check the stickys

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>>check the stickys

the wha? I tried searching, didn't find a right thread.

The stickies... first threads you see when you enter the forum.. the one that says in BIG BOLD letters "PLEASE READ:"... those ones

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...threadid=299037

Scroll down half way... you'll see 3 FAQs about EQing...

Here are my thoughts on EQ'ing

the goal of Eq'ing is to:

• Get rid of muddiness caused by too many sounds sharing the same frequencies
  
• To make your track sound crisp and clean
  
• To minimize rumble and sub 40 Hz frequencies
  
• To eliminate resonant frequencies that cause the listener discomfort or listening fatigue.
  

Rarely boost bands, rather cut the opposite bands.

EQ out any frequencies in a track that are not needed. So, for example, if you have a bass track, roll off pretty much everything above 1kHz and everything below ~50 Hz. Solo the track, listen to the difference, narrow the range, solo and listen to the entire mix to determine how the track now fits into the entire sound of the song. (Roll off = a gradual curve from 0db to - infinity db. Think of a sine wave on the slope down)

the idea here is to minimize the space in the frequncy spectrum that each track uses. Somewhat like putting together a puzzle.

Placing the hihats up top, the snare below, the lead and chords in the center, the bass in the mid lower section, and the kick in the lowest section.

I often find that boosting hihats helps to really sharpen up a track.

Of course, it's going to be different for each track and the style you are trying to convey. So experiement and listen.

quote:

Rarely boost bands, rather cut the opposite bands.

I've heard this advice in many place, but always wondered what the reasons for it are. I find it much easier to boost when needed, and feel guilty without really understanding why!

quote:

Originally posted by jojimbo1 I've heard this advice in many place, but always wondered what the reasons for it are. I find it much easier to boost when needed, and feel guilty without really understanding why!

Well boosting is like turning up the volume and could introduce noise or distortion cause you are raising the noise floor. Kind of like turning the preamps up on your mixer. You could also be distorting by possibly going over the magic digital 0db by raising it. Also, you want to get rid of frequencies you don't need cause if they are there, even if you don't hear them when solo'ing the track, they can be screwing up your mix.

Another thing to keep in mind though: each sound has multiple harmonics that make up the sound. These harmonics are extremely important in solo sections of songs.

Take an arppegiated synth lead in the breakdown of a melodic trance song where it is the only instrument, you may want to have a second track just for that section of the song so you can leave the EQ flat during that section so you can hear all the harmonics of the sound.

The harmonics would just cause problems and muddy up your mix during other parts of the song where it isn't just that instrument playing.

I hope I explained that correctly. let me know if it's confusing.

A lot of this stuff just requires a lot of hands on experience and experimentation to learn how it effects the song and individual sounds.

quote:

Originally posted by jojimbo1 I've heard this advice in many place, but always wondered what the reasons for it are. I find it much easier to boost when needed, and feel guilty without really understanding why!

The explanation of that fact is simple.Of course you can do what you want with a track when you think eq it. The total volume of your track is sum of volumes of all frequencies. When you leave unneeded freq at the same volume and boost up needed one, the entire volume of your track will boost so clipping or distorsion CAN occur. But if you cut the opposite bands the volume will be no more than initial situation, supposing that when you've recorded corectly. The effect is the same except distorsion or clipping cases: THE NEEDED FREQ ARE MORE PERCEPTIBLE
I use the both situations depands of my needs.

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