for me, I tend to view the overheads as like 85% of my drum sound. Those are the 3 I've been happy with, do quite fancy the waves dbx 160 but not totally sure if I can justify it! Although overheads can sound more aggressive with compression applied to them, I personally prefer the pin‑point accuracy … New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the audioengineering community. what do you define as "slow" and "fast" on one? I find that whenever I use a spaced pair set up, I tend to use the same compressor --partly because I know it works / partly because I only have so many -- and I often use similar settings. Depends on the content. I'm often using an FMR RNC (i have a small home studio with a small amount of outboard - 2 RNC's, 4 DBX 160's, 1 VLA Pro II, a DBX 166). Conversely, if you want to add more body to, for example, your snare, set both attack and release times really fast (within a few milliseconds), with the threshold set so that it is compressing the snare's attack, but not its body. I'm mixing right now. i notice the attack / release settings on an 1176 are 1-7. are these milliseconds? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. i actually don't compress the drum bus! For more pop rock stuff or country I don't find myself using the overheads much in a mix so I just ride them back low and don't compress. You gotta be really careful with those overheads, especially considering that you're gonna be compressing the drum-bus later on. so you're essentially parallel compressing the OH's, and automating the blend throughout the song? Press J to jump to the feed. i'll have to try it sometime! The use of Volume automation is important now when blending the two tracks, and the balance should probably change slightly throughout the song. interesting how everyone views overheads differently! 4:1 medium attack / fast release 3 db of gain reduction. Slow attack, fast release smashed on an 1176 at about 15% wet, just to bring in some sustain and vibe. I find that whenever I use a spaced pair set up, I tend to use the same compressor --partly because I know it works / partly because I only have so many -- and I often use similar settings. I love slamming a mono overhead or if something is tracked live destroy it with something like a Distressor, if in the box I like the Kush UBK-1. I'll tend to compress the drum buss as a whole, plus kick/snare/toms individually. I'm also recently moved into using the Fairchild 670 slammed on the drum group in parallel, as it's just fat as fuck. Often it's only 2db at most, then the entire kit gets a bus compressor set however I see fit. Usually same as you; 4:1 or thereabouts, attack set to let some snare pop through and fast release to bring up the energy of the kit. For the best results, apply several “coats,” or stages, of compression. i've never used one or a clone. that being said, I totally agree about room mics, and should try this whole technique sometime! Use a fast to medium release and set the threshold fairly low. I like using an L2 or L1 first to catch the snare, and then a compressor with 2:1 ratio, medium attack, semi-fast release at like 1-3 dBs of GR. For example, you might apply some light compression to the kick and snare. if someone held a gun to my head, with the very very judicious mic placement I do, I could get by with only these two mics. 4:1 medium attack / … compressing overheads - your thoughts / settings / ideas? The IK 1176 is good for a bit of a dirtier sound, Boz +10db comp sounds cool too. I'm mixing right now. Maybe even add a touch of tape to kill the peaks just a tad. squash it down a little, but not enough for the cymbals to fade out too "washy". Depends on the mix/vibe/client and what the desired sound is. Also quite like the IK buss compressor which seems a bit smoother - good for some meat on the snare hit and doesn't make the cymbals get as trashy as some alternatives. Then apply a layer of compression across the drum group as a whole. I tend to view close mics as sound reinforcement. Can't go as far with the UBK but it gets the job done most of the time. Mostly ITB here, but I'll often compress them a little and leave the close mics uncompressed. I'll copy them and compress them then, and maybe treat them slightly different. Start by applying a layer of compression on the individual drum tracks in your mix. Drum group comp tends to be a 2500, or sometimes a G-series. Mostly it's CRUSHED or nothing. Some people love to use the Overhead mics using the whole kit sound (including kicks, toms, snares) but some people prefer the OH mics to play the role of the high end spectrum (using a high pass filter and keeping only the hats and cymbals).If you choose to use the “high end” approach make sure to use a Limiter if there’s too much snare bleed, just to keep the snare from popping and annoying the mix.For the “high end appr… BUT. i just never have, I compress the overheads more than most else on my drum tracks, using two MXL 993s for overheads. Products, practices, and stories about the profession or hobby of recording, editing, and producing audio. im thinking about getting the WARM 1176 clones for this exact reason, I stopped compressing overheads using an insert compressor recently, made a huge difference.