Drums are the backbone of any song. They set the rhythm and pace of the music and can make or break a track. One of the key characteristics of a great drum sound is its punchiness. A punchy drum sound can make your track sound more dynamic and energetic. Here are five ways to make your drums sound punchier.

Compression is one of the most important tools for achieving a punchy drum sound. By reducing the dynamic range of the drum signal, you can make the quiet parts of the drum sound louder and the loud parts sound quieter. This helps to even out the sound and make it more consistent. Having the right attack and release speed setting can be very effective in achieving your desired effect.

EQing your drums can also help to achieve a punchy sound. Boosting the frequencies between 2 kHz and 5 kHz can add clarity and presence to the drum sound, making it cut through the mix. Boosting the low frequencies around 80 Hz and 120 Hz can add weight and impact to the drum sound. However, be careful not to overdo it, as too much EQ can make the sound harsh and unnatural, that’s why a lot of times it’s helpful to use harmonic saturation effects for a more natural and musical effect, such as <a href="/t-exciter/">T-Exciter</a> for extra presence and <a href="/t-warmer/">T-Warmer</a> for adding more weight to the sound.

Layering different drum samples can help to create a more complex and interesting sound. By layering a kick drum with a snare, you can create a hybrid sound that has the best of both worlds. Try layering different kick and snare samples to find the right combination that works for your track. Be sure to EQ and compress each layer separately to ensure a balanced and cohesive sound.

Parallel compression is a technique where you send a copy of the drum signal to a separate bus and compress it heavily. By blending this compressed signal with the original signal, you can add sustain and body to the drum sound without losing the punchy transient. Use a slower attack time and a longer release time to achieve the desired effect. Serial compression is when you use multiple compressors on your channel to apply a certain amount of compression effect from each, to have a better result. <a href="/t-compressor/">T-Compressor</a> allows you to have both parallel and serial compression adjustments right at your fingertips.

Transient shapers are plugins that allow you to shape the attack and decay of a drum sound. By increasing the attack time and reducing the decay time, you can make the drum sound more punchy and snappy. Use a transient shaper on your kick and snare to make them stand out in the mix. Be careful not to overdo it, as too much shaping can make the sound unnatural. Our <a href="/t-puncher/">T-Puncher</a> plugin is a transient shaper, designed for avoiding unnatural effects and keeping the sound musical while offering the desired effect.

In general, making your drums sound punchier may require a combination of techniques. By using compression, EQ, saturation, layering, parallel and serial compression, and transient shaping, you can achieve a dynamic and energetic drum sound that will make your track stand out. Experiment with different techniques to find the right combination that works best for your track.

Written by Amin Asbaghipour - Techivation Founder

Here are 5 effective tips on making the drums sound punchier in the mix.

5 Tips to Enhance the Punchiness of Your Drums

Compressors are great tools for reducing dynamic range and adding character to your tracks. T-Compressor makes easy work of this with its different compression modes and straightforward controls. In addition to that, there are a couple of interesting features in T-Compressor that can help take your compression game to the next level.

Serial compression is where you have multiple compressors working together in series. Sometimes, if you apply too much compression with one compressor, it can sound over-done and unnatural. The benefit of serial compression, however, is that you can spread the load across multiple compressors, which can yield a more natural-sounding result.

T-Compressor allows you to stack up to 3 compressors within one plugin, which is a super convenient way to handle multiple stages of compression. Each compressor instance has independent controls, so you can dial them in to each achieve different goals and blend them together for a great end result.

For this first example, I’ve put T-Compressor on my mix bus. The first compressor is doing 1-2dB of gain reduction (GR) on the loudest peaks to even the dynamics out; the second is doing extreme compression but with the mix at 25% (parallel compression) to thicken everything up; the third is doing very light compression on ‘Crispy’ for a touch of top end shine.

It’s subtle, but the mix is sounding a bit more energetic, yet also controlled. Notice in particular how the snare is tucked back in the mix slightly, and all the elements sound 'glued' together.

