IntroductionWelcome| 00:04 | Hi! I am Brian Lee White and
welcome to Foundations of Audio: EQ and Filters.
| | 00:10 | In this course, we'll look at a
variety of equalizer and filter techniques,
| | 00:14 | including parametric, shelving,
high-pass, and low-pass filter shapes.
| | 00:20 | I will start by covering the
fundamentals of a soundwave's frequency
| | 00:24 | and amplitude.
| | 00:25 | Then I will break down the common
controls of an EQ and show you how to create
| | 00:29 | definition, clarity, and focus in your mix.
| | 00:33 | (music playing)
| | 00:39 | I'll demonstrate how to EQ in context
and create complementary EQ curves, use EQ
| | 00:45 | in unique and creative ways to find a
signature sound, and effectively read a
| | 00:49 | real-time frequency analyzer.
| | 00:52 | I will then explain how to EQ your FX
returns to increase mix clarity and shape
| | 00:57 | the tails of reverb and delay.
| | 00:58 | I will cover techniques including
frequency bracketing, EQ automation, and
| | 01:05 | using software models of vintage hardware.
| | 01:09 | Lastly, I'll discuss best practices
for when and how to use EQ and filters
| | 01:13 | in your mixes.
(music playing)
| | 01:20 | Throughout the course, I will also
provide you with guided exercise content in
| | 01:24 | the form of Get in the Mix
demonstration sessions that you can open up in your
| | 01:28 | own digital audio workstation.
| | 01:30 | Now, let's get started
with Foundations of Audio: EQ and Filters.
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| What you should know before watching this course| 00:00 | In this course, we will be covering
many basic and advanced topics about
| | 00:04 | equalization and filtering.
| | 00:07 | While I don't presume that you
have any knowledge of these topics,
| | 00:10 | I do recommend having some
basic working knowledge of a digital
| | 00:13 | audio workstation.
| | 00:15 | If you need a refresher on the basics
of digital audio recording, mixing, and
| | 00:20 | signal flow, you may want to check out
the Essential Training course appropriate
| | 00:25 | for your digital audio workstation in
the lynda.com Online Training Library.
| | 00:30 | Otherwise, if you're ready, I'm ready.
| | 00:33 | Let's get started!
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| Using the exercise files| 00:00 | If you're a Premium member of the
lynda.com Online Training Library or if you're
| | 00:05 | watching this tutorial on a DVD-ROM,
you also have access to the raw audio
| | 00:09 | material used to create the exercise
content, as well as many other audio
| | 00:13 | examples featured throughout the course.
| | 00:16 | Inside the Exercise Files folder,
you'll find a folder for each chapter
| | 00:20 | containing the WAV files
used throughout the course.
| | 00:23 | These files can be imported into your
own digital audio workstation and used to
| | 00:27 | follow along with the material.
| | 00:30 | If you're a Monthly member or Annual
member of lynda.com, you don't have
| | 00:34 | access to the RAW audio files, but you
can follow along from scratch with your own assets.
| | 00:40 | For members at all subscription levels,
I provided you with guiding exercise
| | 00:44 | content in the form of Get in the
Mix demonstration sessions that you can
| | 00:48 | open up in your own DAW.
| | 00:51 | Watch the video about the Get in the Mix
content to learn more about this unique
| | 00:55 | learning experience.
| | 00:56 | Let's get started!
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| Using the "Get In the Mix" Pro Tools and Logic Pro session files| 00:00 | This course features Get in the Mix
exercise content, living sessions with
| | 00:05 | built-in demonstrations and practice
material for you to use with your own
| | 00:09 | digital audio workstation, or DAW.
| | 00:12 | So download that content package and
get in the mix with Foundations of Audio:
| | 00:17 | EQ and Filters.
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|
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1. Understanding Frequency and AmplitudeWhat are frequency and amplitude?| 00:00 | Before getting into the nuts and bolts
of equalizers and filters, it's important
| | 00:05 | to take a step back and
examine some of the basics of sound.
| | 00:09 | Sound is made up of waves of energy
that oscillate back and forth through a medium.
| | 00:15 | Usually the medium is air, but
sound can also travel through solids like
| | 00:19 | drywall or liquids like water.
| | 00:22 | Soundwaves create an invisible push
and pull of the air particles around us,
| | 00:27 | and our ears perceive and translate
these waves into nerve impulses that are
| | 00:31 | sent to our brain.
| | 00:32 | For example, when you play music from
your speakers, the speaker cone moves in
| | 00:38 | and out, creating changes in the
pressure of the air. The resulting soundwaves
| | 00:44 | are picked up by our ears, and our brain
translates them into sound information.
| | 00:49 | Soundwaves are generally
measured across two dimensions:
| | 00:53 | frequency and amplitude.
| | 00:56 | Frequency is the oscillation speed of
the wave, or the rate of push and pull
| | 01:01 | of air particles.
| | 01:03 | Higher frequencies, or faster push and
pull of air particles, produce higher-
| | 01:08 | pitched sounds, while lower
frequencies, or slower push and pull, create
| | 01:13 | lower-pitched sounds.
| | 01:16 | When measuring the frequency of a
soundwave, we chart the speed or rate of
| | 01:21 | change in this push and pull of pressure.
| | 01:24 | Amplitude is the amount of energy in
the waveform, representing the power or
| | 01:29 | depth of the push and pull.
| | 01:31 | Higher amplitudes create louder
sounds, while lower amplitudes make
| | 01:35 | quieter sounds.
| | 01:37 | Likewise, when measuring the amplitude
of a soundwave, we chart the amount of
| | 01:42 | change in atmospheric pressure.
| | 01:44 | When particles of air are packed
together tightly, indicating higher
| | 01:48 | pressure, we chart this push, or
positive value on the graph, and it's called
| | 01:53 | a compression.
| | 01:55 | Pulls, or negative values on the graph
where air particles are more spread out,
| | 02:00 | are called rarefactions.
| | 02:03 | The height of these compressions and
rarefactions on the graph indicates
| | 02:06 | the amplitude, which is directly
proportional to the loudness of the sound perceived.
| | 02:12 | In other words, the greater the
amplitude of a soundwave, the louder we will
| | 02:16 | experience the sound.
| | 02:19 | Later in this course, we'll move into
the studio to work with frequency and
| | 02:22 | amplitude using equalizers and filters.
