Toms with Lee Fields

Toms with Lee Fields

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Toms with Lee Fields

301 Audio Mixing

Description

Explore Lee Field’s approach to mic’ing and mixing toms in a drum kit. Focus on the unique challenges and techniques used to bring out the best sounding tom drum. There is a clear distinction between coated and clear heads. This distinction affects EQ, gating, and reverb application. The goal is to achieve a bright, clear tom sound. It should blend seamlessly with the rest of the kit.

Key Points:

Toms are crucial in a drum kit. Their sound significantly affects the overall kit's quality.
Coated heads on toms present unique challenges compared to clear heads. This is especially true when trying to achieve a high-end sparkle.
A combination of EQ and gates is the primary approach, with occasional use of compression.
Specific microphones, like the KSM 32, are chosen for their quality and impact on the drum sound.
EQ adjustments focus on removing mid frequencies. These are around 4600 Hz. They also boost attack around 7k Hz for coated heads.
Coated heads naturally offer fewer frequencies above 10k Hz. As a result, they emphasize high-end frequencies less.
Gating is carefully set to respond appropriately to the drum's sound. It is not triggered by other kit elements like the snare or cymbals.
The same reverb used on the snare drum is also applied to the toms. This maintains consistency and coherence in the overall drum sound.

Explore Lee Field’s approach to mic’ing and mixing toms in a drum kit. Focus on the unique challenges and techniques used to bring out the best sounding tom drum. There is a clear distinction between coated and clear heads. This distinction affects EQ, gating, and reverb application. The goal is to achieve a bright, clear tom sound. It should blend seamlessly with the rest of the kit.

Key Points:

Toms are crucial in a drum kit. Their sound significantly affects the overall kit's quality.
Coated heads on toms present unique challenges compared to clear heads. This is especially true when trying to achieve a high-end sparkle.
A combination of EQ and gates is the primary approach, with occasional use of compression.
Specific microphones, like the KSM 32, are chosen for their quality and impact on the drum sound.
EQ adjustments focus on removing mid frequencies. These are around 4600 Hz. They also boost attack around 7k Hz for coated heads.
Coated heads naturally offer fewer frequencies above 10k Hz. As a result, they emphasize high-end frequencies less.
Gating is carefully set to respond appropriately to the drum's sound. It is not triggered by other kit elements like the snare or cymbals.
The same reverb used on the snare drum is also applied to the toms. This maintains consistency and coherence in the overall drum sound.