Different stages of EQ

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Atipp

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I'm reading a lot about EQing for recording, and a lot of what I read says to cut down on the frequencies of one instrument and put them back with another. What I mean is Take out a bunch of your lows (40-100hz) from the guitar, and add those same frequncies to the bass guitar. Now I realize that this is no golden rule, but I like where there going with this for clarity sake. My question is this:
An instrument gets/has tones at so many different points in the process. For example; a guitar has a natural sound which wiuld include many frequencies. When you amp it, even with no EQ to the amp, it'll still get a change in it's frequencies (tones and sub tones, aka timber?) then into the mixer it might geta little more EQ tweaking. So when you get to mixdown how do you know that by taking out a few Db's, you add back the right amount with the next instrument. Say that through the process you guitar ended up with a bunch of lows. If you take out threedb from that and add 2 or 3 to the bass, what if you still have to much low.
I guess what I'm asking, is Do I need to record things at a sort of neutral EQ so that I can maintain control of my sanity?

Thanks
Adam T.
adtsks@citlink.net
 
just because you do a high pass on the guitar doesn't mean you need to boost the bass. i put a high pass on everything but the kick and bass.

on most instruments i put the high pass at 80hz, on vocals (depending on the range of the vocalist in the song) i put the high pass filter higher up.

the scooping and boosting just helps you to bring out the clarity of instruments in the mix without having to boost the volume of the entire instrument.
 
If you cut freqs during recording, you won't be able to put them back later, therefore, you can tweak as hell and they'll never come back...

Peace...

PC
 
I almost never EQ while tracking. Your best "tone control" is proper mic selection and position. As far as cutting some freqencies from one instrument/voice and adding to another, rule 1 is : if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Think about the song - what function does the guitar serve? Does it need to be bright & jangly, or full and mellow? Is the guitar more important to the song than, say, the B3? Hopefully you know the answers to a hundred questions like these before you start, which is how you determine what mics & pre-amps (& possibly compressors) to use while tracking. Then at mixdown, you are basically fixing little conflicts between instruments. Usually the vocals and one instrument (often guitar or piano) are the focus of the song - these "key elements" should be relatively untouched - EQ the other things out of their way. The same with any instrument taking a solo - if you have a sax solo in a "guitar" song, you may need to thin the guitar sound when the sax does its thing, then fatten it back up after the solo is over. Unfortunately EQ almost always introduces unwanted artifacts (the more expensive the EQ, the less likely you are to hear these) and any time you boost, you're also boosting the noise floor - so another common practice is to cut, not boost, whenever possible.
There are half-a-zillion other aspects of EQ that haven't even been mentioned, but I don't have the time or energy right now. Suffice to say your instincts to record flat (actually, call it 'full') so you'll have more choices is a good one.

Scott
 
Is it common practice to Eq a part for one section of a track, and then change the EQ during a solo or something. I'm recording one right now that starts with 1 guitar, then in with vocals, and then bass/drums/everything else. Should I use 1 guitar sound during the intro and then change that sound to accomodate ,say, the bass after the song fills up. I realize that "If it sounds good, it is good" but is this a common practice?

Thanks again
Adam T.
adtsks@citlink.net
 
Very common. Just as it's common to change levels, panning, reverb, effects, compression...

Scott
 
I never realized. Thanks A million. This particular guitar part is suppose to be just the same guitar through the whole song, so should I record the guitar track once and tweak the right frequencies at mixdown when the bass kicks in (hard to do w/o automation?) Or record two different guitar tracks. Also, When I here a guitar part that isn't backed by any other instruments, say an intro or something, I sometimes get a hint of a bass playing in there to define the tones but I definantly can't make out an actual bass line. Is that something that is done?
 
What you really need to do at this point is just try a few things. I haven't heard the song, the guitar, the bass sound, etc. Every song is different, just as every engineer's way of working is different. The best way to learn is to just DO it. There are guidelines (masquerading as rules) and common practices, but you need to get your feet wet. Only by making your own mistakes, and doing something over and over again, trying different techniques, will you develop your own way of working. Sometimes you'll find there is no 'best' way, only trade-offs and compromises. Record your song several different ways - see which sounds best to you, to your friends, to anyone whose opinion you respect. Don't try to fix problems before they occur, just be aware of where they MIGHT (not necessarily WILL) occur. You can suck all the life out of a song by obsessing over details, instead of just capturing a great performance. It will never be perfect, but you'll find it gets better and better the more you do it.

Scott
 
and as with all of this its based on individual situations.

for instance my voice is a hybrid of the high harmonics of linkin park's lead singer and the lows of maynard j.k.

so...if i do a high pass and cut out too much bass it sounds very thin and lifeless.

it all depends on what sound YOU want.
 
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