EQ / Mixing Advice

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Creativemind
Posts: 4875
Joined: 17 Jan 2015
Location: Stoke-On-Trent, England, UK

15 Oct 2017

Hi All!

I've just started a track, a house track.

It has strings, piano and a vocal sample at the moment.

The vocal seemed hidden in the mix so I raised he volume, it seemed to sort it out but are there any EQ tips here?

I took everything out of the strings below 544.56hz, that wasn't the frequency I chose, more the frequency the EQ went to, seemed to not be too accurate. I did this as I figured I didn't need much low end in 5th octave string chords. What EQ tips would people give for strings here?

I then EQ'd the piano, took lows below 92.257hz out and hi shelved everything above 4570hz as it sounded too resonanty. Did this to taste. Same again, EQ tips for piano?

I haven't touched the vocals yet.

Any tips on EQ'ing these 3 instruments appreciated. How would people approach these 3 elements in the mix and would people EQ (like I'm doing) as they go along like this before adding more elements. Obviously more samples are coming. Already chose those and there will obviously be bass, drums and some effects coming later on.

Thanks!
:reason:

Reason Studio's 11.3 / Cockos Reaper 6.82 / Cakewalk By Bandlab / Orion 8.6
http://soundcloud.com/creativemind75/iv ... soul-mix-3

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pushedbutton
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15 Oct 2017

1 Look into the Fletcher Munson Curve.
2 Don't turn things up, turn things down
3 Carve a space for your vocals
4 Parallel Compression
5 here is a pretty chart...
http://www.independentrecording.net/irn ... isplay.htm
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Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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Creativemind
Posts: 4875
Joined: 17 Jan 2015
Location: Stoke-On-Trent, England, UK

15 Oct 2017

I know about the Fletcher / Munson curve. It's the frequency response of your ear.

So you reckon I should've turned the piano and strings down rather than turning the vocal sample up then? If so, what advantages are there to doing that or disadvantages to turning it up?

In what way would parallel compression come into play here?

Looking into that chart got me thinking about the stings I was using. What sounds would they consist of? google says - violins, violas and cello's maybe make up an orchestra string section, and maybe double bass. Doubt double bass would be in the string patch I'm using though. So with multiple instruments there, how would EQ the strings to give it it's own space within my mix? it's kind of similar to Fatorchstring patch in the FSB.
:reason:

Reason Studio's 11.3 / Cockos Reaper 6.82 / Cakewalk By Bandlab / Orion 8.6
http://soundcloud.com/creativemind75/iv ... soul-mix-3

RandomSkratch
Posts: 447
Joined: 10 May 2016

16 Oct 2017

Use the spectrum analyser display in the mixer window. See where your vocals are sitting and then notch that subtly from the strings. For levels, start with 1 element and then bring in the others until it sounds good.

Maybe utilise a loudness meterting plugin. Look up LUFS. A good trick is using pink noise to get in the general vicinity of a balanced mix. Make your frequency response curve look like pink noise (Google the trick).

If you're adding more things just do that first then worry about tweaking everything. Unless there's a glaring issue or something.

Sorry my response is a bit all over the map... Just get everything leveled first. Then mix. Don't forget to use the gain knob at the input section of mixer to boost or lower until you're at your chosen level and use the faders for fine tuning.

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AttenuationHz
Posts: 2048
Joined: 20 Mar 2015
Location: Back of the Rack-1

17 Oct 2017

Here's a not so pretty version of the chart. Each octave of music scale is always double the previous frequency ;)
FreqHz.JPG
FreqHz.JPG (76.16 KiB) Viewed 706 times
Less is more, Subtle is what you want to aim for i.e. -0.5 to +2dB. If you are using crazy curves for EQ settings then there is probably something wrong with the sound. Most people who will listen to music (and not make it) will only notice a sound increase in increments of about 3dB. Often when you use hi Q settings EQ to eliminate a certain frequency it will also have an effect on the harmonics of the fundamental frequency. Also When using high q if you decrease a frequency it can have the opposite effect and adds that frequency post EQ. This can sometimes work to your advantage if a kick is lacking bottom end, By routing the kick into a gate you can get some decay/release/dynamic range back.
It is not too much of an ask for people or things to be the best version of itself!

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Marco Raaphorst
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Joined: 22 Jan 2015
Location: The Hague, The Netherlands
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17 Oct 2017

If a vocal sounds 'hidden' to me that sounds like the volume is too low. Or do you mean it lacks transparency?

I think I never do a vocal without the EQ + compression combination. Compression on vocals is the main trick imo. Not all compressors sound good on vocals and we all have a different taste. But to push a vocal upfront in the mix, the compressor is key imo, but with EQ, always.

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