This post. focuses on the secret rock mixing practice of using a DeEsser on overheads.
Rock overhead tracks are downright scary. Many rock drummers constantly wash out their cymbals and play in the studio with ‘live’ cymbals that have too much presence, designed to cut through stage noise. EQing the cymbals leaves you with mush and a loss of clarity and sheen. What is an engineer to do? A little known secret of the pros is to use a de-esser (essentially a special purpose multiband compressor) to cut down on the sybillance.
