Baseline Series: How To Mix Toms for the Best Sound

Today we are going to look at how to mix Toms in our Baseline Series. I will provide a brief explanation of what the different aspects of the Toms and your baseline for mixing toms. Additionally, I will talk about where the starting point should be for EQ and Compression as well as Tone. The Baseline Series helps you eliminate guesswork, enabling you to create music faster and achieve great-sounding mixes. If you are new to the Baseline Series, then I encourage you to read my first post on the subject and Subscribe to be notified when a new post comes out. Let’s get started!

What is a Tom Drum

Toms are an essential piece in a standard drum set. They come in many sizes which makes them very versatile in their application. Unlike a snare drum, toms do not have snare wires (unless you have a hybrid, which is very cool). In a church or typical band context, you will most likely have a Rack and Floor tom. They may or may not have a bottom head.

Floor Toms: Floor toms are built with large drum shells that, typically, stand upright on the floor. Floor toms are the lower pitched drums in the drum kit. Compared to the kick drum, floor toms are more resonant with a less-focused low end allowing for longer decay times. You will see 1-2 floor toms in a drum kit each drum being 14 to 18 inches in diameter.
Rack Toms: Rack toms are smaller than floor toms, and are mounted on top of a kick drum with the help of metal hardware. Rack toms are tuned to a higher pitch than floor toms. Similar to floor toms, rack toms are resonant and have longer decay times. you will typical see 1-2 rack toms in a drum kit being 8 to 12 inches in diameter.

Toms are used mostly to construct drum fills. Toms are great when used as a transition from one part of a song to another adding dynamics and interest in a kit.

Let’s dive into the baseline settings when processing the toms. Keep in mind that these settings can be used for any console and any DAW whether you are using stock or third party equipment and plugins.

How To Mix Toms: Noise Gate

The first plugin used in processing toms, after Gain, is the Noise Gate. If you are not careful, the gate can often be overused which impacts the overall tone. Only apply gating as much as necessary. You can get away with being a little more aggressive in your gate settings because of how toms are used, However, be cautious of killing the dynamics.

You will inevitably encounter some challenges when gating toms. The most common challenge is the gate won’t open on soft hits, but if you back down the threshold then the gate opens on any hit within the drum kit. We want to find a way to gate the toms without having to ride the mute button throughout the whole show.

During this stage of processing, when figuring out how to mix the toms, we need to find the right balance for when the gate is open and closed. We don’t want the toms to open when ever the snare is hit. You also want to hear the softer hits to allow for dynamics. In my opinion, the best way to gate the toms is to gate them enough to where it will open when the drummer hits the tom with at least half velocity, but don’t kill the volume when the gate is closed.

Gate Settings

Very rarely do toms have a microphone on the top and bottom heads. If you have a mic on the bottom head, then I would suggest only putting the gate on the top mic. Leaving the bottom mic open will allow you to hear the ghost notes and help with the Drum Kit to sound more open and natural.

A typical gate will include the following controls: Threshold, Attack, Hold, Release, and Gain Reduction. Here are some suggested settings for gating the toms:

Threshold: -18 dB +/- 2 dB depending on how sensitive the Mic is.
- Adjust the Threshold to go as low as possible before the other elements of the kit trigger the gate to open.
Attack: Less than 1 ms
Hold: 50ms
Release: Between 300 ms and 500 ms
- The Attack, Hold, and Release settings allow for the toms to open quickly and let the volume decay naturally
Gain Reduction: -12 dB
- This will reduce the volume enough so the gate is effective but you still get a overall blend of the kit.

Remember that the Overhead mic’s will pick up some of the tom hits. This adds to the overall sound of the kit.

How To mix toms: EQ

Next in how to mix toms is EQ. The goal of EQing toms is to enhance the punch and smack. We all love thunderous toms, so how do we enhance the tone of the toms to get us closer to our goal? To achieve this, we will use a combination of boosts and cuts. Depending on the console or DAW you are using, you will typically have at least four EQ frequencies to work with whereas some may offer up to six.

