 how to eq a dirty synth lead? |
Punchinello 
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Registration Date: 07-09-2009
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hi forum! ;-)
does anybody know some general eq settings i can try on my lead?
im working with reason4.
kind regards,
chris
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"Music is a Place to take Refuge. It's a Sanctuary from Mediocrity and Boredom. It's Innocent and it's a Place you can loose yourself in Thoughts, Memories and Intricacies." (Lisa Gerrard)
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08-09-2009 01:00 |
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Crispy Liquids
Liquid Funkateer
Registration Date: 22-05-2005
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really any notches with a small range will do great, move them around, and you'll shape your sound into something quite different.
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08-09-2009 01:52 |
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Anarky
myspace.com/ anarkyproductions
Registration Date: 02-08-2009
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mate.it alwayz depends on wot freqeuncies are already ther n not but a rough guide wud be 2 hi-pass at about 250hz n play wiv the q.then try boostin between 250-750hz n u shud get quite gnarly sound with no bottom end then layer wiv a sub n away u go.like i sed tho it depends wot frequencies the sound ur usin is producin!
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08-09-2009 17:11 |
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Zugzwang
Doin' it for the love
Registration Date: 13-05-2009
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One way you can think of EQing is like this.
Your song is a box, and every single instrument or sound effect that you have, takes up space in the box. Depending how loud the sound is or how much of the frequency spectrum the sound takes up, determines how much space in the box it fills up. If you have a sound that is too loud or too dirty, it won't fit in the box and you'll either have absolutely no space left in the box for anything else (drums, bass, etc.) or you'll push everything outside of the box and end up with clipping (unwanted artefacts/distortion on your tune). There will definitely be NO headroom (extra space) in the box if your box is completely filled up with sounds that are too loud or not EQ'd properly.
So when you wonder how you should EQ your synth lead, think about what other elements are in your song. If you had a song that was JUST a synth lead, you could EQ it however you want because there would be no competition for frequencies - it would be allowed to use as many frequencies (space in the box) as it wanted and shaping the synth with EQ would be purely up to creativity and personal taste.
Your goal when EQing the synth in a song should be making sure that the lead stands out among all of the other elements of your song and that it fits in the box, so to speak. Make sure it has its own space in the box with nothing else like mid-bass or hi-hats crowding it.
That way your lead really cuts through the mix and its not being pushed into the corner of the box by a loud hi-hat or something.
The idea is to select a few frequencies that sound really nice in your lead and cut the other unwanted frequencies out. For example, if your lead is peaking at 2000hz, make sure it stays peaking at that level but trim off some of the lower and higher frequencies that are not absolutely, fundamentally necessary for your lead. It will sound a lot different than what you had originally, but when you play it together with the rest of your song it should cut through the mix as long as no other instruments are taking up the same frequency space (and you might want to EQ those elements so that they aren't, if they are).
If you have any questions or if anybody is better at EQing than I am and has some corrections to make, open fire! 
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09-09-2009 08:40 |
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cynik
Cp6uja
Registration Date: 15-03-2005
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good post zugzwang
to add, no matter how careful you are at eqing, when you notch sound it looses its character a bit, its most apparent on midsounds because they use only that part of EQ spectrum, sound delicate and is easy to fuck up. as you build your tune with the other sounds then f the other sounds int he tune.
so if you really like how your lead sounds and dont want to notch any of its freqs, use sidechain compression to the bass and possibly drums. sidechaining will create more headroom as needed, in order to make the lead stand out, all other sounds may dip be wary not to overdo cause it may drown all the other sounds. leads being mostly mid-frequency instruments tend to not have too much bass or highs to begin with so it would not be too hard to isolate the sound
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09-09-2009 10:41 |
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thechronic
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Registration Date: 01-11-2002
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You mentioned it is a 'dirty' synth lead, do you mean to clean it up with EQ?
If this is the case there are probably one or more frequencies which don't sound so good and you want to take them out. You can find them by choosing a parametric EQ with a narrow band (= high 'Q' value). The trick is to boost the EQ and then slowly 'scan' through the frequencies by sweeping the frequency cutoff from low to high. At some points you will hear the sound worsening. If this happens you have found a bad spot, then just cut it out, and tweak the cut depth and Q until it you are happy with it.
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09-09-2009 13:07 |
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Punchinello
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Registration Date: 07-09-2009
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THANKS for all the responses!!! ;-)
like the way how u talk about eq...
i compare music production with human beings. almost everyone has the same body (arms, legs, eyes, etc. / general settings for eq, comp) but thats it. and now u have to make them fit together which is difficult. everyone has an own point of view. so you cant use general settings on different songs. music isnt general... but enough bla bla bla. ;-)
kind regards,
chris
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"Music is a Place to take Refuge. It's a Sanctuary from Mediocrity and Boredom. It's Innocent and it's a Place you can loose yourself in Thoughts, Memories and Intricacies." (Lisa Gerrard)
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09-09-2009 14:17 |
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