Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: 6 Tips For Balancing The Bass And Drum Mix

6 Tips For Balancing The Bass And Drum Mix

Perhaps the most difficult task of a mixing engineer is balancing the bass and drums (especially the bass and kick). Nothing can make or break a mix faster than the way these instruments work together. It’s not uncommon for a mixer to spend hours on this balance (both level and frequency) because if the relationship isn’t correct, then the song will just never sound big and punchy.

So how do you get this mysterious balance?

In order to have the impact and punch that most modern mixes exhibit, you have to make a space in your mix for both of these instruments so they won't fight each other and turn into a muddy mess. While simply EQing your bass high and your kick low (or the other way around), might work at it’s simplest, it’s best to have a more in-depth strategy, so consider the following:

1) EQ the kick drum between 60 to120Hz as this will allow it to be heard on smaller speakers. For more attack and beater click add between 1k to 4kHz. You may also want to dip some of the boxiness between 200-500Hz. EQing in the 30-60Hz range will produce a kick that you can feel, but it may also sound thin on smaller speakers and probably won’t translate well to a variety of speaker systems. Most 22" kick drums are centered somewhere around 80Hz anyway.

2) Bring up the bass with the kick. The kick and bass should occupy slightly different frequency spaces. The kick will usually be in the 60 to 80Hz range whereas the bass will emphasize higher frequencies anywhere from 80 to 250Hz (although sometimes the two are reversed depending upon the song). Shelve out any unnecessary bass frequencies (below 30Hz on kick and below 50Hz on the bass, although the frequency for both may be as high as 60Hz according to style of the song and your taste) so they're not boomy or muddy. There should be a driving, foundational quality to the combination of these two together.

A common mistake is to emphasize the kick with either too much level or EQ, while not featuring enough of the bass guitar (see the graphic on the left for a good visual of what it sounds like). This gives you the illusion that your mix is bottom light, because what you’re doing is shortening the duration of the low frequency envelope in your mix. Since the kick tends to be more transient than the bass guitar, this gives you the idea that the low frequency content of your mix is inconsistent. For Pop music, it is best to have the kick provide the percussive nature of the bottom while the bass fills out the sustain and musical parts.

3) Make sure that the snare is strong, otherwise the song will lose its drive when the other instruments are added in. This usually calls for at least some compression, especially if the snare hits are inconsistent throughout the song. You may need a small EQ boost at 1kHz for attack, 120 to 240Hz for fullness, and 10k for snap. As you bring in the other drums and cymbals, you might want to dip a little of 1kHz on these to make room for the snare. Also make sure that the toms aren't too boomy (if so, shelve out the frequencies below 60 Hz).

4) If you’re having trouble with the mix because it's sounding cloudy and muddy on the bottom end, mute both the kick drum and bass to determine what else might be in the way in the low end. You might not realize that there are some frequencies in the mix that aren't really musically necessary. With piano or guitar, you're mainly looking for the mids and top end to cut through, while the low-end is just getting in the way, so it’s best to clear some of that out with a hi-pass filter. When soloed, the instrument might sound too thin, but with the rest of the mix the low-end will now sound so much better and you won’t be missing that low end from the other instruments. Now the mix sounds louder, clearer, and fuller. Be careful not to cut too much from the other instruments, as you might loose the warmth of the mix.

5) For Dance music, be aware of kick drum to bass melody dissonance. The bass line over the huge sound systems in today's clubs is very important and needs to work very well with the kick drum. But if your kick is centered around an A note and the bass line is tuned to A#, it's going to clash. Tune your kick samples to the bass lines (or vice versa) where needed.

6) If you feel that you don't have enough bass or kick, boost the level, not the EQ. This is a mistake that everyone makes when their first getting their mixing chops together. Most bass drums and bass guitars have plenty of low end and don't need much more, so be sure that their level together and with the rest of the mix is correct before you go adding EQ. Even then, a little goes a long way.

While these aren't the only mix tips that can help with the bass and drum relationship during your mix (you can check out either The Audio Mixing Bootcamp or The Mixing Engineer's Handbook for more), they're a great place to start. Remember, go easy on the EQ, as a little goes a long way.

