EQ mixing Help!

PaPa

PaPa

Major Contributor
hey all, trying to mix and Eq my bands stuff and having one HELL of a time.


i just cant seem to get the hangs of it, no amtter how hard i try.

im using Cubase as editor.

Someone who is knowledged in this area please help me.

song is on our myspace page.

www.myspace.com/mosaicmontreal

Especially help with the vocal Eqing as well as everything else. As the singer i am relaly picky with our stuff, and its freaking tough to get an album out.

its When Red Bleed Test2
 
well just have a listen to it. listen to the quality and see what needs to be tweaked. im getting tunnel vision sicne i hear it soo often.
 
Hmmm it would be helpful if you could be a bit more specific about what you want to achieve. However, to start with, you might want to separate your sounds a bit by reserving some areas of the spectrum for some sounds, by notching out the others a bit in those frequencies. It sounds to me (albeit in the compressed mp3) that you have a lot of contention, e.g., between the vocals and the guitar, and even some between the lead and backing vocals...
 
i just want a more complete sound

I'm not sure how to be more specific. But i want to have a more complete sound, a more full sound. Something about mastering as well, what are the processes that go on ther and how is that achieved?
 
Not Bad

Not Bad

It's near impossible to 'fix' a mix beyond a certain point. The fact that you say your 'tunnel visioned' from hearing it too much says as much.
It is even harder to tell, let alone give constructive criticism without hearing the original individual tracks in a proper environment.
Generally when you get to this point it means two things. (A) No further improvement can be made without improving the source mix and (B) It is time to accept that this is the best you can do as far as this project goes.
One thing I have learned after 20 years behind the console is, when you play back your tracks months or years later, you say to yourself, "that was pretty good."

Your mix is reasonably good. If you are mastering your own product just make sure the crucial balance of "bass/mid & treble" are exactly right. Listen to it on several different systems.

P.S. The song and performance are excellent. The use of space in the music is EXCELLENT. Make sure you don't destroy the dynamics and master a "brick." You've got a great band. If you have a video make sure I see it.
Akira
 
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thanks man

i do know that a higher quality mix is possible. The clean tracks are quite well recorded with some nice shure mics. Its just a question of learnong how to EQ a guitar track, Snare drum, kick, vocals, bass, yadda yadda, so that when i mix it all together, there is a multitude of frequencies that are loud, but not so loud that they create noise.

i wonder where i could learn about this stuff online?
 
As others have said, there's no "right way" to EQ music, (although there might be some wrong ways) so I think you'll be hard pressed to find online forums or sites that could provide what you're looking for. If you used mics designed for the purpose you used them, there's little corrective equalization you should need to do. As far as artistic EQ and mixing, I'd find a few professionally mixed albulms of bands that your band sounds similar to. Find a GOOD listening evironment (recording studio if possible with reference monitors) and listen to them over and over taking notes of how the different instruments fit together. Which are higher/ lower, louder/ softer, hard panned/ centered. (If you still like the songs, you probably haven't listened enough. ;-) )
 
Ditto to what has already been said; there is no "right" mix, but certainly a thousand wrong ones. Your clip sounds pretty good on my headphones. If it were me I would bring up the drums and bassa touch, especially in the lows. As Ullanta said, you might want to create a little pocket in the guitar for the vocals to come out more. But overall it sounds pretty nice.

Agree with Sound Chaser, you guys have a very nice sound. I would check you guys out live if you ever in Seattle.

Cheers
 
tried another hand at the Eqing.

give another listen, and tel me what else needs to be fixed.
 
Jonathan,

As others have commented eqing at this stage in your production cycle is really more about taste and preference than "fixing" anything. After listening to your song my own preference would be a tad, just a tad, less reverb with a bit more upper bass - lower midrange on your vocal to fill out your voice a bit more. If you'd like a bit more punch adding a little compression - not much - to the vocal could be useful. Otherwise, to my taste sounds very good.

Mike
 
Drum EQ tips

Drum EQ tips

I don't have time to write an article on EQ. Not only is it extensive, but it constantly changes as you make other adjustments to your mix. So I will only briefly comment on drums which along with bass guitar are the foundation of your mix. The entire mix is built around the proper 'seating' of the kick and the bass guitar.

For most contemporary music where the instruments are close miced and multitracked, the kick drum is the very first track to be laid and the very first track to be EQ'd. In DAW systems this is where the EQ process gets screwed up because by the point you are now, too many changes have been made so you loose track of where you really are. Result....you become lost in the mix.