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| Measuring frequency| 00:00 | Frequency, or the speed at which a
soundwave oscillates back and forth, is
| | 00:05 | measured in cycles per
second, or hertz for short.
| | 00:09 | In a graph charting amplitude Y, over
time X, frequency is the rate of change in
| | 00:17 | amplitude, or how many times the
waveform cycles up and down per second.
| | 00:23 | A 100 Hz tone pushes and pulls a
speaker cone 100 times per second, while a 1
| | 00:28 | kHz tone would push and pull that
same speaker cone 1,000 times per second.
| | 00:35 | As frequency increases, so does
the perceived pitch of the soundwave.
| | 00:40 | It's generally accepted that humans
can perceive sounds from about 20 Hz to
| | 00:45 | 20,000 Hz, or 20 to 20.
| | 00:48 | Although sounds under 100 Hz are
felt more than they are heard as the
| | 00:53 | low-frequency vibrations resonate in
our chest, more so than in eardrums.
| | 00:58 | Likewise, our acuity for hearing
higher-frequency sounds diminishes with age.
| | 01:04 | As we grow older, or prematurely damage
our hearing from over-exposure to loud
| | 01:09 | environments, our ability to hear
high frequencies can be severely reduced,
| | 01:15 | sometimes to well under 10,000 Hz and
lower, effectively cutting in half are 20 to 20.
| | 01:22 | This is why it is important to
protect your hearing in loud environments,
| | 01:26 | as your ability to perceive a wide range
of frequencies will ultimately help you
| | 01:30 | learn and use equalization better.
| | 01:33 | But while frequency determines the
pitch of a soundwave, that's only half the story.
| | 01:39 | Amplitude. or the amount of energy in
a soundwave's frequency oscillations,
| | 01:43 | determines its perceived loudness,
which we'll discuss in the next movie.
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| Measuring amplitude | 00:00 | We've discussed frequency as the
oscillation speed of the soundwave, but what
| | 00:05 | about the other dimension, amplitude?
| | 00:08 | A waveform's amplitude, or amount of
push and pull, can be measured using sound
| | 00:13 | pressure level, or SPL.
| | 00:16 | SPL is a logarithmic scale
measured in decibels, or dB, above a
| | 00:22 | standard reference level.
| | 00:23 | The standard reference level most
commonly used for the starting point of 0
| | 00:29 | dB is 20 micropascals RMS.
| | 00:33 | Pascals are unit of
measurement for pressure or stress.
| | 00:37 | 20 micropascals is usually considered
the threshold of human hearing at 1k.
| | 00:45 | The decibel scale is a
logarithmic measurement scale.
| | 00:49 | Turning up an audio signal's volume
by 1 dB is basically imperceptible.
| | 00:54 | For most of us, it takes at least a
3 dB increase for us to notice it.
| | 00:59 | However, because of its logarithmic
scaling, the loudness escalates quickly.
| | 01:05 | A 10 dB increase represents a perceived
doubling of loudness, and an increase of
| | 01:11 | 20 dB is about four times as loud.
| | 01:15 | Sound confusing? Don't worry.
| | 01:17 | All you need to remember is that 0 dB
marks the threshold of our ability to sense
| | 01:22 | sound, and as dBs increase, amplitude
increases, and so does the perceived
| | 01:27 | loudness of the soundwave.
| | 01:29 | For example, a quiet room has a noise
floor about 20 to 30 dB, while a normal
| | 01:37 | conversation at the dinner
table sits it at around 40 to 60 dB.
| | 01:42 | An average vacuum cleaner is about 80 dB,
while front row at a rock concert gets
| | 01:48 | up to around 120 dB.
| | 01:51 | Beyond that, our threshold of
physical pain starts at about 130 dB.
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| The perception of frequency and amplitude| 00:00 | Together, frequency and amplitude make
up the pitch and loudness of the sound
| | 00:04 | we experience.
| | 00:06 | At this point, it's important to note
that humans do not perceive amplitude
| | 00:10 | levels at all frequencies equally.
| | 00:13 | That is to say, a 1000 Hz tone played at
80 dB SPL would actually seem louder to
| | 00:19 | us than a 10,000 Hz tone played at 80 DB SPL.
| | 00:24 | Take a listen to this 500 Hz tone.
| | 00:26 | Headphones work best for this example.
| | 00:28 | (music playing)
| | 00:33 | Now listen to this 10k tone
played back at the same exact level.
| | 00:37 | (music playing)
| | 00:42 | Notice that the 10K tone, while
noticeably higher in pitch, seems a bit quieter.
| | 00:49 | Now, listen to the 500 Hz tone
played back to back with the 10K tone.
| | 00:54 | This time the 10K tone will be
increased by approximately 10 dB.
| | 00:58 | (music playing)
| | 01:07 | You see, in order to hear the 10K tone
at the same perceived level as the 500 Hz
| | 01:13 | tone, it had to be increased by
about 10 dB to sound roughly the same. But why?
| | 01:20 | Our human ears are tuned to be most
sensitive between 2 and 5K, where the
| | 01:25 | resonance of our ear canal is the strongest.
| | 01:28 | This is by design.
| | 01:30 | Curiously, a human baby's cry is
centered around 3500 Hz, and the intelligibility
| | 01:36 | and detail of most speech
occupies the same frequency range.
| | 01:41 | Our ability to perceive various
amplitude levels at different frequencies is
| | 01:45 | best described by an
equal-loudness contour graph.
| | 01:48 | Equal-loudness contours were first
measured by Fletcher and Munson in 1933.
| | 01:56 | Because of this, the graphs are
commonly referred to as Fletcher-Munson curves.
| | 02:02 | This graph measures the SPL that a
tone cycling from lower to higher
| | 02:07 | frequencies would have to be adjusted
for a human to perceive that tone at the
| | 02:12 | same level throughout the entire
frequency range, just like we heard earlier
| | 02:17 | with the 500 Hz and 10K example.
| | 02:21 | Notice on the graph that lower- and
higher-pitched frequencies have to be played
| | 02:26 | back at higher SPL levels to maintain a
constant perception of equal loudness,
| | 02:31 | while the dip around our sweet
spot of 2 to 5K requires less SPL.
| | 02:37 | It is also important to note that this
graph changes as the reference level of
| | 02:43 | the 1K bass tone increases,
becoming slightly more even at louder SPLs.
| | 02:50 | This is measured in phons, a scale
designed to compensate for the effect of
| | 02:54 | frequency on the perceived loudness of tones.
| | 02:58 | In other words, our ears have a flatter
frequency response at louder listening
| | 03:03 | levels, which is why you will often
hear engineers discuss the importance of
| | 03:08 | calibrated monitoring environments,
where they can achieve a consistent
| | 03:12 | listening level, or SPL
from day to day, mix to mix.
| | 03:15 | While I might take advantage of the
flatter frequency response my ears provide
| | 03:22 | at 80 plus SPL listening levels,
| | 03:25 | I personally do not hard-fix my
monitoring levels at any one SPL for the
| | 03:30 | entire mixing process.
| | 03:32 | For one, I find mixing at that high
of an SPL to be especially fatiguing,
| | 03:37 | so I've learned to mix at lower levels,
and adapt to changes in my hearing in
| | 03:42 | favor of being able to mix for
longer periods of time between breaks.
| | 03:47 | Also, I know the end listener will
ultimately be listening at a variety of
| | 03:52 | levels, so I do the same,
| | 03:54 | listening to the mix at both loud
and soft SPL levels, and everywhere in between.
| | 04:00 | Understanding the equal-loudness
contour and how humans perceive different
| | 04:04 | frequencies at different amplitude
levels is important when learning how to use
| | 04:08 | EQs and filters, since we will be
using these tools to control and alter the
| | 04:13 | frequency and amplitude relationship of sounds.