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Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: 6 Tips For Balancing The Bass And Drum Mix

Bobby Owsinski's Big Picture Production Blog: 6 Tips For Balancing The Bass And Drum Mix

The Three Inglorious Gangsters of EQ | Audio Issues

Written by Björgvin Benediktsson in Uncategorized - No comments
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Say hello to my little friend!

Or rather, say hello to my three little gangsters that do your dirty EQ work for you.
1. The Thug

The thug is like Joe Pesci from Casino. He’s the hired hand that does all the dirty work for the family. He doesn’t hesitate to get rid of you any way he can.

Use the thug when you need to cut unwanted frequencies from your mix. He’ll cut anything that’s causing you annoyance: snare rings, muddy bass or hissy guitars.

The thug gets rid of pests without making a mess. He likes it clean and untraceable. Like surgical EQ with a high Q. Just scoop in there and get rid of what’s annoying you.
2. The Godfather

The godfather is like Al Capone. Everybody knows he’s the boss, but the cops can’t prove it. He uses legal businesses as a front for his criminal enterprise. They all know he’s dirty, but they can’t pin it on him.

Think about the godfather when you mask frequencies. Masking is when you boost a higher frequency to hide the problematic frequency below. Say you have a really nasally vocal at 1 kHz or but you can’t cut it without making it sound unnatural. By boosting 3 kHz you mask that nasal sound by covering it up with a more flattering frequency.

Sometimes you need to hide the problematic frequencies. Mask them and none will be the wiser.
3. The Undercover Cop

Think about Tim Roth as Mr. Orange in Reservoir Dogs. When things start getting real ugly, everything’s gotta go. When you get a bunch of low-lives together in a room, there’s gonna be a stand-off and that’s never gonna end well.

Because sometimes you gotta get rid of everything. If you have problems with your low-end, you need to grab that EQ and filter everything out. Make sure that the only things left are the instruments that belong there in the first place.

The undercover cop gets rid of the criminals in the most dangerous way possible: by infiltrating their midst. The same goes for your EQ’ing. Use the filter carefully. Get rid of the scum, but don’t hurt the frequencies around them.

–

Maybe I’ve been watching too many gangster movies between mixing sessions, but these are the three characters that continually resurface.

Similarly, these are the three things to always keep in mind when you’re using EQ. Know when to cut, filter and boost and EQ’ing will be easy for you.

For a great guide on knowing when to use each of these thugs….I mean things, check out Understanding EQ.



The Three Inglorious Gangsters of EQ | Audio Issues

The Three Inglorious Gangsters of EQ | Audio Issues

6 Steps to Fixing the Muddiness in Your Music Mixing | Audio Issues

6 Steps to Fixing the Muddiness in Your Music Mixing | Audio Issues

Define clarity?

Something that sounds clear and pristine? In the music mixing world at least, clarity is when you hear all the parts of a mix clearly.

Now define muddiness?

A muddy mix is when the lower mids of your mix get cluttered up and all the bottom end seems to lack definition.

You can’t hear the differences between the bass drum and the bass guitar because they take up the same space, resulting in a cluttered and un-clear mix. Even the lower end of the vocal is trying to pull some weight down there, way out of it’s league.

So what can you do when your music mixing lacks clarity?
1. Start With Your Drums

Start by soloing your drums and see if you notice any abnormal boominess. The bass drum is a big contender for this so make sure it isn’t occupying too much low end space.

Also, there is a buildup of potential low mid energy when you have all of your drums soloed at once, so be sure to listen to them has a complete instrument.
3. Go Through Your Other Instruments, one by one

After soloing your drums, add in other instruments and see if they are the ones causing the boominess. Bass guitars, keyboards and other instruments that have their fundamental frequencies in the low end are all good options.

Maybe two different instruments are competing for the same spot in the frequency spectrum, which results in an even muddier sound.
3. Filter Where You Need

After finding the offending instruments, filter out what you don’t need. Vocals can be filtered out quite high, depending on the range and sex of the singer.

Guitars can be filtered up to 200Hz or more if they aren’t playing a major part in the song. Filter out the unnecessary low end in all the instruments and see if your mix sounds better.
4. If You Can’t Filter, EQ Correctly

Now if you have tried filtering and it doesn’t quite cut it, you have to resort to some corrective EQ. Low end thickness is often caused by a bump in the 120Hz range and a boomy mid-range character can be caused by too much 200-250Hz.

