Mixing Jason Richardson’s Drums: Taylor Larson’s Overhead & Cymbal Tactics

Ever wrestled with getting Luke Holland’s intricate drumming, especially on a busy Jason Richardson track, to sit perfectly in a mix? Those cymbals – so many of them, hit with varying intensity, all needing their own space. It’s a common headache for metal producers. But fear not, because Taylor Larson, the man behind the console for Jason Richardson’s “I,” dropped some serious knowledge on how he tackles this exact challenge. Forget just “making it loud”; Taylor’s approach is about precision, air, and making those cymbals fly out of your speakers.

This isn’t just about slapping on a few plugins. It’s a philosophy that starts with the overheads and is meticulously supported by spot mics. Let’s dive into how Taylor Larson crafts that signature drum sound, an approach you can learn more about by seeing him mix the full Jason Richardson track on Nail The Mix.

Building the Foundation: Aggressive & Airy Overheads

For Taylor, the overheads are where the main picture of the cymbals is painted. But in a dense, technical mix like Jason Richardson’s, he’s not aiming for a traditionally “glued” or all-encompassing overhead sound. Instead, the goal is to make each cymbal articulate and soar, without cluttering up the rest of the mix.

Taming Harshness & The Analog Front End

Cymbals can easily introduce harshness or unwanted ringing. To combat this, Taylor mentioned using a plugin like Soothe on a soft setting, dialing it in with the wet/dry knob. He doesn’t want to completely eliminate these frequencies, as some of the attack lives there, but rather to gently control them.

The signal path on the way in also plays a crucial role. Taylor favors John Hardy Preamps for cymbals and other “airy” sources, noting they are like API preamps but a bit faster and offer higher fidelity. These feed into API 550A EQs, which his tech Tanner modded with Avedis op-amps – a nice custom touch for that extra sonic edge.

EQ Strategy for Busy Mixes: Making Cymbals Soar

When it comes to EQing overheads in a busy metal mix, Taylor Larson gets quite aggressive to achieve that “flying out of the speakers” quality. He explained a few key moves:

• A high shelf starting around 1.5kHz to lift the overall air and shimmer.
• Another lift around 1kHz, presumably to bring out more of the cymbals’ body and attack.
• A significant scoop around 300Hz. This is crucial for carving out space and preventing muddiness, especially with so much else going on in the low-mids.
• A low shelf around 391Hz, further ducking frequencies below the cymbals to maintain clarity and separation.

This aggressive EQ approach ensures the cymbals have their own distinct space and don’t fight with guitars or vocals.

Subtle Overhead Compression for Life, Not Wash

For overhead compression, Taylor often reaches for an Urei 1178. Whether it’s the hardware unit or a plugin (he notes the plugin is often based on the Rev G 1176 – considered less desirable by some, but he appreciates its unique “attitude”), the key is subtlety. He’s not looking to drastically alter the sound or squash the attack. Instead, the compression is there to add a bit of “life” and consistency.

Interestingly, for this session, he found himself using a slightly slower release time than he normally would. His usual preference is for the fastest release possible, but in this case, a slower release helped prevent the cymbals from becoming too “washy.” This is a critical point: many engineers will slam an 1176 on cymbals and hit it too hard, resulting in a blurry, washed-out sound. Taylor’s approach keeps the attack intact and the cymbals clear. For more insights into metal compression techniques beyond just loudness, check out our resources.

Wide Overheads: Angling for Space

One neat trick Taylor shared for achieving a wider stereo image with his overheads is to angle them outwards. While many engineers position their overheads straight, he finds that angling them helps to create an even more expansive soundstage, contributing to that feeling of cymbals flying around.

Spot Mics: Precision Tools for Cymbal Enhancement

While the overheads provide the main cymbal picture, spot mics are Taylor Larson’s secret weapon for enhancing individual elements and ensuring every detail cuts through. He emphasized that his assistant, Ernie, meticulously cuts out bleed from the spot mics, allowing for precise control.

