Help Appreciated, Use Studio Drummer Microphones Properly?

Hello everyone.

I have recently been able to return to music composition/my old projects, and the first issues I would like to approach are related to the drums. I use the Studio Drummer session kit, and all of the stereo aux channels have been configured and saved. So far I am able to assign specific drum pieces to stereo channels.

The problem is that I am not quite sure about "how I should use the kit microphones and buses." For example, I first wish to EQ the hi-hats, so I solo the channel and play with the EQ using an external plugin (or the internal settings) and set pan. I un-solo the channel and hear that the harsh dry sound of the hi-hats has returned, so I assume that the effect is the result of combination of EQed hi-hat and the OH ST, OH M, and Room, which don't/can't have EQ applied.
I thought that the point of EQ was to adjust the sound of the hi-hat standalone rather than adjusting the sound and mixing it with the original unfiltered sound.

What is the standard procedure when using drum microphones and side chains in a metaphorical studio setting? Should I *mute* the mono overheads (my tracks are in stereo) and drastically lower the stereo overheads and room? If it helps to say, my ideal sound is that of '70s Steely Dan albums.

The manual doesn't appear to address my questions regarding utility and preference. I am looking forward to responses.

Thank you.

 

Sure you can process the overheads and room mics externally, too. Just set them to their own plugin outputs and process them individually.

 

Yes, I realize this, but the overheads contain the sound of the entire kit.
Is it tradition to mute the mono overheads in a stereo track, or should I use a little of both stereo and mono?
Also, is there a recommended overhead volume in relation to the master out?

 

Use whatever sounds best to you, there's no specific tradition or recommendations when it comes to mixing drums.

 

Just mix to your liking. As far as eq goes, I think you should pay attention to the other elements of the music rather than the drums against each other.

 

The reason that I am asking in the first place is that I have much of the music complete; there is a shuffle track but the hi-hats (as they are now) are gating to the ears after a while. I can eq the hi hat directly, but the overheads include all of the drums, so the original sound is there. I am not trying to eq with respect to the drum pieces. Should I be using some sort of graphic eq to identify the offensive frequencies?

 

I found this useful-
Your DAW should have a graphical representation.

 

Thanks. I will look into that video.

By the way, is there no way to isolate the overhead signal of individual drum pieces? (For example, the hi-hat) Probably not. I understand that the overheads capture the sound of the whole kit.

 

I apologize for the bump, but just one more multi-part question:

Are the mono and stereo different recordings by different microphones? Also, is there a way to modify both the hi-hat mic and the hi-hat part of the room and/or overhead signal so I can remove annoying frequencies?

Thank you.

 

Not really. You are just triggering a recording, in essence. Turn the mic down and/or eq it out.