The SNARE MIXING TRICK nobody told YOU!

Get the drum tracks here:
➡️bit.ly/3W6QAnF
Today German producer Kristian Kohle (Aborted, Powerwolf, Eskimo Callboy, Hämatom, Van Canto, Emil Bulls, Benighted) shows you how to tame a dynamic snare performance and how to bring all the ghost notes and softer hits right in front of the mix!
Subscribe to my email list to stay tuned about the KOHLE AUDIO KULT academy!
➡️mailchi.mp/0cb34f9ecfda/krist...
The links below might be affiliate links. I might get a commission if you buy something after clicking on the links. This is one way for you to support this channel:
The gear used in this video:
Waves RVox (with a 60% discount)
➡️bit.ly/3bZ5FoU
Drum Leveler
➡️bit.ly/3bUNY9S
Korneff Compressor:
➡️korneffaudio.com/product/talk...
Get Kristian Kohle's guitar tone course here: ➡️bit.ly/3IRXK8z
Get Kristian Kohle's EMINENCE DV-77 IR pack: ➡️bit.ly/3txw6VK
Get Kristian Kohle's "Rainbows & Chainsaws" IR pack here: ➡️bit.ly/3aObS3A
Get the GRINDSTEIN plug in here: ➡️bit.ly/38Yeomu
SOCIALS:
Make sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram:
➡️ / kohlekellerstudio
➡️ / kohlekellerstudio

[@KohleAudioKult]

How do you like this little trick? Who's looking forward to the KOHLE AUDIO KULT?

[@maddogtungate6740]

Can't wait for the KULT!

[@CrushingAxes]

Very cool trick! I always like to comp the bottom mic, but it's a very cool idea to tame the ghost notes.

[@deadmaydie]

You've got a very comprehensive insight! Can't wait for the courses. ;-)

[@naicametal]

Hey, I was wondering if the academy will aproach marketing?

[@KohleAudioKult]

@@naicametal You mean marketing your band?

[@Producelikeapro]

Amazing! Great video! Bob is THE man! Great guy and amazing Producer and Engineer! That's his son, Chris, playing Drums, incredible drummer!

[@KohleAudioKult]

I forgot to mention that! Thanks Warren! ❤️🤘

[@chrismonaut]

Warren, a video together with Rick Beato and Bob Marlette talking about mixing/producing shinedowns leave a whisper album would be amazing!

[@kernelxsanders]

For me, the snare bottom is essential for soft hits, that's about the main reason I even use a bottom mic at all. Also, Rvox is one of my "desert island" plugins. So simple and works on so many sources. Never tried it on the bottom mic though, I usually just automate the gate threshold. Gonna have to try this!

[@lesbuenomusic]

this is great!! Thank you for sharing this trick!

[@michaelkeene5950]

Rvox obviously has basically an attack of 0.00, which doesn’t always make it practical for drums, but the rep at Waves told me a smart trick. You can kind of use Rvox to level out a drum and then pull the gate on Rvox up and it’s a pretty soft curved gate and you can compress the level and gate out some of the cymbals and stuff, THEN put a compressor with a slower attack time to get the transient you want. He specifically suggested it on toms. I’ve really come to love drumatom and Wilkinson debleeder in combination with drum leveler to get drums gated super smoothly and level. If you haven’t tried the MELDA drum leveler, I’d HIGHLY recommend that one. Their full plugin suite is pretty amazing. It really shocked me how many creative plugins they have that no one else really makes. Lots of unique stuff.

[@cajun3197]

I was just struggling with this last week and getting discouraged. Long journey to a good sound. I’m enjoying all you have to share.

[@zazyczech]

What I have to say about tips like this: Many people can say, you give away your know how for free. But I don’t think so! I saw many tricks and many tips, but key is to recognize the situation when the tip or trick is useful and why. And this is the “magic”which thanks god no one can’t say. And I thank you again for inspiration!

[@MartinBellamyMBDrums]

That was honestly such a great lesson!

[@YegorGavrin]

That's an amazing tip! Thanks a lot, i'll definitely try to implement it in a mix🙌🏻

[@quirijnfoeken7520]

What a great tip! Love this!

[@RandyHanley]

I love your approach: Using your brains and the physics, rather than just slapping on 1 million plug-ins.

[@CrashMediaMI]

This was SO helpful dude, holy shit. I never even considered this. Thank you for making these videos man!