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| Frequency and pitch| 00:00 | We now know that the speed at which a
waveform oscillates is its frequency, but
| | 00:06 | when this oscillation is periodic or
repeats at the same oscillation speed over
| | 00:11 | a series of cycles, we perceive
the sound as a specific pitch.
| | 00:16 | The faster the periodic oscillation,
the higher the pitch we will perceive.
| | 00:21 | Think of it this way.
| | 00:22 | I'm sure everyone is played with a
rubber band stretched between two fingers.
| | 00:27 | Plucking that rubber band will yield an
oscillation at a specific speed, where
| | 00:31 | the rubber band quickly moves back and
forth, cycling so many times per second.
| | 00:37 | Now if that rubber band is stretched
more tightly across two fingers, striking
| | 00:42 | it again yields a much faster
oscillation, and if you listen carefully, you can
| | 00:47 | probably hear those vibrations as
sound waves of a specific pitch.
| | 00:52 | This same basic principle
applies to all stringed instruments.
| | 00:56 | A string of a certain tension is fixed
at two points. The length of that string
| | 01:01 | and its tension combined to create a
specific frequency at which it will
| | 01:05 | oscillate when struck.
| | 01:06 | When that string is placed under a
higher tension, tightening the tuning peg, or
| | 01:12 | when the string length is reduced,
fretting at a higher position of the neck, the
| | 01:16 | string now oscillates much faster when
struck, and thus produces a higher pitch.
| | 01:22 | When an instrument like our guitar
generates a sound wave, the frequency at
| | 01:28 | which the entire wave
vibrates is known as the fundamental.
| | 01:31 | The fundamental of a waveform
contains the most power or amplitude and thus
| | 01:37 | defines the perceived pitch of the note.
| | 01:39 | For example, playing an open A string
on a guitar tuned normally produces its
| | 01:45 | strongest vibration at 110 Hz.
(music playing)
| | 01:53 | In other words, the entire
waveform moves back and forth at 110 times per second.
| | 02:00 | If I were to pluck that same A twelve
frets up the neck, effectively halving the
| | 02:05 | string length, I would produce a fundamental of 220 Hz.
(music playing)
| | 02:13 | This would be referred to as one octave
higher, and represents a doubling of the
| | 02:18 | fundamental frequency. But why does a
guitar's open A sound different than a
| | 02:22 | piano playing that same note, since
they both vibrate at the exact same
| | 02:27 | fundamental of 110 Hz?
| | 02:31 | Unless it's a pure tone like a sine
wave other higher-frequency waveforms or
| | 02:36 | overtones generally travel along
with this fundamental waveform.
| | 02:40 | All of the frequency components that
make up the total waveform, including the
| | 02:45 | fundamental and the
overtones, are called partials.
| | 02:49 | Think of these partials as different
frequency pieces at different amplitude
| | 02:53 | strings, all adding up
into one complex sound wave.
| | 02:58 | So that open A string with the
fundamental at 110 Hz would also excite the first
| | 03:04 | octave at 220 Hz with slightly less
amplitude than the fundamental, the octave
| | 03:10 | and the fifth at 330 Hz, the
second octave at 440 Hz, and so on.
| | 03:17 | Together the fundamental and the
overtones add up to form the harmonic series.
| | 03:22 | A note's fundamental frequency along
with its overtones and other non-pitch-
| | 03:27 | related resonant frequency energy
combine together to create the pitch and
| | 03:32 | complex timbre or tonal
character of that instrument.
| | 03:35 | So a piano playing an A note--
(music playing)
| | 03:45 | --in the same octave as a guitar--
(music playing)
| | 03:54 | --sounds different because the piano excites the
| | 03:57 | harmonic series differently than the guitar does.
| | 04:01 | In fact, two pianos playing the same
note would likely sound at least a little
| | 04:05 | different for the same reason,
| | 04:08 | as many complex factors, including the
shape, material, and resonate qualities
| | 04:12 | of the unique instrument factor into
its frequency content and how it excites
| | 04:17 | the harmonic series.
| | 04:19 | Even the way an instrument is
performed can change these qualities.
| | 04:23 | I doubt anyone but B.B. King could
make his guitar Lucille sound just so.
| | 04:28 | Most instruments have a frequency range
and harmonic series that live within the
| | 04:33 | human range of hearing, and there are
many charts that you can reference to
| | 04:37 | determine the general frequency
range of a specific instrument.
| | 04:42 | These charts can be excellent
references when learning to work with the
| | 04:45 | frequency domain of your recordings,
because for the most part, EQs and filters
| | 04:50 | will not reference pitches like middle
C or D-flat specifically, but will use
| | 04:55 | frequencies measured in hertz
to define the area of interest.
| | 05:00 | It's worth mentioning that in the end
you should always use your ears, not a
| | 05:04 | frequency chart, to tell whether or not
an instrument is sitting correctly in the
| | 05:08 | mix, but there's no shame in
referencing these charts to help point yourself in
| | 05:12 | the right direction.
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2. Using EqualizersWhat is an equalizer?| 00:00 | Even if you don't know it, you've
probably used an equalizer or EQ at some point
| | 00:05 | in your life, probably on a car
stereo, boom box, or home theater system.
| | 00:11 | I like to think of EQ as
frequency-specific level control.
| | 00:14 | While a typical volume or level control
in your mixer allows you to increase or
| | 00:20 | decrease the amplitude of an entire
channel's signal uniformly, an EQ allows you
| | 00:26 | to increase or decrease the
amplitude of a specific range of frequencies
| | 00:31 | relative to everything else in the
sound or instrument that you apply it to.
| | 00:36 | Want more bass? Boost the low frequencies.
| | 00:39 | Too much top end? Cut the
treble or high frequencies.
| | 00:43 | Sounds simple? In many ways it really is.
| | 00:47 | In audio recording EQs, or filters as
some engineers prefer to call them, are most
| | 00:52 | often used to improve a sound's
balance or tone, either by itself or in the
| | 00:58 | context of other sounds in a mix.
| | 01:02 | EQ is used to fix sound problems as well
as shape or creatively change a sound's
| | 01:08 | tone in wild and unique ways.
| | 01:11 | We often refer to EQs as filters
because they literally filter or isolate a
| | 01:16 | specific portion of the signal's
frequency spectrum relative to the rest of the signal.
| | 01:22 | In this course, we'll use the terms
equalizer, EQ, and filter synonymously.
| | 01:28 | If this sounds confusing, imagine
an EQ as a frequency mixer for a
| | 01:34 | specific track in your mix.
| | 01:36 | In fact, a graphic equalizer is just that, a
mixer-like tool that allows you to raise
| | 01:42 | and lower the relative levels of the
low- to high-frequency content across the
| | 01:46 | entire range of the instrument.
| | 01:48 | So if you want a more snap in a snare
simply raising the entire level of the
| | 01:54 | snare in the mix isn't going to achieve
that; you need to use EQ to turn up or
| | 01:59 | boost the relative levels of the snap
frequencies, which might be somewhere
| | 02:03 | between 3 and 5 kHz.
| | 02:04 | When volume and pan aren't enough to
shape a track in the mix, an EQ can help
| | 02:11 | you reshape or refocus a
track's frequency bounce,
| | 02:14 | adding more amplitude to certain
frequencies or taking away amplitude from others.
