Yareek said:
What kind of EQ do you like for this method of EQ'ing? A really flat EQ with a graphic display or one that you just turn the knobs until it sounds right?
Well, technically all EQs are ones where you just turn the knobs until they sound right
.
If you're asking whether to use a graphic or a parametric EQ, the short answer is "it depends"
. I personally use parametric EQs far more often than graphic EQs;
in general - there are always exceptions - I tend to use paramteric EQing for major "sculpting" of the sound, and graphic EQing for "fine sanding and gentle shaping" of the resulting sound. YMMV.
As such, I tend to use parametric for target - or narrow-Q - tounge-and-grooving and for tounge-and-groove nothces and bumps that are high in gain, but for more gentle fitting - perhapes more "bump-and-shallow" than "tongue-and-groove", I might be more inclined to use a graphic.
But then you also throw in the "sound" or coloration that you might want and that could change it all. It depends on how much, if any, coloration you want to intentionally tint the signal with.
Yareek said:
Also, with the concept of Fix EQ -> Compression -> Tweak EQ, would you consider the "groove" to be part of the "Fix EQ" (e.g. cutting out the mids in a kick drum) or would it be part of the "Tweak EQ"? In other words, do you shape it going into the compressor or after the compressor?
Well, it really depends upon the situation. But probably more often than not (again,
in general, with exceptions) I'd say T&G EQ is mostly a seperate issue from the compression path EQ, and comes mostly afterwards.
The idea of pre-compression "FixEQ" is to get rid of rough spots in the track response that would otherwise be emphasized in an undesired way once the signal is compressed. That is, it's to shape the pre-compression sound in such a way so that the compression itself does not emphasize unwanted artifacts. In much the same way that a quarterback in American football has to lead the receiver when he passes the ball so that by the time the ball gets downfield the ball and the receiver are in the same place, "FixEQ" is setting the pre-compressed sound to "lead" the compressor so that when the signal comes out the ass-end of the compressor, it is more or less where we want it.
"TweakEQ", OTOH, is fine tuning or fine sanding the resulting sound to just where we want it after it's compressed. To continue the analogy, this is kind of like the receiver adjusting his pattern to get under the thrown ball. Because it's somewhere after the compression is done where one would ideally start mixing the track with other tracks, it's somewhere at that point where "tongue-and-groove EQing" (also called "differential EQing") would begin to take place.
Yareek said:
In my latest mix, I tried running a Waves Ren EQ to cut out the very low end and very high end and carve out unwanted mids. Not a lot, but a little bit. Then I ran into Waves Ren Comp to compress as needed and finally into a demo of the URS Fulltec (colored EQ) which I used to boost up the low mids and high end, or exaggerate the tongue-and-groove. Seemed to work well, but I'm still not aggressive enough in my cuts and boosts for a busy modern rock mix.
All I can say is keep working at it. The sizes of the boosts and cuts (tongues and grooves) don't necessarily have to be all that large when thay are handled in pairs. Remember a 3dB cut/groove at frequency x on Track A combined with a 3dB boost/tongue at the same frequency on Track comes out to a full 6dB differential at that frequency as compared to the original mix. This is often more natural and transparent sounding - and often even more effective - than a single 6dB groove/cut or tongue/boost on one track only.
G.
.
. Probably be more material with a forum lableled "Glen's Typos".
