High Pass Tracking Questions for All

[Bob's Mods]

Please chime in one and all on these questions:

Do you apply a high pass or low shelf on each and every track religously or just selected tracks that appear to require it?

And/Or do you apply a high pass to your main stereo mix?

thanks all,
Bob the Mod Guy
(never a member of the Mod Squad)

 

[giraffe]

hi pass most anything i can get away with.
hi pass the master at or around 30 usually.

 

[giraffe]

actually, in many instances i've moved to using low shelving eq in place of a hi pass.

that's just me.

 

[NL5]

I don't think I've ever hi passed anything during tracking..........

 

[danny.guitar]

I hi-pass the master buss at 20-30Hz in most songs. This helps get rid of the rumble and also prevents really small speakers (like onboard sound on old computers) from distorting at higher volumes. At least from my experience.

Other than that I leave everything alone if I can or unless I hear a problem.

Edit: And as NL5 said, I don't do any kind of EQ on the way in.

 

[giraffe]

oh yea, in mix, not tracking.

except built in mic hi pass on things like vox.

 

[Bob's Mods]

Low shelving is valid as well as hi pass. Mostly the same thing gets accomplished.

 

[bennychico11]

I hi pass the stereo mix buss
gets rid of any low end weirdness...and DC offset problems.

 

[Ironklad Audio]

i like to hi-pass damn near everything to some extent

and i would have no problem doing it while tracking if i had a good hardware EQ...but all my EQ gets done ITB, so it doesn't matter when i stick it on there

i also engage the hi-pass filters on mics whenever i feel it's necessary - one less thing to do later in the mix

 

[mixsit]

Low shelving is valid as well as hi pass. Mostly the same thing gets accomplished.

Kinda sorta. Except in one case you're grabing a whole section -from there down, and the other is a nose dive from that point.
I typically look at a shelf as a wider tool; 'the shape (tone balance) is good, move the whole section'.
-Way down low, (even maxed out at -18) whould get pretty close though.

 

[fuzzrhythm]

Most values would depend on the mic and mic technique used. I high pass like this usually:

Master buss - 30-40 Hz
Kick - no HP filtering
Snare - 80 Hz
Toms - 60 Hz
Cymbals - 120 Hz
Bass - no HP filtering
Clean Electric Guitar - 80-90 Hz
Distorted Electric Guitar - 90 Hz
Vocals - 90 Hz
Synths - 90 Hz

All ITB during mixing at this point.

 

[Bob's Mods]

I changed the main question. It appears more appropriote to low shelve individual tracks as needed rather than high pass them. At least thats what I've discovered. High pass is more appropriote for the final main mix.

 

[mixsit]

I'm not sure if you are asking this at this point (?) but I think the general difference to be made is that the high pass is dumping (on tracks or the mix) what is not contributing to the track and/or harming clarity and efficiency of the mix. It can be used as 'tone shaping too, but in this context, seen more as removing' or a cleaning up. In that case, the shelf looks more like a tone control for what you are keeping and, since it's a 'flat line', like the contour of, perhaps above the high pass.

 

[MessianicDreams]

If i'm working in a studio that has big mains, I will be fairrly ruthless about high-passing stuff, as I know that i'm not losing too much low end. Of course i don't high-pass everything, but quite a lot of things


and yes, hi pass the 2buss around 20-30hz..

 

[Sinistah]

actually, in many instances i've moved to using low shelving eq in place of a hi pass.

that's just me.

ahh the good old "low end theory"..... i guess ya'll recording instruments

one question though, can high and low pass be used for vocals or is it normal to use them on vocals or just a mixdown/pre-mastering of a full track?

 

[bigwillz24]

I'll high and low pass vocals and boost or cut the shelves depending on the source. The only thing I don't generally apply LCF's to are bass and kicks and even they get hit sometimes.

 

[Sinistah]

I'll high and low pass vocals and boost or cut the shelves depending on the source. The only thing I don't generally apply LCF's to are bass and kicks and even they get hit sometimes.

cool, i never did any passes on isolated vocals, unless perhaps it was named somethin different in a plug-in..... i know i might mess wit the hi's and low's in somethin like T-Racks but thats after everything is mixed down.....