Mixing: The Drums

Ok, let's talk about the mixing of the drums. Please note I'm not a mixing specialist and I'm also learning myself.

The drums and the bass should sit at the front your mix, with everything else located centrally behind them.


Panning

Kick    : always central
Snare   : slightly right or (most of the time) central
Hi-hats : far left with a delayed version in the far right (create a hi-hats track copy, link them to different mixer channels, pan to different sides, delay second track to 35-45 ms)
Claps   : central



Compression

Here are some general settings for the drum loops:

Ratio     : between 5:1 and 10:1
Attack   : between 1 and 10 ms
Release  : between 40 and 100 ms
Gain       : between -5 and -15 dB
Knee     : hard


EQ

The Kick

The kick is one of the most important components of an Eurodance track.

It's made of two components: the attack and the low-frequency impact.

Remove all frequencies under 30 Hz

Apply short boost between 40-120 Hz (for more thud)

Decrease gain between 200 and 350 Hz (muddy zone)

The attack resides between 3-6 kHz (boost/cut for more/less click)


The Snare

Remove all frequencies (apply high pass filter) under 150 Hz

The snap: 2-10 kHz (apply small boosts to brighten)

The body: 400 Hz - 1 kHz


The Hi-hats  

The hi-hats are the brightest instrument in the mix.

Remove all frequencies under 300 Hz

Presence: between 1 and 6 kHz

Brightness: between 8 and 12 kHz

To prevent hiss roll off the requecnies above15 kHz


The Claps

Remove all frequencies under 130-140 Hz