EQ FOR LO-FI DRUMS

1

No matter what method you use to capture your drums, even for a lo-fi sound it’s best to EQ them individually as per normal. It’s always best to start with a clean result. We used Logic’s drummer for this example, then bounced down to a single track when ready. Alternatively (and recommended for most projects) send the drummer track to a bus for the EQ. For this we kept it simple for clarity.

2

Load an EQ. Logic’s EQ is great but for this we opted for the Focusrite Red EQ plugin which is simple but effective and sounds great. We started by adding a high-pass set to around 100Hz and a low-pass set to 12k. This reduces some of the dynamics and makes for a more vintage sound. 3

To bring back a little life, without accentuating the sparkly end too much, give the mids a boost of a few dB, around the 400 and 6k mark. Adjust the envelope to suit. We went for an exponential shape for this.

4

Your drums may now sit a little low in the mix and be lacking in clarity. To counter this we added a 4dB boost with the high shelf set to 9k and increased the overall gain by 5dB to lift the drums back into place amongst the other instruments.