Hey,

so for epic music:
I try to achive these aggressive punching drums like 2WEI.
Layering is not the problem here.

Any tips on how to mix them?
Any good libaries you would recommend ? I use DAMAGE 2 and Strikeforce mainly in my compositions.
Its getting slowly frustrating, i dont get even close to them.

References:
2WEI - BLINDSIDE
2WEI - THE CALL
2WEI - BURN (Especially the pitched droping drums)
2WEI - FUNERAL MARCH

My drums get lost in the mixing phase, and when i try to mix them correctly, putting some LA2A, PUNISH from Heavyocity and EQ i always overdrive them and they sound to crunchy and distorted.

Would be really nice if someone can help me here. I need them for my compositions, because i work on some aggressive epic covers for my first album.

Thanks in forward to ya'll !

HOPE THIS IS THE RIGHT THREAD, OTHERWISE COULD THE MOD PLEASE MOVE IT TO THE CORRECT THREAD ?

(ps: sorry for my english skills.)

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2022

There is nothin really special about those drums.

First of you need a good kick/sample to start with. If its already sound kinda weak look for a better sample (or preset in the Heavyocity Kontakt Library). I would make them from Scratch or atleast when you are not that expirenced with making/mixing drums layer them so you have more control on the lows/mids/highs. But im sure there are already good sounding drums in the Heavyocity.

It is true overdrive can give your drums some extra presence but dont think it will make your kick perfect.
I making my drums for years now and when i add some overdrive/saturation its only with 10-15 % wet.
I mean if you are making something like hardstyle, in the sound design of the kick you will use alot of saturation/distortion.
But on those type of kicks i would use some EQ & Overdrive and only really sattle.

Next thing that has to be good is the mix of all that other stuff around your kick.
I also saw this alot, many ppl have already a really good kick but everything around is kinda mixed wrong.
So the best thing right here would be you show us an example of yours. Then we can give you a much better feedback.

 

Listened to this two-way fella and their orchestral drums aren't processed that heavily at all.
If you want drums on that level - first, make sure your sound sources and arrangement are up to par. Not gonna work otherwise.
Second, make sure you have enough headroom on the master. You need all the dynamic range you have to make a good sounding mix. Make it loud afterwards, once it's good.
Third, make room for the drums in other instruments instead of "overcharging" your drums. Keep processing to as little as you can, everywhere. Then make drums loud enough so they sit where you want them to with a fader. Feel free to cut out all the mud with gates and filters, don't overdo reverbs.
Now and only now bring the whole mix up to as loud as you can without distorting anything in the loudest part. It won't be as loud as two-way's mixes, but that's because you don't have the experience and know-how of their engineers.

 

One remarkable thing about those songs is that the arrangements are what are so aggressive here, not the percussion.

I don't think that the percussion is very aggressive at all, slightly overdriven yes, but aggressive drums are Nine Inch Nails or other industrial for me. They just cut through, that's all. But the other instruments taking taking up the entire frequency spectrum one by one, as if you'd hear how they sounded before getting demasked, that's remarkable.

So the drums have their place and cut through the mix with saturation and compression BUT that's not important at all, rather self explanatory, whats important is that the arrangement makes the drums hit harder, so work on that.

Your search for plugin XY is just classical "fix in the mix" attitude, show us your tracks and we can tell you why they don't compare well.

 

Hey,
so i had a similar topic about epic music in general some days ago.
Little to know: i usualy only compose orchestral music. I dont have much to do with electric aspects like 2WEI and others use often.

So to summon some comments up: i will need a decent mix around the drums.
And the saturation idea and playing with the wet and dry lvl is actualy a cool idea, also the gating. There a many things in sampled drums that just sound muddy that need to be cut out.

I found on the positionmusic website every instrumental version of 2WEI's releases, even their ,,only drums" versions. And youre right. They are mostly playing with different layers and different dynamics. They are just a bit overdriven.

Im actualy on vacation, but on my other thread, i postest a google drive link of a project i work on right now. The drums and not even 10% ready, i placed them firstly to get a rythm and i will start to layer them. Also i boosted up my brasses and added some deep synths and layered brasses to get more power (thanks to the ideas of the other users). Sadly due to my vacation i cant send you the renewed version...

And one last thing: with plugins i ment something i can layer my drums like rim shots eg. Just to give them a bit more crunch. Not exactly just drum and play :D

Thank you to all of you!

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2022

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sorry. that was confusing by me. i surely do know mixing. its just about little things, small details. little adjustments that makes a good mix even better.

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2022