In example two, I’ve used T-Compressor to apply serial compression to an acoustic guitar. Three compressors are doing ~7dB of GR in total between them on the loudest peaks (3+3+1). By doing this in multiple stages, none of the compressors have to work too hard, and each stage reduces the dynamic range a little more. The result is an upfront and consistent sound that is still natural. (The ‘Crispy’ mode is also boosting the high frequencies in a pleasant way.)

You can also hear what it sounds like if I achieve 7dB of GR using just one compressor. The compression sounds a bit overdone and too noticeable; the result is not quite as gentle, nor is there the same consistency in volume as was achieved with three compressors.

The side-chain high-pass filter (sc-hp) is a great feature, particularly when compressing something like drums or a mix bus where you have a wide frequency range but don’t want the low-frequency elements such as kick drum and bass to make the whole mix 'pump' or over-compress when the compressor is engaged.

What the sc-hp does is stop any frequencies below the filter amount from triggering the compressor. The full frequency range is still audible and affected by the compressor, but this technique can help to prevent uneven dynamics and an over-compressed sound if that’s not what you want. (Having said that, ‘pumping’ can be a cool effect in certain contexts!)

Here I’ve put T-Compressor on my mix bus, which is helping everything sound consistent and ‘glued’ together. With the sc-hp set to 110 Hz, the kick drum, which has a lot of low-end energy, isn't triggering the compression. If I lower the sc-hp to 20 Hz, the whole mix becomes over-compressed and pumps each time the kick drum plays. I could then leave the sc-hp at 20 Hz but raise the threshold until it isn’t over-compressing with each kick drum, however in this case the overall mix now doesn’t really sound compressed or glued like it did before.


So, to my ears, the compression is working best for this track when the sc-hp is set higher. It sounds tight and cohesive, each element is upfront and the snare is sitting just right! (The sc-hp number doesn’t really matter; use your ears to find the point where the low-frequency elements aren’t triggering too much compression for your taste.)

Mix Compression Side-chain High-pass filter (Same threshold)

Mix Compression Side-chain High-pass filter (Higher threshold)

Serial compression and side-chain high-pass filtering can be very effective tools. Make sure to try them out on your next mix!

Written by Jacob Sells Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/jacobsellsaudio/"> jacobsellsaudio </a> | Linktree:<a href="https://linktr.ee/jacobsellsaudio"> linktr.ee/jacobsellsaudio </a>

There are interesting features in T-Compressor that can help take your compression game to the next level.

Tutorial:Serial Compression & Side-Chain High-Pass Filtering

Using Serial Compression & Side-Chain High-Pass Filtering in T-Compressor

The 10 Steps to the Perfect Mix

Check out the 10 steps to the perfect mix by the Techivation founder.

Watch this video on 10 steps to the perfect mix by the Techivation founder.

Tutorial:The 10 Steps to the Perfect Mix

The T-Exciter is designed for adding unique harmonic saturations to certain high-frequency ranges of sound. There are multiple reasons one would use it but the main ones are for adding a unique color and character to the sound, bringing sounds to the front of the mix, making the sound more detailed and shiny, avoiding harshness in the high-frequency range, etc.

In this article, we want to discuss three effective ways we can use the T-Exciter for magical results.

Do you want to save a ton of time and CPU power when mixing a song?

One way I personally use the T-Exciter is at the beginning of mixing a track. So first I imagine I’m not going to use any effects but just the T-Exciter, and then I do my best to make the whole mix sound as decent as possible by just balancing the tracks’ volume levels.

After I’m done planning for the mix and gain staging, before I start applying effects to individual sounds, I insert a T-Exciter into the master buss. While I listen to the whole mix I start tweaking the T-Exciter parameters until I feel like the mix sounds much better.

This way I save a ton of time and CPU because I already get the whole mix improved at some level so I won’t need to use so many effects on individual tracks. Make sure to try this!

