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+--- Thread: TIPS ON EQING? (/thread-26816.html)
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 7th March 2006
Please give me some much needed tips on eqing.
For years I've been boosting the frequencies I want to hear more of when tackling a problem but have heard many 'experts' say that the best way to tackle eqing is to reduce or take away the frequencies you don't want instead of booosting all the time which will just end up in a mush & quieter records when mastered.
So to all the experts on the board,what's the do's & do nots of eqing?
Especially on drums which represent so much of a track but need some serious delicate fine tuning at times you always feel like your fucking them up & end up having to scrap the mix & start again after adding & boosting for an hour then realizing your kik has more subs than your bass
So let the tips flow
TIPS ON EQING? - Xaf - 7th March 2006
A few things i tend do are;
On the entire break, i sweep the whole frequency and cut about 3db where the muddy bits are....usually somewhere around 350-400hz, usually some bits around 110hz (maybe not as big or wide a cut needed here), and 700hz is usually a bit dodgy (screams a bit too much on snares i find, so reduce to taste)....., on crunchy/funk breaks i can cut away most of the bottom end (upto 90-100hz sometimes), and relayer a nice punchy kick after to clean it all up.
Then;
On kicks....if i want them to really hit hard, i find the sweet spot with something like the Waves Renaissance EQ, reduce it slightly, increase the gain on my desk for a bit of crunch and bring it back up to full level, and then maybe do the same process again depending on how daring i am feeling... more can sound nice until it's added to the mix...so use this process sparingly.....but it will give your kicks more bite and prescence (if that's what you're after)
With snares again, i follow a similar process.....i find if i want to push it i tend to cut away at the bit that's standing out the most....
Overally on the whole break again....i tend to do a sweep again and clean up any straggly/scruffy/noisy bits. after this i usually pas my whole drums through my TC Electronics M1 box's EQ (Not a dedicated EQ unit, but it does sound nice :P ).
I usually boost a medium slope above 12Khz by about 3db, add a cut with a med-high width at around 240hz by about 2db.....and cut the bottom end totally out around 35-40Hz....sometimes boosting around 100hz by 1-2db to suit (not always needed tho).
This is all ruff, and it all depends on the starting break, but it's usually a starting point/method for me......the above probs sound quite harsh, but for me it's a good way of learning which parts of a break sound annoying, over powering, noisy, or just downright shit and helps me deal with these aspects !!!!
One thing i've found is depending on what i use to EQ (hardware, or software...) regardless of what Hz i'm boosting...the sound can be dramatically diffferent.
Xaf.
TIPS ON EQING? - SETI - 7th March 2006
attenuate, attenuate, attenuate
TIPS ON EQING? - subvert - 7th March 2006
yep, always try subtractive eq first to create space for other sounds. its an effort maintaining the discipline, and its not always right for every situation, but generally your mixes will improve over time by doing this.
use narrow q peak sweeps to find target frequencies. eg you have a sound that you want to stand out more but its sharing a space with something else and its not cutting through the mix as you want it to. set a narrow q, and a large boost, sweep the frequency until that sound cuts sharp and hard through the mix - we're looking for sweet spots of that sound, the frequencies that are really defining the elements of that sound.
you can then set it back to being flat, and the clashing tracks perform a narrow q subtractive eq at the freq(s) that you just identified.
cuts are generally with a narrower band, whereas boosts should generally be wider, more gentle.
my biggest two tips gear wise here - avoid cheap eq's (eg on mackie desks i hate the sound of those eq's - they're functional but dont sound musical to me at all) and avoid most software eqs - especially those built into sequencers.
TIPS ON EQING? - markgabba - 7th March 2006
learning some good stuff from this and the mixdowns thread
thanks all
TIPS ON EQING? - Senator Adam - 7th March 2006
scope Wrote:and avoid most software EQs - especially those built into sequencers.
That's funny you say that because I always use Cubase's eqs for subtractive eqing on most tracks. Not the greatest sounding eq, but it gets the job done with not much cpu power and if I need a good hardcore eqing I can use a different software one that does sound good (Voxengo's GlissEQ sounds like sex).
Why should we not use the sequencers eq for minimal work? Seems to work fine for me....
Plus there are amazing software eqs out there now ( UAD-1, Sonalksis, Voxengo, Kjaerhus, T-Racks, etc) so I don't htink you need to really use hardware eqing for 95% of the time...
TIPS ON EQING? - cube - 7th March 2006
scope Wrote:my biggest two tips gear wise here - avoid cheap eq's (eg on mackie desks i hate the sound of those eq's - they're functional but dont sound musical to me at all) and avoid most software eqs - especially those built into sequencers.
logic's channel eq is nice, and yeah, the mackie eq's are horrible.
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 7th March 2006
I wouldn't describe Logic's eq as nice
& yeah the Mackie sucks.
TIPS ON EQING? - subvert - 8th March 2006
Senator Adam Wrote:scope Wrote:and avoid most software EQs - especially those built into sequencers.