| | 02:20 | This enables you to push the sound
forward, pull it back, or otherwise hone its
| | 02:25 | place in priority amongst the
other instruments in the mix.
| | 02:29 | In many cases EQ is used in an attempt
to improve mistakes or compromises made
| | 02:35 | during the recording process, where
the original recording has left something to be desired,
| | 02:40 | like on a guitar recorded with too much
low end or a vocalist recorded through a
| | 02:45 | less-than-ideal mic that has an
unflattering EQ curve. But EQ can also be used
| | 02:50 | to make already-great-sounding
instruments work better together in context.
| | 02:55 | For example, an acoustic guitar's
fundamental and lower overtone frequencies may
| | 03:00 | be masking or obscuring the same
frequencies shared by the lead vocal.
| | 03:05 | Reducing the entire level of the guitar
would not be an ideal solution, as some
| | 03:10 | of the higher overtones and
harmonics may be providing a nice melodic and
| | 03:14 | rhythmic complement to the
tune that we want to maintain.
| | 03:18 | An EQ would allow us to reduce or
turn down only the lower fundamental
| | 03:23 | frequencies while leaving the
higher overtones and harmonics intact,
| | 03:27 | helping it sit correctly in the mix
against the vocal and other elements.
| | 03:31 | (music playing)
| | 03:57 | Ultimately, we'll find that EQ can be
used for creative tasks as well as for
| | 04:01 | corrective ones, but for whatever the
reason, when you don't like the current
| | 04:06 | frequency makeup or tone of a specific
track or tracks, you can reach for an EQ
| | 04:11 | or filter to change it.
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| Hardware and software EQ| 00:00 | Truth be told, there are more EQ and
filter tools in the market than I care to count.
| | 00:05 | It's no surprise that producers and
engineers often become quickly overwhelmed
| | 00:10 | with the number of choices.
| | 00:12 | Even though all the complex interfaces,
graphs, and knobs may look radically
| | 00:16 | different from each other, the reality
is that all equalizers today are pretty
| | 00:21 | much designed on the same principles
as the ones from a few decades ago,
| | 00:26 | and learning the fundamental concepts
behind them and the basic techniques for
| | 00:30 | using them in your mixes translate
surprisingly well across both hardware and
| | 00:35 | software processors.
| | 00:37 | Think about it this way.
| | 00:39 | If you can drive a Honda, you
can certainly drive a Toyota.
| | 00:42 | It might take a few minutes to get
used to the controls and you may not
| | 00:46 | understand the full feature set that the
car offers, but once you know how to
| | 00:49 | drive, you can pretty much drive
anything and get from point A to point B. Now
| | 00:55 | some cars can zero to sixty in under five seconds,
while others were designed to take it
| | 01:00 | slow and smooth.
| | 01:02 | EQs are no different.
| | 01:04 | Some work best for precision
carving and transparent tweaking, adding no
| | 01:08 | artifacts, while others are
designed to color the signal, adding warmth and sheen.
| | 01:15 | EQs can exist as plug-in-based
software programs that run inside your DAW--
| | 01:19 | otherwise known as in the box--or as
output processors that are built into a
| | 01:24 | channel strip of a console or exist
as separate hardware pieces in a rack.
| | 01:30 | In this course, we'll take advantage
of some of the factory-bundled plug-ins
| | 01:34 | included with the most popular DAWs,
as well as the industry-standard Waves
| | 01:38 | plug-ins, a popular third-party choice
that works in almost any DAW as well as
| | 01:44 | many digital consoles.
| | 01:46 | Although we will look at a number
of fantastic tools throughout this
| | 01:49 | course, everything I will be showing
you will easily translate to the EQs
| | 01:54 | you have access to.
| | 01:55 | So let's get started.
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| Understanding frequency and gain EQ controls| 00:00 | The two most important controls in
any equalizer are frequency and gain.
| | 00:06 | Just like the two dimensions of sound
waves--frequency and amplitude--the
| | 00:10 | frequency and gain controls are the
heart of the EQ and allow us to apply
| | 00:15 | amplitude changes to
specific ranges of frequencies.
| | 00:19 | An EQ's frequency control tells the EQ
where to increase or decrease a signal's
| | 00:25 | amplitude, while the gain
control tells the EQ how much.
| | 00:31 | Listen to this audio example as I
increase the gain control and sweep through the
| | 00:35 | range of frequencies from low to high.
| | 00:38 | (music playing)
| | 01:00 | An increase in gain is
often referred to as a boost.
| | 01:04 | Now listen again to an audio example
as I decrease the gain control and sweep
| | 01:10 | through the range of frequencies.
| | 01:11 | (music playing)
| | 01:33 | A decrease in gain is
often referred to as a cut.
| | 01:38 | An EQ's frequency and gain controls
allow us to reshape a signal's amplitude
| | 01:43 | across the frequency spectrum.
| | 01:45 | By boosting or cutting a signal's
amplitude over various frequency bands, we
| | 01:50 | can work towards a more idealized
frequency balance to help an instrument sit
| | 01:55 | better in a mix.
| | 01:57 | Many EQs show their frequency and gain
relationship in an X-Y graph, with each
| | 02:03 | band displayed as a breakpoint,
visually representing where gain is being added
| | 02:08 | or subtracted to the
frequency range of the signal.
| | 02:12 | But there are plenty of EQs, including
many vintage and vintage-modeled ones
| | 02:16 | that have no graphic display
of the affected frequencies.
| | 02:20 | They simply show the gain and
frequency controls as marks on a dial or knob.
| | 02:25 | Many EQs are split into multiple
frequency bands, or ranges, in which the
| | 02:29 | frequency control can be swept.
| | 02:32 | These unique bands allow multiple
points of frequency cut or boost within the same EQ.
| | 02:38 | While one band may be used to
boost a range of higher frequencies,
| | 02:43 | another may be used simultaneously
to cut a range of lower frequencies.
| | 02:48 | Some EQs allow a continuous sweep of
frequencies and gain controls, while others
| | 02:53 | will use fixed interval
frequency and gain points.
| | 02:56 | For example, the famous Neve 1073 EQ
offers three bands, each with fixed-interval
| | 03:03 | frequency selectors.
| | 03:06 | The mid-band offers six frequency
points at 7.2k, 4.8k, 3.2k, 1.6k, 0.7k, and
| | 03:17 | 0.36k, while the high-
frequency band is fixed at 12k.
| | 03:23 | At first glance, you may be
overwhelmed with the number of controls on your
| | 03:27 | EQ, but ultimately it is the
frequency and gain controls that lie at the
| | 03:31 | heart of any EQ.
| | 03:34 | If you can understand how to use
these controls, you can easily use almost any EQ.
