Is it better to ____ or ____

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singeryadig

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Is it better to elevate/ push out a low sound OR cut/ sculpt a high sound? Like what produces the high quality or is easier to do?
 
It's pretty cliche, but the old "cut is better than boost" mantra usually holds pretty true.

Cut to improve a sound, boost to enhance.
 
singeryadig said:
Like what produces the high quality or is easier to do?
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Getting it as close as you can going in so you don't need to cut or boost. ;)

That said, I generally do mostly cutting to first remove any low end mud and/or high end harshness...then I may boost a little in some spots to enhance the sound.
 
I'm not 100% sure he means what you guys think he means. That's a horribly worded question.

Besides which......Miroslov.......even if you did understand him as far as what "low sound" and "high sound" mean, he's not asking about cutting bass (low sound?). He's asking the opposite. He wants to boost the bass (low sound?) and cut treble (high sound?).

I wouldn't touch this one with a 10 foot pole until we get more info. :D
 
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Ahhh...you are right, RAMI. I see now how he worded it (I think :D).

With that in mind, to the OP...the answer is probably NO and NO. There's no "better" template for applying EQ, it's a per song thing.
Go with what Greg and I said...and you'll be heading in the right direction.
 
I almost never ________, sometimes I'll __________ and once or twice I even _________!
 
Yeah by low sound I meant the quieter sounds and by high I meant the louder sounds. Like when recording is it better to aim or sing a little louder (as long as you dont clip) and then kind of trim/ sculpt that down or singing a little quieter and then try and boost that sound up? I'm very new to all these terms-- Thanks for all the input :D
 
singeryadig said:
Yeah by low sound I meant the quieter sounds and by high I meant the louder sounds. Like when recording is it better to aim or sing a little louder (as long as you dont clip) and then kind of trim/ sculpt that down or singing a little quieter and then try and boost that sound up? I'm very new to all these terms-- Thanks for all the input :D
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OK...you are talking about dynamic not the tone/EQ.

Good singing technique is important, as it will save you time editing in the DAW. If you learn how to "work the mic", you can get most of your vocals to have exactly the level as they should. For situations where mic technique is very poor and dynamics are all over the place...you can use compressors to automatically adjust levels for you, but they are "stupid" boxes...they simply react to levels and frequencies. Editing manually in the DAW gives you more specific control...you choose what word/phrase to boost or drop in level, while comparing to the rest of the words/phrases, and with the consciousness of how you want it to sound...but it takes more time.

If you get the mic technique down pretty good...then it's a breeze to edit small stuff manually in the DAW, and you don't have to slap a "stupid" compressor on the track. :)
 
It doesn't matter much. As long as you don't clip at all, you can push the fader all the way up or almost all the way down to boost or cut the volume. Either way it doesn't matter much.

I know this has been said a million times, but I usually record digital around -12 with peaks around -6 to make sure there is no clipping. this keeps the noise levels low. Then, since I have a low noise, no clipping track, I can boost or cut the volume with the faders.
 
Actually...it does matter on the very quiet side.

If the vocal was way too low at the mic, and then you push the fader way up in the DAW to compensate, you also bring up the noise floor of the mic/pre that was used, and whatever background noise was in the room.
 
True, that's why I added the part about an average of -12 with peaks around -6. This keeps the signal to noise ration in check, and also gives enough head room to avoid clipping. The two things I keep in mind, in order, are clipping, and signal to noise ratio.
 
Yes...though you can achieve the -12 to -6 dBFS and still have a very low input signal at the mic by simply boosting the gain at the preamp or converter.

He's asking about *singing* louder/softer and then cutting/boosting in the DAW to fix. If he sings too low...and then makes up with too much gain to get to -12/-6 dBFS...you still pull up noise.
IOW, the signal needs to be decent at the mic first...and then down the line. That's what I'm getting at. :)
 
I don't really understand the question either.

It might be about gain-staging. But I don't really know.

Is it better to burn out or to fade away?

Few people understand that what Neil Young was really asking about was gain-staging. Is it better to run the risk of overdriving an input, or to kill your signal-to-noise ratio? For Neil, the former, I think.
 
sjjohnston said:
Is it better to burn out or to fade away?

Few people understand that what Neil Young was really asking about was gain-staging. Is it better to run the risk of overdriving an input, or to kill your signal-to-noise ratio?
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Good one ! You had me going for a minute there. The irony is that though it appears in Young's song, it was his friend Jeff's phrase. It was a comment on the dilema many artists faced in the onslaught of punk - do they carry on making the same kind of stuff or change ? The bigger irony is that it was a bigger dilema for punk. But that's another story for another bedtime.
 
I mean like---What would you rather get--an audio piece that was recorded too loud and therefore you need to bring it down---OR one that was recorded too quietly and you have to boost the sound? The terminology might be off here with "loud" and "quiet" idk
 
Your question has already been answered.If it's recorded too loud you risk clipping and if it's recorded that way you're stuck with the clipping.If it's recorded too low and you raise it,you raise the noise floor along with it.Just record your tracks around -12 like suggested earlier and you'll get the feel for it.If your tracks are already recorded and your dealing with low and high levels then just play with what you got.You'll get better at this each time and your recordings will improve over time.
 
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