EQ

[alpha_unit]

right when eqing a sound u obviousluly look to boost certain freq's in your mix, i tend to use spkies at certain freq's and boost these between maybe 2- 5k and cut away what i dont want, how do u lot eq things such as drums and percussion???

[MARKEG]

well subtractive eq is best. that's when you take away frequencies, not boost them. you've find it all sounds alot better if you do that ;)

[alpha_unit]

so when u subtract do u spike it with the q? and just cut the odd freq here n there then boost the volume? i tend to cut the low out of stuff, maybe boost the freq i want in the mix like a ^ but a bit tighter to get the sound out i want and cut the rest,


u think it wud b better to not boost and pure cut?


and in what amounts of dbs???


eq is a damn tricky science!

[Barely Human]

There's no definiative way to EQ, you just have to trust your ears, (and a decent spectrum analyser). Its better to just cut the freq's you dont want because if you boost, you end up loosing headroom.

[Milesy]

i read a skilled eq'ist (if thats the right word lol) only cuts at most 3/4db
from any frequency

[Jack]

Milesy
PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 4:58 pm Post subject:
i read a skilled eq'ist (if thats the right word lol) only cuts at most 3/4db
from any frequency

Perhaps he was talking about using a eq to notch out feedback in live sound

[loopdon]

i suggest and urge everybody to use the best sounding and fitting samples in the first place. saves a lot of time when coming to the eq stage. or pre-eq samples, maybe, and save them for further use.
in addition to that, try and get the sound you want to achieve by using asoftsynths internal filtering etc. abilities rather than trying to achieve those results by whacking a filter behind it. u have almost all the tools to sculpture your sound in those synths themselves, use them :!:

You can't polish a turd :!:

Just as in music, that would leave you with a stinking mess.

If you use only as many samples necessary (swap two weak samples for one good one i mean) that will improve your sound quality a lot as well. clever use of reverb is an improvement too, i'd say, that's very important , things in nature a verbed, too, think of that), but make sure you are using fx like that on a send if poss. and cutting out everything below say 300 - 400 Hz or higher so you don't get a bassy muddy verb./place a highpass in front of your send delay, as well....

juz some things i had to learn the hard way

[Basil Rush]

try and get the sound you want to achieve by using asoftsynths internal filtering etc. abilities rather than trying to achieve those results by whacking a filter behind it. u have almost all the tools to sculpture your sound in those synths themselves, use them :!:

depends if you like your soft synths filters I guess ... the rest of what you say is I reckon is spot on ... except

You can't polish a turd :!:

Actually, in techno I reckon you might be able to, just sometimes, actually polish a real turd ... We were talking about that in the studio the other day, not sure what the rules would have to be.

Probably you can frame the turd in any sonic context you like.

You may not turn the turd into something unrecognisably like the original sample.

Maybe no subtractive processes.

Need to find a good turd to start with.

[loopdon]

yeah, i aggree 100 %, but i reckon if you learn working the 'clear' way using good samples (or clean or whatever) you could more easily be able to integrate those 'turdish' samples into your music keeping a certain sonic quality, controlled 'turdizm' so to speak. :dontevengothere:

but 'uncontrolled/unwanted whackness' when starting to produce due to weak samples can be very frustrating i know from my own experience.

[Evil G]

all analog and most digital eqs cause phase distortion (blurring the onset of the sound over time and making it less crisp). hence the "less is more" philosophy with eq.

[Jimfish]

yeah, i think a lot of these 'rules' apply more to general music recording, where you are using mainly sounds fresh from thier source whatever that may be and just trying to lock them togethor neatly..
In techno you are trying to create a whole different sound so you have to figure what works for you. as long as you can get a decent well balanced sound overall you can throw away the rulebook.

Mark is right too, next time you want to boost a freq, try cutting the other freqs instead..

re. polishing a turd.. i do this loads, sometimes i hear a sound thats crap but there is just a faint slither of somthing cool hidden within, sometimes ill use several eqs layered up to get the tone im looking for out of it.

[alpha_unit]

ok you said about the boosting killing the headroom, this will effect the overall volume of my toon?


my stuff is eq'd quite well in general, but when i listent to something like alphazone there is just so much better and i no the main thing with eq is time as it takes years for your ears to get as good as there's but i need to no my fundementals are correct.

i do cut a lot of shit out of samples and i only use hi quality samples too, ill try n start cutting more and see what it does.


also what band eq'd are you ppl using?

[Barely Human]

ok you said about the boosting killing the headroom, this will effect the overall volume of my toon?

That is basically what headroom is...

[Basil Rush]

ok you said about the boosting killing the headroom, this will effect the overall volume of my toon?

my stuff is eq'd quite well in general, but when i listent to something like alphazone there is just so much better and i no the main thing with eq is time as it takes years for your ears to get as good as there's but i need to no my fundementals are correct.

i do cut a lot of shit out of samples and i only use hi quality samples too, ill try n start cutting more and see what it does.

also what band eq'd are you ppl using?

