EQing Strategies

T

TripleM

Well-known member
I'd like advice from experienced people in how you approach EQing.

As an example, say you have a piece of music with two guits, bass, drums, and three part vocals... I would think you need to think about how all these parts are going to sit TOGETHER in the mix. Therefore you can't think of them individually when EQing them. In other words, you need a strategy.

So what to do? Is it a good idea to scan the frequencies of each part before touching anything to find out which frequencies you want to bring out and which ones you want to pull back? Do you take notes so you don't forget? What if you have different musical parts that both have sounds you like, but in the same frequency range? How do you "break the ties?"

Anybody's thoughts would be welcomed.
 
There are many excellent threads on this bbs on the subject, so a search will give you lots of good info...here's what I have read and try to do:

1. To get the parts to "sit together" bring up drums, bass and then vocals and try to make those work together as a submix...then bring in everything else one at a time and fit into the mix. This helps to ensure that the vocals will "sit" properly (if I recall, Gidge won the award on this one...)

2. when parts have the same frq range, I first try to EQ (cut) so that there are enough differences to give separation...but that may change the sound into one that you no longer like, so there's a limit as to how far I will go with this.

3. when parts have the same freq range and I don't want to EQ any further, I try to add slightly different reverbs to give the impression of varying "distances" - gives depth and separates the tracks slightly.

-J
 
I didn't check out the links posted above, so forgive me if I am repeating some of what was said in those places...

A few EQ'ing tips:

•Don't EQ a track while soloing it. Making it sound great by itself often may be quite different from what you need to do to make it sound good in the mix. Soloing a track has it's uses - finding out where strange clicks, buzzes, sneezes, hums, etc. are coming from, for instance. And eliminating those kinds of artifacts. But not for getting a good sound that will blend with the other instruments.

•Whenever possible, try to EQ by cutting frequencies rather than boosting them. For instance, if you think a track needs more highs, try cutting lows and mids and then raising the overall volume of the track. Boosting EQ tends to introduce phasing, so if you can accomplish the same thing by cutting, chances are you will maintain a better sound.

•Keep in mind that each element in the mix will be more easily heard if it occupies a unique space. As far as EQ goes, this means you probably want to find different frequencies to cut or emphasize on each track, so they aren't competing.

•Finally: try to minimize the need for EQ by getting the best sound you can going in. This primarily means experimenting with mic placement and mic choices, as well as preamp choices (if you have them).
 
High! :D

Wow! This sonusman thread is COOL! Haven't yet really read it, but it sounds very cool...

HEy TripleM, just one more thought to consider... Might it also be that you should get your dynamics controlled? I noticed that sometimes you seem to get something better with EQ when you should also consider the dynamics... I compress and gate a lot while mixdown, maybe as I'm a little too lazy to clean everythign by hand and/or use automix... Perhaps I use dynamics a little too often and get this flat sound everybody here seems to hate, but at the moment I like it. The point is that if two track have similar important frequencies, then they might fit together as long as one does not get significantly louder than the other... So you might either work 'against' the nature of the instruments and push regions that are not SOO characteristic (or cut a lot of important freqs, or both), or try to get the dynamics more constant first and then EQ the stuff...

I don't wanna be a smart-ass but that was one thing I had learned when recording our own band (which is my main recording stuff). We don't play too accurate (well except me :D) and so the dynamics vary a little too much. Compressing helps a lot there. On DAWs, you can often even clean very accurate, if you have sidechain dynamics on it. Then get the sidechain a little EARLIER into the comp than the main thing and use slightly higher attack/release times than you would normally. I used 3ms that I cut out of the beginning noise before our songs started on some tracks. This way you can e.g. push 80 Hz to gat the bassdrum and you can use this sidechain track for compressing the cleaned drum track afterwards, too.

Hope I could help you... Ciao

Axel
 
Some of my eq strategies:

* Get it sounding right during tracking. For anything other than kick drum or bass guitar, use mics that have a bass-cut or a natural rolloff (like a 57). Use a higher-impedence preamp to give a little presence / high-end boost, or a lower-impedence one for a more mid-rangy sound (like electric guitars).

* "look" at all of your tracks with a frequency analyzer while you listen. Stare at it and make a mental picture of the sound untill you can see it's "shape."

* When eq-ing, start by cutting any unneeded bass frequencies. Make a steep "falling-off-a-cliff" bass cut. Start out to the far left, and keep moving it to the right untill you can hear a difference. Once you can start hearing a cut, stop and listen to it in the mix. Does this help it in any way to sit better in the mix, or does it just make it sound thinner? Does it help you to hear the bass guitar or kick drum better, and if so, is that a good thing?

If you can't hear a difference at all, then by all means keep cutting untill you don't like it . . . then move it back to where you do. Pretty simple, but effective.

Now, do the same thing with a low shelving eq, and go with what sounds best . . . maybe one or the other or a combination of the two.

* Stare at the frequency analyzer some more. Figure out where the kick drum and snare are at. Now go cut a narrow gouge out of the bass guitar in those regions . . . if you need to, that is. If you already notice some small potholes or indents there, then pat yourself on the back for doing such a good job tracking the bass. :)

* Cut a bunch of mids out of the drums.

* Cut a bunch of mids and lows out of the accoustic guitars.

* Get rid of any mids and/or lows from the tamborine.

* Now look at the freq. analysis of the rough mix. Is there some high end missing? If so, condiser adding some tamborine/shaker before you reach for the shelving eq.