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| Using the bandwidth, or Q, EQ control| 00:00 | We now know that EQ's frequency and
gain controls can be used to shape a
| | 00:05 | signal's frequency content by boosting
or cutting various ranges of frequencies,
| | 00:10 | but what defines the range of
frequencies that these boost or cuts apply to?
| | 00:15 | When increasing or decreasing the gain
control of an EQ, even though we select
| | 00:20 | a target or center frequency to work on,
rarely is that the only frequency
| | 00:25 | that is affected.
| | 00:26 | For example, if I choose to boost a
signal by 6 dBs at 2k, the frequencies around
| | 00:34 | 2k also get boosted.
| | 00:37 | The range or bandwidth of frequencies
around the target frequency that the EQ's
| | 00:42 | gain control will affect is
known as Q, short for quality.
| | 00:48 | In other words, Q is a way of
expressing the frequency width of a filter in
| | 00:52 | relation to the center
frequency of a specific filter band.
| | 00:57 | A boost or cut with a narrow or higher Q
value will cause the EQ to affect fewer
| | 01:03 | frequencies around the target frequency,
while a wider or lower Q value will
| | 01:08 | affect more frequencies around the target.
| | 01:12 | Listen to this example of a 6 dB boost
at 2.5k as I adjust the Q from narrow to wide.
| | 01:20 | Notice that the wider Q settings are
more obvious because I'm boosting a wider
| | 01:25 | range of frequencies.
| | 01:26 | (music playing)
| | 01:47 | Traditionally, Q is often
represented by this mathematical relationship.
| | 01:52 | Take the center frequency
and divide by the Q value.
| | 01:55 | For example, a Q of 2.0 at 1000 Hz
would be 1000 divided by 2, which gives us a
| | 02:06 | bandwidth of 500 Hz.
| | 02:09 | This filter would span a frequency
range of 500 Hz, 250 Hz below the center
| | 02:16 | frequency and 250 Hz above.
| | 02:20 | Different EQs use different values to
measure Q, so don't be surprised if your
| | 02:26 | EQ doesn't follow the
traditional mathematical definition.
| | 02:30 | Generally, it's safe to assume that
higher Q settings result in a narrower
| | 02:35 | bandwidth and lower Q settings
result in a wider bandwidth around the
| | 02:39 | target frequency.
| | 02:41 | And realistically that's all we need to
know to shape our sound to our liking.
| | 02:46 | Don't let the term quality lead you to
believe that a higher Q actually makes
| | 02:51 | the EQ sound better or of higher quality.
| | 02:54 | It just means the band of
frequencies that will be boost or cut is more
| | 02:58 | narrow or refined.
| | 03:01 | Narrow Q settings are most commonly
used for fine-tuning a signal's frequency
| | 03:06 | content and honing in on very specific
areas, or residences, like the ringing of
| | 03:12 | a snare or vocal sibilance.
| | 03:15 | EQs with extremely narrow Qs are often
referred to as notch filters, because
| | 03:21 | they can be used to notch out a very
narrow range of frequencies, like an
| | 03:25 | unwanted 60-cycle hum.
| | 03:28 | However, be careful when applying
extreme gain changes with very narrow
| | 03:32 | Q settings as unmusical distortion and undesired
resonance or ringing can be added to the
| | 03:39 | signal very quickly.
| | 03:41 | Because frequency and pitch are
directly related, large boosts with very narrow
| | 03:46 | Qs can cause normally un-pitched
elements like a kick or snare to take on a
| | 03:51 | pitch, or pitched elements
to take on a wah-wah effect.
| | 03:57 | In fact, a classic wah-wah pedal is
just a sweepable EQ with a large boost and narrow Q.
| | 04:03 | Wide Q settings can be used for broad-
brush tonal shaping and are often used in
| | 04:09 | mastering applications, where
disrupting the frequency balance with aggressive
| | 04:14 | narrow Q filters would
introduce undesired artifacts.
| | 04:19 | Another way I like to think of it is
that narrower or higher Q settings can be
| | 04:23 | used more for solving sound problems
while wider or lower Q settings can be used
| | 04:29 | more for tonal shaping tasks.
| | 04:32 | Some EQs have fixed Q settings that you
won't be able to control, while others
| | 04:37 | have Q settings that change depending
on the frequency selected or the amount of gain used.
| | 04:43 | For example, on the famous Neve 1073
EQ, which has seven fixed frequencies in
| | 04:50 | its mid-band, the Q increases or
becomes more narrow as you switch to higher frequencies.
| | 04:57 | On the Waves Renaissance
EQ the Qs are asymmetrical.
| | 05:01 | A boost results in a wider Q,
whereas a cut results in a more narrow Q.
| | 05:08 | When possible, for general-purpose EQ
tasks, erring on the side of wider Q settings
| | 05:13 | rather than narrower ones should be
used when shaping a signal's tone, as they
| | 05:18 | tend to sound more natural.
| | 05:20 | However, you always want to
let your ears be your guide.
| | 05:24 | Narrow Q settings can be just the
signature sound you're looking for, either to
| | 05:29 | get a certain instrument to pop out of
the mix or tame a harsh resonant buildup.
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| Parametric equalizers| 00:00 | Now that we have a grasp of frequency,
gain, and Q, we can easily understand one
| | 00:06 | of the most common types of EQ
filters, known as parametric EQ.
| | 00:11 | A parametric EQ, sometimes referred
to as a peaking filter, uses all three
| | 00:16 | controls to boost or cut a
signal's frequency range.
| | 00:21 | Generally broken into multiple
bands where an EQ includes more than one
| | 00:25 | parametric filter, the amplitude of
each band can be controlled, the center
| | 00:30 | frequency can be shifted, and the
bandwidth or Q can be widened or narrowed.
| | 00:36 | Think of a parametric filter as a
mountain of boost or valley of cut across
| | 00:41 | the frequency plane.
| | 00:42 | The boost or cut is centered at the
middle of the mountain or valley; therefore
| | 00:48 | the center or target frequency
receives the most change, while frequencies
| | 00:54 | around the center taper
off based on the Q value.
| | 00:59 | George Massenburg developed and
introduced the parametric EQ in 1972,
| | 01:05 | and today parametric filtering is
found in at least one band of most plug-in,
| | 01:10 | console, and hardware equalizers on the market.
| | 01:14 | Parametric EQ is by far the most
flexible type of EQ because of the ability to
| | 01:19 | control the center
frequency as well as the Q width.
| | 01:23 | As we'll learn in the next few videos,
not all types of EQ have this ability.
| | 01:29 | Parametric EQ is both useful in fixing
frequency problems, like removing nasty
| | 01:34 | resonance from improper mic
placement or poor room acoustics, as well as
| | 01:39 | subtle tonal shaping, like improving
the clarity and presence of a vocal or
| | 01:44 | bite of a guitar.
| | 01:46 | Listen as I use a Parametric EQ to
remove the main points of resonance from this
| | 01:51 | vocal and then add some
presence to increase intelligibility.
| | 01:56 | (music playing)
| | 02:25 | Because of their flexibility and
control, I think you'll find parametric
| | 02:29 | EQs will quickly become one of the
most-used tools in your recording and
| | 02:33 | mixing workflow.
