How to mix drums (Cheat Sheet)

If you’ve ever listened to an urban track and wondered how the drums punch through the mix so distinctly, you’re in the right place. Crafting that full, hard-hitting drum sound is a combination of different techniques, which I will show you in this article.

How to Mix Drums: The Basics

To make sure you’re getting the most out of all the specific techniques on how to mix drums, let’s quickly cover 7 basics which will help you getting a solid foundation for your drum mix.

1. Balance is Key: Before diving into effects and processing, it’s crucial to set the right balance. This often involves adjusting levels and pan positions to ensure each drum element has its place in the mix.
2. Layering Sounds: Layering can help fill gaps in the sonic spectrum. For instance, if a snare lacks body, it might be layered with a sample that adds weight.
3. Selective EQ: Rather than boosting frequencies right away, consider carving out unwanted frequencies first. This can bring clarity to drums and make them stand out without becoming too overpowering.
4. Dynamic EQ: Dynamic EQs can be helpful in taming harsh resonances that occur only when a drum is hit hard or in specific contexts. This is also helpful for the harsh frequency ranges of a snare drum.
5. Tuned Kick and Bass: Ensuring that the kick drum and sub bass (or bass guitar) are tuned to the key of the song can bring harmony and tightness to the low end.
6. Know When to Be Minimal: Sometimes, the best mix decision is to do nothing or very little. Not every drum element needs a ton of processing.
7. Always Reference: Top mix engineers often have reference tracks they compare their mixes to. It helps ensure that the mix translates well across various systems.

Creating Space for the Kick

To create space for the kick on the bass, I’ve always used Jaycen Joshua‘s preset for Soothe2. It generally works very well, but there can be slight latency at times, especially when you have a very short kick sound. This issue arises because Soothe’s release time isn’t always fast enough, which can introduce pumping.

Instead of using Soothe, Jaycen manually writes clip gain automation on the sub-bass’s clip gain line, following the kick’s envelope. This way, you can control the ducking of the bass more precisely, with no latency at all. It’s the most reliable technique I’ve found so far, and I’ve used it on almost every mix since.

How it works in ProTools:

1. Activate the Clip Gain Line: In the Pro Tools menu, go to View → Clip → Clip Gain Line.
   
2. Arrange Tracks: Place the kick track and the bass track next to each other.
   
3. Activate Keyboard Focus.
   
4. Set the Mode: Set Slip mode or Relative Grid mode.
   
5. Highlight the kick’s envelope entirely: Once highlighted, move your selection down (P moves up; ; moves down) and pull the clip gain line of the bass down.
   
6. Adjust the Sustain: To follow the envelope on the sustain end of the kick, click the automation point at the end while holding Option (Alt on Windows). This will move the automation point back to 0 dB. If your clip gain was below 0 dB to start with, commit/bounce the clip to set it back to 0 dB and keep your previous clip gain changes.
   
   
   
7. Prevent Clicks: To prevent clicks, ensure that the beginning of the automation isn’t a steep line down. Grab the first automation point on the sub-bass’s clip gain line at the beginning of the kick and move it back a little. This will create a short fade down on the bass before the kick hits.
   
8. Adjust Ducking: Adjust the amount of ducking (how much you pull the automation down) to taste. Once you’re happy with the sound, you can copy the clip gain automation to all other spots where the kick and bass play together. To copy the automation, go to Edit → Copy Special → Clip Gain. Before you copy, switch your tool to Grid mode and expand your selection to include the anti-click fade you set in the previous step. After selecting and copying the clip gain, you can simply paste it onto all other sections.
   

For an in-depth explanation of this technique, along with an analysis of Soothe’s occasional negative effects on the kick and bass combo, check out this video: YouTube Video.

Parallel Compression on drums

How it works: In parallel compression, you’re essentially duplicating your drum track (or creating an aux track). One track remains untouched (dynamic and transient-rich), while the other is heavily compressed. By blending the compressed signal with the original, you get the punch and sustain from the compressed track combined with the dynamics of the original. This results in a drum sound that is both punchy and dynamic.

Plugin Recommendations:

• Waves dbx 160: Start with a fast attack and release, ratio around 4:1 or 8:1. Blend this compressed signal into the original to taste. Get a 10% discount at Waves with my referral link.
  
