High end Sparkle?

Stratomaster

Stratomaster

Active member
While I was mixing last night-I was referencing an Rem album,(Green) while this isnt the greatest sounding album going-I did notice as with most of the things I refernce against-the biggest difference is the high end on EVERYTHING!-Not only cymbals-but guitars and especially bass guitar and kick drum.

I guess my question(s) are:


Is this pro high end sound a product of great recording technique? Great rooms, instruments and mics? All of the above is my guess.Though I've heard some home recordings that sound pretty close.

If say one was lacking in any of the above-when would be the best time to add this high end eg: I could eq my signals while recording(dont really like to do this) mixing-seems like the time to add this high end if its not there but-Ive been reading how any volume adjustments screws with your bit accuracy so they should be kept at a minimum. Or should it be added in the mastering stage? How much can you add that isnt there to begin with?


Can anyone identify this particular high end region?-seems like its at least 10k and above that makes that airiness that really makes some instruments come alive.

Thank you for your time and responses.

Strat
 
The trick to good high end sparkle is getting it without EQ. There aren't any cheap EQ's that won't slightly diminish the quality of your tracks and using EQ to add high end usually just screws it up more. Get the sparkle while tracking and do your best not to screw it up down the line.

Good mics, pres, room, source sound and not screwing it up in the mix and mastering stages are the tricks.

Agressive compression, mix buss distortion, and reverb/chorus effects can really kill the high end attack transients so be carefull while mixing.
 
Two things:

* Mic selection

* Clean signal path

Cheapo mics will often impart an unbearable harshness in the higher frequencies that, when boosted, make the sound difficult to listen to, so the key is to go with mics that are more accurate and pleasing in the higher registers. That way, when you boost the high end, your ears don't hurt.

I happen to own a couple of mics that I think deliver very well in that department, and they didn't cost me a whole lot (namely the oktava mc012, and mxl 2003). Hint: Small diaphragm condens tend to reproduce these frequencies more accurately than their larger-diaph counterparts.

Having a clean signal path is also pretty crucial. If you're still using cheapo tube gear, then it may be time to ditch it in favor of some cleaner solid state gear. Unfortunately, this absolutely means that your ART Tube MP should be a strong candidate for ebay fodder.

Fortunately, good clean solid state gear keeps getting more and more affordable. The Grace Design 101 preamp is a good example at $600. Hell, even the m-audio dmp3 is turning a lot of heads at $200. Software plugins do a good job at compression without mucking things up . . . while the the RNC is pretty much a no-brainer at $175.

If that's the sound you're after, then right now is a good time to be alive. :) Getting a good, clean sound that won't grate on your ears when you boost the high end is actually pretty inexpensive to do in terms of the gear you need to get you there.

It's getting that warm, fat, vintage sound that will make you go dry with the sperm donations trying to afford all that high-end tube gear, Neve-alike preamps, etc.
 
Great answers guys-as an experiment today I went back to my latest tune and re recorded bass and guitar-I also pulled most of the eq's and effects out of the mix and guess what? That high end sparkle is back! It seems as i added effects to my mix the faders were dropping lower and lower and that high end was dropping as well. When I cranked most of the faders up to "0" It sounded raw and powerful-like a band playing in front of you! Of course it doesnt sound like STP and theres tweeking to be done, but I feel I learned a valuable lesson...

Tex-Words of wisdom you're so right, as songwriter, guitarist bassist, producer and engineer I often end up skimping on my own performances. I need to remember that the moment of truth is when you press "record" you cant make it sound better later.

Chess-good advice too-microphones are our weakness though we got a few decent ones AKGC4000-some oktavas mk219+319-some 57's and 58's-could you reccomend some low cost drum overheads-I'm using a mismatched set right now :( How bout that oktava mc012? isnt that the one GC is selling 2 for $150? Just got my RNC too-woo hoo-getting there little by little heh-You rated?(chess)

Anyway I'm rambling-thanks a million for the replies and good advice!


Strat
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top