EQ Magazine - December 2008 - (Page 46)

MIX BUS Compensate by boosting EQ levels in the highs and/or upper mids. CUT EXCESS LOWS If the sound is bloated or tubby, try cutting 1dB to 2dB around 300Hz. This seems to be a “magic frequency” where a lot of mud resides. It’s also common to cut between 400Hz and 600Hz on toms and kick drums. In addition, recording several background vocals can result in bass buildup, so turn down the lows in massed harmonies. If the mix sounds kind of “heavy,” or too strong in the deep bass, use a high-pass filter on each track. Starting with a low corner frequency, slowly turn up the frequency until the sound thins out, and then back off a bit. RESTORE HIGHS Sometimes, a mix sounds muddy or dark because it’s weak in the high frequencies. Try using EQs to boost the presence of instruments that lack clarity, apply an audio enhancer (but watch for added noise), and make high-frequency boosts after you compress, as compression tends to reduce the perceived impact of tonal tweaks. GIVE ELEMENTS THEIR OWN SPACE A clean mix is uncluttered—meaning that too many parts are not playing at once. Arrange the music so that similar parts don’t overlap. Mix selectively so that not too many instruments are heard at the same time. For example, you might bring in vocal harmonies only during the choruses, or have guitar licks fill in the holes between vocal phrases, rather than playing on top of the vocals (think “call and response”). In a clear-sounding mix, instruments do not “crowd” or mask each other’s sound. They are separate and distinct. Clarity arises when instruments occupy different areas of the frequency spectrum. For example, the bass provides lows, keyboards emphasize mid-bass, lead guitar punches out upper mids, and cymbals fill in highs. Often, the rhythm guitar occupies the same frequency range as the piano, so they tend to mask each other’s sound. You can aid clarity by equalizing them differently. Boost the guitar at, say, 3kHz, but cut the piano at that frequency. In other words, use complementary EQ. If the bass and kick drum blur together, thin out the kick and add lows to the bass, or vice versa. Use a high-pass filter or turn down the lows on some tracks— especially guitars—to leave room for the bass guitar and kick drum. The guitars might sound thin when soloed, but the overall mix should sound balanced. It also helps to pan similarsounding instruments to opposite sides. For example, the rhythm guitar and keyboards might cover the same frequency range, but you can make them more distinct by panning the guitar hard left, and the keys hard right. 46 EQ DECEMBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.mackie.com/420 http://www.mackie.com/420 http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - December 2008

EQ Magazine - December 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In My Morning Jacket Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Sonar 8 Propellerhead Reason 4 Indie 500: Lunchbox Pres and Compressors 500 Series Preamps 500 Series Compressors Gadgets and Goodies Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - December 2008

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