[@KohleAudioKult]

Always here to help! 🍺🤗

[@VoodooProjectStudio]

Brilliant technique! Really saved my drum tracks on my upcoming release! Thanks Kristian!

[@carlkolthoff5402]

Cool trick! Looking forward to try it out soon.

[@MurrayJames]

Very very cool!

[@joeyo2365]

This is absolutely brilliant. Been a while since an audio KZbin video has actually changed the way I’ve looked at a recording method

[@KohleAudioKult]

Great to hear that! Welcome to the channel!

[@mooiedingen]

Amazing stuff mate!

[@nunobaiao-NBdrums]

Works great. I always used the bottom mic mainly for ghosts volume.

[@josemedina940]

Awesome. Fantastic video and tic.

[@rickblackers88]

Amazing!!! Thanx so much my man!!

[@catalyticrecord4213]

Very cool tips, appreciate that man!

[@naicametal]

Cool video, currently I don't have a drummer anymore but shure I struggle with that in the past. Great content

[@guidomauriziodoria]

Great video !

[@annekedebruyn7797]

Thats really clever. As a ghost notist, I am going to use this a lot! Thanks for sharing.

[@danizha212]

What a masterclass!! 👏🏼

[@TylerAFE]

Dude…😎 super slick trick right here. I love it.

[@marcomarchese2529]

Very helpful! Thanks!

[@Freogeteknet]

Thanks for this trick because this is going to save me a lot of headache! When I hear the results I can see that it must've been used on a lot of mixes!

[@baryaish]

So Simple, So GOOD!

[@studiofluff2571]

Great trick

[@mikaelsehlin]

Great tip! Thank you 👑🤘

[@whatiftoday]

Great tip!!

[@serge1643]

It's just incredible!

[@KohleAudioKult]

I like comments like that 🤪🤘❤️

[@Worgram]

Amazing Trick!

[@pottproject]

The snare bottom also is very useful, if you don’t have a great room sound. For a big snare verb, you can put a reverb on just the bottom mic. It sounds bigger and the attack of the top mic also cuts better through the mix.

[@KohleAudioKult]

Good idea! Gotta try that. Doesn't that make the reverb too ringy or bright?

[@pottproject]

@@KohleAudioKult Hey. As always it depends on the situation. Sometimes it works better, sometimes not. I made a short clip, showing how I bring room into my drums. As you can hear I'm not a pro and the snare-tuning is bad. Also you could eq the verb and maybe compress and gate it. I used the req only to push the volume. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2TZk3mkZqdnnsU

[@samuliauno8163]

@@pottproject Good demo, I'll definitely experiment with this.

[@marnofranck6204]

This video deserves a freakin award

[@janoschrathmer]

Sehr geil. Vielen Dank dafür. Werde ich definitiv ausprobieren!

[@KohleAudioKult]

Viel Spaß!

[@paulferrarodrums]

Best attitude for a teacher for me , I like the swearing it makes a lot more sense and easier to understand the emotion

[@tonyhudspeth3861]

love it .. thank you

[@Wiles32]

First video of yours I’ve watched an I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing I would have like to have heard is the comparison in a full mix. Keep up the good work dude. Subscribed 🤘

[@KohleAudioKult]

Welcome! Check out the channel. You’ll find a lot more cool stuff!

[@Maggai]

This is a great tip!! 🤘🤘

[@PaulWegmann]

Really Good Advice, man!

[@daneoduran2674]

Brilliant. Great idea. Thank you. :)

[@jgmopar]

That was really cool.

[@eliassimon666]

Interesting! I actually like the character that this technique gives to the kick. It sort of smears the attack and makes it a little less "sterile".

[@attymarkpiadventures]

Awesome!!! 👍

[@daneoduran2674]

Hi again Kristian, yesterday you'll see I left a "nice" little comment regarding this video. However my mind must have been working on this overnight because today I'm reckoning this is a proper brilliant, essential technique you've shared with us. Thank you again. :)

[@KohleAudioKult]

Haha! Even better! Thanks! 🤘

[@plasticmummyhead]

yes! love this

[@user-md4kb2ng9y]

Thank you!

[@sgfdancecompany]

great technique!!!

[@soundclosetstudio]

Thats A great trick👍🤘

[@jasonclark6058]

Awesome tip!!!!

[@mattwhite399]

What a great trick!

[@alrecks619]

5:30 i think i remember the cranked snare reso head from Nolly, apparently he'll tune the reso head as high as 440Hz (A4 note) because Matt Halpern is just so dynamic with his drumming.