Do you want to add air to your vocals to make them sound more pleasant?

The ‘Air’ mode in T-Exciter applies the harmonic saturations to the very high frequencies. When using the ‘Air’ mode on vocals, it is ideal to have the ‘Width’ feature engaged too, as it also adds a subtle modulation effect to the high-end for making it extra smooth.

So instead of using an EQ high-shelf boost, you can use the T-Exciter ‘Air’ mode, which helps your track not sound harsh. It creates a more pleasant-sounding high-end with a unique character.

Try taking the ‘Excitement’ amount to 100% while the ‘Air’ mode is selected to emphasize the breath and air in female and higher-range male vocals. Use the parallel ‘Mix’ knob to control the effect’s amount.

Do you want your guitar tracks more audible and clear in the context of the mix?

The T-Exciter’s ‘Shine’ mode is very suitable for acoustic or electronic guitar sounds. While you can use the <a href="/t-imager/">T-Imager</a> to spread the guitars and make extra space for them in the mix, the T-Exciter allows you to make them audible without being cluttered with the other sounds in the context. It’s because of the unique character it adds to the sound using the harmonic saturations.

Set the T-Exciter on ‘Shine’ mode, apply ‘Excitement’ to the guitar track while listening to it in the context of the mix, and continue adding more ‘Excitement’ effects until it sounds good.

If you don’t have the T-Exciter yet, <a href="/t-exciter/">grab your 14-day free trial</a> and try these yourself. <a href="/app/login/">Log in</a> to your account and download this song's .wav multitracks from the 'Resources' section to try these effects. Music By <a href="/sias-music/">SIAS</a>.

Learn 3 effective ways to use the Techivation T-Exciter for significantly improving your mixes.

Techivation:3 Tips on Effectively Using The T-Exciter

3 Tips on Effectively Using The T-Exciter

T-De-Esser could be the most natural sounding de-esser in the market if there were no pro version of it. If you’ve tried the free <a href="/t-de-esser/">T-De-Esser</a> or <a href="/t-de-esser-plus/">T-De-Esser Plus</a>, you’d probably have noticed how much different it is from other de-essers at what it does; killing the bad S’sses…

Undoubtedly, de-essing is an essential process for mixing and mastering, and it’s important to pick the right one to get the best results. What makes the T-De-Esser a very popular one is how musical and natural it does its job without causing artifacts (or basically messing up the high-end).

The Pro version, however, is the industry professionals’ choice because it even takes the de-essing game further and gives the best results one would expect. Let’s put our words into action and show what we actually mean with sound examples.

Below, we have a vocal track; one is de-essed using Logic Pro X stock de-esser, another using the <a href="/t-de-esser/">T-De-Esser</a> free version, and the other using the <a href="/t-de-esser-pro/"> T-De-Esser Pro</a>. Now, please listen to them carefully on your studio monitors or headphones and pick the one you think is the best sounding one, and you’ll see what tool was used for it.

Make sure to listen at a loud volume as the high-frequency harshness and sibilances get more noticeable at a higher amplitude.

You got it right! 🎉 The track with the T-De-Esser Pro on is:B

Nope. The Track with the T-De-Esser Pro on is B. Try listening again, this time more carefully, to find out the differences.:)

What makes the T-De-Esser Pro offer a better sound than the T-De-Esser is the combination of its effective extra features. By just turning on the ‘Lookahead’ feature, you can hear a significant difference in how the plug-in proceeds with the audio.

The ‘Lookahead’ effectively allows the plug-in to see the signal a few moments before it is processed, and the result is a more accurate and smooth behavior of the attack and release performance.

We use the example below to show it clearly. We used extreme settings to demonstrate the difference in the sound with and without the ‘Lookahead’ feature enabled. The attack is set at 0 ms and the release at 1 ms. This example is not about making it sound good, but just to clearly show how the ‘Lookahead’ makes a difference.

