ABSTRACT
The way music is balanced, panned, and processed overwhelmingly impacts the way it is perceived. The kick’s mix presence is essential to metal music’s rhythmic drive. Particularly when focused around ensemble rhythmic synchronization, it can be appropriate to place the kick slightly higher in level than the snare and rest of the shells. With double-miked rhythm guitars, it makes sense to first focus on the ideal balance between the two mics for each performance. Then with quad-tracked guitars, determine the optimum balance between the performances panned to each side. Excessive monitoring levels also restrict our ability to judge balance levels, which tends to get blurred with louder playback. Conversely, a production that appears well balanced and powerful at a restrained monitoring level is more likely to scale effectively. Regardless of the overall stereo width and pan positions of the cymbals and toms, a decision about drummer perspective or audience perspective needs to be made.
