Tillie Doyle
Panning tom drums is an essential part of creating a balanced and full sound in your mix. The process involves adjusting the panoramic potentiometer (pan pot) to distribute the tom drums' audio signal across the left and right channels of a stereo field. The goal is to achieve a natural stereo spread that does not lean too heavily to either side, providing clarity and focus to the overall mix. When panning tom drums, it is crucial to consider the drummer's or audience's perspective, as well as the positioning of other drums and microphones in the kit. This ensures that the final mix sounds cohesive and does not disorient the listener.
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What You'll Learn
The importance of overhead mics
Balanced Sound and Localisation:
Overhead mics help create a balanced stereo image and allow listeners to localise the sound of the drums. By panning the overhead mics hard left and right, you create a wide stereo spread that gives a more open and natural feel to the recording. This technique also ensures that the drums don't sound too heavy on one side, keeping the listener engaged and not disoriented.
Agreement with Close Mics:
Overhead mics work in agreement with close mics to provide a clear and accurate representation of the drum kit. For example, if the floor tom in the overhead mics is on the left, the close mic should be panned to the left as well. This agreement between mics ensures that the drum tracks are coherent and not confusing for the listener.
Flexibility and Control:
Overhead mics offer flexibility in capturing the desired sound. You can choose to use smaller, discreet mics that provide excellent sound quality without taking up too much space. Additionally, overhead mics with switchable polar patterns allow you to isolate the drum overheads in cardioid mode or create a more immersive roomy sound with Omni mode. This flexibility gives you control over the sound and helps you achieve the desired effect.
Live Sound and Acoustics:
In live sound settings with uncontrolled acoustics, overhead mics are crucial. By placing the overhead mics in opposite corners, pointing towards the centre of the drum kit, you can achieve a more balanced and live sound. This setup ensures that the cymbals don't get blasted by both overhead mics simultaneously, resulting in a more natural and pleasing sound.
In conclusion, overhead mics are of utmost importance when it comes to panning tom drums and creating a professional, well-rounded drum mix. They provide balance, localisation, and flexibility, ensuring that your drum recordings sound full, wide, and immersive.
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Panning toms to match overheads
From the drummer's perspective, the hi-hat will usually be on their left and the floor tom on the right, so the tracks are panned accordingly. From the audience's perspective, the hi-hat is on the right and the floor tom on the left. Most mixers tend to use the audience perspective when mixing, but there are no hard and fast rules.
To pan toms to match overheads, you should first pan your overhead mics hard left and right (as far left and right as they go). Then, shut your eyes and listen to where you can picture the drums in front of you. You can then pan the individual drums to match where they are in the overheads. This technique works well if you want a wide stereo image.
If you want a less open stereo image, you can pan your overheads less drastically left and right, at around 7:00 and 5:00, or 8:00 and 4:00. This still gives you a wide spread, but not as wide as the previous option.
When panning toms, you can go between 15% and 30% left and right to create a natural stereo spread. For a more exotic and melodic sound, you can use more radical panning, between 45% and 90% on either side.
It's worth noting that panning drums too widely can make them sound unnatural and introduce phase issues. It's important to find the right balance and leave space for other instruments in the mix.
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Drummer vs. audience perspective
The "drummer vs. audience perspective" debate in panning tom drums revolves around whether the panning should match the drummer's position or the audience's viewpoint. While some argue for a consistent approach, others suggest adapting to the context, such as the genre, mix, and visual elements. Here's a detailed exploration of these perspectives:
Drummer's Perspective
The drummer's perspective involves panning the drums as if you were sitting at the drum kit, following the standard left-to-right reading pattern. This approach is favoured by many drummers as it feels more natural and aligns with how most drummers play. It can make it easier for drummers to learn a song and feel connected to the band. Additionally, in a studio setting, this perspective can create a sense of being on stage with the band for the listener. Drummers' perspective is commonly used in rock albums and is often the default choice for many engineers and mixers.
Audience Perspective
The audience perspective, on the other hand, aims to replicate the audience's visual experience of watching a live show. In this case, the panning goes from right-to-left, matching the audience's viewpoint of seeing the drummer fill from right to left. This approach is argued to be more suitable for live performances and music videos/livestreams as it aligns with the audience's visual perception. It is also suggested that the audience perspective can be used in recordings with a narrower, more distant sound, such as "fat mono", where the kick, snare, and mono overhead are centred.
