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Clean frequencies
Ever hear a dance track with totally clean frequencies? I find more and more people having issues with this now today than ever before. I've put together this little cover of ATB's "Don't Stop" for you all to hear what clean frequencies really sound like, possibly to be used as a reference point for your own work. I realize this may not help everyone, but for thoe with good ears it could mean the world.
http://members.cox.net/robr/atbrac.mp3
Enjoy!
what do you really mean with clean frequencies? that the different sounds don't interfere with eachothers frequencies?
I can hear that your track is sounding very professional, it really sounds clear. But I also don't exactly understand what you try to say with this thread. Please explain!
Downloading.... you mean you hear that nothing is next to each other to me it sounds kind of minimal, like my work... with very little sounds, and seems like there is a whole gap left to fill? nice cover man....
When I say clean frequencies, I mean that the different instruments don't contend with eachother for space. When they do, it creates a muddy sound that isn't too appealing, yet it litters the majority of tracks out there, be they professional or not. Each instrument lives in its own frequency range, and the others don't try to barge in. This problem is corrected by filtering and equalizing. Keep in mind, however, that most EQ units will harm your sound more than help it, so whwnever possible use the filters on your synths to EQ your sound. For example, to cut the low end off of a lead, instead of running it through an EQ which could degrade the sound, run it through the synth's HP filter. If you need to cut the high frequencies off of a bass, use the LP filter, etc. Also, people tend to think in terms of high-frequencies (HF), mid-frequencies (MF), and low-frequencies (LF). Don't forget that the MF consist of LMF (low mid-frequencies) and HMF (high mid-frequencies) which must be cared for seperately.
This track serves to allow you to hear what a clean mix sounds like.
Well As i said to me it sounded empty... like there is allot of space to fill up....
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| Originally posted by Cuervo79 Well As i said to me it sounded empty... like there is allot of space to fill up.... |
personally i would love to get a really detailed explanation of how to do this more effectively. everyone always just says use the filters and eq and their you go, but there has to be more to it then that. i want an explanation from an experienced sound engineer that tells me how to learn this talent...
i guess the biggest problem that i have when it comes to this is what happens when sounds DO overlap? i mean if i filter out too much it changes the sound quality and the sound so what do you do in this case. also, is there a good filter/EQ out there that lets you control the frequencies that you cut out a little better and more accurate then hi-filter or low-filter. like is there one that will let you say...i want this sound to have a range between 12-24 or something similar. thats what i need help with...any suggestions on that..
btw, i also think that this is a growing problem in music. one of the most attractive parts to a mix i think is the soundscape thats created...without that you can't have a massive tune...
I'm still looking for a nice VST filter. Any recommendations?
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| Originally posted by hey cheggy I'm still looking for a nice VST filter. Any recommendations? |
The Waldorf D-Pole is the best VST filter I've seen.
If you want to get really detailed, use a multi-band eq plugin like the Waves Q10 Paragraphic EQ.
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| Originally posted by xls The Waldorf D-Pole is the best VST filter I've seen. If you want to get really detailed, use a multi-band eq plugin like the Waves Q10 Paragraphic EQ. |
This is a nice and interresting article about placing instruments in the right frequencybands, so they won�t interfere with each other:
http://www.dnbscene.com/articles.php?mode=display&id=79
For VST filter look at Ohmforce Frohmage (free), or Quad Frohmage for a more powerful one (like the name says, four filters, that you can link in several ways). Very good sounding (even better than the D-pole imo). Ohmforce really has great plugins, their delay is among the best I've heard in software.
As for Waves, they are excellent, but way overpriced (you did pay for them right 
). But they are not the only thing you can look at (I pretty much abandoned most of their plugs except of their compressors, and even then, I'm trying out new stuff). For eq try to look at Elemental Audio stuff. They got two eq's that are rock solid. Equium is more the workhorse EQ, while Firium is more for the surgical precision. They are easy to use and very good sounding (especially firium that is based on FIRF filters).
As for each instrument having it's place in the mix, it can't be more true. Too much producers are just stuffing too much useless stuff in their tunes, to fill up something missing. But they should spend more time finding out first if what's already there can't be made more interesting (90% of the time you have the feeling it's missing something, it's due to the fact that it's too simplistic or obvious, try spicing up things a little by adding some rhythm changes or something like that). In the end it only improve things, because at the mixing stage the tune will be able to "breathe" more. As there are not as much sounds fighting for the same space, they'll come out more clearly, punchy and usually the whole will sound better.
Now a general thing I always do (ok, I'm not making that much music, but it's a very widely used method in any audio application) is to EQ out every unneeded frequency of each channel/instrument, even if you can't hear it from the beginning, this has nothing to do with tayloring the sound, it just "reserves" each instrument to a particular frequency range. The only thing you need for this is a low pass and a high pass EQ, and usually even the ones from your host software suffice (so if you're using Cubase, use the channel EQ's from Cubase for that purpose).
How to proceed? For example, with the lowpass, just set the most steep cutoff you can, and slowly dial the cutoff frequency up until you start noticing a change in the sound. Then back off a little, just to the point that you didn't hear it (or if you want a little "coloration", back of a little so you still hear a change, but reduce the slope of the cutoff). Do the same on the other side of the frequency spectrum with the highpass. Even if you can't really hear major differences on the individual instruments it WILL make a difference in the mixing stage, guaranteed. Unfiltered, the instruments will contain frequencies you won't hear in the mix, but will fight for space, EQ'ing like this will solve a big deal of this. You'll deffinately will notice your mixes will breathe more, and balancing will usually be easier.
What if sounds (frequencies) overlap? This will happen, it's not possible to define discrete spaces for each instrument without any overlap, and if it would be possible, it would sound crap). But that's just the art of making sounds. Usually it's better to change a sound fundamentally instead of trying to EQ the shit out of it. Your aim is to make sounds that play together, but it's a very thin line sometimes between playing and clashing. And mastering that art is 30% talent, 70% listening carefully. That's it. You know, I learned from experience (and from school) that if you have to EQ more than 3db in a corrective way (so to fix stuff that doesn't work), it usually means there is something fundamentally wrong with how the sound was made or recorded. And if the money and time is there, it's always better to redo that sound until it fits, instead of trying to tweak the crap out of a so so one...
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| Originally posted by Floorfiller personally i would love to get a really detailed explanation of how to do this more effectively. everyone always just says use the filters and eq and their you go, but there has to be more to it then that. i want an explanation from an experienced sound engineer that tells me how to learn this talent... i guess the biggest problem that i have when it comes to this is what happens when sounds DO overlap? i mean if i filter out too much it changes the sound quality and the sound so what do you do in this case. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Flotser EXACTLY MY PROBLEM ... when i EQ it realy affects the sounds too so it sucks :\ i realy have no idea how to do a normal mix,also so much times happnes thet when the sounds played together and alone there is a big difference in their volume, but then i try eq and filters and ruin everything... and that thing you said you want between 12 to 24 for example... do you mean a good BAND-Filter? |
I think you should just use a parametric EQ. This can work just like a lp/bp/hp filter and you can adjust much more of the settings. Also when you are eq-ing a track make sure you use a spectral analyzer. This has worked out for me really well. I use Inspector a very good freeware spectral analyzer. You can find one at http://www.kvr-vst.com.
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