Recording - January 2016 - 43

Having said that, as you get familiar with the parameters of UNMIX::DRUMS,
you can enhance or soften cymbals, bring out the tone of the toms, or tame a
wild snare. In many instances, depending on the source material and what
you're trying to do, there will be a bit of push and pull, as UNMIX::DRUMS can
bleed over and effect other elements in your mix. This can also be a good thing
sometimes-you can actually soften a mix or even make it punchier.
In use
Every week I record live performances to 2-track, often called a board
tape. Anyone who has ever made board tapes knows that there must be
compromises; they rarely sound like what people hear in the room. Often
the drums are the biggest problem-the sound engineer must balance the
level in the PA/to tape with the natural loudness of the drums in the room.
Just yesterday, the music director I work with wanted me to give him
copies of two Christmas songs from last year so this year's band could learn
them. In one case it was full-on rock drums, and the toms stuck out too far in
the mix. The other featured a 3/4 jazzy swing arrangement with a very loud
ride. In both cases I was able to rein in each of the offending instruments
and print a rehearsal track that was much more pleasant to listen to.
My biggest success with UNMIX::DRUMS came on a final mix where we
undermixed the kick. That's when I learned how valuable the Bass Synth can be!
Delivery: Web download only
Format: OS X 10.6.8 or newer in AU, RTAS, AAX and VST 2.4;
Windows Vista or newer in RTAS, AAX and VST 2.4
Copy Protection: PACE iLok 2
License: multiple installs, one usable at a time via iLok 2 key,
or single installation without iLok 2 key
Documentation: PDF manual included with download
Price: $189
More from: Zynaptiq, www.zynaptiq.com; distributed in North
America by Eleven Dimensions Media, 11dmedia.com

Beyond the norm
One last area of UNMIX::DRUMS to mention is
its use as an enhancer on individual drums in
your mix, as well as on the full drum bus. It can
add life to thin wimpy drum mixes, or even do
things like making a huge ring snare sound like it
was a side-stick played on a piccolo.
If you are doing modern dance music or sound
design, UNMIX::DRUMS becomes an incredible
drum mangler. Not in a distorted, lo-fi way, but
more as an alien, filtered tightener or thick hazy
boom maker.
Conclusions
The only downside of UNMIX::DRUMS beyond
its learning curve is the processing power it takes.
I am guessing it uses a lot of lookahead processing! With no other plug-ins running and only one
instance of UNMIX::DRUMS, it ate up almost a
quarter of my processing load in Cubase Pro 8.
Bypassing the plug-in causes a pause and a
thump (reportedly fixed in rev 1.0.1). In other
words, when working with elements of a mix, this
is a plug-in that will require you to freeze or render your tracks. In a simple 2-track editing session
it's much less fussy.
Bottom line: this is a great tool to have, and
once you have it, you will find uses for it. It does
take some time to master, and I am still learning
the program... but based on the successes I've
managed already, I feel that learning
UNMIX::DRUMS will be time well spent.

http://www.zynaptiq.com http://www.11dmedia.com http://www.cloudmicrophones.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2016