NOLLY MIXING MASTERCLASS - Cymbal Processing

Adam "Nolly" Getgood walks through a rock song in this mixing masterclass, focusing on mixing cymbals that are bright and crisp without getting harsh or brittle.
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12 specialized styles of compression
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Built-in pre and post EQ sections to improve workflow
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Built-in saturation to help shape and add character to your drums
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*Note, this video uses a beta version of Smash and Grab so some features and graphics are different in the released version.

[@GreyManFaustus]

This is the most comfy-looking studio I've ever laid eyes on.

[@mybiggrin]

I just finished the drum portion of this masterclass, which took me days, and I learned A BUNCH and my drums sound AWESOME now. Thank you.

[@ZachHayesRB]

Holy shit that sidechain room mic trick is incredible. It's the perfect way to get that splashy, explosive snare sound I've been looking for!

[@eden_machine]

This is exactly what my snare needed. Nolly, I love you.

[@BearFulmer]

Thanks for the information Nolly, you are truly helping to make people better at this

[@Sarvastivada]

Dude that gate/expander trick on the rooms is so sick

[@LucasEklund]

Wow, gonna' try that gate trick on the rooms, i'm mindblown right now haha, thanks for the intel! :)

[@fondfarewell2]

great job on the new single nolly, the quality of production is better than anything I've ever heard, did miss seeing you in the video though.

[@Eurodrummer666]

I managed to tame nicely my harsh OH recording applying advices from this video. Thank you Nolly.

[@austinjamesweimer3388]

Captivated by this series. Keep it up!

[@williammusicman]

okay...so yesterday i was wondering how i can make a snare sound explosive. i didn't know expander is the answer for room mics. good thing i saw this vid! thanks!!!❤️

[@BlackenedNL]

What about the panning of the overheads? Do you usually pan all the way?

[@renauddurand630]

Good amount of knowledge in this video . Thank you!

[@armandomago4403]

Love you Nolly

[@rickbiessman6084]

Yes, this has been super informative, yes, this has inspired me, and yes, I shall head over to getgooddrums.com! :D Thanks so much Adam, I love your mixes and it’s priceless to hear from you how you do them!

[@megyalilaballad]

What room mics did you use for this video? They sound very ‘full’.

[@ryanshook8284]

With that drastic of a cut on the cymbals, why not use a ribbon mic or just turn them down altogether? What you've done surely sounds better - just genuinely curious.

[@privacee1845]

them room mics sound so goddamn good

[@jobulog4545]

Great vid.

[@gregedenfield1080]

man those cinema monitors are the hottest vid screens I have ever used.

[@LukeGibsonSS]

IMO I think the increase of the drum bus on the fill was a bit overkill. Also I checked on 2 pairs of headphones (Beyerdynamic 880 Pros and a pair of cheaper ones) and through studio monitors and couldn't hear the whistling frequency mentioned with the cut at 3:15 not sure if that's down to KZbin's sound quality not translating the audio as well or just you using much higher end monitors making it stand out more.

[@hsblackbird4732]

Make sure you're watching at 1080p, I heard it clear as day when he bypassed the EQ

[@LukeGibsonSS]

@@hsblackbird4732 What you listening on? I just did it again, decent volume at 1080p and still couldn't hear any great difference.

[@hsblackbird4732]

@@LukeGibsonSS I'm currently using Audio-Technica ATH-M40x's but also have KRK Rokit 5's and AKG K240's. Maybe that's just a frequency range you could use more practice looking for? Sorry man, I don't have much else info, don't know why you're not hearing it

[@LukeGibsonSS]

@@hsblackbird4732 probably just going deaf in my old age lol I've been at it almost 20 years, so I doubt it's lack of practise

[@hsblackbird4732]

@@LukeGibsonSS Haha I gotcha, well all I can say is that the frequency is definitely there! lol

[@TheoYoungMusic]

Thanks Noll :)