In this extreme example, you can clearly hear the sound being distorted while the ‘Lookahead’ is off. We love this magical button!

Another key factor that makes the T-De-Esser Pro sound more dominant is its high-quality oversampling up to 16X, which helps decrease aliasing by executing the internal process at a higher sample rate than the host.

The saturation and its “filter” option allow you to apply unique harmonic saturations to the high frequencies you decide to smooth out. So the plug-in not only helps with de-essing but also blending the high frequencies with a nice saturation effect to make a nicer balance in the selected frequency range.

Extra controls over de-essing settings such as attack and release help with a more accurate result as every track has a different speed and flow and might require a different attack and release setting. Along with what we mentioned, features like the parallel mix, mid-side and stereo link, and custom frequency control all help in creating a more professional sound.

Try the <a href="/t-de-esser-pro/"> T-De-Esser Pro</a> now and experience this yourself.

Find out what makes the T-De-Esser Pro a must-have de-esser plug-in for professionals in the music production and audio industry.

Tutorial:What makes the T-De-Esser Pro a must-have for professionals?

What makes the T-De-Esser Pro a must-have for professionals?

Read the article to learn more about making a track punchier and wider at the same time.

Making a Track Wider & Punchier Simultaneously

Follow these 4 steps on mixing reverb with drum buss using the T-Imager plug-in.

4 Steps On Mixing Reverb with Drum Buss Using the T-Imager Plug-in

Learn how to make your vocals sound more professional and unique using the Techivation T-Warmer plug-in.

3 Tips for Making Better Vocals with the T-Warmer

In audio, saturation is the gentle distortion and compression that occurs when overloading a signal through an electrical unit such as a mic preamp, mixing desk...

Why You Should Use Saturation In Your Productions

Mixing vocals with Techivation plug-ins | Techivation

"Watch the step-by-step walkthrough of mixing a vocal track by the artist Keyzvango using the Techivation plug-ins."

Mixing vocals with Techivation plug-ins

"Techivation is making mid-side processing quick and easy with T-Imager. This plugin allows you to quickly adjust the balance of the mid vs side information..."

T-Imager Reviewed By TimTalksAudio

Watch this video of White Sea Studio testing the T-Warmer and sharing his feedback.

T-Warmer Reviewed By White Sea Studio

In this video, you will learn about the unique features.

Tutorial:How does the T-Puncher work?

5 different ways of using the T-Puncher on this kick drum sound for getting different results.

What can the T-Puncher do to this kick drum?

"This plugin enhances your sound by adding harmonic saturation and a pleasing EQ curve."

T-Warmer Reviewed By AFA Productions

"Give your tracks some flavor, add some polish, and get those dynamics under control."

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"It gives you total control of the frequency range to de-ess, and includes advanced controls like the Attack and Release time."

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"First Look:Techivation's T-Warmer & T-Clarity"

This time, we get a chance to address our low-mids. Techivation is doing it's part to help us either clean it up with T-Clarity, or add some saturation by using T-Warmer.

T-Warmer & T-Clarity Reviewed By TimTalksAudio

"What really sets this exciter apart from the crowd for me is the sound."

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"A simple but effective way to fatten up your audio."

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T-Warmer The ultimate plugin for a warm sound. Watch the review here.

T-Warmer Review By WhiteNoiseStudio

We benefit from comparing our mixes with commercial recordings.

Reference Tracks:How to improve your mixes with music benchmarking

Tutorial:How does the T-Exciter work?

Easily get rid of your dull mixes! – Techivation –

T-Exciter Review By WhiteNoiseStudio

Introduction This article has been written and published on themixingtips.com

T-Exciter:Review By themixingtips.com

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Techivation T-Clarity:a technical and creative tool for music. UK

T-Clarity:Happy Mag Review

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T-Clarity is a new plug-in by developer on the rise

T-Clarity Reviewed By GearNews.

In this video, you will learn about the unique features

Tutorial:How does the T-Clarity work?

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