Punch Up Your Indie Drums: 3 Room-Filling Ideas

Ready to make your drums hit harder without drowning in plugins? 🥁 Swipe through for some great techniques from Darrell Thorp, Jack Antonoff, Michael Brauer, and Noam Wallenberg that'll transform your drum sound from bedroom to stadium-ready. No fancy gear required – just smart thinking and solid execution. Let's get into it! 👊

Puremix

Add weight to kicks with a resonant filter

Darrell Thorp uses the UAD Little Labs VOG to quickly and effectively add weight and size to an otherwise thin sounding kick drum. He typically starts with the "maximum lows" preset and then adjusts the amount of low end boost to suit the track.

Tape Notes Podcast

Playing softer for bigger drum sounds

Jack Antonoff shares his approach to achieving bigger-sounding drums by playing them softly. He explains that playing drums loudly can paradoxically limit their perceived loudness in a mix. By playing softly, the drums can be mixed louder, leveraging a psychoacoustic effect where our brains interpret the sound as being closer and, thus, more impactful. This technique is akin to the sensation of hearing a whisper clearly; when a sound is soft yet prominent, it tricks our perception into feeling as though the source is near. This creates an intimate and powerful presence in the mix, making the drums feel larger and more enveloping without overwhelming other elements.

Mix with the Masters

Automate level and low-end to lift the chorus

Michael Brauer demonstrates a technique for amplifying the impact of a chorus. He does this by making the preceding section 'smaller' - reducing the drum levels and cutting low-end frequencies. This creates a contrast so that when the chorus arrives, its increased level and added low-end frequencies make it sound significantly larger and more impactful. This approach effectively heightens the song's dynamics, making the chorus stand out.

Reverb.com

Add character with aggressive overhead processing

Noam Wallenberg demonstrates the Glyn Johns technique combined with aggressive processing to craft characterful drum overheads. He uses the Schoeps V4 U over the kit and the Shure SM57 from the side of the drums. Both microphones are sculpted with EQ to add body and remove sub frequencies, creating space for the kick drum. Distortion is applied using a Decapitator from Soundtoys and Satin from u-he, adding crunch and smoothing transients, while parallel compression with the Soundtoys Devil-Loc Deluxe enhances weight and sustain. The use of mismatched microphones and varied processing on each side creates a distinctive stereo image, with intentional differences in distortion levels contributing to dynamic panning effects. This approach, inspired by Tchad Blake's mixing style, results in a drum sound that is both vibrant and full of character.