So by cutting a little bit in those frequency areas you can clean up an instrument quite nicely. Set your EQ to a narrow Q and see if you can’t sweep any of those annoying frequencies off the table.
5. An Analyzer Over the Stereo Bus

If you can’t hear where the low end is and you can’t seem to be able to pinpoint it with EQ, use a spectrum analyzer on the stereo bus to see where the frequency build-up is.

Frequency analyzers can come in handy when you want to see if you are representing each frequency range clearly. And by using it to see your boomy build-up, you can take corrective steps to better your music mixing.
Spectrum analyzer
6. Cut the Boominess From the Master Bus

If you have gone back to every instrument and tried EQ’ing and filtering without avail there is one more solution. You can slap a stereo EQ over the master bus and clean up the boominess of the whole mix.

But be careful, those boomy frequencies are also the ones that keep the mix thick. Cutting too much can result in a thin mix, so you have to be subtle in your master bus cutting.
Conclusion

So there you have it. Boomy and muddy music mixing is definitely a problem for many. You want all your tracks to sound full and thick but when you end up putting them all together, what you get is a pile of unclear muddiness.

So use these tips the next time your lower mids need some tweaking. You might end up with pristine clarity instead of unclear boominess.

6 Steps to Fixing the Muddiness in Your Music Mixing | Audio Issues

Get Rid of That Oh-So Unnecessary High-End with the Low-Pass Filter | Audio Issues

Get Rid of That Oh-So Unnecessary High-End with the Low-Pass Filter | Audio Issues



Not everything needs to be squeaky clean and filled with high-end sheen.


Sometimes it’s useless to add “air” to certain instruments. You don’t need to, and your mix might suffer for it. In some cases, too much high-end just adds hiss and noise instead of those clean highs you wanted.
Give the Low-Pass Filter Some Love

If the high-end isn’t there to begin with, it’s redundant to try to add it with EQ.

Some instruments benefit from low-pass filtering. Either there’s something there that you don’t want to interfere with something else, or it just adds noise and unnecessary energy.
Distorted Electric Guitars

Tighten up your thick rock guitar mix by deleting some of the higher frequencies.

If you’ve recorded them with a dynamic microphone, with the distortion to the max, chances are the high-end is really only noise and hiss.

Add a low-pass filter and filter until you start hearing the signal suffer, then back off a little. You might even clean the sound up a little, since you probably added way too much distortion to begin with. :)
The Kick Drum

The beater is basically the highest-end of the kick drum. And the sound of the beater is most prominent around 2-4 kHz.

You can clean up the bass drum quite nicely by low-pass filtering everything above, say, 8 kHz. Especially if the kick drum has a bunch of cymbal and snare drum bleed. You really cut the amount of extraneous drums getting into your bass drum mic if you filter out some of that high-end.
The Bass Guitar

Filter out the high-end on a bass track if you want a smoother sound. If the bass is just a low sounding groove then you don’t need the high-end.

If your bass just acts as a grooving pad-type sound with a bunch of other instruments taking care of the rest of the arrangement you can safely filter out its high-end. It’s also a good way to get rid of the string sound of the bass, for a smoother sound.
Reverbs

Sometimes, reverbs add annoying sibilance to vocals. Some reverbs can also sound just a tad too bright.

If you like the reverb, then EQ it and make it fit better. Either filter out the high-end or cut it with some high shelving. You want the space the reverb gives you, but you don’t need the sibilance or the brightness bouncing off the walls.
Don’t be Afraid

Hey, don’t be afraid of filtering. Some instruments just don’t need all that high-end, and being a little drastic on the filter can make your mix sound better.

Try the low-pass filter the next time you’re having high-end or hiss issues. It just might work.