[@dominiccastillo9677]

Thank you!!!

[@RevoltStudio-hj6tj]

Awesome 🙏👌🤘

[@morbidmanmusic]

Nice!

[@douggroulx1525]

That is cool!

[@AlexVineRuiz]

With drum leveller - Catch the main snare hits only, lower your target level for the main snare hits, then compensate with the output. The difference between main snare hits and ghost notes can be dialled in as needed with the added bonus of evened out main hits.

[@joelarmendariz8876]

awesome technique on that bottom mic 👍

[@josuastangl7140]

wow that's a great trick, danke!

[@KS-ld7zs]

Another fun side effect of this is that you can sometimes use the snare wires reacting to the kick as kind of high-end attack, which ends up as a nice color in the right context.

[@DrBrunoDzogovic]

Another trick is to use a combination of a clipper and limiter. It will tame the transients but also enhance the lower volume notes. In the end, adding some saturation will make it cut through the mix.

[@chrismonaut]

Great video as always! Funny to see you use RVox on non vocal tracks as well. I just recently rediscovered that plugin in that way. The Renaissance Axx from that series is - also unintended i guess - sometimes a very cool vocal compressor for rock and heavy music.

[@cary3428]

I think of my Rvox as a compressor. Useful on lots of different signals.

[@MrAxel1892]

Geile Sache, Alter! Did subscribe immediately.

[@MrAxel1892]

Building a studio on 90sqm near Berlin this year. Wonna shoot a video series about it and let your advices flow in? Greets from the nearby, @xel.

[@KohleAudioKult]

Willkommen!

[@ivanalfonsocorderogutierre7498]

Thanks!

[@MountainViewStudio]

Cool trick!!!

[@drummer_alex_martin]

The snare sounds awesome from the very beginning 1:40. Its when you know you have a great potential for mixing. So the most important mixing trick for snare - a great recording! :))

[@rachitbhengra4298]

Damn this was nice!

[@ChristianIce]

Another suggestion, in situations where the bottom snare sounds like a fart (which happens often) is to use a linear distortion. It really evens out the sound in the right way.

[@KohleAudioKult]

Interesting. But what's a linear distortion?

[@ChristianIce]

@@KohleAudioKult I mean the stock distortion with no eq interaction, just straight ditosrting everything from 20 to 20000 :) Usually it's the stock distortion in every DAW, which doesn't try to emulate anything.

[@infinaneek]

Great! I’d normally reach for Sonnox Drumgate for this but I’m gonna try your technique next time.

[@BrentIraEnman]

Good stuff man! Sub'd

[@cristianibarraOfficial]

you earn another subscriber right here, I'm from Argentina, vielen dank für alles!!!!

[@KohleAudioKult]

Welcome! 🤘

[@ChristopherRoss.]

One thing that I like to do in addition to this (doesn't always work) is to put an expander on the snare top, side chained to the bottom snare to bring out the body of the top mic a bit more. Also, gate with a slow attack on the bot mic to pull out the ambient noise generated by the compression.

[@ractorstudios]

👍

[@firmans12]

Thanks Kohle

[@BillGraper]

I use the Waves MV2 compressor. Besides the normal compression, It also has upwards compression, and works great bringing up the low hits below your threshold. I use it SLIGHTLY as a normal compressor & add another compressor. I mainly use it to bring up the low hits. It looks like you're using a different Waves compressor for upwards compression.

[@kelvinsmyth8365]

WavesFactory Snare buzz does this very well. I never mic bottom snare any more.

[@stephanerancourt7188]

Great !!!!!!

[@realraven2000]

I like it, would probably use torque after the RVox compression to tune down the snare a little.

[@ricardogil363]

I usualy use a lot of the bottom snare mic, not just for this technique but also if Im going to sample it, sometimes the treshold is cleaner to detect the hit so I dobuble it use for the sampler, for this technique and apart I have the other sound of my snare it results really great at the end

[@KohleAudioKult]

Often the snare wires sound artificial when close miked. This time it worked really well though!

[@HR2635]

COOL.. I dont have those plugins but I do kind of the same thing using free plugins (AO Fetish and DeadDuck gate). i just use a super shot gate and a 1176 (fast attack medium shot release, with all buttons in) on a top snare mic copy-track. Works like a charm.. and only enhances the ghost notes and not the louder snare hits( they are ducked as 20+ ratio will limit it)

[@francismcfadden3305]

Nice. Have you ever thought about using triggers just for the sake of just sidechaining? Like no using samples, just for more precise gating and such. I feel like that would get some pretty good results in combination with something like this. Triggers have become one of those big no no's but for using as just a way to make mixing easier I feel it'd be a time saver. Could even sidechain it with the overheads or room mic using a dynamic eq to bring out certain elements of specific pieces of the drum kit.

