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Background:

So, sometimes I like to play completely improvisational drum solos with my friends and dad (and record them). Changing their physical location in the environment is not really an option. Let's pretend that I only have two cheap SDC's and two inputs to record them (and am too broke to upgrade). On these recordings I put the mics at a 45 degree angle, 'looking' at each individual drumset, and panned them hard left and right. My theory was to simulate a listener sitting in between each set. I figured there being drums, and drums are loud, that the would be plenty of bleed between the two sets that it would sound natural. Can't really change that now anyway. I added some light bus reverb to both tracks to put it in a bit of a space.

Summary:

One drumset with single mic panned hard left
One drumset with single mic panned hard right

Question:

How do I compress (using only software compression), and what is the reasoning behind?

Hypothesis:

I was thinking of applying a channel compressor to each drumset, with fast attack and moderately aggressive settings to clamp down on transients in hopes of getting a less thin sound from each set. On the mix bus, add a slower attack less aggressive settings in hopes of kind mushing the mix together a bit. Mind you, I want bring up the bottom dynamics a bit, but not kill the dynamic range.

Thoughts:

(Up to you, thanks!)

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Comments

Jeemy Thu, 11/18/2010 - 18:08

Phase is gonna be your killer, and frankly I have no idea how you would even calculate and compensate for it. The room would need to be good enough to support the theory beforehand as well. Looking at Recorderman's measurement method on drum micing might give you some pointers - equidistant from both kicks and snares without putting two 180-degree sources (ohs) out-of-phase would be pretty difficult I reckon.