[@tightsoundrecords2981]

Nice stuff

[@katielowen]

Kickflip?🙅‍♂️🚫 Nolly?✅🤩

[@fatlazycabs1688]

That room sounds incredible. How is the snare cutting through that much without having the cymbals p*ssing in the mics is baffling

[@djentlover]

Matt hits the shit out of his snare

[@vincentbrisson-composer5859]

If you want you could bump up the mids a little bit it should help a bit but dont overdo it because its affecting the whole room

[@moritzschiekel2272]

@@djentlover no only drumer is hitting something is the pc its just sampels von ggd

[@djentlover]

Moritz Schiekel I know but I assume Matt recorded the samples. Also the room they recorded in was very nice.

[@xplanet2112]

Thanks, the gating trick is one I’ve heard before but it’s something I like to use.... when I’m mixing in my spare room.... for nobody to ever listen to 😂😂

[@kidR0BOT]

What about a series where you take a novice mix and give them a few tips to help them out 😅

[@luito5089]

Great stuff! Digg'n this channel.

[@vincentbrisson-composer5859]

Im not sure about the cut at 6k i mean it sounds more clean but it takes out a little bit of the punch and life out of the cymbals in my opinion

[@joelbousquet1156]

If youre a fan of harsh slicing cymbals ruining an otherwise balanced mix, Id say leave out the bell cut.

[@vincentbrisson-composer5859]

@@joelbousquet1156 Nolly does this but a lot of sound guys dont do that cut

[@joelbousquet1156]

@@vincentbrisson-composer5859 its about depth, and I dont want upfront sounding cymbals that are in my listeners face the entire song. The theory being that darker sounds sound further away and have a perceived depth compared to brighter sounds that seem closer.

[@vincentbrisson-composer5859]

@@joelbousquet1156 It's pretty subjective :)

[@heyitsscottyo]

@@vincentbrisson-composer5859 I think its more than something that's subjective. Long exposure to harsh cymbal sound will fatigue listeners, maybe not producers, but certainly regular listeners.

[@nikcrosina]

so at 2:50 or so, on the EQ pop-up, if these graphics are to be trusted you are just essentially cutting the overall volume down. Not selectively EQing the signal. you might as well, turn the signal down a bit, no? I think the bells of your EQs are a bit too wide, and the cut between 5-7k is way to much. you are taking the sizzle of the overheads way down, almost away completely. But I do realise that this is largely a matter of taste, how far you take these things, and if the final mix is great - who cares ;)

[@thedutchdjentleman]

Second

[@jakeamano]

The Dutch Djentleman yea you were 8th.

[@lfox02]

Nobody here.

[@crystalfunky]

Great information and good video quality, but there's no connection or eye contact with the viewer. And I find the moving camera quite annoying and unnecessary but thats just me.

[@KPG76]

Doesn't this method reduce the cymbals to a generic sound with no character whatsoever? I mean, what is the point of purchasing $2k worth of cymbals if someone is going to cut all the highs?

[@danielthomas8507]

Because that's how it works in recording studios, live is where you can enjoy your cymbals in a more natural environment 😉

[@KPG76]

@@danielthomas8507 I 've been doing my own mixing for nearly 15 years and I will beg to differ. Surely it 's much faster to aggressively cut all the ”offensive” frequencies across a broad spectrum. But that just reduces everything to a generic ”psss” sound. But if you have really nice cymbals recorded in a nice room then it really pays off to put the time and the effort to let them be heard. Even if this means going measure to measure to automate volume, compression and dressing.

[@whatskraken3886]

yes. This is my main complaint with nolly

[@jerodhughes6703]

High passing overheads and spot mics, you can get more midrange character out of the room mics

[@KPG76]

@@jerodhughes6703 What do you mean? Highpassing the mids? I don't think anyone does that. Anyway, this is not my complaint here. It is the cut on the high mids that deprives cymbals of character.