Hi-Hats: Cut, Lift, and Aggression

Hi-hats get special attention. Taylor typically filters out a lot of the low-end bleed and then tweaks the EQ to make the hat sit perfectly, often giving it a lift to help it cut. He also mentioned a specific part of the song, the “Tim section,” where he treated the hi-hat differently – compressing it harder and boosting more upper midrange to give it a more aggressive, almost trap-like sound that fit the vibe of that section. Taylor admits he almost always juices his hi-hats pretty hard, as many of his favorite recordings feature loud, articulate hi-hats.

Rides, Splashes, and Chinas: Tailored Treatment

For other cymbals like splashes and rides, the approach is about laying them out and making them fit without any overly complex processing. However, if there are particularly busy ride cymbal parts, like some found on the Jason Richardson record, those might get special treatment. Taylor explained they would process that spot mic completely differently to “jack it up” and make it louder and more prominent than what the main overheads are capturing for that specific cymbal.

For China cymbals, he sometimes employs a high-end scoop, which might seem counterintuitive, but in the context of a dense mix, it can help glue everything together and prevent harshness.

Luke Holland’s Signature Bullet Stack: Making it Count

Luke Holland has his signature Bullet Stack, and naturally, he wanted it to be prominent. Taylor made sure it was nice and loud, carefully filtering the top and low end to ensure it worked musically within the mix.

The “Pop Factor”: Spot Mic Compression

A crucial element to making spot-miked cymbals “pop” is compression. Taylor mentioned having a dynamics section, likely a compressor, “cooking” on literally all of the spot mics. Importantly, these spot mics are not summed or bussed together with the main overheads before compression. They are kept separate, allowing them to punch through independently and live in their own space. Compressing them together with the overheads, he noted, would likely result in a more traditional, blended sound, which isn’t the goal here.

Taylor Larson’s Drum Mixing Mindset

Beyond the specific techniques, Taylor’s overall philosophy and workflow offer valuable insights.

Workflow: Overheads First, Spots for Support

His process starts with the overheads. He aims to get a mix where you can hear everything clearly just from the overhead microphones. Only then does he bring in the spot mics. These are treated as enhancements, similar to how one might use drum samples or one-shots – they’re there to add separation, push, and make specific parts really jump out and feel more impactful. Things like louder crashes and Chinas will naturally pop through the overheads, which are mixed to feature them, while other elements are supplemented by their respective spot mics.

The Phase Question: Trust Your Ears, Not Just Your Eyes

When it comes to phase, Taylor has a very pragmatic approach: he doesn’t really care, unless it audibly presents itself as a problem. He listens. If something sounds good, it is good. If it sounds thin, he’ll flip the phase polarity and see which way sounds better. He advises against getting overly scientific or analytical, as it can lead to sterile, unmusical mixes.

He acknowledges the inherent time delay between a snare hit and that sound reaching the overheads. While some engineers meticulously align these, Taylor, having learned on analog consoles, doesn’t obsess over it. He even suggests that slight phase discrepancies, like those between angled overheads and close mics, might actually contribute to the wide, “pushing out” sound he likes, similar to how stereo imagers use out-of-phase signals to create width.

Get Those Cymbals Flying in Your Mixes

Taylor Larson’s approach to mixing Luke Holland’s drums for Jason Richardson is a masterclass in balancing clarity, aggression, and space. Key takeaways include:

• Aggressive Overhead EQ: Don’t be afraid to carve and boost to make cymbals soar in a busy mix.
• Subtle Overhead Compression: Use it for life and control, not to squash the dynamics.
• Strategic Spot Mics: Use them to enhance, add pop, and ensure every cymbal has its place.
• Individual Spot Mic Compression: Keep spots separate from overheads for maximum impact.
• Trust Your Ears: Don’t let technicalities overshadow musicality, especially with phase.

These techniques provide a fantastic roadmap for tackling complex metal drum mixes. But imagine seeing Taylor Larson actually apply these concepts, tweak those EQs, dial in that compression, and blend those spot mics in real-time. With Nail The Mix, you get exactly that. Each month, you get access to the genuine multi-tracks from huge metal songs, and you can watch world-class producers like Taylor mix them from scratch, explaining every single decision.

If you’re ready to go beyond presets and truly understand how to make your mixes compete, it’s time to see these techniques in action. Dive deeper into Taylor Larson’s complete drum (and full band!) mixing session for this Jason Richardson track here and start your journey to unlock your sound and mix modern metal like a pro.