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Quick Tip: Some Basic Equalization Tips
Recording the Drums – Part 5: It’s All In the Mix – Audio Premium
Workshop #88: Two Heads by Vestis

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 07:20 PM PDT

What is equalization? Equalization (or EQ) doesn't change the frequency in any way really – it's just a frequency volume control.

There are two different types of equalizers used.

Graphic EQ:

Parametric EQ:

The difference is that graphic equalizers are usually used for "Corrective EQ" – turning problem frequencies up or down, for example finding and turning down feedback at a live event. (Problem frequencies tend to be 250 Hz and 1 kHz.) They also have fixed frequency settings so you can't pick and choose what frequency to boost or cut, you alter what you're given.

On the other hand, parametric equalizers are mainly used for "Creative EQ", altering a frequency level until you get something that excites us, but can also be used for corrective EQ. There are no fixed frequencies on a parametric equalizer – you can boost and cut the frequencies that you want.

Basic Controls

There are three basic controls on a parametric EQ. You will sometimes come across Gates etc.
Especially on Graphic Equalizers but I'm just going to talk about the main 3 on parametric.

1. Gain

Gain is of course the volume control, up and down for each frequency you select, they don't usually go above +15dB of gain.

2. Q or B/W (Bandwidth)

Q is the width of the of the frequency you are changing here is an example:

1 and 2 have a very narrow Q. 3 and 4 have a very wide Q. Wide Qs effect a wide range of frequencies, while a narrow Q effects only a narrow band.

3. Frequency

Frequency just allows you to scan up and down the frequency spectrum to find frequencies you do and don't like in your track.

3 Tips on EQ

Tip 1: Cut First, Boost Later

Cut the frequencies you don't want. For example, if you want the low end of your bass to stand out more, don't just boost the lows or you'll add extra gain and noise. You must first cut out some of the high/mid frequencies that you don't want. Don't just take it all out or you'll be left with a very horrible, thin instrument that's missing a lot of the fundamental frequencies.

By cutting Frequencies you don't like, you're also letting other instruments in the overall mix to filter through. This is important if your mix gets a little overcrowded.

This doesn't mean boosting is a bad thing, but do it moderately and subtly. Just make sure you cut out what you don't want first.

Tip 2: Narrow vs Wide Bandwidth

Too often people use an extremely narrow bandwidth to boost frequencies. There is nothing wrong with this really, but a narrow bandwidth will not changing many frequencies at once, and this will eventually cause your instrument to sound very unnatural. Cutting narrow is usually fine for taking out things like feedback and mud for example but for boosting I'd recommend a wider bandwidth.

Tip 3: Bleed/Spill

Bleed can be considered both good and bad in a recording session, but when it comes to EQ and effects it can be quite bad. This is why most people like to record in separate rooms, but trying to record completely dry can lead to very unnatural sounding recordings.

If a snare sound bleeds into your guitar track, when you EQ your guitar you are also going to be changing the sound of the snare. There are ways to fix this but not always perfectly. Gates for example.

The guitar amp is much closer to the microphone than the snare, so the guitar will be louder on that track. Set a gate at a threshold so the track is only in use when the guitar is playing. To battle with this you could try putting an EQ filter or just cut out certain frequencies to try and clean up some of the bleed.

Recording the Drums – Part 5: It’s All In the Mix – Audio Premium

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 04:23 AM PDT

In this week’s Audio Premium content, Bobby Owsinski concludes his series on recording and mixing the drums. This final part is full of techniques, hints and tips from an industry professional.

To learn more about what you get as part of Audio Premium, read this. To take a peek inside this tutorial, hit the jump!

Here’s the last part of my series on drum recording, but this time it’s about what might be the most important topics of all – drum balance and that elusive relationship between the bass and drums.

The act of balancing the level of the individual drums is many times taken for granted, but it shouldn’t be. Here’s how important drum balance is – if your kit isn’t properly balanced, you can never be sure if it’s sounding good while you’re recording. You can really have the sounds dialed but it they’re out of proportion to one another, how can you ever know?

A common drum recording flaw that I frequently see is an engineer working harder and harder on the kick drum sound, EQing, compressing, adding multiple mics, yet never taking into account how it relates to the rest of the drum kit. That’s why I think it’s imperative that every engineer do two things before any serious drum miking begins…

Drum Balance
The Drum Mix
Where to Start From (3 techniques)
The Crucial Drums and Bass Relationship
EQ Tips and Tricks (for snare, kick, bass)
The New York Compression Trick (Parallel Compression)

Existing Premium members can log-in and download. Not a Plus member? Join now.

Workshop #88: Two Heads by Vestis

Posted: 28 Jun 2010 09:00 PM PDT

At Audiotuts+ we irregularly put up a reader track for workshopping and critique (find out how to submit a track). This is how it works: you upload your song, and every week or so we’ll publish one here and step away from the podium. The floor is yours to talk about the track and how the artist can fix problems in and improve upon the mix and the song.

This track has been submitted for your friendly, constructive criticism. They have put their track (and their heart and soul) in your hands to learn and get useful feedback.

Do you enjoy the song or track itself? Does it have potential?
Can the arrangement be improved?
How did you find the mix? What would you do differently?
What do you enjoy about the rhythm track? What can be done to improve it?
Is the choice of instruments relevant and effective for the style/song?
Are the lyrics (if any) effective? Does the style, arrangement and genre of the song suit them?
Can you suggest any specific techniques that might improve the track?
Do you have any other constructive feedback?

Two Heads by Vestis

Description of the track:

I have recently begun the process of building my own recording studio in my apartment. After some time we have finally gotten pretty serious about it and this is our first project. I am interested in feedback on how to make it better!

Download audio file (01TwoHeads.mp3)

Have a listen to the track and offer your constructive criticism for this Workshop in the comments section.

Submit Your Tracks for Workshopping

Need constructive criticism on your own tracks? Submit them using this form.

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010