2 Questions Boosting / and guitar harmonies

Jay C

Jay C

New member
ok, my first question is , when is it OK to BOOST a frequency ? if ever. most advice i've found says never boost only cut to sculpt. but there's a lot of boosting going on out there so i'd love to hear some thought on that..

my second question is, are there any "rules" to mixing guitar harmonies. ( maiden / metallica style ) like panning ? doubling ?.. i have a song that i just can't get happy with the way the harmony lead line sits in the mix..

thanks and i look forward to reading.
 
It's ok to boost frequencies as long as they don't interfere with anything else in the mix. The lead guitar can take up a little more space during the solo because there are generally no vocals to clash with.

There are no "rules". What I do is pick one of the guitar parts to be the dominant part and mix the harmony/double like an effect. You can also pan them slightly off center of each other L/R to reduce the stacking effect.
 
There are no rules! I know ocnor just said that, but it bears repeating. There are no goon squads going to break down your door and beat you down no matter what you do to your mix.

Boost what you want. If it sounds good leave it. Subtractive EQ usually sounds a bit more natural for some fairly technical reasons, and frankly subtractive mixing in general is good discipline to practice in order to avoid "level creep" and preserve headroom, but all that really matters is the final mix.

IF you have a part in the song AND you cant get it to sit in the mix with just the fader and a little EQ THEN it's probably not the right part for the song. Re-assess the arrangement in general. Is there something else in the mix that you can pull out and then this just falls into place? Or are you just trying to shoehorn this line in where it doesn't want to go?
 
ashcat_lt said:
There are no rules! I know ocnor just said that, but it bears repeating. There are no goon squads going to break down your door and beat you down no matter what you do to your mix.

Boost what you want. If it sounds good leave it. Subtractive EQ usually sounds a bit more natural for some fairly technical reasons, and frankly subtractive mixing in general is good discipline to practice in order to avoid "level creep" and preserve headroom, but all that really matters is the final mix.

IF you have a part in the song AND you cant get it to sit in the mix with just the fader and a little EQ THEN it's probably not the right part for the song. Re-assess the arrangement in general. Is there something else in the mix that you can pull out and then this just falls into place? Or are you just trying to shoehorn this line in where it doesn't want to go?
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maybe i should re record but play the parts on different srings and higher on fretboard? but i am trying to blend heavy distorted guitars with clean guitars as well as the lead harmony part. i want the clean guitars to pop a bit out, i'v just started using automation and it helped, maybe the part just isn't meant to be. but i think i should be able to fit. maybe i should boost somewhere in the eq?
 
I'll add maybe think subtractive first' in that in cleaning things up to fit first might at least lead to needing less boosts.
 
I will also add, that the particular EQ insert used, can have better or worse results, whether adding, or subtracting.

Contrary to the concept that EQ's are all doing the same thing, this is just not true in the real world. Not all of them sound the same.

Subtractive EQ, has always been the best first step, as far as making a track in a mix 'sit' right. But, if you are actually sculpting a track, and it's tone, then you are using the EQ as an effect. Do what any particular track needs. I often boost frequencies heavily, with the PSP NobleQex plugin. It is a different animal, than a basic EQ.

As said earlier (twice in this thread), there are no rules. Only suggestions as to what works for one, in their own personal experiences.

Just because I did some trick, that made my wife scream in a special way, does not mean it will work on yours. Oops, wrong forum.

:)
 
My philosophy, you cut to make it sound better, you boost to make it sound different.

Get a nice character EQ, and boosting can open up a whole world of new tones. But you still have to be careful.
 
jimmys69 said:
I will also add, that the particular EQ insert used, can have better or worse results, whether adding, or subtracting.

Contrary to the concept that EQ's are all doing the same thing, this is just not true in the real world. Not all of them sound the same.

Subtractive EQ, has always been the best first step, as far as making a track in a mix 'sit' right. But, if you are actually sculpting a track, and it's tone, then you are using the EQ as an effect. Do what any particular track needs. I often boost frequencies heavily, with the PSP NobleQex plugin. It is a different animal, than a basic EQ.

As said earlier (twice in this thread), there are no rules. Only suggestions as to what works for one, in their own personal experiences.

Just because I did some trick, that made my wife scream in a special way, does not mean it will work on yours. Oops, wrong forum.

:)
Click to expand...

i didn't realize that all equalizers were not equal. i did a tutorial "rethink mixing" and one of the things i got from it was a fear of boosting. but you guys have liberated me. lol. i might try some boosts in the mix i'm working on right now, i've been having a hard time making lead guitar harmonies sound good in the mix. I use Izotope Ozone 5 for eq and compression , is anyone familiar with this very expensive software? is there an eq plugin you can recommend that will be suitable for boosting and scooping?
 
jimmys69 said:
I will also add, that the particular EQ insert used, can have better or worse results, whether adding, or subtracting.

Contrary to the concept that EQ's are all doing the same thing, this is just not true in the real world. Not all of them sound the same.

Subtractive EQ, has always been the best first step, as far as making a track in a mix 'sit' right. But, if you are actually sculpting a track, and it's tone, then you are using the EQ as an effect. Do what any particular track needs. I often boost frequencies heavily, with the PSP NobleQex plugin. It is a different animal, than a basic EQ.

As said earlier (twice in this thread), there are no rules. Only suggestions as to what works for one, in their own personal experiences.

Just because I did some trick, that made my wife scream in a special way, does not mean it will work on yours. Oops, wrong forum.

:)
Click to expand...

hi. i posted the song and was hoping you would give it a listen and maybe critique for me? i would be in your debt.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...b-here-one-my-first-mixes-358669/#post4062613
 
I almost always boost some frequencies on drums, particularly snare and kik. There may be other exceptions, and like everyone said, you can make all the exceptions you want, it's your mix. But I think drums are definitely an exception to that "rule".
 
I think what a lot of people don't think about is that when you boost a frequency, that you are also boosting volume and you need to usually compensate by cutting your level down.....my 2 cents;)
 
Going off of what Rami said, I always crank the high end on my overheads. I have a good EQ so it makes my cymbals sound wicked and brings out the attack of the drums without sounding gnarly at all.
 
I listen to the rules of audio. But I don't obey them unless I think it benefits my mix. And boosting is as much a part of sound sculpture/mixing as cutting. I boost where I think necessary. I've never been a stranger to boosting.
People have been known to boost until their pants get wet.
 
grimtraveller said:
I listen to the rules of audio. But I don't obey them unless I think it benefits my mix. And boosting is as much a part of sound sculpture/mixing as cutting. I boost where I think necessary. I've never been a stranger to boosting.
People have been known to boost until their pants get wet.
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I totally agree grimtraveller, and its cool even if you boost until their pants get wet if that's what it takes to get the sound you are looking for :eatpopcorn:
 
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