thoughts on EQing multiple guitars (instrumental)

[bryank]

OK, ive tried most advice from peoples post on mutliple posts here on this forum on EQing certain guitars. Heres my problem,................

i usually record 3 guitar tracks (instrumental rock) and pan 2 guitars hard left and right, and leave the Lead guitar in the center. The eq ON THE LEAD GUITAR IS EASY, ill usually cut about 4 dB of 400hz to let some of the bass guitar to be heard(which is also panned center). and also roll of any thing 140 htz and below to let the kick drum/bass guitar have some room too.

my problem area is the guitars that are panned hard left and right. some people say to cut the 200-400 hz area (muddyness), but then some people say this is a fundamental area tha shouldnt be cut cause its where the meat/body is.

on a typical hard rock scenario, what do most of you guys cut/boost on your guitars EQ that are panned hard left/right? Im sure there is a typical common rule of thumb that most people start off with, what is your guys thoughts on this?

 

[blueroommusic]

it all depends my man...generally, I don't like to cut mids on guitar, because it is the meat & potatoes of the guitar...depending on your tone, and what kind of amp you are using, makes all the difference...If you are recording digital, I would take 3 or 4 db out at 1K to make it sound like a 4x12 cab. Sometimes I'll boost some low-mids 250-500, but you have to be careful cause it will eat up the beef in your snare...your best bet is to use your own judgement, and think about how the frequencies you boost/cut will interact with other instruments in the mix...

 

[mbuster]

If you're consistantly cutting/boosting the same freqs in your mixes, you're consistently tracking something wrong. Try to get the sound you need on the way in. That being said, I don't think I've ever recorded a guitar I didn't end up EQing. Depends on the bass sound almost as much as the guitar sound. Of course, if you're doing instrumentals, your guitars won't be fighting the vocal for some of the mid-range. I usually end up tracking my guitars with what seems to be very little low end. This leaves room for the kick and bass and usually lets my sound get heavier without "woofing out" on chunky stuff. Never the same twice though.

 

[lomky]

Just something I've noticed with myself lately, I'm really not liking panning guitar parts hard left and right unless they are the same player playing the same part. Just MO

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Personally I find that situation to be a classic combo for the parametric sweep and tongue-and-groove EQing.

The parametric sweep works wonders especially if the two guitars are different makes and/or miked or cab'd differently. Perform a classic sweep on each of them one-at-a-time; taking a band of parametric EQ, setting the Q fairly narrow and boosting it's gain a good 10dB or so. Play the guitar track solo, slowly sweeping through the frequencies until you find a resonant spot that really honks out at you big time. When you find the most offensive honker, dial the gain down so it's about a 3 or 4 dB cut at that frequency.

Repeat this process for the second guitar. If it's a different setup than the first guitar (as described above), chances are you'll find a bad honk in a different location than the first one. By cutting that the same way, you now have two guitars that have not only been individually sweetened and sharpened, but you'll have them working with differeng EQ curves to they are more complimentary to each other and provide a more interesting stereo effect in the hard pan.

If they are the same guitar with the same setup but playing a natural line doubling, then the honks will probably be in pretty much the same place. If so, then use the same method, but look for two different resonance peaks - i.e. two different honking frequencies - and not just one; cutting one on guitar 1 and the other on guitar 2. Then add to that a little tounge-and-groove by boosting one of them just a few dB somewhere around 3-4kHz (give-or-take, to taste), and cutting the other one just a couple of dB at the same location. Repeat this in reverse somewhere in the midrange (somewhere between 1kHz-2kHz). The one that was slightly cut in the upper mids should now be slightly boosted (not much) in the mids, and vice versa for the other one. Again the idea is to give them each slightly different and opposing curves to give them individual character without making them sound entirely artifically EQ'd.

G.

 

[Keiffer]

I'd say you have the areas that may be problemic stated... but I don't feel it's possible to then use it as a recipe in your mix. Maybe check these areas while mixing, but applying the rules in a cookie cutter way probably won't deliver satisfying results.

Here's some things I usually check when dealing with heavy guitar...

I usually check <250Hz on the guitars and may compress that area if it's unruly or woofy

I almost always roll off above 5-7KHz and at the same time I may put a shelving boost at about 10K with a low Q

I may boost 3-7KHz

I usually go thru the motions with these, but may or may not use any.

 

[bryank]

i record the 2 rythm guitars using the same amp (carvin legacy) and the same mic setup, and pann them hard left and right because im playing the same part twice.

ill usually end up rolling off anything below 100hz, but when i sweep through the frquencies to find the problematic tones........i really dont find any. i guess i really never had to EQ them in the first place. i guess because they are hard panned left/right the only thing they are competing with it the cymbal crashes (which are also panned hard left/right).........so i guess there is nothing to fight with, so they dont need any EQing...........?

it just seems i wanted the rythem guitar tones to sound meaty and edgy, but if i leave the 200-400 hz area alone, it sounds a bit muddy and dark. but if i scoop out around 4dB in this area, it lacks its meat.

 

[Keiffer]

are you making the bottom end decision with the bass absent.

get it in the mix. that's where the beef is. not knowing how heavy your guitars are, but consider making the bass sound similar to the guitars so you can't tell where the guitars stop and the bass starts. get this working right, and your other bottom end issues with the guitars will minimize.