Throughout this semester’s audio project, two of my four main learning outcomes have been to improve the drums on music that I have recorded and mixed. I set these learning outcomes for myself because while I was satisfied with the overall capture and mix of my semester A project, I wasn’t especially content with the drum sound. I therefore wanted to focus on drums in this project to improve capturing and mixing, particularly as drums are a central part of much of the music that I enjoy recording and mixing.

I am very confident that, subjectively at very least, my drums in this project sound much better than in my previous project. With the research on recording drums which I’ve implemented from a range of different producers and artists, I’ve been able to use techniques which I feel have much improved the sound of my drums. While a small part of the improvement is due to the improved drum kit we recorded on, the key difference has been the capture and the fact that I focused heavily on drums during the mixing stage.

Objectively, the drums sound more prominent in the lower frequencies, emphasised by the kick drum, and also crisper in the high-end. The reverb is more controlled and the whole kit, as can be heard in the final mixes, cuts through the rest of the track much more successfully. Each drum is more refined, rather than blended heavily with a room mic, as was required in my semester A project, and the overheads are more withdraw in volume. Finally, the panning is more noticeable also, due to the stronger capture of each drum enabling me to pan them more naturally.

For comparison here are the isolated drum tracks (post-mix) for Lone Gazelle and 200% Gentleman, from the Your Cat is a Landmine EP.

And here are the isolated drum tracks (post-mix) for Antagonise and Fame from my semester A project.

While drum sound can be subjective I personally feel that I have bettered my own work and therefore have gone some way to achieving my first and second learning outcomes.