This is very improtant when checking the balance of the mix.

Instead of trying to "add what isn't there" with eq, you should really, literally try adding what isn't there by adding another track that might fill it out more.

And finally . . .

If there's something you're trying to fix, and you just can't seem to get it to sound right, then seriously consider re-tracking. You'll probably be happier, and it will likely take a lot less time in the end than playing with the eq all day trying to fix something you'll never be happy with.
 
You know, there's a word that you probably don't want to hear, but it must be said. The answer to your question the way I work is: sacrifice.

If you like the attack in the guitars at 2.5khz, and you like the attack in the bass at 2.5khz, and you like the attack of the kick drum at 2.5khz, it's safe to say that you can't have it all.

So first, ask yourself, "what is the most important thing out of these instruments which are competing for space in this area of the spectrum?"

Then just bite it and cut the rest of the frequences. You can scream as you do it if it makes you feel better. Sometimes you just can't have it all. Of course, at that point, you can "make-up" for it somewhere else in the spectrum. "Well, I cut the bass guitar right there so the guitar can be heard in that frequency range, but I'm a fair guy. Maybe I'll let the bass guitar have 3-4khz and cut that in the guitar." I think that's the "compromise" part of mixing.

And of course, when you hear everything together, and it sounds good and you can hear every instrument and part, you can pat yourself on the back for being able to do it.

Not everybody can have a "smiley face" eq and get a good mix. Something's got to give.
 
Sometimes compressing a given frequency range can allow you to have your cake a little bit more and eat it.

If two instruments want that frequency range, compressing them both in that freq. can sometimes allow them to share it a little better.
 
Alright, alright....

chessrock said:
Sometimes compressing a given frequency range can allow you to have your cake a little bit more and eat it.

If two instruments want that frequency range, compressing them both in that freq. can sometimes allow them to share it a little better.
Click to expand...


Okay, think of what I said in my previous reply under the context of, "I've already adjusted volume, panning, compressed, etc, etc, and I've done everything but eq the damn thing."

Better, Chessrock? :D
 
Thanks. I've followed a bunch of this advice.

I'm in a spot now where my rough mix seems a bit harsh at the high end. But if I cut anything in the high end on any track, things seem muffled.

Anybody had that issue? Any ideas on what the problem is? Is it really the mids I'm hearing that are harsh?
 
Is it harsh as in some harsh-sounding cymbal crashes or hi-hat . . . sybilant vocals (harsh s and sh), or is it just an overall, constant kind of generic harshness? Explain in a little more detail.

It could be several things. If it's just the vocals or a cymbal crash, it can be corrected or at least improved pretty easily. If it's a more constant thing where everything just sounds harsh at the top, then you might have some tracking issues that you probably won't be able to correct without starting over again.

If it's the former, then it could just be one problem frequency - in which case you can help it by locating which frequency(ies) is causing the harshness and cutting just that narrow band . . . or by compressing it with a de-esser or multiband comp. If the problem frequency is within range of the de-esser, then it should be pretty easy. You can use it to compress just that frequency when it gets out of control, while leaving the rest of the higher frequencies "unmolested" to provide definition (I just heard that term used earlier and it cracked me up).

If it's the latter, then it could be a byproduct of bad microphones, bad mic placement, or a mismatch of mic and source (like using a trebly-sounding mic on a sybilant vocalist, or using an el-cheapo Chinese condenser right over the hi-hat or crash cymbal). The only suggestion in this case would be to use a flatter mic next time. :) Small-diaphragm condensers are great for delivering crisp high end without sounding harsh, for example.
 
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TripleM said:
Thanks. I've followed a bunch of this advice.

I'm in a spot now where my rough mix seems a bit harsh at the high end. But if I cut anything in the high end on any track, things seem muffled.

Anybody had that issue? Any ideas on what the problem is? Is it really the mids I'm hearing that are harsh?
Click to expand...

Sometimes "harsh" can be because of upper-mids, as opposed to the highest frequencies. Using a parametric EQ, try sweeping a fairly steep "Q" EQ boost between 1k and 5k. Find where the sound you hate is the absolute worst. Then change the EQ to a cut at that frequency, relaxing the Q to a more gentle curve. Once you mitigate the harshness, you may be able to give a slight boost to the higher frequencies (above 8K) to add a little sparkle back in.

This method of boosting and finding the "worst" sound, then cutting those frequencies can work in a variety of situations.
 
harsh stuff

if you're talking about just a constant harsh sound..that kills your ears...i defiantely know what you mean.

my stuff got that way all the time when i first started learning about EQ.

I think basically...start your mixing job over - and this time ONLY make cuts, and see if its still there. That's what i did - and surprisingly it worked. Also, use as little EQ as possible to start. If you can get it to sound good without messing with it so much, then that is also better.

I'm still definately no EQ pro - but it worked for me.

on another song, sadly, it was in the recorded track that I heard the harshness, not in my EQing. So, I just cut a huge huge whole out of i thnk it was about 2500khz (at 2.5 oct....lol) and although it DID change the sound of the guitar, I liked it even better because
A - no harsh sound
B - very original sounding guitar, fit right with the style.
 
Thanks

Thanks everyone. It was harshness in the vocals.

Actually, I listed to it again after several days and it wasn't really as bad as I first thought. But I swept the offending track and did find some bad stuff in the lead vocals at about 9600. I backed those off a bit and it sounds smoother.

Thanks again.
 
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