Get Rid of That Oh-So Unnecessary High-End with the Low-Pass Filter | Audio Issues

Get Your Curve On_Electronic Musician Mag

Get Your Curve On

Get Your Curve On
10/13/2011

(re)MIXED MEDIA

Author Mo Volans has prepared an example MP3, and a full screenshot for three types of EQ functions in this feature on three EQ plug-ins: Apple Logic Channel EQ, Universal Audio Cambridge EQ and PSP Neon. Go to the MP3s, and a full screenshots
Get Your Curve On - parametric low cut EQ

With the vast array of plug-ins available today, it's all too easy to overcook a mix. Beginner or pro, we all have access to some pretty impressive — and sometimes bizarre — processors with DSP power to burn. You easily can have several enhancers, tube emulators and vintage-style compressors on every track in your production in the attempt to reach mix nirvana. While there is definitely a time and place for that approach, if you overdo it, you could end up sinking in audio mud. In most cases, the answer doesn't lie in yet another plug-in or a secret trick but in good basic EQ and compression technique. In traditional recording, there is no substitute for good performance and sound-recording practices, but looking at things from purely a mixing point of view, these tips should help you clean up your act.

In each of the three following scenarios, I ran the same audio file through three EQ plug-ins, showing that the sounds can be achieved regardless of what system you're using. Although all the EQs do have their own character (like any processor), similar results can be had from one EQ to the next. The audio examples, EQ software presets and full screenshots will be supplied for reference at www.remixmag.com.

Each of the three EQ plugs used is fully parametric, meaning simply that all aspects of the EQ are fully controllable (frequency, gain, Q, etc.). They are also all graphical to keep things nice and clear for this exercise. It will be easy to reproduce the same technique on EQs with no graphical readout once you have become familiar with the parameters. The three example EQs include: Apple Logic Studio ($499; www.apple.com) Channel EQ, a simple, CPU-efficient EQ that comes standard with the new Logic Studio package; Universal Audio Cambridge EQ (www.uaudio.com), a pro standard, workhorse EQ that comes with the UAD Ultra Pak ($1,495), Extreme Pak ($2,499) or Xpander Xtreme ($2,599) DSP systems or can be downloaded to UAD hardware owners for $149; and PSP Neon ($149; www.pspaudioware.com), a great plug-in that offers basic-to-linear-phase operation to optimize CPU usage in different situations. PSP Neon is reasonably priced for the control and sound quality it offers.
CAN YOU CUT IT

For the first example, I used a house drum loop with a strong kick drum. You often find great loops like this but wish to use it only as a percussion part and program your own kick drum. In such a situation, subtle EQ techniques aren't going to supply the desired results, so you need to apply something a little more drastic.

On all the chosen plug-ins, there is an option to have both highpass and lowpass filters. There are also different curves available on each of the filters. For this example, I used one of the steepest curves available on all the EQs because I wanted to remove everything below a certain point. This extreme approach works well with electronic sounds or drum loops; however, you may want to use a more subtle setting with more organic sounds and instruments such as strings or guitars.

With each EQ's plug-in, I cut all the low end below 200 Hz. This is a technique commonly used in electronic music and is seen by many as an essential procedure to allow the bass elements in your mix to breathe. There is a school of thought that says everything above the bass line and the kick drum should be cut below this area. That process works with some mixes, but it may be too general to apply as a blanket technique to all productions. Try it with some of your own projects to see what works.

In this case, the steep filter does a great job of removing the kick drum and other low-frequency sounds from the loop, resulting in a highly usable percussion part. Once you have processed a drum loop in that way, you can add your own kick drum to give yourself more flexibility during the arrangement process. Of course, you can just automate the filter and use the original bottom end in the loop.

None of the EQ techniques demonstrated here should be limited to certain circumstances. For instance, the extreme filtering technique works well with sampled grooves and top-line synth patterns. You may also like it in a situation where a bad recording or low-quality sample needs to be restored; a great place to start is to filter off any rumble in the bottom end. And remember, the method can be just as useful for attenuating high-end frequencies as well.

The key here is knowing when to use each technique; ultimately, that will come with experience. Once you read this, load the presets and start to understand some of the basics, practice with your own audio and recordings. Eventually, knowing which tool to reach for will become second nature during the mixing process.
ON THE SHELF

Some situations will require a gentler approach. Although hard filtering may be perfect for one sound, it can ruin another. When a sound is closer to what you consider ready, but it needs that extra something, a light shelving EQ can be just the thing you're looking for.

