X32 / M32 Toms starting point
Beginner Skill level for the five steps below. Optional intermediate and advanced tips are in Going further.
Dial these in, then adjust by ear in the full mix. Play a tom fill and watch the gate meter: if soft hits don't open the gate, lower the threshold; if the gate chatters on cymbals, raise it or use the key filter. Headroom: drum hits peak much higher than they look, so keep the loudest peaks on the main LR a few dB below clipping.
1High-pass filter
60-80 Hz (rack), 40-60 Hz (floor)
Illustration in the style of the X32 / M32 low cut / HPF, not a screenshot. Drawn at 12 dB/oct; the shaded area is what gets cut. Drawn at 70 Hz, the middle of the card's 60-80 Hz. The card also lists 40-60 Hz (floor).
Keeps the tom's fundamental while removing kick bleed and rumble.
On the X32 / M32: Config/Preamp section of the channel strip: press LOW CUT and turn FREQUENCY (M32 label) to set it, 20-400 Hz. Screen: VIEW > Home > config, encoder 2 (also Home > eq, page 1). Need a cut above 400 Hz? Set EQ band LOW to LCUT mode with the MODE button.
2Gate
Attack Fastest · Hold ~50 ms · Release 300-500 ms (longer on floor toms)
Illustration in the style of the X32 / M32 gate screen, not a screenshot. Range drawn at 12.5 dB, the middle of the card's 10-15 dB. The threshold is an example only; set it by ear.
- Use
- Common
- Threshold
- Above cymbal/snare bleed, below a soft tom hit
- Attack
- Fastest
- Hold
- ~50 ms
- Release
- 300-500 ms (longer on floor toms)
- Range
- 10-15 dB
Toms are idle most of the song; gating them cleans up a lot of cymbal and snare bleed.
On the X32 / M32: GATE section: press GATE to engage and turn THRESHOLD (-80 to 0 dB). Press VIEW for Home > gate: Range 3-60 dB, Attack 0-120 ms (1 ms steps), Hold 0.02-2000 ms, Release 5-4000 ms. Page 2 has the key filter (20 Hz-20 kHz) and key source. The protocol lists the modes EXP2, EXP3, EXP4 (expander 2:1-4:1), GATE and DUCK; check the names on your firmware's screen.
3EQ
- LC 70 Hz, 12 dB/oct
- 1 Bell 150 Hz, +1.5 dB, Q 0.9
- 2 Bell 500 Hz, -4.0 dB, Q 1.5
- 3 Bell 6 kHz, +1.5 dB, Q 1.5
Illustration in the style of the X32 / M32 EQ screen, not a screenshot. Curve shows the midpoint of the suggested ranges; HPF drawn at 12 dB/oct; where the card lists alternatives, the first is drawn.
| Frequency | Gain | Q / width | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100-200 Hz (rack) / 80-120 Hz (floor) | +1 to +2 dB | Wide | Fundamental 'thud'. |
| 400-600 Hz | -3 to -5 dB | Medium | Boxy, papery tone, the most common tom problem. |
| 5-7 kHz | +1 to +2 dB | Medium | Stick attack so fills cut through. |
On the X32 / M32: EQUALISER section (EQUALIZER on the X32): pick the band (LOW, LO MID, HI MID, HIGH), then GAIN (+/-15 dB), FREQUENCY (20 Hz-20 kHz) and WIDTH (labelled Q on the X32; Q 10 narrow to 0.3 wide). The MODE button, or VIEW > Home > eq, sets the band type: LOW = LCUT, LSHV, PEQ or VEQ; LO MID and HI MID = PEQ or VEQ; HIGH = HCUT, HSHV, PEQ or VEQ. There is no separate low-pass filter on input channels: for a high cut, set the HIGH band to HCUT.
4Compression
Attack ~15 ms · Release ~150 ms (timing, not shown on graph)
Illustration in the style of the X32 / M32 compressor screen, not a screenshot. The threshold is an example only: it is set so a −6 dB peak gets about 3 dB of gain reduction, the middle of the card's target. Set yours by ear while watching the gain reduction (GR) meter. Drawn hard-knee with no makeup gain. Attack and release shape timing and don't change this curve.
- Ratio
- 3:1
- Attack
- ~15 ms
- Release
- ~150 ms
- Gain reduction
- 2-4 dB
Gentle control only; toms are mostly a level/gate job.
On the X32 / M32: DYNAMICS section: press COMP to engage and turn THRESHOLD (-60 to 0 dB); the LED meter shows gain reduction. VIEW > Home > dyn: Ratio (1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 20, 100), Attack 0-120 ms, Hold, Release 5-4000 ms, makeup Gain 0-24 dB, Knee 0-5, Peak/RMS and LIN/LOG. Page 2: pre/post EQ position, key filter and key source.
5FX send
Small send to the drum reverb
Drum reverb (plate / room), about 1 s decay, send around -18 to -12 dB.
Illustration in the style of the X32 / M32 sends view, not a screenshot. Bus numbering depends on how the venue file is patched; set the level by ear.
Helps fills sound bigger without washing out.
On the X32 / M32: Common practice is to feed FX from mix buses (e.g. Bus 13-16, set to pre/post as needed) patched to FX1-4 in the Effects rack, and return them on FX Return channels. Only FX1-4 can be fed this way; FX5-8 are insert-only and can't run reverbs. Check how your venue file is patched before assuming.
🎧 What to listen for
Play a tom fill and watch the gate meter: if soft hits don't open the gate, lower the threshold; if the gate chatters on cymbals, raise it or use the key filter. Headroom: drum hits peak much higher than they look, so keep the loudest peaks on the main LR a few dB below clipping.
Going further (3 optional tips)
Not needed to get a good start. Try these once the basics above sound right.
- IntermediateKey filter to stop cymbals opening the gate
Cymbal bleed is high-frequency; a band-pass key around the tom's note ignores it.
On the M32: VIEW > Home > gate page 2: key filter on, band-pass type at Q 2 or 3 (the Q steps are 1, 2, 3, 5, 10), set on the tom's note, Key Solo to check.
- IntermediateSave and copy channel settings
Recall the same starting point next week or on the next mic.
On the M32: VIEW the LIBRARY screen's channel tab to save/load a channel preset; use it to load the same setup onto the next channel.
- AdvancedDrum subgroup
One compressor across the kit glues it together and gives you one drum fader.
On the M32: send drums post-fader to a bus set as a subgroup (Home > sends tap = Sub-group), compress the bus lightly (2:1, 2-3 dB).
Common gear for Toms
- Sennheiser e604 · Tom mic
- Shure Beta 98AMP · Clip-on drum mic
Scene / preset file
Coming later: downloadable X32 / M32 channel preset for this card.
Sources
- Sweetwater InSync: EQ Frequencies of Musical Instruments Explained (Music Instrument Frequency Cheatsheet)
- Sweetwater InSync: How to EQ (Almost) Anything
- Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcement (PDF)
- Behringer X32 User Manual (PDF, channel strip: Low Cut, Gate, EQ, Dynamics)
- Midas M32 User Manual (PDF; official download on the Midas M32 product page)
- Unofficial X32/M32 OSC Remote Protocol (P.-G. Maillot), parameter ranges, pp.24-26 (not a manufacturer document)
- Sound On Sound: Engineering Drums Live, Part Two
- Sound On Sound: Parallel Compression
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