xtac
for the faint of goth
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 04-24-2000, 06:16 PM
masmit masmit is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 82
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">quote:<HR>Originally posted by coaster:
where did all that go? it has been replaced be editing hackers like you, I, and every one else who "fixes" that take by splicing and compressing. miss a note? i'll fix it later. if it's not smooth, compress it more.
i am depressing myself.

compression is a sickness, an addiction, and a useful tool.
i am still trying to learn to use it as a 'useful tool' instead of ...[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Coaster, I once saw a documentary about Tom Scholtz, in which he took great pride in describing how he mixed his drum tracks down to 1/4", spent days editing them to get perfect timing, then flew them back on to the multitrack. It also sounds to me like he was quite unafraid of using compressors...the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Cheers, Mark

------------------
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 04-24-2000, 08:58 PM
coaster coaster is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: fargo nd usa
Posts: 1,042
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

i understand. it's just the more i learn about recording and mixing, the more critical i listen to music. one of my all-time favorite albums is Einstien on the beach, it's really long, and originally was done analog. when the "New-Digitally Recorded" version came out in the early nineties, i HAD to have it, even though it cost $75 (owch). on the third CD, in the track entitled "spaceship", there is severe evidence of digital splicing, as you can hear 'spit' all over a couple of the tracks. like when you splice in PT and it clicks before crossfading. my fantasy was destroyed. in fact, i've never been the same since. it's kind of funny, too, because the record never bothered me, even though that had surface noise and pops all over it.
but the illusion was there, and i imagine that in the original recording it would have been very difficult to just loop the parts over and over.
ah, compression. what an inspiring topic...

------------------
www.mp3.com/xtac
__________________
www.mp3.com/xtac
for the faint of goth
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 04-24-2000, 09:47 PM
ollie ollie is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Belbourne, Australia
Posts: 9
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

what about dbx 165a or urei LA-22 comps ?

i'm thinking about buying one or two but i haven't ever used them. In fact the only 'pro' comp i've really used is the 1176.

Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 04-24-2000, 11:17 PM
BDWillis BDWillis is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Nashville, TN USA
Posts: 559
Default Re: what are the best drum tracking compressors ?

Love the size & crunch that Neve (anything!!) brings to drums, particularly 33609 comp on kick & snare. Also enjoy 1176 or 1178 + dbx 160's for snare, or just a 160 for kick in a pinch. Almost never compress toms or O'heads to tape/disk, rather do it later if needed (1178 is great on either of these, too…). A great "stunt" squash comp for drums is Valley People 440. You can completely screw 'em up, so perhaps worth a duplicate "FX" track as a safety measure! For pre's/EQ's, if it says Neve or Trident on the faceplate, it'll probably be beautiful on drums! Good luck!

Warmest Regards,
Brian
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Drum tracking question tcbetka Pro Tools TDM Systems (Win) 13 09-05-2008 07:59 PM
Varispeed Drum Tracking dabhoys Pro Tools TDM Systems (Mac) 2 03-21-2006 01:30 AM
Drum tracking latency stormpro Tips & Tricks 2 06-25-2005 04:11 AM
Latency and drum tracking spicyitaliano 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Mac) 22 07-21-2003 12:01 AM
Drum tracking clark_griswold 003, Mbox 2, Digi 002, original Mbox, Digi 001 (Win) 7 03-06-2001 07:48 AM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:37 AM.


Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited. Forum Hosted By: URLJet.com