Drum dynamics

This thought just crossed my mind: does anyone know what's the "standard" for the volume of kicks, snares and hi-hats in relation to each other. I.e. if a kick is at -6dB, then the snare is at -0,5dB... Before anyone tells me to use my ears or figure out my own way, I want to add that I'm interested in this in a purely technical fashion.

It really depends on the tune itself....and also the genre....urban music has kicks at a higher level or at least with more of the bass frequencies dialed in....for example, jazz drums are usually an accent to the music while some rap is dominated by drums...

Yeah, you're right. I should've pointed that out. Let's just say hip hop/ R&B then.

...plus if they are always hitt9ing the same value on the meter they are not really dynamic....

greg

dubmunkey wrote:...plus if they are always hitt9ing the same value on the meter they are not really dynamic....

greg

I'm just saying-- I'm sure that someone whose anal about his production will have same basic setting to start out from. Like a Dr. Dre or someone: "Let me get this kick thumping at x dB and it's on."

this is my opinion and i am 100% happy with my mixes.

the whole track revolves around the kick.
the kick is mixed with an output on the master fader of -6db.

the bass is the only other volume that i have rules about and i get it so that it is consistently around -12db with an occassional peak no greater than -10 db.

the rest of the tracks r mixed in reference to these levels and my mixes tend to sum at between -2.9 and -1.5 which gives my mastering engineer good room to work with to do his job properly.

yup some pro's normally have a ball park they will stetle at= one example i read was getting bass and bass drum both pekaing aorund -9db so when they were combined they hit around -7db

greg

I don't have rules for the way I do the volumes, it varies depending on the thickness of the kick or if I"m gonna have a more powerful bassline in the beat, if the bassline is dominant and that's what I want, then the kicks go lower. If the bassline accents the kicks, then they are closer to equal to each other. If the kicks stand out more they are up front more in the mix. I don't even go by how many decibels they are, I play it by ear and see how the overall sound and tone of the track is and adjust from there. Bear in mind, mixing the beats is something I'm still new at, and it's a constant learning process for me.

the problem with just playing it by ear is that mixing is relative. so a basis of level must be set by something, and the main objective should be to get everything under 0 and even less than 0 for the mastering engineer to have headroom to work with. the foundation for modern music is the drum, therefor most people choose to use that as a basis of levels in a mix, however keep in mind some people mix the vocals first then mix the music around the vocals. i learned from being around mixing engineers that getting the kick drum regardless of if it is stacked or not to hit -6 will give you a total sum of less than 0 all of the time, and if it doesn't something is wrong with the mix. i at first didn't believe it but that is currently one of the very few rules i use while mixing. without a baseline it is just winging it.

although i dont rely on what the meter says i have to agree with beat god that you need to ensure everything is balanced and under 0db so getting your kick tro hit -6db will still leave room for the rest of your mix...

greg

You guys probably do mixdown after the master fader, right?

So IF the mix is above 0 db with the master fader at unity, can't you just turn down the master fader before recording your mix?

Anders wrote:You guys probably do mixdown after the master fader, right?

So IF the mix is above 0 db with the master fader at unity, can't you just turn down the master fader before recording your mix?

of course u could, but why would u if u could just get it right the first time?
i used to do that as a novice and realized i had peaks that would jump the vu over 0 and it was not due to consistent material peaking the 2 bus.


i think preventative measures are better than cleaning up the mess after the fact. clipping the 2 buss in the digital domain means that the mixer has done something wrong.

Thanks for the input everyone.