Just looking for some opinions on how to approach this. This will be my first time truly working with BFD Eco with full separation of the kit pieces on a track and I'm not sure whether I should leave the raw samples as is and tweak them in Sonar or give them some tweaks in BFD first and then use the Sonar tools to polish them off.

Just so you have an idea of what I have at my disposal:

I am running BFD Eco and using the Rock Legends kit.

I have X2 Producer upgraded from the X1 Production Suite so I have all the extra goodies that came with that.

The only extra effect I have above and beyond that is the PC2A Leveler.

I know this is probably more of a personal preference situation but I'd love to hear any ideas and techniques on working with MIDI drums (even if you don't use BFD). This song is a thrashy metal tune and I'd kind of like the drums to sound heavy but not that clicky/squashed new style of metal drums. Think more along the lines of Slayer and more specifically the drum sound they used on Divine Intervention.

Cheers all and I hope you guys are having a good day. Thanks.

BTW I'm going to do my bass tweaks first because I've already got a pretty good method for that. I figure it'll be easier to mix the drums with the bass close to where I want instead of trying to mix the drums and then have the bass screw it up and then have to redo everything. Does that makes sense?

Answer to your first post: You should process with your Sonar plugs in my opinion. I like them way better than the effects offered in BFD. I use BFD 2 so it's a little different than Eco. But I have everything set up so each BFD track is a track in Sonar. This way I can compress, eq and do whatever I need to do just like I would if there were a physical wave file there. I have also found that the BFD effects use quite a bit of cpu and I much prefer the ability to use my other plugs like the Sonar plugs, Sonitus, UAD, Waves etc. They just sound better to my ears.

Answer to your second post: No, it doesn't make sense. You should do your bass and drums together if you can. Personally, I do my drums first and then add in my bass. Your drums are your core of the tune. You should always start with them in my opinion. Bass next, then rhythm guitars, then vocals and then back-ups if there will be any, and then filler instruments and special effects last. As you add instruments into the mix, don't mute anything out and don't solo anything up if you can help it unless you are having a problem. Once you get a general curve on your drums, bring the bass in and try to mix them as an entity. You'll be much better off with the kick and the bass working as a team and treated as such.

Hope this helps, good luck brother. :)

-Danny

Ooops...double post sorry.

Awesome. Thanks, Danny. BTW I avoided sending my first experiment to you because it was done in a way that I knew from the onset was completely wrong so it would have been a waste of both our time. It's somewhere in the songs forum languishing at the moment. However for this one I tried very hard to follow proper procedure so once I get it together I'd really like your opinion.

I did indeed make sure each kit piece had it's own track (last one didn't because I exported it from the BFD standalone so I could do jack with it). I'm still gonna make an attempt to get my bass close to where I want it so it might be a little easier to mix it with the drums (currently it's just a dry input so it's rather... meh ifyaknowaddimean) but definitely won't be set in stone. Just kind of want it more present and now with your suggestion move back and forth between the drums and bass until they're cooperating with each other.

I'm a little lost as far as when the right time to bounce the MIDI drums is though. Should just leave it MIDI until final mixdown? CPU usage really doesn't seem to be an issue at this point (although that may change as I move forward but this system is a powerhouse). Just... kind of confuse at the whole bounce to audio thing.

Cheers and I'm glad you came out the other end of the storm okay. Looks like you've got some good karma on your side. 

Please excuse the typos. Little distracted today. 

I do the same as Danny.

The Fx in BFD2 are usable, but not, IMHO, on a par with what Sonar has to offer.

But...... if you fire up a BFD preset, complete with pre-programmed Fx & routing and you will find some very usable sounds.

Right on, Jonesey. I used a preset for my first experiment and really quite liked it which was kind of why I wasn't sure how to proceed but now two of my ultra smart buddies are agreeing to let it be and stick with the real deal (Sonar).

Just wasn't sure if BFD's effects had any extra advantage being geared specifically toward BFD content but I'm guessing that stuff is there to help the folks who don't necessarily have access to the effects I do.

Thanks.

;-)

So now that that's resolved... any good links or tips on mixing drums? The one thing I like about BFD is that it's just like working with a mic'd drum kit... except that it was recorded REALLY well with sooper nice gear. I'm assuming this will help teach me how to deal with the real deal one day if I ever get the opportunity to work in a real studio or band again.

Beepster


Awesome. Thanks, Danny. BTW I avoided sending my first experiment to you because it was done in a way that I knew from the onset was completely wrong so it would have been a waste of both our time. It's somewhere in the songs forum languishing at the moment. However for this one I tried very hard to follow proper procedure so once I get it together I'd really like your opinion.

I did indeed make sure each kit piece had it's own track (last one didn't because I exported it from the BFD standalone so I could do jack with it). I'm still gonna make an attempt to get my bass close to where I want it so it might be a little easier to mix it with the drums (currently it's just a dry input so it's rather... meh ifyaknowaddimean) but definitely won't be set in stone. Just kind of want it more present and now with your suggestion move back and forth between the drums and bass until they're cooperating with each other.

I'm a little lost as far as when the right time to bounce the MIDI drums is though. Should just leave it MIDI until final mixdown? CPU usage really doesn't seem to be an issue at this point (although that may change as I move forward but this system is a powerhouse). Just... kind of confuse at the whole bounce to audio thing.

Cheers and I'm glad you came out the other end of the storm okay. Looks like you've got some good karma on your side. 

No problem Beeps. :) As for your bounce question, if you have a power house, you shouldn't have to bounce it at all. I don't have to bounce any of my drum modules or synths. The only time you bounce (or freeze) is if you are having issues mixing and cpu usage is high.
 
But yeah, you shouldn't have to bounce anything. If you need to see a wave form, just enable waveform preview on each of your BFD virtual tracks you created in Sonar and you'll at least see what the wave WOULD look like if it were there. When you totally export the project, it will send out exactly what's there so you really don't need to bounce anything unless you have a specific reason to.
 
One thing you may want to do though...especially if you notice your exports are cutting off your drums....hi-lite all tracks that you will be exporting and then left click and drag along your timeline at the top and go a little past your actual end. The reason being, Sonar seems to clip off cymbal crashes etc. I thought this was a drum module error, but it's not. It's indeed something to do with how Sonar processes and it stops dead on the project end instead of allowing a ride or a crash to resonate longer. I've tested this with other DAWS I use and Sonar is the only one that does this. So just swipe the timeline so it highlites past your end a bit in the event you have a crash or ride that needs to resonate at the end of the song. Good luck with everything brother...and yeah, I'm glad we made it through that monster storm too! Prayers help and I've been thanking God every day. Thanks for the wishes. :)
 
-Danny