I want to make sure this is applicable in any situation. So I will outline four key frequencies that most significantly affect the toms, along with two additional bonus frequencies. If you have a preset with the EQ set to these frequencies, all you’ll need to do is make the necessary boosts or cuts—no need to search for the right frequencies. Don’t be afraid to boost or cut by as much as 15 dB if it’s required.

Although you can use multiple EQ plugins in a DAW, this approach is not efficient and can be difficult to replicate on budget-friendly consoles. It is best to minimize processing on your computer when handling a broadcast mix. These settings are inspired by a vintage analog console

High & Low Pass for Snare Drum

Most consoles and DAWs will have a High Pass and a Low Pass. Since these generally come by default, I am not including them in my four frequencies.

High Pass/Low Cut at:
- Floor Toms: 70Hz
- Rack Toms: 100Hz
  - This will get rid of any low rumble from the Kick Drum.
Low Pass/High Cut at 15k
- This is not necessary, but this will reduce the amount of higher frequencies to give a natural role off

4 EQ Frequencies for Snare Drum

Boost at 9.5k or 8k:
- Use a boost at 9.5k for a bell curve or at 8k for a high shelf. This frequency adds “air” to the toms. A wide boost here tends to open up the tone and create a spacious feel. I usually prefer a bell curve, but when using an SSL EQ, the high shelf often sounds better. This frequency range is crucial when trying to get the thunderous tone.
Boost or Cut at 4.5k:
- This frequency captures the attack of the toms. I am looking to boost here. However, if the toms sound too harsh then I will cut here. This is another key frequency for thunderous toms.
Cut at 600Hz:
- Apply a wide cut here to clean up the tone. This removes the unpleasant mid to low-mid frequencies of the toms and dramatically cleans up the tone. reduce this frequency by 15 dB.
Boost Low Frequency:
- Floor Toms: 80Hz with a bell curve or at 120Hz with a low shelf
- Rack Toms: 120Hz with a bell curve or at 200Hz with a low shelf
- Boosting here, paired with a boost in #1 brings a lot of power and you get a full body tone from your toms.

2 Bonus Frequencies

Cut at 350Hz:
- Cutting here will remove most of the unpleasant that comes from the toms. Move frequency #3 up to 800Hz to get rid more of the mid-range that is not needed.
Boost or Cut at 2.5k
- This is another frequency that can either push the toms forward in the mix or get rid of some unpleasant midrange frequencies.

How to mix toms: Compression

I would argue that one of the most important aspect of learning how to mix toms is compression. There are many approaches to compressing toms. I like to be a little more aggressive in my approach, but still have room for dynamics so the sound is not in your face during quieter moments.

Part of using an aggressive approach to compression is that when dynamics are loud, there is some saturation which takes away some of the harshness of the tom attack. However, leaving some room for the softer hits so it blends with the rest of the instruments.

If you’re not familiar with compressor settings, you’ll generally encounter Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Knee, and Make-Up Gain. Use the following parameters as a baseline for compression to achieve the ideal balance of dynamics and punch. These settings are inspired by a vintage analog console:

Compressor Settings

Threshold: -18 dB
Ratio: 5:1
Attack: 20 ms
Release: 100 ms
Knee: Soft
Gain Reduction: 5 dB

With these settings, you should achieve around 3-5 dB of gain reduction. Make sure to adhere to the gain levels recommended in my Gain Structure Guide. I’d suggest having the drummer hit each tom pretty hard to set the gain level, then have him play a few fills and see if any adjustments need to be made to gain.

Notice that I didn’t mention using Make-Up Gain. Many people suggest using it because you’ll be reducing the volume of the instrument and you “should” make up the volume. However, I believe it’s unnecessary and can introduce another volume variable that you might overlook. Trust that there will be sufficient volume if you set the gain correctly. In this case, using Make-Up Gain isn’t required.

How to mix toms: Triggers and Multi-Channels

Part of mixing toms that gets overlooked at times are Triggers and processing multiple channels. I will touch on some of these additional elements and how you can best use them.