A shelving EQ is exactly what it sounds like: a shelf that is added to the EQ curve, either on the high or low frequencies. Some plug-ins will have the option to shelve more than two of the bands, which can be a transparent way of adding frequencies to a sound, and the organic quality lends itself to real instruments.

I chose a guitar sample for this example. To enhance the sound and help it cut through other mix elements, I added about 5 dB of high-end shelving EQ. I've also taken away some of the lower frequencies using a low-frequency shelf with another 4 dB of cut. You can hear that it really adds clarity without coloring the sound at all. That is a perfect solution when you need to make fine adjustments as opposed to radical changes.

When adding different kinds of EQ, you will start to hear the character or personality of the processor. Much like synthesizers, you will find subtle differences from one EQ to the next. Some will have a clean, transparent feel, while others will add color and harmonics to your sound. It's all about experience and getting to know the plug-ins you have at your disposal.
Q: UP HIGH

The most common stumbling block in using a fully parametric EQ is the incorrect use of the “Q” setting. Any fault here is usually due to misconceptions about what these all-important controls actually do. Q really isn't as complex as you may think. At its most basic level, the Q control adjusts the wideness of the frequency band effected by any changes you make. That allows you to home in on a certain frequency with pinpoint accuracy using high settings or make changes over large areas of the frequency range using low settings.

Using high Q values is useful when surgically treating a small area in the frequency range. For instance, say you have a full percussion recording that you like but has one element that is too loud. Try turning the cue point of the closest frequency band relatively low. Once you have this low Q area set, you can turn the gain setting down to the lowest it will go (often -12 dB or -18 dB). You can then sweep the entire frequency band, and you should be able to pick out the exact area that the offending sound occupies.

Once you have located this area, you can start to raise the Q setting until the frequency band only affects the sound you are trying to remove. You can't push that too far because it will result in an over-resonant quality (not surprising as resonant frequencies are essentially what we're dealing with here).

At the same time you're finding the perfect Q settings, try bringing the gain up slowly until the sound you're trying to eliminate starts to reappear. Then you have to take part in a careful balancing act between the right amount of Q setting and the perfect amount of gain.

This technique sometimes pays off, for example, when some of the unwanted signal creeps through and there is a bit of coloration to the rest of the sound. It is also one of the most accurate ways of removing unwanted signals embedded in existing recordings.

For an interesting special effect using high-Q settings, try a high-gain setting and sweep the EQ band you're using across the entire frequency range. That is similar to an automated resonant notch filter. With some automation, that can become a usable creative technique.
Q: DOWN LOW

Lower-Q settings are perfect for a general approach and tend to be more transparent from the start. As low-Q settings work across a wide section of the frequency range, they aren't suited to treating single sounds but are perfect for boosting groups of instruments.

Due to its qualities, an EQ with low-Q settings perfectly lends itself to applications such as mastering and treating buses. It's important to remember when using an EQ for this purpose that small adjustments are the key. If you find yourself adding more than, say, 3 to 4 dB of EQ in a certain area, it's possible that the fault lies at mix level. It's much better to be listening to the instruments' signals rather than a wash of added EQ.

Although low-Q settings can be used on individual mix elements, you may find them too subtle. That doesn't mean you can't experiment, though, and a healthy Q setting somewhere between 0 and 10 could be the answer.

The audio example demonstrating low Q includes a section of music that is basically mastered but remains flat as far as EQ treatment is concerned. Once you have listened to the dry version, play back the version with EQ. You can see in the screenshots that I added a low-Q setting EQ, boosting the upper-mid frequencies by around 3 dB and another boosting the lower frequencies (peaking at around 100 Hz) by about 1.5 dB. As you can hear, the difference is definitely subtle but is just what was needed in the situation.

Most modern EQ plug-ins are capable of a large range of effects, from extreme to subtle. With all that processing at your fingertips, you must develop a good intuition for which plug-in is right for the job. Now that you have seen some basic techniques, try opening some old projects and looking at your settings. It may also be a good idea to try different plug-ins in place of those already there. Your main advantage will be hands-on experience, so keep practicing. Feel free to e-mail EQ questions to me at info@virtualopenair.com.

Download MP3s, programmed presets, starting-point presets and full screenshots at remixmag.com.

