annoying treble

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gianelli280

gianelli280

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hey, i'm probably going to answer my own question, but i recently put together a little drum and guitar bit but have some pretty piercing treble to deal with. i've tried to use the eq in cubase to balance it out but i'm starting to think the initial recording had too much treble on the mixer.. is it good practice to leave the eq on the mixer as flat as possible during recording?

thanks!
 
i very very rarely use eq before recording, but if i do, the point is to achieve something desirable/intentional.

leave the eq flat, unless you're intentionally tweaking for a nicer/better sound :)
 
gianelli280 said:
i'm starting to think the initial recording had too much treble on the mixer.
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That statement convinces me that you added treble to the mixer while recording. So, yes, you answered your own question.

Why did you do anything to the EQ at all? I'm not suggesting you should never EQ on tracking (even though I never do). But, like Steen said, there should be a REASON to do it. If you don't know WHY you're altering something, that should be a pretty good indication that you shouldn't alter it.
 
i have a pretty crappy guitar rig so i guess i was trying to squeeze all the tone out of it that i could. Thems soundid good threw my headfonez at the time :rolleyes:

re-record, aye.

But... when recording distorted guitar for example, should i leave everything at 12:00 unless i have undesireable lows, or will i be able to effectively eliminate that after the recording?

Also, there is some eq in my signal chain for the guitar (distortion pedal has a little, and my amp itself). should i tune that to get a desired tone by ear or by a monitored microphone track?
 
i'd set up the amp for a good sound, and completely ignore the mixer eq (leave at 12 oclock or bypass if possible)

i don't see the point in using eq in the signal chain with digital recording, unless you really really know what you're doing, and/or it's a nice desirable eq.
probably best not to look at it as an extra tool, but rather an extra source of problems and confusion.

rookie mistakes with distorted guitar are cranking the gain up which results in a thin fizzy tone, or scooping out the midranges which doesn't record well either (unless you specifically want that for some effect)


set the amp up so it sounds nice in the room, then record and listen back.


beyond that it's just a case of experimenting and trying as many different amp settings and mic placements as you can.
 
yeah it's scooped to the mantle of the earth right now. it sounds good during practices but i figured it wouldn't cut through anything on the computer. I did chop the gain down a TON though, that helped i'm sure. I'll do some more tinkering... i've heard everybody say to use eq as little as possible but it just sounds like crap before i do anything to it, and i guess i doubt post-recording eq's ability. Maybe it's just time to buy that head I've needed for a year or so.

thanks for all the help folks.
 
What I've seen is that people use eq because:

1. they have crappy mics
2. they didn't have a good sound in the first place
3. it makes things sound better

#3 is the only acceptable one! :)

I'd try to get the best sound possible "in the room" and aim to use no eq. My best tracks don't have any. I only use eq if I'm positive it makes things better. It's always a compromise, I find that using eq always screws up the sound to a degree. It tends to make things sound smaller and does something I don't like to the harmonics.

But I use it. :)
 
I think i should stick to eliminating it as much as possible. My equipment is pretty decent MINUS the randall B!tchMaster head i'm using. I used an sm57 on the cab and followed some preferred miking techniques on this forum, so i think everything is pretty dialed minus my desire for overkilling eq.

I definitely agree using eq thins out a track. It's also thinning out my hair and making me pale from spending hours in my basement looking for that perfect tone.
 
gianelli280 said:
it just sounds like crap before i do anything to it, and i guess i doubt post-recording eq's ability.
Click to expand...

If it sounds like crap, don't record it. All the pre or post EQ'ing in the world won't save it.

You're making the typical rookie recording mistake of thinking that EQ's, compressors, wow-ifiers, and all these other things you read about are all you need to make a diamond from dog shit. I'm not being condescending to you, we've ALL been through that.
But, the truth is that if you ever heard the raw tracks of most good recordings, they don't sound that much different from the finished product. Sure, they're touched up a bit, but the source sound has to be as good and as close to what you want the final product to be as possible.

I'm not a guitar expert, but what I have heard and read from most guitar players with studio experience is that what sounds good 5 feet away from your amp isn't neccessarilly what the mic is picking up from about 2 inches away.
 
I hear you on that. I'm definitely putting my expectations too high for my setup right now but i know i can do better with what I've got.

But on the 5 feet / 2 inches thing, it sounds like it would be worth the time to tweak my rig by what it sounds like on the recording vice what it sounds like in the room, right? Though I know if it sounds like crap from 5 feet it wont sound any better 2 inches away.

Either way thanks again for the help!
 
Wow! Happy to say you guys were 100% right on that. Thank you thank you thank you!! Sounds MUCH better now, leveled out eq on the mixer, even did some leveling on the amp and the tracks sound FAT now. Used 2 sm 57's and layered 2 tracks for left and 2 tracks for right and i couldn't be happier.

thanks again!!
 
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