Triggers

A modern element of learning how to mix toms is incorporating Triggers. A rule I like to use when it comes to Triggers (aka Replacements) is only use them when you need them. I have seen a lot of people use triggers as a handicap instead of enhancing the sound. If you are new to Triggers then I would suggest using Steve Slate Triggers 2 for Free. The free Kick and Snare tones that come with the software are actually really good.

In an live scenario, I generally do not use triggers on toms. Unless you have great isolation on your toms, the trigger could activate when the snare is hit, for example. Because of this, triggers on toms is best suited in the studio.

If you were to use triggers on toms live, Here are some principles you should have when using triggers.

Don’t Rely on Triggers:
- If the real toms sound bad, then try to fix it before using Triggers to replace
- Do not use Triggers by itself unless you absolutely have to.
Blend Triggers with the Real Sound
- When the real drum sounds good you can blend the Trigger tone to supplement the real drum
Make sure the Trigger Tone sounds close to the real drum
- If you can make your own sample, then do it. This will make the kit sound more believable
Adjust the Sensitivity
- Have the sensitivity low enough so that you can capture the quieter hits as well as the loud hits. Make sure the sound actually matches with how hard the drummer is hitting the drum.

Multi-Channel Processing

You are normally mixing multiple toms. Excluding triggers, There are generally 2-3 toms you are mixing. However, there are times where I have mixed six toms in a service. You should explore if you have the capability to route all of your toms into a bus. This is another element when learning how to mix toms.

This is easier to do in a DAW, but if you have enough busses and you can route a Bus Channel into another Bus Channel, then you could send all of the channels to a Tom Bus Channel. Use the Gates on the Input Channel level and then EQ and Compress the Bus Channels so you are doing one layer of processing instead of multiple channels.

Most budget consoles are not setup for this so don’t worry about it too much. Since all of the Drum channels are being sent to a Drum Bus anyway, it is nothing to stress over.

Panning

Panning tends to be an after thought when you are learning how to mix toms. Everyone has an opinion about panning drums, which can complicate the subject. And it can be difficult to determine what is best. Here are my principles for panning.

Drummer or Audience perspective: If you are mixing monitors, then I would go with drummer perspective. In a live context, go with audience perspective. The reason being is that it reflects how the listener is actually hearing the audio. There is a disconnect in the brain when the audio is in your left ear but the source is to the right.
Hard Panning or Direct Placement: I have experiment with both of these methods and I have found that hard panning tends to yield better results and spreads the stereo image. There is not as much separation with direct placement

Even with hard panning, you have the overhead microphones pulling the sound towards the center, but you can still hear and feel the effect of hard panning.

how to mix toms: Tone

Who does love thunderous toms. The first place everyone runs to is the console or DAW plugins and start messing with the EQ and Compressors. But the thing that 90% of the people forget to do is check the tom itself. know how to mix toms are only part of the equation. You have to have the right tom for the job.

The majority of the tone comes from the tom itself. The shell materials, the lugs, the heads, and drumstick all play a part in shaping what you hear. Make sure the lugs are tight and heads are in good condition.

If your toms are being used every week then consider replacing the top heads every 6-12 months and the bottom heads once per year. You should always tune the snare before the performance, or ask your drummer to.

Affiliated Products

Hear are my recommendations on equipment for the toms. All of these are affiliated links, but I have used these products and stand by them.

Top Heads

Remo Emperor Coated Tom Head

Other Equipment

Conclusion on how to mix toms

knowing how to mix toms requires a holistic approach that combines proper technique, equipment selection, and creative problem-solving. By understanding the unique characteristics of the toms and applying noise gates, EQ, and compression techniques, engineers can craft a powerful yet balanced sound that enhances the overall mix.

Remember that the toms tone comes from the instrument itself, emphasizing the importance of selecting and maintaining appropriate equipment. Whether working in a professional studio or a live setting, these baseline settings serve as a solid foundation upon which to build, allowing you to focus on creativity rather than guesswork in achieving exceptional snare drum performances.

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