Get Your Curve On_Electronic Musician Mag

6+ ways to get bigger bass | Kim Lajoie's blog

This is about basslines, not (necessarily) the frequency range. The bassline is the harmonic foundation of a track. A solid mix often needs a solid bassline. So how do you get there? How do you stop your basslines from sounding weak or flabby? Here are some techniques to consider:

EQ. This is the big one. A lot of the time, EQ is all you need. The trouble is, each situation is different. I can’t tell you where to boost and where to cut without hearing your track. Because EQ is relative, the right settings depend entirely on the sound of your bassline and the direction of the mix. Pay close attention to how the kick and the bass interact. In some cases, it makes sense to have a bass with character voiced above a deep kick; in other cases it makes sense to have a deep bass voiced under the kick. Good monitoring is crucial here, because you’ll have to balance the tone across a wide range – sometimes all the way from subbass up to the top of the mix. And most lower-budget monitoring environments are pretty bad at accurately representing the critical range from the bottom through the lower mids.
Layering. You can’t boost what isn’t there. Often a bass sound will have a great character in the mids but doesn’t have a solid bottom end. Similarly, it’s common for a bass sound with a solid bottom end to be missing character in the mids. By layering two complimentary bass sounds, you can have the best of both worlds! Be careful though – effective layering can very easily take over the whole mix. When layering bass sounds, it often helps to filter the layers. For example – an upper layer that adds a lot of character in the mids may have a weak or inconsistent low end. By using a high pass filter to cut out that low end, a lower layer can be much more focussed and provide a stronger sound. Similarly, it often makes sense to use a low pass filter or dramatic EQ to take the mids out of the lower layer so that the upper layer can punch through more effectively. Lastly, don’t forget to pay attention to the relative levels of each layer. Often a mix needs one layer to be dominant – the other layer(s) usually can be much quieter and still provide enough definition and size.

Full Post:
6+ ways to get bigger bass | Kim Lajoie's blog

6+ ways to get bigger bass | Kim Lajoie's blog

- Eq-ing Vox : Recording Magazine -

Eq-ing Vox
Approaches to eq-ing vocals...
By Geno Porfido

By definition, the vocals are the focal point of a ‘vocal’ song. But getting a good vocal mix and a good vocal sound that cuts through isn’t always easy—especially when a lot of electronic sounds are being used. So here are a few quick eq tips and techniques to help achieve a better vocal mix

As a preface, remember the garbage in/garbage out rule: it all starts with a good recording of good vocals. But we’re not here to coach your singer or nag him or her to cut down on the cigarettes, booze, and so on. Nor are we discussing mic and mic preamp selection, compression, reverb, or delay. This is just about eq.

Beyond the performance

Unless you’re after an extreme vocal effect such as a supremely squashed vocal, rough edge/low tech sound, or that long-distance telephone sound, judicious use of eq can enhance your tracks tremendously. As a starting point, my preference is to start with a slight rolloff around 125 to 240 Hz, a few dB removed at 2.5 to 3.5 kHz to cut piercing frequencies, and a boost at 10 to 15 or 16 kHz to bring out the air.

All of the usual variables (singer, mic, etc.) will ultimately guide exactly what eq you use, but here’s the rationale for that starting point. Today’s trend is toward a very crisp lead vocal, crystal clear on top with nice unobtrusive bottom.

When trying to keep lead vocals proportionate to the band mix, for starters I roll off some bottom with a highpass filter. Some mics and most consoles have this built in; common frequencies range from 60 Hz to 200 Hz, depending on design or manufacturer, with varying degrees of sloped attenuation (example: 6 dB per octave rolloff, from 100 cycles down).

This filtering keeps excessive bass out of the vocal track and helps it fit in its proper frequency spectrum to make room for accompanying instruments. It also helps keep plosives (popped Ps and other hard consonants) from being obvious; that and a pop filter should eliminate them altogether. Most human voices don’t usually have a lot to offer below around 160 cycles anyway, so you’re not losing much by cutting in that range.

Next, the reason for removing 4 to 6 dB at approximately 125 to 240 Hz is to keep the vocal out of the upper bass drum/bass guitar/fat drums area. You always want to be aware that cutting too much out can result in a thin vocal, so take it slowly and remove a little at a time.

