Five years ago, I migrated from working on analog mixing consoles to the digital platform. Leaving a familiar environment caused more than a little trepidation, but I decided to jump in with both feet. No hybrid world for me, I decided to go digital all the way. Dealing with latency and multiple conversions were not attractive prospects, so I also left behind the thoughtfully assembled racks of beloved outboard gear on which I had depended for so many years.
My console choice was the Avid Venue D-Show/Profile system. Because I wasn't prepared to give up artistic freedom for a one-size-fits-all type format, I opted for the only console that offered the software agility and hardware flexibility of employing multiple TDM plugins within its computer system. When I auditioned the Venue desk and the gear emulations that were available, I was extremely impressed and fearlessly moved forward with the transition to digital. Utilizing the TDM plugins in the system provided by Clair Global, I felt completely confident that I would be producing an extremely high quality audio product.
Since that time, Waves has made their products available in Venue-compatible TDM versions. This has been a truly exciting development, because the Waves products have raised the bar for all audio software developers and significantly enlarged the creative palette for live sound engineers. FRONT of HOUSE and Waves have collaborated to allow me an opportunity to discuss my use of these extremely valuable tools.
Persistent and Consistent
My first installment will be about snare drum. The first requirement is, of course, choosing mics suitable to the instrument being reproduced. I currently use the Earthworks DP25C for snare top and the Audio Technica AE5100 for snare bottom. The snare should occupy a persistent level in the mix and display a consistency of sound. Whether providing the backbeat for a rock song or the movement and subtlety in other arrangements, the snare is the focal point of most drum parts.
While on tour with James Taylor, I have been getting excellent results from employing a Waves C4 multiband compressor on the snare top mic and a Waves C1 compressor/gate on the snare bottom. Both products provide warm, present and accurate audio as well as delivering the dynamic control necessary to respond to the variety of sounds created by sticks, brushes or even bare hands.
The drummers I have been working with most recently, Steve Gadd, Russell Kunkel and Chad Wackerman are extremely expressive dynamically and rhythmically. Wide dynamic variation makes using a gate on the top mic impossible but alternatively makes creative use of compression absolutely essential.
Suppressing the Ping
The challenge I most frequently encounter is to reduce the low-mid resonance often found in modern snare tunings without negatively affecting the natural open sound of the drum. The Waves C4 plugin offers a perfect solution. Its musical quality is the right match for the instrument, and the four independently programmable compression bands make it possible to suppress the "ping" without sacrificing the body and the crack of the drum.
By creating a combination of independently adjustable compression ratios, attack/release times and make-up gain levels, the multiband compressor can be tweaked to be most active in the area that needs to be controlled while not suppressing the areas of the frequency spectrum that are most desirable. In addition to its compression task, the C4 therefore functions as a dynamic equalizer.
Percussive sounds generally require fast attack and release times, but within that necessity, one can still sufficiently vary the thresholds, attack times and compression ratios enough to retain the bottom and top while concentrating heavier compression on targeted frequencies. Take a look at the attached screenshot from our current tour with James and his son Ben Taylor.
Next month, I'll talk about the bottom mic, the C1 compressor/gate and adding the two sounds.
