How to Mix Drums in Pro Tools

Laying down righteous drum and percussion tracks is the foundation for any successful recording. Without a catchy beat, songs wouldn't grab listeners' attention. However, a tune with a beat that's off is unbearable to listen to. Luckily, technology these days makes sound recording and mixing a breeze, especially with industry standard programs like Pro Tools. Start with recording beat tracks and mix drums in Pro Tools for a professional-sounding production.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Know what sound you're after. Think about several dimensions before recording and mixing, such as the concept, style or genre; the size—big or intimate; and the influence—modern or retro. Imagine what production style you're after also and which producer's sounds stick with you most that you might like to emulate.
2. Consider which drum and percussion instruments are typically used for most songs before you record—snare, high hat, kick, bass, cymbals or toms. Figure out if you'll use other percussion sounds like claves, congas, maracas or a cow bell. List which drum and percussion instruments you have already if you've previously recorded live (analogue) or in Pro Tools.
3. Mix drums in Pro Tools whether you've recorded live or with a virtual instrument, such as "Strike, Ultimate Virtual Drummer." Use plug-ins like "Structure, Sampling Work Station" or "XPand" to include additional percussion/drum sounds, such as kick, hi hat and snare or cow bell and shaker.
4. Start with picking up kick, snare and hi hat drums from "Strike." Click once on the speaker icon to test different drum kits and then double click so that you can load samples. Use "Strike" as a virtual drummer or drum machine by utilizing the first 3 octaves of your keyboard.
5. Overdub by looping sections of beats. Quantize regions of music by hitting "Alt" or "Option" 4 to open "Real-time Properties." Keep beats even and synchronized.
6. Lay down drum and percussion tracks. Make sure to give each instrument its own track. Realize that for analogue, you'll need to record each instrument separately for the best sound quality and mixing later. Mix drums in Pro Tools by utilizing numerous tracks; gain more production control.
7. Use a kick drum to fatten up music. Apply a compressor in Pro Tools to make it sound more defined or round—to make it thump. Find the compressor as a plug-in (or "Dynamics" in the new version) and select "Factory Default" for a huge range of pre-defined options for a great kick drum sound. Alter the attack and release settings to sharpen it.
8. Manipulate the snare drum also with a compression. Know that snare as well as kick drums give a song its heart beat so getting them justified will make a big difference in sound and production quality.
9. Play around with the other drum/percussion tracks until you get them sounding just right. Try different filters, tools and effects, such as reverb, to mix drums in Pro Tools. Adjust the volume, tone and pan features in the "Mix" window. Alter beats in the "Edit" window. Blend it all together with the other instruments/voices to see how it sounds.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember with multiple tracks, you can always go back and add, remove or duplicate drum tracks and overdub as well. Name sections and regions of music so that you can reuse them in other parts of a composition or future songs. Keep a library of basic beat combinations.
• Understand and pay attention to copyright laws for the protection of others' music/lyrics as well as you own. Be leery of sharing your music over the Internet without taking proper precautions.