In this article we suggest a set of frequency ranges you can use as EQ starting points the next time you approach a live multi-track drum mix.

Mixing live multi-track drum recordings is a challenging process, especially for those new to mixing. Knowing how you want your drums to sound is one thing, getting there is the difficult bit.

One tool that plays a massive role in drum mixing is EQ. Without it, we wouldn't be able to add colour, definition, tone or sparkle which are all key for getting purposeful sounding drum mixes that works well when blended in amongst other instruments in a production. Besides setting static fader mixes, using EQ early in a drum mix is one of the best ways of getting your drums sounding great.

Improvised EQ curves rarely help when starting a drum mix. Having a handful of EQ starting points for common drum channels under your belt can help if you want to get your drum mixes sounding great without wasting time. Explore the following frequency ranges the next time you approach a multi-track drum mix.

How To Address Muddy Sounding Kick Drums

Even the most well-recorded kick drums can sound muddy, often hogging valuable low-end space. Addressing kick drum mud is simple ,often requiring a single medium to wide bell cut around 400Hz to 450Hz. The amount of cut you will need to dial in will depend on your mix but don't be afraid to pull out over 6dB if the sound warrants it.

The fundamental of the kick, the main pitch of the shell, is below this muddy range. Attenuating a portion of mud above the kick’s fundamental helps to bring out the natural thump and impact of a kick. This approach may also save you from over complicating your EQ with additional boosts, unless you need a little extra definition in your kicks.

How To Add Definition To Kick Drums

Many genres of music, such as rock, often require presence in the kick. Your kick tracks may already sound flattering if you followed the mud removing EQ technique but do your kicks have presence? Bringing out a kick’s click or beater sound is, like our first drum EQ tip, simple and you have two ways of achieving this:

1. Bell Boost: Set a bell boost around 2.5kHz - 4kHz. Often a little goes a long way here. Add too much and your kicks may start sounding too pinched, though this may be the kind of sound you are looking for.

2. High Shelf Boost: Setting a broad high shelf starting around 4kHz is also a fast way to sweeten kicks bringing focus to the click, though you need to be aware this may also brighten the sound of other surrounding kit pieces spilling into the kick channel such as cymbal or snare bottom bleed.

How To Enhance The Body Of A Snare Drum Track

Well placed snare drums with a tasteful amount of smack really help to portray a song's attitude. Many engineers attenuate unnecessary low-end energy using a high pass filters set below a snare's fundamental pitch. While this works wonders for focus, often snares need a little extra help to cut through the mix. A small boost around 100Hz to 250Hz often works well here to bring out the body of the snare, though you will need to find the snare's fundamental pitch for this boost to work well.

Snare can be tuned in a variety of different pitches such as low loose thumps for AC/DC style rock or tight high-pitched cracks for funk. To find a snare’s main pitch check either an analyser to see where the loudest thump is or, with a tight band, sweep around 100Hz to 300Hz until you hear the snare’s pitch more clearly.

How To Focus Toms Using EQ

Drum kits generally have at least two to three toms. Before EQing your toms, think about how you want them to sound. If big thunderous toms are required try both kick drum EQ tips mentioned earlier in this article. If you would prefer your toms to sound thinner try the snare EQ tip. Toms are tuned to different pitches so don’t be tempted to copy and paste EQ curves from one tom track to another. Depending on the style of drums you have and song you may find your toms will require a bit more leg work compare to other kit pieces.

If you are unsure which tom to start EQing we suggest starting with the floor tom as these are generally hit more frequently in a performance and have a meaty amount of tone to play with. When you’ve established a floor tom tone you like you can apply similar curves to the other toms, ensuring that you’ve factored in the fundamental pitches of each tom. The images above show EQ on a rack tom and floor tom. Both share an extremely similar curve which for each tom was positioned in relation to fundamental pitches of each shell.

Some EQ plug-ins such as FabFilter’s Pro-Q3 have a useful feature in which you can select all the EQ nodes and reposition them in one mouse click. Useful if you need to apply a similar curve across different tom tracks.

How To Add Focus To Drums In Overhead Channels Using EQ

Many engineers rely on overhead channels for presenting the fuller picture of a kit in a room which is a great way of getting a sense of ambience in a drum mix. Others use overhead channels for top end cymbal sizzle which complimenting the sound of dryer sounding spot mics. Whichever approach you choose you need to know how to start with EQ on overheads.

Cymbal bleed down kick, snare and tom spot microphones is common place in multi-track drum recording. If the spot mic channels are not gated the sum of this cymbal spill can often become quite noticeable. If it is, you need to consider how this bleed works for and against you when working with EQ on ambient microphones.

Inexperienced engineers often over-brighten drum overheads in pursuit of sweetening the overall sound of a kit but when blended in with spill the overall effects can fast become too harsh sounding. A good trick to counter overly bright cymbals is to apply a 6db per octave low pass filter on the overheads at around 10kHz. Both low and high pass filters are great for reducing unnecessary weight and brightness which in turn helps to give focus to important midrange sounds. If you use a combination of both on overhead channels you will find your drums will start to take shape more quickly compared to boosting frequencies you feel need to hear more of.

In Summary

As stated earlier in, we’ve shared these EQ drum starting point suggestions to help those new to mixing. The common thread which tie many of these EQ tips together is establishing drum fundamentals and working around them if focus is needed. Bleed also plays a huge part in live drum mixes. All the tips we’ve suggested in this article generally work well if you mix each channel in context of full drum mix or song. Try to avoid working on individual channels in isolation as you may find you get sounds you like that don’t work with the fuller picture. We would love to find out some of your go to EQ moves when mixing live drums.