At what stage is it better to EQ?

W

webstop

New member
What do experienced people say: attempting to get the mix sound right, is it better to EQ various individual tracks, or to use EQ as master effect and equalize mix as a whole?

I tried it either way, but so far could get acceptable results. Which route should pursue further?

Please advise...
 
You track it the way you want to sound... if you do that properly, no EQ is necessary, unless you use it for effect......

On the other hand, the ends justify the means too -- ie, if you have to twist the knobs inside out to get the "right sound" for the track in the mix, then you do it!

Bruce
 
Everything I have read tells me to eq as little as possible on the post recording. In other words, eq the source as well as you can. The less you do after it is recorded the better. I would say eq individual tracks to taste, do not eq the final 2 track stereo mix. Leave that for the mastering process.
 
misterx said:
Everything I have read tells me to eq as little as possible on the post recording. In other words, eq the source as well as you can.
Click to expand...
No... you've got that backwards - it's generally the opposite... use proper mic selection and placement to appropriately capture your sound source - and of course, the sound source has to be sounding good, in a good room!

Good recording technique dictates avoiding EQ during tracking, and use it as needed during mixdown... however, if you've tracked properly, often there is little need for further EQ unless for effect....

Bruce
 
oh..they'll be purists who would say to do nothing when tracking.. [especially things like]effects, compression,(maybe), etc...included along with the EQing. ..because you're now "committed" on 'tape' with what you just did...and it will be hard(er) to reverse your decision when it comes time to mix, when you didn't like your first intentions. Instead, 'your job' is to just accurately capture the event. (yeah..like current pop music does!!-->ha!). But, save all that knob twiddling stuff for MIXING...and then leave the final mix ALONE for the mastering engineer to take over [is usually the general consensus].
 
eq

Just eq when needed. either when tracking or mixing or both.

There are no rules.

Trust your ears, but always try and get it right at the source(right being a nice clean sound you are happy with)

The thing is the sound that you want/like when you track maybe different than the sound you want/like when you mix. People change there minds.

Just keeping on keeping on untill the sound appears that makes you smile.

JohnG
 
"however, if you've tracked properly, often there is little need for further EQ unless for effect...."

Hmm... isn't that what I was implying? The books that I have on recording always say try to make your incoming source as good as possible. So, isn't that the same as saying ", if you've tracked properly, often there is little need for further EQ unless for effect.."?

Yah, I could be backa$$wards on this one. :) Still very much in the learning phase. (darn books!!)
 
Ah... I just re-read your post... I think you were trying to say what I was getting at, you just phrased-it ambiguously!

When you said EQ at the source, you meant "capturing the sound the way you want it to sound", not "use the EQ knobs while tracking to make sound good!!"

If so, then yes - I agree with you!

Bruce
 
No, you see, what you do, is you take a radio shack mic, then you stick the instrument in a room (make sure it's square and that there's no sound absoption on the walls so you get lots of standing waves). Then, you set the compression threshold as low as it can go with the fastest attack and the slowest release, with at least a 10:1 compression ratio.

Then, you add lots and lots of eq from your Behringer Eurorack mixer... be sure that the lows are around +10 to +15 gain.. as a matter of fact, do that to all the eq knobs. If you have a different mixer and it has sweepable mids, be sure to get as much of the lower midrange as possible (200-500hz).

After that, add your effects. Lots of them. The more effects the better. Then you run into a digital recorder of some sort. I would recommend "riding the red" on your digital recorder (+1 or +2 gain) to get that nice "digital odd-order harmonic distortion" that adds warmth or something.


Then from there, you just fix it in the mix*!!!!




*may be sarcasm.
 
Thanks UberGawkman, I am printing your instructions right away so that I don't forget anything and do exactly as you instructed.
I'll be glad to give you some advice in future, whenever you need it. For example, when your hard disk crashes I will tell you how to fix it without loosing files... *


* may be not sarcarm.
 
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