08-07-2014, 08:56 PM
Yeah, I like that graphic EQ trick for widening. Big plus there is that mono compatibility isn't affected much because the boosts and attenuations are polar opposite on each side. The more I look at this multi, the more it becomes clear that I'd have to spend hours of precious mixing time (I don't often have much quiet time in my mixing space... two small children) fixing the timing on the bass guitar and all of the electric guitars at the very least to get the intended DT widening if I wanted any sort of predictable control of phase relationships... not to mention the inevitable low mid muddiness that always accompanies out of time guitars.
I can attest from personal experience that double tracking guitars is HARD AS HELL, because any attempt to perform with commercial-level timing accuracy is really just asking for an uninspired performance, and hours of timing edits are preferable to razor sharp, soulless mathematical accuracy... so I get it, and it's good practice for sure, but I just can't justify the time it'd take to really dig into this one properly. So I'll chip away at it slowly alongside any other projects I'm working on here and there... it might be ready to mix by Christmas
For Blitzzz, I'd add that while high-passing the overheads is generally a good idea in any small studio production, it's important to do it for the right reasons-- and the reason for which you're doing it is going to inform where to best place the cut. There are no rules obviously, but the most common way of using the overhead tracks is a reference point for how the kit is supposed to sound as a blended whole in a real acoustic space... and then fade the less natural sounding close mics into the overheads as necessary to blend the overheads into the mix. Lurking subsonics and low frequency mud once the bass and kick close mics are faded in are valid concerns, but the most important reason to highpass the overheads in my opinion is the control the phase relationship between the overheads, the kick drum and the floor tom. The waveforms beneath 100 Hz are so big and smooth that no matter what instruments is providing those frequencies, there's a very real chance for unpredictable phase misalignments, even if you ditch the kick close mics and use samples... and if you think about it, the overheads are a good 5 or 6 feet away from the kick drums, so there's already a timing issue at hand before you even get started.
Strictly speaking, EQ is essentially intentional phase misalignment, but in this case, it's best to do it so that the risks of phase misalignment introduced by EQ and the risks of phasing due to timing can be balanced and made predictable so we can compensate for them. When you drag that highpass well into the most audible spectral range (1000 to 4000), you're introducing a phasing possibility (i.e. potential cancellations in the hi-hat close mic and the room mic) in a very exposed way. So Dave is accurate in suggesting that you're killing the "body" content of the crash/ride cymbals merely by completely EQing it out, which will certainly make it more tonally harsh... but I'm willing to bet you're also introducing a nasty phase element in the harshness zone of the spectrum.
Anyway, you may already know some of that, all of that, or more than I do (very real possibility), but my main point is that if you can't work with the close mics such that you're triggering samples, and can't work with the overhead mics such that you're highpassing over half of it's frequency content, you're probably better off hedging your bets and replacing the whole kit. It'll make life easier (good thing) and the mixing process more pleasurable (very good thing). At best, phased drum tracks are going to sound kinda weird in stereo, and in mono it can turn into completely disappearing kit components... or even worse, the dreaded "now you see it, now you don't" chattering of a crash cymbal phasing in and out of reality... although that might be a cool, weird effect to exploit, given enough bravado and creative irresponsibility!
I can attest from personal experience that double tracking guitars is HARD AS HELL, because any attempt to perform with commercial-level timing accuracy is really just asking for an uninspired performance, and hours of timing edits are preferable to razor sharp, soulless mathematical accuracy... so I get it, and it's good practice for sure, but I just can't justify the time it'd take to really dig into this one properly. So I'll chip away at it slowly alongside any other projects I'm working on here and there... it might be ready to mix by Christmas
For Blitzzz, I'd add that while high-passing the overheads is generally a good idea in any small studio production, it's important to do it for the right reasons-- and the reason for which you're doing it is going to inform where to best place the cut. There are no rules obviously, but the most common way of using the overhead tracks is a reference point for how the kit is supposed to sound as a blended whole in a real acoustic space... and then fade the less natural sounding close mics into the overheads as necessary to blend the overheads into the mix. Lurking subsonics and low frequency mud once the bass and kick close mics are faded in are valid concerns, but the most important reason to highpass the overheads in my opinion is the control the phase relationship between the overheads, the kick drum and the floor tom. The waveforms beneath 100 Hz are so big and smooth that no matter what instruments is providing those frequencies, there's a very real chance for unpredictable phase misalignments, even if you ditch the kick close mics and use samples... and if you think about it, the overheads are a good 5 or 6 feet away from the kick drums, so there's already a timing issue at hand before you even get started.
Strictly speaking, EQ is essentially intentional phase misalignment, but in this case, it's best to do it so that the risks of phase misalignment introduced by EQ and the risks of phasing due to timing can be balanced and made predictable so we can compensate for them. When you drag that highpass well into the most audible spectral range (1000 to 4000), you're introducing a phasing possibility (i.e. potential cancellations in the hi-hat close mic and the room mic) in a very exposed way. So Dave is accurate in suggesting that you're killing the "body" content of the crash/ride cymbals merely by completely EQing it out, which will certainly make it more tonally harsh... but I'm willing to bet you're also introducing a nasty phase element in the harshness zone of the spectrum.
Anyway, you may already know some of that, all of that, or more than I do (very real possibility
), but my main point is that if you can't work with the close mics such that you're triggering samples, and can't work with the overhead mics such that you're highpassing over half of it's frequency content, you're probably better off hedging your bets and replacing the whole kit. It'll make life easier (good thing) and the mixing process more pleasurable (very good thing). At best, phased drum tracks are going to sound kinda weird in stereo, and in mono it can turn into completely disappearing kit components... or even worse, the dreaded "now you see it, now you don't" chattering of a crash cymbal phasing in and out of reality... although that might be a cool, weird effect to exploit, given enough bravado and creative irresponsibility!
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!