Contextual Factors
The choice between the two perspectives can depend on various factors. For instance, the genre of music can play a role, with jazz mixes often utilising both perspectives for a natural and accurate representation of the kit. The type of mix also matters, as very wide-panned drums in a full mix might sound unnatural. Additionally, visual elements come into play, especially in music videos, where the panning should match what the viewer sees on the screen. Ultimately, the decision may come down to personal preference and experimentation, as some listeners may not consciously notice the difference.
Practical Considerations
When panning tom drums, it's important to pay attention to the overhead mics and their positioning. Introducing tom mics one by one and panning them to match the overhead mics can help create a balanced sound. Additionally, the kick drum should usually be centred, while the snare can be centred or slightly off-centre, depending on the desired sound. Playing with space and perspective can add drama to the mix, but it's crucial not to confuse the listener with careless panning.
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Keeping the kick drum centred
Firstly, it is recommended to pan the kick drum directly up the middle at 0 on the stereo image. This ensures the kick drum remains centred and provides a sense of focus and purpose to your mix. Deviating from the centre can make the mix sound off-balance and disorienting to the listener.
Another technique to keep the kick drum centred is to utilise spot mics. Even if your overhead mics are positioned off-centre, spot mics can help pull the kick drum back to the centre. By relying on spot mics for the placement of individual drums in the stereo field, you can achieve a centred kick drum while still capturing the desired sound from the overhead mics.
Additionally, when panning the remaining drums, be mindful of their position in relation to the kick drum. Panning the snare drum slightly off-centre, away from the kick drum, can help create a sense of variance and give the snare more room to breathe without fighting for space with other instruments. Similarly, panning tom drums between 15% to 30% left and right creates a natural stereo spread while keeping the kick drum centred.
Finally, remember that the panning techniques you choose may vary depending on the genre of music you are mixing. While most popular genres typically pan the kick drum up the middle, certain fringe genres or specific aesthetics may call for a different approach. Ultimately, trust your ears and feel free to experiment with different panning values to achieve the desired sound.
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Creating a stereo spread
Panning tom drums is a great way to create a stereo spread and make your drums sound wide and open. There are a few different techniques you can use to achieve this.
One technique is to pan the toms from the listener's or audience's perspective. This means imagining the kit as if you are the audience sitting in front of the drum kit. In this case, the hi-hat would be on the right and the floor tom on the left. Most mixers tend to use this audience perspective when panning drums. To create a stereo spread, you can pan the floor tom 50% to either the left or right, and then pan the two rack toms by less than 20% on each side. This will give you a great stereo effect during fills.
Another technique is to pan the toms from the drummer's perspective. This involves panning the elements of the drum kit as if you are the drummer sitting at the kit. For a right-handed drummer, the hi-hat will usually be on the left and the floor tom on the right. You can still create a stereo spread by panning the floor tom more than 50% to either the left or right, and then panning the rack toms in the opposite direction.
Additionally, you can play with the overhead mics to create a wider stereo image. Some people prefer to pan the overheads less drastically left and right at about 8:00 and 4:00. However, for an even wider spread, you can pan them hard left and right at 7:00 and 5:00. This gives you the widest possible spread, making the sound feel more open and spacious.
It's important to note that there are no hard rules when it comes to panning tom drums. You can experiment with different panning settings to find what sounds best to you. Just make sure to maintain a healthy balance between the left and right channels to keep the power of the song.
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Frequently asked questions
Drum panning is a way to create a balanced sound that doesn't lean too heavily on either the left or right side of a mix. It helps the listener to localise the sound and can be done from either the drummer's or the audience's perspective.
The first step in panning tom drums is to pan the overhead mics hard left and right. Then, pan the individual drums to match where they are on the overheads.
Some tips for panning tom drums include:
- Keeping the kick drum and snare drum in the centre of the sound
- Panning the tom drums between 15% and 30% left and right to create a natural stereo spread
- Playing with space and perspective to add drama and interest to the mix
To create a more spacious sound, you can pan the tom drums more radically, between 45% and 90% on either side. This will make your kit sound bigger and more open.
Some common mistakes to avoid when panning tom drums include:
- Panning the kick drum or snare drum off-centre, as this can confuse the listener and make the mix sound messy
- Forgetting to adjust levels after panning, as individual elements may appear louder after taking up free space