Drum sounds are composed of two main fundamentals. (a) the attack, or the sound of the stick hitting the skin and (b) the body of the instrument--the main tonality. In most drums the 'attack' is at 3K2Hz (3,200Hz) This is why vintage Neve consoles have a specific set frequency point at this range. Depending on the type of music the attack on a kick maybe a little lower, say 1K8 but, personally I favor 3K2. The main body of the kick (depending on the instrument) is 60Hz. Frequencies which are multiples of 30Hz have a very "solid" impact musical sound. 30, 60, 120. Frequencies which are multiples of 40Hz tend to be a little honkey. 40,80, 160. 160Hz in particualr is a known disaster frequency in FOH (front of house) applications, which is why every 1/3 octave equalizer has that fixed point in their spectrum. Multiples of 50Hz have a full 'rounded' sound. 100Hz in particular. 50Hz often has a drone or 'hang' time; it is often the loudest fundamental in the response of many monitors.
Snare drum again has it's main attack @ 3K2, but the actual snares are higher, around 8-10K with harmonics above 20K. Again the main body of the drum is in the 100-200 range, but for the reasons I stated above, 120Hz provides a great smack. Snare is also a full range instrument and in some styles of music a midrange punch is favored bypassing the lower spectrum mentioned. If you listen to various recordings since the 70's to present day along with a variety of styles, snare is the one instrument that changes in production. It generally sits higher in the mix equal to the lead vox.
Toms again, the attack is 3K2 but, I favor the rounded respose of 100Hz for the body.
Overheads require a good matched pair of condensors which need not be of the expensive variety. Rarely should they be equalized as 'pencil' condensors have a rising top end. EQ will generally destroy the balance of the kit as anywhere from 20-80% of the entire drum mix comes from over heads depending on the type of music--jazz in particular.

While these rules mainly apply to 'miced' drum kits, the same rules of EQ apply to digital samples. However be aware that a properly recorded sample should have these 'tones' in abundance within their parameters. The EQ points I have mentioned will provide impact to your recording and make them stand out in the mix, but....beware of a good thing as over doing it will have the opposite effect.
 
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Here is an idea for you PaPa. Post the raw tracks and see if you can get someone to mix it for you. If they do a good job, you can get all the info from them. I'm serious, the best way to learn is by example.

My comments after hearing the track are not really eq related. IMHO, the reverb needs de-essing or some eq because I feel it is too splashy. The electric guitar needs a bit more compression to smooth it out. The acoustic slides in very nicely. The drums sound very phasey to me. It sounds like you might have some phase related issues either in the recording or as a result of plugins altering the phase relationship with delay.
 
wabbit said:
Ditto to what has already been said; there is no "right" mix, but certainly a thousand wrong ones. Your clip sounds pretty good on my headphones. If it were me I would bring up the drums and bassa touch, especially in the lows. As Ullanta said, you might want to create a little pocket in the guitar for the vocals to come out more. But overall it sounds pretty nice.

Agree with Sound Chaser, you guys have a very nice sound. I would check you guys out live if you ever in Seattle.

Cheers
Click to expand...

well, when we get this album out, well be sure to make our way around ( if we get good audience approval from the canadian folks )

so i read about the phase cancellation, all of my mics, from what i read, were properly placed, just no mic under the snare as we dont have enough for that, only 6 for the drums
1 snare
1 kick
2 overheads
1 for the two tom toms
and 1 for the floor


in terms of mic quality, im not using the best mics in the world, but i have heard what these mics can do and i am convinced that i can still achieve a better sound with better mixing and EQing,

its the 6 piece drum micing kit from SHURE

i use the overhead condensors for my vocals, and an SM57 for the guitar amps.

Edit in Cubase, as well as mixing.

Does one need a specific program for mastering? Cause from what i know of it, its compression, and EQ'ing, but it cant just be that simple?

When i make songs, and mix to my best ability, with compression and all, its still never quite as loud compared to album songs. Ill have to pump mine up a good 3 to 4 volume levels higher to match the volume.

hmmm, lots to learn here.
 
PaPa said:
i just want a more complete sound

I'm not sure how to be more specific. But i want to have a more complete sound, a more full sound.
Click to expand...

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the recording process. In general it all starts at the source. Achieving a more complete, full sounding mix starts with what you lay down. The mics and preamps used are extremely important. $400 for 6 mics is not going to get you major studio CD quality recordings no matter how much EQing and mixing you do. Using the overhead from this kit as a vocal mic is certainly not going to help in achieving a full, complete sounding vocal track. A large diaphram condensor mic like an AKG 414 plugged into a decent tube pre-amp will get you closer to your desired sound.
I think for the equipment used, you have achieved pretty good results, so dont be too hard on yourself.
 
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