What do YOU leave flat...

T

Titanship

New member
What instruments (vocals?) do you tend to record flat? And how many of these same ones would you leave alone (basically) on the final mix?

I know that mics, boards, and other gear play a role in this whole deal- but lets just assume we are talking about basically "average to good" gear.

titan,
peace
 
I'm not a snob about it but 99% of the time I track everything flat. I'm not shy about EQing at mix time though. I TRY to use subtractive EQing but on stuff like snare and especially kick drum I'll end up boosting 5-8K and 60-80hz or something like that. It seems to me that I usually don't EQ vocals too much at all. I try to not make any extreme EQ adjustments though, especially high freqs above 10k. In my experience I end up with a strident sounding mix that hurts to listen to if I do. None of the above is etched in stone for me but is generally the way things end up.
 
i record everything flat and i will mainly do cuts in the mix, but i will add a little bit of low end (around 150hz) to snare and a little click to bass (like 3 to 6 k)

i NEVER add low end to a bass drum or toms......i only made that mistake 2 times........it makes everything sound like crap......the toms end up sounding like crap and they dissapear in the mix and the bassdrum is just muddy sounding......

i have been trying to get everthing exactly how i want it, which is hard since i don't know how to tune drums and i believe that drums are the single most important part on a good recording.......without good sounding drums, everything sounds cheap.......

oh and i'll cut low end out of the overheads if necessary.....i think with a lot of mixes you can leave the overheads exactly the way you recorded them.

oh one mor thing i also recordi digital, which i'm sure has affected the way i do things.

this is the end of my post
 
i usually just use high pass filters if necessary during tracking.... i try to get things sounding great using mic placement/mic selection/drum tuning/amp EQ. garbage in/garbage out is my philosophy
 
I don't normally track with EQ. Compression yes. I don't want the same compression on the entire mix.

I EQ some when mixing, but not too much. Usually cutting a bit of mid range out of the vocal or a little push on the highs for the high hat or snare. I don't have to do too much to the bottom end in most cases.
 
Tracking: As flat as possible with light compression on a few things...

The best mixing trick I've learnt recently gotta be to use a HPF around 200Hz on the snare. DAMN that makes a difference.
 
Completely and totally flat when recording. Drums tuned like Cave Dweller. When mic'ing the guitar amp I pretend as if I like midrange and keep that attitude until the track is cut. I play bass with a pick to give me that nice throttle sound..

When doing a rough mix I usually only need a microscopic cut on the mids, removing all the noise but keeping the guitar in character.

Cy
 
Meshuggah said:

The best mixing trick I've learnt recently gotta be to use a HPF around 200Hz on the snare.
Click to expand...

And how do you "use a High Pass?" Are you computer based? Also, here's the deal. I don't have (never have had) a friggin clue how to "add a few Hz here, take a few Hz away there." In other words, I don't know how to "read" my channel eq section. All I know is, ya got yer highs- ya got yer mids- ya got yer low's.

titan
peace
 
Titanship said:


And how do you "use a High Pass?" Are you computer based? Also, here's the deal. I don't have (never have had) a friggin clue how to "add a few Hz here, take a few Hz away there." In other words, I don't know how to "read" my channel eq section. All I know is, ya got yer highs- ya got yer mids- ya got yer low's.

titan
peace
Click to expand...

In that case... you most likely will not want to trun any of the EQ knobs past 10 o'clock (-) or 2 o'clock (+). DJL
 
titanship,

are you analog or digital?

have you ever used a parametric eq? they are great for LPF, HPF, scooping, cutting, and boosting.

if you are analog and don't have a parametric eq, does your mixer have a sweepable mid EQ?

my 1604vlz has a low-cut button, and a sweepable mid.

when i had an ADAT and use to mix in analog, having the sweepable mid came in handy.

i also record completely flat, then EQ as needed in the mix. having said that, i do my best to get a really good sound before i bother to track anything.
 
Meshuggah said:

The best mixing trick I've learnt recently gotta be to use a HPF around 200Hz on the snare. DAMN that makes a difference.
Click to expand...

Interesting how times, styles and mic techniques all pile up to make 'standard eq' settings tough to apply. I remeber a few years ago reading some famous mixer say the first thing he did to the snare was crank the low eq up till it wouldn't turn any more.:rolleyes: I do like the HPF idea though, especially if it's one of those '57 from on top the head' tracks and your trying to get back to a more natural sounding snare. I like to go from the side/rim position for that sound.:)
Wayne
 
Titanship said:
What instruments (vocals?) do you tend to record flat? And how many of these same ones would you leave alone (basically) on the final mix?
titan,
peace
Click to expand...

My vote.
The general rule of thumb is; you record everything flat, making it 'correct' at the source and mic, so you don't have to f**k it up with a bunch of eq.
Next, you do what ever you have to do in the mix to make up for where you were wrong in your 'brilliant' tracking talents.
Then, it's damage control time; Cut first to minimize what's worng, then boost to finish it.

Me, I end up with some eq on most anything. My best excuse? Hell, I didn't know what it was going to end up sounding like when we started on it, but now I do.:rolleyes:
Peace
Wayne
 
crosstudio said:
titanship,

are you analog or digital?
Click to expand...

I'm analog- Mackie 24x4. Actually, I've heard the board is for live sound, not the studio. Im beginning to see why now. I thought it was the least expensive way to be able to mix 24 tracks. I mean, I think the Mackie at least sounds pretty good.

No, I've never had a seperate eq. I've recently heard, here on this site, that the TC ELECTRONICS finalizer is a good sounding unit. That ain't in the budget boys.

thanks for all the responses dudes and dudettes!
titan
peace
 
When I am tracking something through Oram MWS with EQ Magic, I eq away with it going to recording deck. I seldom have undo that eq.The Drawmer 1960 has a basic low/high shelf eq on it's DI in and ain't afraid to use that either if need be. I will employ low cut filters on mic's and preamps if it takes out stuff that isn't needed.

At mix time, the type of sound I am after dictates eq. Hopefully, I have tracked everything well and don't need to do much eq.

Ed
 
I like having the option of using EQ on the way in... in case I don't have a mic that is picking up the exact sound I'm looking for... but yeah, I tend to track everything flat... although an EQ pedal for guitar can be magic sometimes.

Recently, I've even tried to avoid compression on the way in... on such things as bass guitar and vocals... it makes a difference if you can record a more even performance in the first place, instead of processing everything on the way in.

Regarding Meshuggah's comment about 200Hz on the snare... I've made the mistake of trying to roll off all lows on the snare in many mixes, as well as shelving too much above 3k to give some air to it. It depends on the type of music and the density of the mix, but I've recently found that Track Rat's suggestion of a boost between 5k-8k on the snare (a mild bump/Q width) will help tremendously, and the cheap-sounding top-end coming from the EQ will no longer mask the delicate highs of the cymbals. I wouldn't roll off anything higher than 200Hz on the snare for most stuff, anyway.


comments from a nobody,

Chad
 
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