[@snapascrew]

I love this technique as well! and yes, couldn't agree more you need fast attack compression on snare wires mic almost always. transients coming down that mic almost never sounds good. I have had a few times with R&B drummers where i'll use a lot of the snare bottom to beef up the sound because they cranked the batter head way too tight (live sound IEM mixing).

[@cjstringfield]

Yup…. You have a new subscriber 🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@KohleAudioKult]

Welcome! 🤩🤘

[@mtbsieppo]

Great video! Only problem I see is that kick drum and toms can also make snare wires resonate a lot so it's a bit difficult to get 100% succes. I'm going to try a trigger on my snare batter head and use the trigger track to operate snare mic gate. I think that could be the easiest and most precise way to separate ghost notes from hihat bleed

[@guillaumebery6764]

that's a nice one, i use to do that trick but with the MV2, which is quite similar but with independant setting

[@KohleAudioKult]

The MV2 being Waves take on Drum Leveler, right?

[@guillaumebery6764]

@@KohleAudioKult i don't think so, MV2 is still on the Waves catalogue. Drum lever is from another brand, but looks nice too

[@mhb450]

Simple and should have been obvious, but it wasn’t to me. Awesome!! Thanks!!

[@Alien-qw5ks]

Amazing trick and eye opener, it got me thinking ,if you use a different compressor and let a bit more attack trough, would it help to make softly played blast beats more audible?

[@kaipolidori9979]

It took me a while to figure this out myself. It’s an awesome technique if your drummer is very dynamic. Great video!

[@robinjohnson6301]

I love that the Sonor Prolite 14x6" Brass snare is always the one you flash up in your vids when talking about snares. It's a drum I've love to get my hands on at some point! Is it a favourite of yours?

[@KohleAudioKult]

Sonic Brass snares are fantastic! The one in the video is that legendary Tama Bell Brass snare they used on Nevermind

[@WhatGrenadeWhere]

Neat trick Kris. I don't record, but I enjoy the channel.

[@KohleAudioKult]

Time to start recording then! 👌😇

[@WhatGrenadeWhere]

@@KohleAudioKult Haha. Maybe as a hobby. My band goes into the studio next month for our 1st EP. $300 for a full day, $250 for 2nd day for leads and vox. At the best studio in Portland OR, Hallowed Halls. Plus free mix & master. Producer is new to town, his forte is extreme metal and is getting his portfolio started. So he's not charging his rates, only the studio rates. It'll be fun to be back in a studio. Last time was about 2003. Maybe one day we'll be able to choose a producer and get you or Eric Rutan. Or both together. That'd be awesome. Have a great day Kris.

[@miguelmikemigs]

That's cool Kohle but I figured this myself out 2 years ago. Kidding aside, it IS a cool tip no one talks about enough!

[@kjhammersteinMusic]

That's the way drums sound.

[@ractorstudios]

Noice !

[@Maniek_76]

I always waiting for Kohle last words in video :-)

[@KohleAudioKult]

And I never disappoint, haha!

[@mybrotherjames8579]

I used this technique when recording to a tascam 4track cassette recorder 20yrs ago. My dad had a lot of live sound pa equipment(mixers, eqs, compressors, mics). Let me tell you, mixing drums while you’re playing them with my “extreme isolation” headphones was fun. Didn’t help that I was playing a pearl free-floater brass snare cranked. 😂

[@KohleAudioKult]

Brass Free Floaters are great! Got the 6,5" here and use it all the time!

[@mybrotherjames8579]

@@KohleAudioKult that rimshot hit will make ears bleed. I got mine because the live venues around town didn’t mic the snare and I wanted something that would be loud and cutting unmic’d. it was. It also created problems recording. It was so loud. I would often use my birch premier snare for recording and the brass for live. I love the free floater. To this day it’s still my favorite snare I’ve owned.

[@corestudio9799]

Awesome tutorial \m/ subscribe of course ;)

[@KohleAudioKult]

Welcome!

[@JohnMcCalmant]

I would use both the top and bottom Snare mics

[@Joe-Frost]

yessir

[@korykoster8532]

As soon as you muted it, I went....oh wow. Great trick.