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| Shelving filters| 00:00 | If you've ever used the EQ or tone
control in your car stereo, you've most
| | 00:05 | likely experienced a shelving filter.
| | 00:08 | Unlike a parametric filter, a shelving
filter is designed to boost or cut the
| | 00:13 | signal at the target frequency and
continue that boost or cut into lower or
| | 00:18 | higher frequencies past the target.
| | 00:22 | A shelving filter gets its name from
the distinct shelf shape it forms in the
| | 00:26 | EQ's frequency graph.
| | 00:28 | Shelving filters come in two distinct flavors:
| | 00:31 | high shelf and low shelf.
| | 00:34 | With high-shelf filters, the
frequencies above the target frequency are boosted
| | 00:39 | or cut uniformly through the top end of the EQ.
| | 00:44 | With low-shelf filters, the frequencies
below the target frequency are boosted
| | 00:48 | or cut uniformly through the low end of the EQ.
| | 00:53 | Let's hear some shelving filters in action.
| | 00:55 | First, listen to this
parametric filter as I boost 6 dB at 6K.
| | 01:00 | (music playing)
| | 01:14 | Now listen as I switch the parametric
filter to a high-shelf filter and perform
| | 01:18 | the same 6 dB boost.
| | 01:20 | (music playing)
| | 01:33 | Notice that the high-shelf filter
affects more frequencies than the parametric,
| | 01:38 | resulting in an overall brighter
sound as the shelving filter continues to
| | 01:42 | boost frequencies well beyond what the
parametric filter covered using a modest Q setting.
| | 01:49 | A shelving filter generally has two controls:
| | 01:52 | frequency, which is used to set the
target frequency or starting point of the
| | 01:56 | shelf's cut or boost, and gain, which,
like in a parametric EQ, determines the
| | 02:01 | amount of amplitude change over
the range of frequencies defined.
| | 02:07 | Many shelving filters feature an
additional Q or quality control that determines
| | 02:11 | how sharp the shape of the shelf's
transition will be and whether or not it will
| | 02:16 | have a resonant peak at the target frequency.
| | 02:20 | This is used to tell the filter how
quickly it will climb to the amount of gain
| | 02:23 | you've set and if there will be a
small bump or resonant peak at the target
| | 02:28 | frequency before settling
in for the rest of the shelf.
| | 02:32 | Certain vintage EQs, specifically Neves,
are well known and adored for their
| | 02:37 | resonant shelves that peak a
little more at the target frequency.
| | 02:41 | There's a reason that shelving filters
are used in most consumer stereos for
| | 02:46 | bass and treble controls, because
the goal with the shelf is to shape the
| | 02:50 | overall low end or top end tone of the
signal, as opposed to just boosting one
| | 02:55 | single target frequency,
like a parametric filter.
| | 02:58 | High-shelf filters work great for
bringing out the sheen or air of a signal,
| | 03:04 | especially in the ultra-high frequencies.
| | 03:06 | Or alternatively, they can dull the
signal's top end a bit and send it to the
| | 03:12 | back of the mix, similar to how analog
tape can soften the high frequencies.
| | 03:18 | Listen to this acoustic guitar
with a high-shelf boost and then a high-shelf cut.
| | 03:22 | (music playing)
| | 03:45 | Notice that the picking is brought
out when the shelf is boosting and
| | 03:49 | pulled back when cutting.
| | 03:50 | Low-shelf filters are great at boosting
and strengthening all bass content in a
| | 03:56 | signal below a set frequency, as opposed
to a parametric filter, which boosts the
| | 04:01 | signal centered over a specific
frequency in that specific pitch.
| | 04:06 | Likewise, a low shelf is a great tool
for tapering back some of the low end in a
| | 04:11 | muddy recording, helping make room
for other instruments in that range.
| | 04:17 | Listen to this drum loop with a low-
shelf boost and then a low-shelf cut.
| | 04:21 | (music playing)
| | 04:45 | Notice the bump of the kick drum come and go.
| | 04:49 | Shelves are an indispensable tonal
shaping tool that work great for manipulating
| | 04:53 | the low- and high-frequency content of
an individual signal or a complete mix.
| | 04:58 | Because they paint with a broad brush
across many frequencies, they're generally
| | 05:03 | best to use with lower gain settings under 6 dB,
| | 05:07 | but feel free to use your ears and experiment.
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| High- and low-pass filters| 00:00 | We know that shelving filters boost or
cut energy at the target frequency and
| | 00:04 | all audio frequencies either above or below it.
| | 00:08 | A pass filter also affects all energy
above or below the target frequency, often
| | 00:16 | referred to as the cutoff
frequency in a pass filter.
| | 00:20 | However, instead of boosting or
cutting that content by a specific amount of
| | 00:24 | gain, it instead removes that
frequency content completely.
| | 00:30 | Any frequency content outside the
cutoff frequency is attenuated or cut
| | 00:34 | gradually in a downward slope,
heading towards negative infinity.
| | 00:40 | Let's listen to some audio examples.
| | 00:42 | Listen to the following drum loop
with a high-pass filter engaged.
| | 00:46 | (music playing)
| | 01:10 | Next, let's listen to the loop
with a low-pass filter engaged.
| | 01:13 | (music playing)
| | 01:38 | Like the name suggests, a high-pass
filter allows the highs to pass through the
| | 01:42 | filter unaffected, while the low
frequencies are attenuated, or removed, starting
| | 01:47 | at the cutoff frequency and lower.
| | 01:50 | Likewise, a low-pass filter allows
the lows to pass through the filter
| | 01:54 | unaffected while the high frequencies
are attenuated or removed, starting from
| | 01:59 | the cutoff frequency and higher.
| | 02:02 | Sometimes these filters will be
referred to as high-cut and low-cut filters.
| | 02:06 | High cut is simply another name for a
low-pass filter and low cut another name
| | 02:11 | for a high-pass filter.
| | 02:14 | Don't let the names confuse you.
| | 02:15 | Fortunately, the names are
actually quite descriptive.
| | 02:18 | Low-cut filters cut the lows;
| | 02:20 | high-pass filters let the
highs pass through, et cetera.
| | 02:24 | When both filters are used
simultaneously, one filtering out the lows and
| | 02:29 | another filtering out the highs, it
is often referred to as a band-pass
| | 02:34 | filter, since in that case only a
specific band of frequencies are allowed to pass through.
| | 02:41 | Pass filters generally only have two controls:
| | 02:44 | frequency and Q. The frequency sets
the cutoff point of the filter, while the
| | 02:50 | Q control, sometimes called slope in a
pass filter, determines the steepness
| | 02:55 | of the cutoff slope.
| | 02:56 | Q in this case is usually measured
in dB per octave and determines how
| | 03:03 | aggressive the EQ will begin
removing frequency energy above or below the cutoff point.
| | 03:08 | Q settings on high- and low-pass
filters generally start at 6 dB per octave,
| | 03:15 | which is a rather gentle slope, and
work their way up to more aggressive
| | 03:19 | settings--sometimes as much as 48 dB
per octave, which looks basically like a
| | 03:25 | vertical line here on the graph.
| | 03:29 | Let's look at an example of a high-pass filter.
| | 03:31 | A setting of 12 dB per octave with a
cutoff at 100 Hz means that after passing
| | 03:37 | through the filter, a signal of 50 Hz or
one octave lower will be reduced by 12
| | 03:43 | dB, while a signal of 25 Hz, two
octaves lower, is reduced by 24 dB.
| | 03:51 | High- and low-pass filters are
especially useful in restricting or bracketing
| | 03:55 | frequency content of signals in a mix.