Again, the exact frequencies and cut amount will vary from singer to singer, even throughout a song. On some mixes a totally flat vocal or one that’s only been eq-ed slightly on input has worked as the main track. But there may be a section that changes drastically and the singer drops down or jumps up an octave for a few lines, requiring additional eq to match the rest of the song.

There are several ways to make eq changes on the fly that way, depending mainly on the type of equipment you’re using. With an analog board, the usual method is to mult (“Y”) the vocal track to two console channels, each with the different eq (and often volume fader) setting. Then you simply mute the appropriate channel while unmuting the other, or crossfade them.

If you run out of channels, it’s also feasible to insert outboard equalizers with the alternate settings. Inserts can easily be switched in and out from either the channel insert switch or the eq unit’s bypass control.

All this is a lot easier if you’re using an automated digital console, because you can automate the eq changes—it’s not necessary to mult the signal to two channels. Same with digital audio workstation software, which is how most of you will be working these days.

Regardless of the equipment, you want to pick a clear place in the music (if there’s no rest, the spot where the singer takes a breath is the most likely candidate) to make the change so there’s no pop or click. This can be done numerous times throughout the song as needed.

Top shelf

Whether you’re eq-ing vox or instruments, the goal is to help the part find its space in the tonal spectrum and try not to step on it with too much other information. The top end poses its own series of challenges.

Some recordings just have this incredibly bright vocal that’s still smooth and warm without being harsh. Others have this great edge, almost like a cliff, that pokes the vocal through even the thickest mix, yet sounds totally natural.

There are many ways to eq a track, but I like to approach it from two directions. One is a smooth shaping curve using a wide bandwidth (a.k.a. “Q”—the lower the Q number, the wider the bandwidth), very evenly boosted across the top. The other is to boost one or more frequencies in a tight bandwidth so the edge is purposeful and creates a bite.

For the wide bandwidth boost I generally use a shelving eq to add a few dB very high, somewhere between 7 and 12 kHz. Shelving eq starts at the selected frequency and continues out to the end of the spectrum, so if you ad d 3 dB at 10 kHz, from 10 kHz out to 20 and beyond the eq will be even in gain. This creates a nice, smooth, almost ethereal top end that brings the vocals up into an area where there’s less competition from other instruments.

Hopefully the whole top end is very smooth with no frequencies sticking out. Note that we’re safely above the sibilance (“ess” sounds) frequencies, which are usually around 5–8 kHz. Sibilance is a separate problem for another article, but once in a while you can just cut specific frequencies on singers and tame slight sibilance without having to use a de-esser (or de-essing technique). Usually the eq approach to this will bring too many side-effects, but it’s worth mentioning while we’re discussing eq.

The second high-end eq approach is to zero in on a couple of key frequencies, boosting or dipping them a few dB with a peaking eq. Peak eq centers around the selected frequency and slopes off on either side depending on what bandwidth you select. You can create an edge that just sounds incredible if you find the right places to boost. Unfortunately there’s no magic number here—you just have to listen to the vocal in context and find the spots. Sometimes the mic has an inherent boost, so you may not even need to do this.

Life and larger

Male and female vocals present different problems. In most cases I’ll leave the bottom untouched for female vocals unless they really need a corrective boost or cut to deal with a tonal problem.

With male vocals, some engineers like to get a larger, fuller sound. That’s okay too, but I’d still recommend a rolloff at least from 80 or 100 and below. Keep in mind that the big fat vocal track can eat up almost everything in its path, from kick drum to cymbals, and it may be harder to pull into the mix than a vocal that’s been eq-ed to fit a narrower frequency spectrum.

If you like to mix vocals first and then balance the band in around the vocal, a big fat sound could be the one for you. My preference is to go for fairly natural instrument sounds, though, and a singer has nowhere near the bottom end of a bass guitar or chunky Marshall.

When you’re dealing with a superstar vocal or an act whose focus is the vocal and nothing else, then a much larger-than-life sound is appropriate. With this sound the lead vocal is huge and full-bodied with lots of warm bass and clean high end, so it really stands above everything.

