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Here are some tips and techniques for treating vocal tracks with EQ while mixing. Most importantly: Every voice is different, and every song is different. That advice bears remembering, even if you’ve heard it dozens of times. When you find yourself approaching a vocal mix on auto-pilot, applying effects “because they worked last time,” consider […]
Read the full post ...This tip arises in most discussions of good equalizer technique: “Use narrow adjustments when cutting frequencies, and wide adjustments when boosting.” There are some great reasons to heed this advice. But they’re not immediately obvious, especially if you’re unfamiliar or uncomfortable with parametric EQs, and they’re rarely fully explained. I’ll explain and demonstrate below, and […]
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Over time, I’ve noted several questions that arise repeatedly on the web’s home recording forums. Each question reads as though it should have a simple answer, but none of them do. And indeed, the questions themselves betray their askers’ lack of experience with the subject. In effect, posing one of these questions tells the world […]
Read the full post ...Tags: EQ, FAQs, microphones, miking, mixing, professional-engineers
For most home recordists, working with cheap microphones is a fact of life. “Amateur” and “budget-constrained” are practically synonymous in audio engineering. But cheap doesn’t have to mean bad. With a little effort, even the most cost-conscious mic owner can capture great sounds. To that end, here are 7 tips for getting the most from […]
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I’m amazed when I compare Glyn Johns’s early mixes of Let It Be with Phil Spector’s final release. The music and performances are the same, but the mixes couldn’t sound more different. Shouldn’t these men, both professionals practicing a time-honoured craft, have created similar mixes with the same material? Of course, no two listeners hear […]
Read the full post ...Tags: compression, EQ, mixing, professional-engineers, tracking
A web search for “best VST EQ” turns up dozens of pages that mention the Paris EQ VST, but for reasons I haven’t been able to figure out, the plugin and its author Matt Craig have dropped off the face of the Internet. That’s a pity, because the plugin is fantastic. Although it’s colorful, so […]
Read the full post ...A good general rule for EQ: Make your cuts narrow and your boosts wide. That is, when removing frequencies, remove only what you need to. On a parametric EQ, use a high Q value, and identify specific problem frequencies. The less you cut, the more natural the result will sound. Conversely, when you boost a […]
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Whether via search or link from a web forum, every few months I find myself back at the fantastic Sound On Sound article Using Equalisation. And as with Equal Time, the Electronic Musician I linked to before, I get something new from the Sound on Sound piece every time I read it. The article covers […]
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Some quick recording links for a Friday night: What the Experts Say About Recording. 3 pros discuss some of their studio techniques. On recording vocals: “It’s a big mistake letting the singer record their own vocals. They’re not the best judge of their own voice. They’ll think they sound bad, when everyone else is saying, […]
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Equalizers are mysterious beasts for beginners. And the advice most commonly offered, “try different things” and “use your ears,” is meaningless when you don’t know what you should be trying, and what your ears should be hearing. John Vestman’s EQ Settings That Will Make Your Mixes Come Alive has just those types of getting-started tips. […]
Read the full post ...We’ve all experienced it: 3 seconds into a track you’ve never heard, you know instinctively that it was recorded and mixed in someone’s bedroom. Amateur recordings often sound “amateur.” But what differentiates these hometracked opuses from professional recordings? It’s not just fidelity or sonic quality: Many competent engineers produce lo-fi or distorted mixes on purpose, […]
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Regardless of your comfort level with EQ, it’s worth setting aside 15 minutes to read this fantastic article in Electronic Musician: Equalizers: Equal time “The Bonham kick drum is the quintessential rock drum sound,” Martin explains. “I usually obtain it by boosting the frequencies between 120 and 240 Hz by about 4 dB or more. […]
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