| | 03:58 | Many times rumble, or frequencies lower
than the fundamental of the instrument,
| | 04:03 | can be completely removed using a high-
pass filter set just below a signal's
| | 04:08 | fundamental frequency.
| | 04:09 | For example, a male vocal isn't
going to have much below 80 Hz,
| | 04:15 | so cutting off everything below 80
with a high-pass filter can help ensure
| | 04:20 | that no additional low-frequency
content unrelated to the vocal itself makes
| | 04:25 | its way into the mix.
| | 04:27 | Likewise, low-pass filters can
be used to restrict and reduce
| | 04:31 | high-frequency content.
| | 04:33 | In the case of DAWs, unlike analog
mixing consoles and tape, high-frequency
| | 04:39 | retention is 100%, meaning no high
frequencies are soaked up by the DAW's mixer.
| | 04:45 | This can lead to mixes that have too
much high-frequency extension in too
| | 04:49 | many of the instruments.
| | 04:51 | This can result in a subtle building
up of undesirable high-end frequency
| | 04:55 | content that is hard to describe.
| | 04:58 | I like to use low-pass filters on
instruments that aren't contributing
| | 05:01 | significantly to the high frequencies of my mix.
| | 05:04 | For example, a 12-inch guitar speaker
cabinet doesn't produce much useful audio
| | 05:10 | information above 8K,
so why keep it in the mix?
| | 05:15 | Reducing or eliminating those high-end
frequencies helps to remove any noise
| | 05:19 | or hiss that may be present in the
recording, but not part of the actual instrument.
| | 05:25 | And reducing these frequencies on
multiple tracks keeps them from adding up in a mix.
| | 05:31 | Using high- and low-pass filters to
help tighten up frequency content and
| | 05:34 | improve focus has been a secret of the
pros for years, and I would find myself
| | 05:39 | hard-pressed to do a mix without them.
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| Putting it all together with multiband EQ| 00:00 | Now that we understand the
different types of filters commonly found
| | 00:04 | in both hardware and software
equalizers, it's worth mentioning that many EQs
| | 00:09 | will incorporate multiple
filter types into a single processor.
| | 00:14 | This is often referred to as a multiband EQ.
| | 00:18 | Multiband EQs generally feature one
or more parametric bands in addition to
| | 00:23 | high- and low-shelving filters and high-
and low-pass filters at each end of the
| | 00:28 | frequency spectrum.
| | 00:30 | Many multiband EQs will also feature
input and output gain controls that can be
| | 00:35 | used to raise or lower the
entire level of the signal.
| | 00:39 | They usually have a phase or
polarity invert button also.
| | 00:44 | The phase flip switch allows you to
invert the waveform's amplitude, swapping
| | 00:49 | the pushes for pulls and the pulls
for pushes shown here in the graph.
| | 00:54 | This switch is often used to compensate
for phase offsets created in multi-mic
| | 00:59 | recording scenarios.
| | 01:01 | For instance, if you mic a snare
drum with a mic on the top head and the
| | 01:05 | bottom head, those two signals might
not reach the listener at the same time
| | 01:11 | and will thus be out of phase,
potentially canceling out, or in the least,
| | 01:15 | sounding not quite right.
| | 01:17 | Flipping the polarity of one of the
signals can alleviate this problem.
| | 01:22 | This SSL console I'm sitting at,
like many analog and digital recording
| | 01:26 | consoles, feature a channel EQ
that incorporates a high-pass filter,
| | 01:31 | shelving filters for both high and
low frequencies, and two parametric
| | 01:36 | filters with sweepable Q.
| | 01:40 | Most standard DAWs feature built-in
multiband EQs, like the ProTools EQ3
| | 01:46 | and Logic's Channel EQ.
| | 01:48 | Certain plug-ins, like the Waves' Q
series EQs, allow each band to function
| | 01:53 | independently as any filter type,
offering up to ten bands of whatever you need.
| | 02:00 | During recording and mixing, a
multiband EQ is ideal because most EQ tasks
| | 02:05 | require a combination of filters,
with varying degrees of boost and cut.
| | 02:09 | For example, to EQ a vocal track, I
might start by engaging the high-pass filter
| | 02:16 | to remove any low-frequency rumble below
the vocal's fundamental, or lowest note.
| | 02:22 | Then I might notch out some of the
low-mid resonance in the vocal's harmonics to
| | 02:27 | increase clarity and remove mud.
| | 02:30 | After that, I'll use another
parametric band to increase presence
| | 02:34 | and intelligibility.
| | 02:37 | To top it all off, I might strap on a
high shelf add a bit of the top-end air and sheen.
| | 02:42 | (music playing)
| | 03:11 | While EQs can certainly be used in a
single-band capacity, you'll often find
| | 03:16 | yourself using multiband EQs
for many of your basic EQ tasks.
| | 03:21 | Don't let the additional controls scare
you, and don't feel like you need to use
| | 03:25 | every band of a multiband
EQ just because it's there.
| | 03:29 | A multiband EQ is just a bunch of
filters bundled into one convenient package,
| | 03:35 | so if you can understand and use a
single band of EQ, you can certainly use and
| | 03:40 | understand a multiband EQ.
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| Using graphic EQ| 00:00 | A graphic EQ is a special type of EQ
that has fixed frequency and Q values
| | 00:05 | and is arranged in a multi-band,
almost mixer-like presentation.
| | 00:10 | The only control in a graphic EQ is
gain, which can either be boosted or cut to
| | 00:16 | alter the amplitude of a
fixed-frequency spectrum.
| | 00:20 | Graphic EQs offer a fixed number of
frequency points, or bands, that can be altered.
| | 00:25 | This simplicity, along with the
inherent visual presentation of the total EQ
| | 00:30 | curve, makes them very simple to use and
especially effective at certain tasks.
| | 00:36 | Because they can contain many unique
bands, sometimes over 30, graphic EQs are a
| | 00:42 | popular choice for calibrating
playback systems to a specific room or space.
| | 00:47 | They are often used to compensate for a
venue's acoustics in live sound systems
| | 00:52 | and can also be found performing the
same task in many recording studios.
| | 00:57 | A large number of unique bands can
help an engineer neutralize very specific
| | 01:02 | room modes or points of resonance in a space.
| | 01:06 | Sometimes I like to use graphic EQs for
normal everyday EQ, tasks such as EQing a
| | 01:11 | guitar or vocal, because of their simplicity.
| | 01:14 | The limited number of frequency points
can really help you stay focused on the
| | 01:18 | creative side of things and get
sounds quickly, without getting mired in the
| | 01:22 | details of sweepable frequency and Q.
| | 01:26 | Here I'm using the Waves API 560 EQ,
a model of the API 560 hardware unit.
| | 01:33 | This is a 10-band graphic EQ that is
divided into one-octave increments.
| | 01:38 | I can use it to quickly get this vocal
to sit in the mix without worrying about
| | 01:42 | Q settings or center frequency
since those are already set for me,
| | 01:47 | so I can focus more on the specific areas
I want to boost or cut. Let's take a listen.
