Just curious. . .isn't it better to find great mic placement and hardly use any EQ rather than distort(for lack of a better term) the actual sound of the instrument. Mainly talkin about acoustic guits here. I record them a lot and find that I hardly ever feel the need to EQ them. maybe a little high end here and there. Does anyone agree or disagree? Isn't the idea behind recording ANY instrument to get it is to sound as close to the real thing as possible? just some thoughts! reply away! thanks the dude.
To EQ or not to EQ
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TexRoadkill
Audio Bum
Making it sound realistic or not is a matter of preference but no matter what the less you do to it while mixing the more clarity and fidelity you will retain.
the dude said:
Whatever gets you the sound you want is the right way to do it.
I am, however, a pretty strong advocate of EQ when it comes to busy mixes. Sometimes, you have to carve out a space for other things as the track count adds up. You may not think it, but an accoustic guitar eats up a lot of the low frequencies, and can interfere with the snare drum and even bass guitar in a busier mix.
The Green Hornet
New member
Yo Dude in MaliBU:
Man, I wish I lived there -- sun, ocean, chicks, chicks, chicks,....Oh, I got lost for a moment.
I try to do vocals up front and without any EQ, or "very" little. When you're dealing with vocals and divas and baritones, etc., you can suddenly get them into the "twang" mode via eq. But, if the client wants that -- twang 'em.
But, as stated above, what your ears like is what you do, especially if it's YOU.
Surf's UP.
Green Hornet
Man, I wish I lived there -- sun, ocean, chicks, chicks, chicks,....Oh, I got lost for a moment.
I try to do vocals up front and without any EQ, or "very" little. When you're dealing with vocals and divas and baritones, etc., you can suddenly get them into the "twang" mode via eq. But, if the client wants that -- twang 'em.
But, as stated above, what your ears like is what you do, especially if it's YOU.
Surf's UP.
Green Hornet
EddieRay
#?
I did a test in which I recorded a nylon string guitar with a Shure SM85 and an Oktava MK219, through a Behringer 802 board, then to the PC. If I record flat it sounds very boomy. It sounds much better if I shelf the low freqs at the board. I guess I could record flat and eq in the mix, but I've seen it stated here many times that it's best to get the source to sound the way you want rather than in the mix. That makes sense to me but I'm surprised at how much low freq I have to eliminate to get a good sound. Comments?
christiaan
Active member
Re: Re: To EQ or not to EQ
Very true. That's for instance exactly what I did for the mixing contest in the Mixing / Mastering forum. A high-pass on the acoustic guitars cleared it up a lot.chessrock said:
Aaron Cheney
Favorite Chord: C 6/9
Here's my take:
EQ is the single most important factor in a good mix. A close second is compression.
Everything you record gets EQ'd in some way or another. Those with the resources and knowledge make EQ choices when they choose a particular mic or pre to record a given instrument with. You can also make EQ choices when you choose a room to record in. You make EQ choices when you pick which guitar sounds best on a particular song. Hopefully, if you have enough resources and wisdom to make all those EQ choices correctly at tracking time, mixing will be much simpler. It's always better to get a good sound up front.
In the real world we all face limitations. Let's face it: most homereccer's don't have the the means to get the exact sound needed in tracking. Mixing EQ is an absolute necessity to make tracks work together. That said, it should always be approached conservatively.
Furthermore, as TexRoadkill said, getting a realistic sound is not always what you need. In the pop music world, a good acoustic guitar sound is almost never and accurate reproduction of what an acoustic guitar sounds like. (or electric for that matter). There is almost always some low end gone to make room for snare and bass, among other things, and somewhere along the line an engineer made that EQ choice, either with mic, pre, room, EQ device, or some combination of those.
got mojo?
www.voodoovibe.com
EQ is the single most important factor in a good mix. A close second is compression.
Everything you record gets EQ'd in some way or another. Those with the resources and knowledge make EQ choices when they choose a particular mic or pre to record a given instrument with. You can also make EQ choices when you choose a room to record in. You make EQ choices when you pick which guitar sounds best on a particular song. Hopefully, if you have enough resources and wisdom to make all those EQ choices correctly at tracking time, mixing will be much simpler. It's always better to get a good sound up front.
In the real world we all face limitations. Let's face it: most homereccer's don't have the the means to get the exact sound needed in tracking. Mixing EQ is an absolute necessity to make tracks work together. That said, it should always be approached conservatively.
Furthermore, as TexRoadkill said, getting a realistic sound is not always what you need. In the pop music world, a good acoustic guitar sound is almost never and accurate reproduction of what an acoustic guitar sounds like. (or electric for that matter). There is almost always some low end gone to make room for snare and bass, among other things, and somewhere along the line an engineer made that EQ choice, either with mic, pre, room, EQ device, or some combination of those.
got mojo?
www.voodoovibe.com
Last edited:
BrettB
New member
Aaron did a pretty good reply.
I EQ quite a lot I admit, the only thing I don't EQ much is voals, because they sound easily unnatural (but this can be a coice nowadays).
Anyway, I believe that a subtile EQ can make the difference between a muddy mix and more clarity. And like Aaron said, it isn't always the most realistic sound you want. The acoustic guitar is a great example: it may sound unnatural when you have EQ'ed it with the necessary high pass and solo it, but in the mix it can sound suddenly a lot brighter.
Also on drums EQ can make things less messy. I always remove the low stuff off my overheads and give a slight peak at were the stick hits the cymbal (between 2 k and 16k). I give a bassdrum extra botton and a high attack and so on, and so on...
I EQ quite a lot I admit, the only thing I don't EQ much is voals, because they sound easily unnatural (but this can be a coice nowadays).
Anyway, I believe that a subtile EQ can make the difference between a muddy mix and more clarity. And like Aaron said, it isn't always the most realistic sound you want. The acoustic guitar is a great example: it may sound unnatural when you have EQ'ed it with the necessary high pass and solo it, but in the mix it can sound suddenly a lot brighter.
Also on drums EQ can make things less messy. I always remove the low stuff off my overheads and give a slight peak at were the stick hits the cymbal (between 2 k and 16k). I give a bassdrum extra botton and a high attack and so on, and so on...