I was hoping some of you could help me understand how to choose and tweak a hihat. For whatever reason, this part of the kit has been the most challenging for me to tweak to my liking. I happen to very much like the Meinl hihat from the Crush expansion, but I don’t feel the open shank sample was recorded with the hihat open enough. Compared to other hihat models, the Crush Meinl “open” sample is about equal to a 3/4 on other models. I like the wide open clanging of the other hihats like from the Zildjian Vault or BFD3 library, but can’t tweak them to get the same toneless sizzle. (trying to remove the “gong ringing” and stick strike, and only keep the sizzle.)
For reference of the hihat timbre I prefer, please see the Crush product page and please listen to the Pro Dojo (drums only) sound cut around the :40 second mark.
Any recommendations on how to adjust the Direct and/or Ambient mic levels or EQ to achieve this timbre with a different hihat that can sound wide open? I’ve looked at the BFD3 manual multiple times and still can’t fully understand how to tweak it the way I would like.
Is there a way to have an EQ effect change the sound prior to hitting the OH, Room and Amb3 mics? I find adding an effect on the channel only changes the direct mic input and the EQ is not shaping the sound going to the Ambient mic group. Can I have an EQ (or any other effect) change the sound of the drum prior to it being picked up by the ambient mics?
Doesn’t look like it. You can send a kit piece channel, Post FX to a Master channel/Bus like Amb Mix, but not the OH’s, Room, etc nested inside of it. Not that I can tell anyways.
Honestly, it only makes sense in the real world, when tracking live drums. You might use preamps, eq and comp going in (sparingly in most cases), but that processed signal isn’t going to feed into the OH’s, Rooms etc, it’s just for the direct mics. With your idea, you’d be sending the direct mic’s of channels into ambient mics. It would be overload number one and you’d lose the essence of the ambient channels, which is to capture the sound of the kit being played in a room. This is just my brain thinking, so I could be wrong.
I approach Amb channels like they’re an instrument of their own and sculpt them around the direct mics in the context of the mix. In most cases, they’re going to be taking a back seat to the direct mics.
Might I suggest you demo Eventide’s Split EQ? It allows you to EQ the transient and tonal portions of a sound separately–which I have used extensively with hats for the very reasons you’re discussing.
Maybe not an ideal solution, no, but simply having Split in your toolbox can help you fix all manner things like this–and so much more! Highly highly recommended!