As surprising as it may seem, mixing cymbals and hi-hats is generally extremely simple.
It’s true that we sometimes tend to want to add effects at all costs. Equalizers, compressors, etc. However, for cymbals, it is often better to do nothing.
Or almost nothing.
Based on this observation, I have compiled in this article the techniques that I most often use for these instruments or for the overheads (microphones placed above the drum kit for stereo recording).
You will see, it’s quite simple 😉
Equalization of Cymbals
A First Classic Cleaning
Like with the snare drum, for example, the first step will be to clean your cymbal or overhead track.
In other words, remove with a high-pass filter (HPF) the unnecessary frequencies that pollute the low end of the audio spectrum. This will filter out the lows, which will be particularly useful to properly bring out your kick drum track (if it is well equalized, of course).
Most of the time, I find myself cutting between 300 and 400 Hz, which is quite a good compromise.
If you want a slightly more organic sound by allowing some of the other instruments from your drum kit to pass through, you can cut a little lower. If you want a modern and precise sound, you can go up to 500-600 Hz, but be careful not to lose too much energy from your cymbals!
Making Room for Vocals
Of course, cymbals have an audio spectrum primarily centered on the upper mids and highs. So, if you’re not careful, they may overshadow your singer’s voice.
To avoid this, it will often be useful to cut a few decibels between 1.5 and 6 kHz with a bell EQ.
As much as possible, try not to be too heavy-handed with the EQ. Otherwise, if you create a big hole in your frequency spectrum, your cymbals will sound quite unnatural.
Brighter? Darker?
And finally, the most interesting adjustment: that of presence.
Depending on your cymbals, the microphones, or the samples you have used, your sound will be more or less bright.
To control its color, I recommend using a high-shelf filter with a gentle slope. If you want more highs and a more airy sound, add a few decibels above 6-8 kHz. For a darker and slightly vintage sound, on the contrary, don’t hesitate to cut broadly around the same frequencies.
Compression on Cymbals?
Ah, this is a big topic – and it must be said, not everyone agrees.
You will form your own opinion, but if you are new to mixing, I advise you to keep things simple. Especially regarding compression.
Most of the time, compressing cymbal/overhead tracks proves unnecessary. Or at least, not required.
Indeed, you risk distorting your sound instead of improving it.
(However, if you still insist on using a compressor, try compressing your entire drum bus instead or test the parallel compression technique.)
On the other hand, it is much more interesting to lean towards De-Essers.
Indeed, De-Essers are primarily designed to remove sibilance from a voice, that is to say, the hissing sounds like those produced when pronouncing the letter “S”.
But in reality, they are compressors that act only on a specific frequency band.
In the case of our overhead track, you will see that they often help control the aggressiveness of the cymbals and prevent a sound that is too shrill.
The Magic of Saturation
As you understood from the first part of this article, very few effects are needed for cymbals/overheads – apart from a bit of EQ.
However, there is still a technique that I use very often.
Depending on the recording, and especially if you are using samples, the sound of the cymbals or hi-hats can sometimes seem a bit flat. It lacks that “shimmering”, organic and realistic quality that brings it to life.
If equalization does not allow you to achieve the sound you want, then I recommend adding saturation.
Be careful, I am not talking about heavy distortion at all, but rather about saturation plugins set subtly. Moreover, there are plenty of free ones available.
Above all, do not push the effect to the max. Raise the saturation level until you can hear it, then lower it just a little bit.
And there you go! In just a few seconds, you have added color to your cymbals. 🙂
An Audio Example
To make it clearer, I made you a quick mix of a song by James May, All Souls Moon – with his kind permission. You can find more info about him on his website, www.thatjamesmay.com
I simplified the track a bit by removing some instruments. For the drums, I kept the kick, snare, and overheads.
You guessed it: we will focus on the latter.
Here is the track with no effects:
Following the ideas explained in this article, I decided (while listening to the full mix) to add:
- a quite pronounced equalization to filter out the low frequencies
- saturation using the free Saturation Knob plugin from Softube.
Here is the result:
“It’s night and day.”
However, outside the context of a mix, it doesn’t really speak. In fact, it sounds a bit less natural (okay, I admit, I intentionally pushed the effect a bit).
So, to make the example more complete, you will find below a full mix (with mastering), first without effects and then with EQ and Saturation.
Right away, the overheads stand out much better and the drums come to life. I also took the opportunity to add some snap to the snare thanks to the overheads.
Without effects, however, the cymbals really remain in the background and have less texture…
In Conclusion
There you go, I hope this has helped you to see a bit better how you could treat a cymbal or overhead track.
In summary:
- Equalization: to be used simplistically to filter out unwanted frequencies and to manage the sound of the cymbals
- Compression: only if you really absolutely need it, and preferably with a De-Esser
- Saturation: the little secret weapon to give an organic feel to your recording
And that’s it! No need to overthink it… 🙂