• UAD 1176 black: Known for its aggressive compression. Again, a 4:1 or 8:1 ratio to start, and adjust the input until you get a solid 7-10 dB of reduction.
  

Drum Bus Compression: Make your drums glue together

How it works: When multiple drum elements (kick, snare, hi-hat, etc.) are grouped or “bussed” together, a bus compressor processes them as a single entity. The idea is to achieve a sense of cohesion and glue between these elements. As the compressor gets sounds “closer” to each other, the drum sound as a whole seems fuller.

Plugin Recommendations:

• Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor: Dual compressor stages give varied coloration. Use the discrete section for subtle glue. Download Jaycen Joshua’s presets for this compressor here.
  
  
• dbx 160 & 1176 black: As with parallel compression, these can be used on a drum bus for a more cohesive sound.

Coloring EQ: Shape your drums

How it works: Unlike modern digital EQs that aim for transparency, coloring EQs are designed to impart a specific sonic signature or color. By boosting or cutting frequencies with these EQs, you don’t just change the frequency balance, but you also introduce harmonics and character specific to the EQ model, such as the Pultec EQP-1A.

UAD Pultec EQP-1A (or Waves PuigTec EQP1A): Boost around 60Hz for kick fullness and cut slightly above it to reduce muddiness. For snare presence, try a boost around 3kHz.

Saturation: adding warmth and presence

How it works: Saturation originally refers to pushing analog equipment to its limits, causing it to naturally compress and introduce harmonics (or harmonic distortion). In the digital realm, saturation plugins emulate this behavior. It results in a warmth, presence, and slight compression that can make drums sound fuller and richer in the mix.

Plugin Recommendations:

• Soundtoys Decaptiator: Choose your favorite mode and apply the saturation to taste. Use the mix knob, as the parallel approach works really well with this plugin.
  
• Black Box Analog Design HG-2: Apply mild saturation to bring out drum harmonics. Download Jaycen Joshua’s drum presets for this plugin here.
  
• Wavesfactory Spectre: A multi-band enhancer that combines saturation and EQ. Boost the lows and mids for drum presence.
  
• Slate Digital Fresh Air: Add some top-end sheen to your drums. Be gentle; a little goes a long way. Sometimes just 1-3% are enough.
  

Special Saturation: Analog Warmth

Tape Saturation: Emulates the behavior of analog tape machines. When you recorded hot onto tape, the tape would naturally compress and introduce a specific type of saturation known for warmth and pleasant harmonics. Waves tape plugins can be used for this, such as the Kramer Master Tape or the Abbey Road J37 Tape. Get a 10% discount at Waves with my referral link.

Waves NLS: Emulates the saturation characteristics of different famous mixing consoles. Each console imparts its unique character, harmonics, and coloration to signals that pass through it. Get a 10% discount at Waves with my referral link.

Soft Clipping: Perceived Loudness

How it works: Soft clipping is a form of waveform distortion, similar to saturation. Instead of allowing a waveform to exceed a set threshold (and clip harshly), soft clipping gradually rounds off the waveform, resulting in a warmer and more controlled distortion. This can increase perceived loudness without the harsh artifacts of hard clipping.

StandardClip: Adjust the threshold until you see mild clipping. Use the output gain to reach the same level as the previous peaks. This will make your drums louder without increasing their peak levels. Make sure to check the effect on different systems, if possible — such as headphones and a second pair of monitors — to spot any unwanted distortion.

Stereo Widening: big sounding drums

How it works: By grouping the percussive elements together and applying subtle stereo widening, you can make the drums feel bigger without losing any punch.

Waves S1: Increase the stereo width slowly and adjust to taste. Don’t overdo it, as you still need some space for the instruments and background vocals. Get a 10% discount at Waves with my referral link.

When mixing, remember that context is everything. When applying these techniques, always check how they sound within the full mix. The magic happens when you blend these techniques, catering to the mix. Every song and mix is unique, so not every one of these techniques will be needed every time.

Now that you know how to get your drums right, do you want to make your vocals sit just right in the mix? You’ll find all the tricks for that in this article.