dumping inapplicable frequencies

  • Thread starter Thread starter dobro
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Some of the confusion about guitar tonal ranges is that guitar notation is written an octave higher than it actually plays. Otherwise you'd have to write guitar music at the high end of the bass clef.
 
Oops. Me bad. Teach me to research before opening the trap. Oh well.

Ummm....Bass players are really in trouble with me since I always apply a High Pass filter while mastering set at around 45-50Hz with a 12db slope..... :).

But, I still stand behind where I will roll out freq's on a guitar. But, the freq's all the way up to past 12KHz are still majorly important on a guitar.

So, roll out bass freq's, keep the higher stuff.

RE. I agree mostly. Knowing ones equipment is really important. Getting a mostly natural sound is important (when the person has a sound that actually sounds good without any applied eq or anything, a rarity with some artists... :) ). And maintnance.

I think the point I was trying to make is that books tend to deal with specs almost exclusively. I suppose you could go about engineering based upon specs (there is a local engineer that does this, obviously, his stuff sounds awefull) and I suppose that when it comes right down to it, once you have placed the mics, you did so in a way that worked favorably with the deficiencies of the electronics involved. But, actually paying attention to what you are hearing is THE most important thing about getting good sound to tape. Knowing your monitors and your control room and just as important too. These books never tell you how to know when you actually have a sound that is good..... :) This is something you cannot teach, and only experience will pay off. So, I suppose you could read a lot, and never DO anything, and KNOW a lot about the electronics and specs of recording gear, or you COULD actually RECORD and finish projects, then compare results, then TRY new things, etc.....I suppose my point is that the DOING is more important then the KNOWING. We all have to deal with what we have, which may be far from the specs of that equipment. The idea is to work around it, and only experience benefits results.

How many times have you heard the hotshot right out of recording school who can't make anything sound good on tape? I have heard a few. They know LOTS about recording, but don't know the REAL tricks. Usually, there excuse is that they didn't have NEVE pre's with Nuemann mics, and an SSL with GML comp's, and Lexicon PCM 90's, etc.....Or, they only had 1 day to record and mix the song, etc.....Of course, most of us can get great results in one day using far lesser gear. If we HAD that better gear, or product would benefit that much more from it.

Anyway......starting to ramble.... :D

Ed
 
I'd agree with Sonusman--you can't mix well until you've learned to listen and understand the music, and have a vision for what you're trying to accomplish. Recording school can teach you the science, but you need experience to understand the art. It's like painting, poetry, whatever. No matter how much technique, there is still the creative side that needs to give your production that extra something that makes it stand out.
 
Middleman: I just liked the trippy animated gifs they had on the page ;).

Ed: The first thing I thought when I read Dobro's original post is "c'mon, 82Hz is waaaaay too low for guitar!". It wasn't 'til after I triple checked it that I believed it myself. Learn something new every day. I'm still gonna EQ by ear vs. fundamental Hz charts, though.
 
One suggestion to help keep track of frequencies is the simple fact that an octave represents an exact doubling (or halving) of a given frequency. In other words,let's say you've got a good track that was played on a Fender Precision bass guitar,and the notes D to F on the 1st string lack presence compared to the same name notes played on the 3rd string(which would be found from the 5th to 8th frets on the third string)The frequencies of the lower octave notes mentioned are roughly from 36 to 48 HZ,so zone in on 72-96 hz to boost the FUN-demental,and season to taste with exact doubles of those to bring out harmonics(or cut to deemphasize).Cheers!
 
I'm not too well experienced with EQ, but I bought a Mackie mixer a while back. This was their common sense approach to EQ (will probably apply to Mastering...) Keep in mind this applied to a board with high, sweep-mid, and low.

Fiddle with the EQ until it sounds like shit. Now REVERSE all the settings (not left to right, but + to -), and see if you like it.

I think this particular technique was for sweep-mids, but it is equally inapplicable to your original post, yes?

DOBRO--you use CEP, right? Take samples of each instrument and run it individually into CEP. Now switch to the frequency graphic, making sure you've set the frequency resolution to 1024 or 512. (My Dell is 500 and will crash at 4096. Haven't tried 2048, runs too damn slow). Magnify the "print" using the mag buttons on the far right of screen (three or four clicks), and then slide your print up and down to see what harmonics you're getting off of each instrument.

I wish CEP would let us print out the frequency displays, but it won't. And once I've set up one of these "frame grabbers," it locks up. With 256 Kb. Sheesh.

Also, other than drums, the "patterns" of the harmonics should look "ordered." If you've got two red or orange harmonics up in 10K-15K that are CLOSE TOGETHER, you may want to cut them. (I'm talking about when the entire mix is in CEP). (and unless you're playing a 7th or 9th, etc. or vocals are bending. or aliens attack at that particular point in the song...)
 
I agree with ED. I have a little knowledge of recording (mostly from talking with cool people and reading mags) but it seems no amount of knowledge can replace my ears and my gut. I think fundamental notes are like fundamental truths. There is always the grey area you have to think of. Is there a way to read just one persons posts? I would be interested to read more of what ED had posted in the past. Especially if he has any tips on recording vocals (specificly mine). And I DO have neumann 149 but my voice produces some weird tones. I would be interested in how ED recorded my vocals compared to me after hearing my voice.

DBHO
 
Hi, dbho. Yeah, Ed knows a lot, and sometimes he even shares a little bit with the rest of us. :)

If you want to read one person's posts, click on the bbs search function at the top of the page, and type the person's name in and wait.

Ed's posted here before. You'll get some hits. :)
 
I read somewhere recently (maybe here!) that Ear Fatigue will keep you from hearing well up to three days following a loud practice, concert, jackhammer operation, or stealing hubcaps of DC-10s as they take off...

I *try* to master a good half-week after the given recording. Then go back a week later and verify/fix it.

And inevitably wish I had the money or contacts to just send the damn thing elsewhere. Mastering is a bitch, yes?

Anyway, ear fatigue is apparently a big deal, and I've found that the mixes made right after a session are far worse than the ones made a few days later...
 
Here's a little catch to what a lot of people think...

It's not always a good idea to trust your own ears. There are plenty of times it's not. How many people want to admit that?

What you really need to ask is: "Whos ears DO I trust?"
 
"It's not always a good idea to trust your own ears." You said it R.E. There's been SO MANY times I've thought I had the balance PERFECT in a mix, and I listen the next day and it's completely wack. Well, not completely, but far from perfect too. I'm always tempted to boost the highs on drums after I've been mixing for awhile and now I never do, because I know it's just my ears being toast. And besides not being able to trust your ears, I think it can be tough to find speakers you can trust too. While doing a mix recently, I checked on my roommate's headphones (sony). Sounded like a blanket was thrown over everything. So I listened on my headphones (sennheiser). Bright as a sunny day in July. The difference really was dramatic. I decided to just trust my Event 20/20s and it actually turned out just fine. But still, sometimes it seems like it's impossible to make a decision on anything. Sorry for the ramble, I'm killing time at work :)
 
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