That's funny you say that because I always use Cubase's eqs for subtractive eqing on most tracks. Not the greatest sounding eq, but it gets the job done with not much cpu power and if I need a good hardcore eqing I can use a different software one that does sound good (Voxengo's GlissEQ sounds like sex).
Why should we not use the sequencers eq for minimal work? Seems to work fine for me....
if you cant hear the difference, it doesnt matter. most of the time i can though.
Senator Adam Wrote:Plus there are amazing software eqs out there now ( UAD-1, Sonalksis, Voxengo, Kjaerhus, T-Racks, etc) so I don't htink you need to really use hardware eqing for 95% of the time...
Note I said 'most' software EQ's. I know that there are some nice sounding plugs...
I own 2 UAD-1's, some voxengo plugs, the sonalksis plugs, and used to use the sony oxford on the powercore but none of them sound as good (i.e. none of them sound as pleasing to my own ears - you may think differently) as any decent analog EQ, particularly in the high end.
TIPS ON EQING? - cube - 8th March 2006
ALPHA OMEGA Wrote:I wouldn't describe Logic's eq as nice
Logic Pro 7
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 8th March 2006
ah,ok...I'm still using 5.5.1 on my pc
What would be a good sware vst eq 2 check out ?
TIPS ON EQING? - Macc - 8th March 2006
Good soft eq's (not counting UAD, I ain't used them enough) :
URS eq suite (the best, end of)
Voxengo GlissEQ2, HarmoniEQ (best boosting eq ever).
Sonalksis EQ
Just about passable:
Waves REQ's
Kjerhaus classic eq (free but not bad)
Only use for cutting:
Waves Q
Ultrafunk
pretty much all the rest
Avoid like the plague unless you really have to:
Cubase's bogey-green channelwank EQ.
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 8th March 2006
Have heard good things about the URS Suite & it looks sexy as fuck!!!!!
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 8th March 2006
Just in the process of checking out the demo version of the Nomad plug in bundle.
Anyone experienced in them at all?
TIPS ON EQING? - Macc - 8th March 2006
Blue Tubes?
/ 
= not bad
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 8th March 2006
but not that special?
TIPS ON EQING? - SETI - 8th March 2006
senator adam Wrote:scope Wrote:and avoid most software eqs - especially those built into sequencers.
that's funny you say that because i always use cubase's eqs for subtractive eqing on most tracks. not the greatest sounding eq, but it gets the job done with not much cpu power and if i need a good hardcore eqing i can use a different software one that does sound good (voxengo's glisseq sounds like sex).
why should we not use the sequencers eq for minimal work? seems to work fine for me....
yep, i agree, i use a shelving eq that came with vegas for doctoring things if i need it.. it works, that's all i need
(and the comp works pretty nice too)
TIPS ON EQING? - subvert - 8th March 2006
seti Wrote:senator adam Wrote:scope Wrote:and avoid most software eqs - especially those built into sequencers.
that's funny you say that because i always use cubase's eqs for subtractive eqing on most tracks. not the greatest sounding eq, but it gets the job done with not much cpu power and if i need a good hardcore eqing i can use a different software one that does sound good (voxengo's glisseq sounds like sex).
why should we not use the sequencers eq for minimal work? seems to work fine for me....
yep, i agree, i use a shelving eq that came with vegas for doctoring things if i need it.. it works, that's all i need
like i said, if you cant hear the difference fine....
TIPS ON EQING? - Macc - 8th March 2006
Agghhh, those Sony/Sonic Foundry things are ruuubbbish!
Sorry SETI
But they ain't really been updated for 6 or 7 years, and sound like it!
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 8th March 2006
saying that..Sound Forge is the only thinig I use for normalizing audio files.
TIPS ON EQING? - SETI - 8th March 2006
Macc Wrote:Agghhh, those Sony/Sonic Foundry things are ruuubbbish!
Sorry SETI
they're not Sony.. but then again i can't hear because they are used so minimally because i try to have all the sounds balanced going in.. i don't cared how old something is, if it works, it works.. if i need something really compressed i'll use an analog unit outside the machine.
TIPS ON EQING? - Macc - 8th March 2006
Sonic Foundry - who make/made Acid and Vegas - were bought by Sony. So they're all the same thing.
Fair do's to you though - I'm only saying that there arer much better things around these days for the odd occasion where you do need them
TIPS ON EQING? - SETI - 8th March 2006
Macc Wrote:Sonic Foundry - who make/made Acid and Vegas - were bought by Sony. So they're all the same thing.
interesting.. when was this acquisition made (kinda interesting in a similar way to Fender being bought by CBS in 1965 and the resulting change in the quality of their equipment)?
...well, i can't wait to get some nicer plugs from somewhere to try out.. i tend not to spend any money on that sort of thing tho
being the lo-fi all-star i've always been
TIPS ON EQING? - SETI - 8th March 2006
ok..2003, my version is much older than that
TIPS ON EQING? - ALPHA OMEGA - 9th March 2006
Macc Wrote:Good soft eq's
URS eq suite (the best, end of)
Jeesus Kristy Macc U weren't joking were you
My problem with these are I wanna use them on everything they sound that good
& thanks very much Cube