Ive been reading lots of posts about equalitation and understand the different aspects of songs cant clash however i dont understand if each part e.g. snare and lead need to have totally there own frequency or can semi clash if that makes sense. so just say if im going to have the 200 to 500k dominant with a snare hit does this mean nothing can enter this range at all or does it mean then just say the lead or pad can also be in this range but should be reduced by a few db so its not as dominant. hope this makes sense
so a normal one hit of a snare or kick without equalisation would take up all frequency ranges as would a lead or the bassline. Do i just reduce aspects that arnt important by a bit or cut it all? if a just reduce parts that i dont want to be dominant the would still be frequency clashes however if cut cut the parts i dont want to to be dominant everything would sound horrible? help
Ok so i think ive worked it out....... lets say you have 120db headway with a frequency (lets just say with the 200k to 500k range) As long as i dont exceed 0db with the competing frequencys e.g. snare, lead, bass are ALL peaking at -40db within that frequency range (200k to 500k), therefore 3 * -40 = -120db. does that mean its ok if there clashing as they all have there own part? Sorry about the weird question
Generally you want to roll off any unnecessary frequencies, such as high passing all non-bass elements to clear the sub and low mid frequencies. You generally have much more headroom with higher frequencies, so it ok to have overlap in these areas.
The best tip is to mix all of your channels at a lower volume, so the master peaks at -8 or -6 db. This will allow you to hear nuances in the sounds and also give you flexibility in your levels if you want to make volume changes. You can mute some of the channels and A-B them, if the frequencies get muddy then you'll need to re-eq some of the elements. This is better than simply adjusting the levels of the elements, because that won't get rid of competing frequencies.
When doing subtractive EQ, it helps to create a large boost and sweep it through the frequencies. When you hit a spot that sounds extra resonant or annoying, that's where you want to cut!
The best tip is to mix all of your channels at a lower volume, so the master peaks at -8 or -6 db. This will allow you to hear nuances in the sounds and also give you flexibility in your levels if you want to make volume changes. !
+1 !!
In a well balanced and clean mix every sound requires its own sonic space and to assure that you use equalisation.
Whether it comes to cutting or boosting, I suggest you always be very subtle. The more you cut the cleaner your final result might be but be careful, there is a fine line between clean and sterile dead sound. Take your time and always check how your eq changes affect the whole mix and if they are really necessary.
Same goes for rolling off. Cutting the lows on sounds that are not supposed to have low frequency content is ok as long as it’s rumble and other artefacts. Radically cutting the lows on a piano sound in order to give the sub more room is not ideal. Be even more subtle here and you get a clean but full sounding bass area.
Another thing to keep in mind is not to mix and eq entirely with your eyes. You shouldn’t care about db and frequency analysers in the first place. Use your ears to get the desired result! I even turn off my lcds from time to time to make sure my eyes won’t fool me (I own a nice midi controller to automate my eq plugin which makes blind eqing very easy).
My easiest way to give those drums headroom within your bass leads etc is to generally dip the kick and snare frequencies out of the bass, lead, pad etc
EG dip 100hz by -3db @ 2.5Q for kicks and 180hz by -3db @ 2.5Q for snares
This is called surgical eqing,
Find out more here in this simple tutorial - http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mixing-mastering/3d-mixing-part-3-equal
ization/
Also most people find it good to sidechain your kick with your low-end bass (sub)
This also gives some more headroom which all in all helps to push the mixdown even further =]
Theres my 2p's worth lol