Some of the better tube mics available today will help fatten your track naturally, as will classics like a Neumann U87 or old U47. But if a flat recording yields a thin vocal take, you can try adding a few dB around 160 up to 300 Hz to thicken it up. Rolling off some upper mids may also be a good course of action, depending on whether you hear the problem as being a lack of certain frequencies or too much in one area.

Cutting and boosting both work, but remember to adjust the gain accordingly. If you boost 6 dB at 1 kHz on the track, for example, you may need to pull the track down to compensate and avoid distortion.

The best way to develop these skills is simply to listen to a lot of recordings and try to emulate the sounds you like (and avoid the ones you don’t like). Just remember to go slowly with eq—a little bit goes a lot farther than one tends to think.

Geno Porfido (talkback@recordingmag.com) is currently living and recording in San Francisco. He’s looking for projects to produce in the Bay Area, as long as they pay ridiculous sums of money or are located near a decent pizzeria.



Full Article Source:
- Eq-ing Vox : Recording Magazine -

- Eq-ing Vox : Recording Magazine -

Thinking inside the Box: a complete EQ tutorial - dnbscene.com

Part One: Intro

To begin: an anecdote.

I started making music with Impulse Tracker. After a few years of gaining decidedly unprofessional results with that, I moved onto Buzz. Yippee! Effects! I happily threw my sounds into a ton of reverbs, filters, delays, distortions, phasers and so on. In some ways, of course, this was an improvement. My sounds at least had a bit of depth and character. But somehow the real fundamental problem, an "unprofessional" sound, was still there. My tracks sounded weak, thin, and simply a lot quieter than professional stuff; the mixes always sounded wonky, elements not really fitting with each other.

Slowly I came to realise the problem. I was not really using, or even being aware of, any EQ or compression. After all, they were both a bit scary, I didn't really understand them, and besides - they were boring, compared to my funky range of drastic FX processing. Silly me. I should have realised that...

EQ and compression are simply the two most important tools in music production.

Think of it this way. You are building a house. Exciting things like flangers and filter-delays are like the designer purple wallpaper or expensive thick-pile carpet. They make your house look welcoming, or fashionable, or comfortable to live in. EQ and compression on the other hand are making sure the bricks are mortared together and the walls are strong enough to support a roof. And at the end of the day, sure, your designer wallpaper may be lovely, but if the kitchen has collapsed into rubble and the bedroom door is only three inches wide, your house won't be much cop.

My mistake - and, I think, the mistake made by many learning producers - was to be tempted by the more exciting task of choosing the colour schemes and leather sofas, when my walls could be knocked down by a sneeze and my roof was made of paper. Get the fundamentals sorted first! Otherwise the frilly stuff actually just gets in your way and makes it harder to even work out what your problems are!

Hence this tutorial.

Now I could simply do a lightning quick tutorial on compression - I could say, for example, "for basslines it's best to compress at a ratio of 3:1, threshold -6db" or whatever (that's a totally fictional example by the way). But this is only so much use. Of course, I encountered a lot of advice and information about EQ and compression while I learned. But I know that I never began feeling truly confident in such engineering matters, never really felt I understood any of it, until I put all the pieces together, joined the dots, and worked out that these 2 subjects, and so much more, are all deeply inter-related. So, it is my ambitious aim to map out this whole territory. I present not a strictly practical tutorial, but rather a way of thinking, which I personally found led to a greater understanding, which in turn had many practical benefits.

My central concept is that producers in the digital domain are effectively working inside a box. In this tutorial I will define the box, explore a few fundamental concepts and highlight some of the limitations of digital audio.

A word of warning. I have no qualifications. I don't know the difference between dBu and dBv. I don't understand Fast Fourier Transforms. So if you want rock-solid theory and maths, you may be let down. I aim instead to explain the basic concepts, such as they are useful to the practical matter of producing dance music. Naturally, being dnbscene.com, this will relate to drum&bass, but it relates just as well to any form of dance music. In fact, it pretty much relates to any kind of music whatsoever, although you wouldn't want to treat a folk ensemble recording in the same savage fashion you can get away with in techstep.

Anyway - enough disclaimers... Let's discover our box (no sniggering at the back please)...


Full Post:
Thinking inside the Box: a complete EQ tutorial - dnbscene.com

Thinking inside the Box: a complete EQ tutorial - dnbscene.com

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