Yeah, try this as an exercise on the next track.

1. Make your maximum boost 3db, if you need to change a sound more than this then cut instead and push up the fader for the channel if necessary after cutting.

2. The only exception your allowed is a high shelving EQ to add the mysterious air if you need it which you can boost to about 9db if you really need to (but don't unless it's obvious that you need it and this should add more volume to the sound, this is more for bringing out really subtle detail in a sound that's not got a lot of top, don't for example add 9db of top to a hi-hat, it'll sound foul usually particuarly with digital eq). Actually maybe ignore this point, it applies more when working with acoustic instruments, vocals and stuff ... but might apply with a dark sounding sample.

3. Cut the bottom out of sounds that you don't want in the bass, but avoid over filtering so everything goes thin. Sometimes it's good to do this with a high pass filter (around the 200hz -> 500hz mark depending on the sound). If it's not obvious how much bottom is in a sound, just play with a filter and you'll hear it, then you can put it back in and make a good judgement on how to sit it in the mix.

4. Sometimes it's better to cut the bottom more gently with a low shelving filter (say 5db of cut from 600 hz sloping down then a HP filter from 100hz). Depends on how much space you've got in your mix really and how thick you want the sound to be.

5. High hats and stuff can often really muddy the middle of your mix, but using a filter on them is sometimes too brutal in a sparse mix. You can try a parametric to knock out stuff from about 2-3k down to the 500hz ish mark then a filter to get rid of any weird bass.

6. Finally, and this is really important. If something isn't sticking out in the mix, first try just pushing the fader up before you reach for the EQ. When you get the mix right you should find that moving a fader 1db makes a considerable difference to the sound. At the start of the mixdown then 6db sounds like a subtle enough change, but sometimes you can get into moving things a quarter of a db and find that it really helps.

[messyfuture]

less is definately more

we lent our mixer to jamie lidell the other week when he was playing here and the first thing that he said when he took the mixer out of its case was someone has been getting a bit over abitious with the eq's here.

but in my defence i had been practising my live set the night before.

[Mindful]

Yeah, try this as an exercise on the next track.

1. Make your maximum boost 3db, if you need to change a sound more than this then cut instead and push up the fader for the channel if necessary after cutting.

2. The only exception your allowed is a high shelving EQ to add the mysterious air if you need it which you can boost to about 9db if you really need to (but don't unless it's obvious that you need it and this should add more volume to the sound, this is more for bringing out really subtle detail in a sound that's not got a lot of top, don't for example add 9db of top to a hi-hat, it'll sound foul usually particuarly with digital eq). Actually maybe ignore this point, it applies more when working with acoustic instruments, vocals and stuff ... but might apply with a dark sounding sample.

3. Cut the bottom out of sounds that you don't want in the bass, but avoid over filtering so everything goes thin. Sometimes it's good to do this with a high pass filter (around the 200hz -> 500hz mark depending on the sound). If it's not obvious how much bottom is in a sound, just play with a filter and you'll hear it, then you can put it back in and make a good judgement on how to sit it in the mix.

4. Sometimes it's better to cut the bottom more gently with a low shelving filter (say 5db of cut from 600 hz sloping down then a HP filter from 100hz). Depends on how much space you've got in your mix really and how thick you want the sound to be.

5. High hats and stuff can often really muddy the middle of your mix, but using a filter on them is sometimes too brutal in a sparse mix. You can try a parametric to knock out stuff from about 2-3k down to the 500hz ish mark then a filter to get rid of any weird bass.

6. Finally, and this is really important. If something isn't sticking out in the mix, first try just pushing the fader up before you reach for the EQ. When you get the mix right you should find that moving a fader 1db makes a considerable difference to the sound. At the start of the mixdown then 6db sounds like a subtle enough change, but sometimes you can get into moving things a quarter of a db and find that it really helps.

Sweet Basil

[loopdon]

i'd even go that far and say

saweeeeeeeeeeet , basil ;)

[alpha_unit]

deffo a good post man


appreciate that

[nova]

got eq'n questions. coz abit confused onit. its massive! dont kno where to start. in basics wot levels would you guys hav

kicks
hi hats
claps
bass

like basil said make your maximum boost 3bd. does that aply to everything? and i can check this right on the eq. sorry basic i kno. bass and kick to be the loudest .is that right?. so the bass and kick could be at 3bd?

how loud should all the parts be. i can get an analyser yeah to check that levels are right?

[Milesy]

read this tutorial nova

http://www.computermusic.co.uk/tutorial/eq/1.asp

page 2 has lots of basic frequencies, what ones to boost/cut for
clarity, punch etc fo various instuments