| | 01:52 | (music playing)
| | 02:22 | So here I'm removing some of the low-
mids to get rid of that muddy resonance
| | 02:26 | that usually builds up in a vocal and a
little bit of the harmonics on that mud.
| | 02:30 | I am also cutting heavily on the
lowest two bands to remove any rumble or
| | 02:35 | unrelated low-frequency content that
would just add up and cloud the low end.
| | 02:40 | I might also improve the clarity a bit
by boosting some of the high-mids around
| | 02:45 | for 4k and add a bit of
air at 16k for good measure.
| | 02:49 | So I hope you can see in here that by
using the graphic EQ in this scenario I
| | 02:54 | can focus on what really matters,
getting the vocal to sound how I want it to
| | 02:58 | without worrying about if I picked the
exact right frequencies or following
| | 03:02 | some sort of recipe.
| | 03:03 | While they aren't perfect for everything,
| | 03:06 | if you have access to a graphic EQ
plug-in or hardware unit, try it out on
| | 03:10 | some different material.
| | 03:12 | Mixing is just as much about creative
flow as it's about precision movements
| | 03:16 | and critical thinking,
| | 03:18 | so sometimes fostering forward motion
by using simple, even restrictive tools
| | 03:23 | that allow you to quickly move on to the
next idea can be just what's needed to
| | 03:27 | get the mix sounding great.
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|
|
3. Advanced EQ TopicsCreating focus| 00:00 | When applying EQ in a mix there are
a number of common mistakes made by
| | 00:04 | novice engineers.
| | 00:06 | Here I want to talk about three of the big ones:
| | 00:09 | trying to make every instrument's stand
out in the mix, trying to make too many
| | 00:14 | instruments fit into a mix,
and EQing tracks in solo.
| | 00:19 | Not every track can be the star in a mix.
| | 00:22 | All instruments can't have
the spotlight at the same time.
| | 00:25 | Instead, you can use EQ to help direct
the listener to what the focal point of
| | 00:30 | the song is at any given moment.
| | 00:33 | In fact, you can use EQ to make one or
more instruments purposefully sound more
| | 00:38 | dull in order for another
instrument to stand out.
| | 00:41 | Photographers use depth-of-field
extensively to achieve this same effect.
| | 00:46 | They place the subject of the photo in
focus while background elements may be
| | 00:50 | made intentionally out of focus to
help draw the viewer's eye towards the
| | 00:54 | subject, and make for a more
interesting composition or organization.
| | 00:59 | We can do this in music or
post-production too using EQ.
| | 01:03 | For example, the lead vocal track is
usually the main focal point of a pop mix;
| | 01:10 | however, vocals and electric
guitars share many common frequencies and
| | 01:14 | can compete in a mix.
| | 01:16 | If the guitar is too in focus, the
vocal can be lost and not be the focus of the mix.
| | 01:22 | Instead, you can use EQ to shape the
guitar sound around the vocal track.
| | 01:27 | For example, you can reduce the high-
mids between one and 4k maybe to allow the
| | 01:32 | vocal to shine through the mix and
effectively blurring the guitar sound in that EQ range.
| | 01:39 | You can apply this principle to all
aspects of the mix giving, each element its own space.
| | 01:45 | This yields a well-balanced mix, much
like a photograph with great composition.
| | 01:51 | Let's return to our photography example.
| | 01:54 | Photographers don't light all
elements of a photograph with the same bright light.
| | 01:58 | Just like not every instrument in a mix
can be the star of the song, not every
| | 02:03 | element in a photograph should shine.
| | 02:06 | Instead, certain elements get separate
lighting or are cleverly positioned in
| | 02:10 | the background, allowing them to look
good, but in context with the rest of the elements.
| | 02:16 | In music and post-production,
we often use EQ to create this
| | 02:19 | balanced composition.
| | 02:22 | Another aspect that also relates to the
composition of a photograph, as well as
| | 02:26 | to creating a balanced mix
of a song, is arrangement.
| | 02:30 | Simply having too many elements in a
photograph or in a mix can cause either
| | 02:35 | to be cluttered.
| | 02:36 | Specifically in a mix, if you find
that no matter how hard you try to fit
| | 02:40 | elements together things still sound
muddle, try muting certain elements or
| | 02:45 | even more drastically, adjusting
the song or arrangement to create a
| | 02:49 | less-is-more situation.
| | 02:52 | Never be afraid to question whether
elements in a mix actually belong in the song.
| | 02:57 | Finally, don't EQ tracks in a vacuum.
That is, don't make your final decisions for
| | 03:03 | an instrument's EQ setting
based on listening to it in solo.
| | 03:07 | Now I'm not saying you can never solo
an element to get a better handle on
| | 03:10 | what's going on with the track;
however, just like you don't separate one
| | 03:15 | element from its surroundings in a photograph,
| | 03:18 | you should make your EQ decisions by
listening to each instrument in the
| | 03:21 | context of a mix.
| | 03:23 | So context matters in all EQ
decisions, as does retaining focus on the most
| | 03:29 | important elements in a mix.
| | 03:32 | In my opinion, the greatest mixes are
artful examples of sonic context, like a
| | 03:37 | photographic with perfect composition,
pushing and pulling the listener's
| | 03:41 | attention to better strengthen the
emotional feel and delivery of the piece.
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| Get in the Mix: Using EQ to fix problems and place elements in the mix| 00:00 | EQ can be used to repair a signal's
frequency response and create a more
| | 00:05 | idealized representation of the recording.
| | 00:08 | Likewise, EQ can be used to fit the
resulting fix signal into the rest of the
| | 00:13 | mix, complementing the other elements.
| | 00:16 | Because of this, I often like to
break my EQ approach into two parts.
| | 00:22 | I start by considering the signal by
itself and listen for anything that sounds
| | 00:26 | out of place, like too much frequency
buildup or resonance from improper mic
| | 00:31 | placement or background
noises recorded with the signal.
| | 00:35 | At this stage I may use EQ to attempt
to correct these issues before I try to
| | 00:41 | place my signal into the rest of the mix.
| | 00:44 | I call this stage corrective EQ.
| | 00:47 | This is the one place where I think
it's okay to listen critically in isolation,
| | 00:52 | with the track soloed.
| | 00:55 | During this stage I'm usually cutting
or removing frequencies from the signal
| | 01:00 | rather than boosting.
| | 01:03 | After getting rid of the things I know
I don't want in the signal, I proceed to
| | 01:07 | the most important stage of the
EQing process, EQing in context.
| | 01:13 | During this stage, I use EQ to place the
element into the mix based on my master
| | 01:18 | plan of creating a focal point,
complementing other elements, and finding a good
| | 01:24 | overall frequency balance for the entire mix.
| | 01:28 | Let's take a look at an example
of the process on a keyboard track.
| | 01:33 | It's time to get in the mix.
| | 01:34 | Pause this movie and open the
appropriate file for your DAW.
| | 01:39 | If you don't have access to a DAW
right now, you can continue watching this
| | 01:43 | video to see the get in the mix demonstration.
| | 01:52 | Listen to this Rhodes part in isolation.
| | 01:54 | (music playing)
| | 02:05 | This particular Rhodes sounds very rich
and full, if not a touch dark, with nice,
| | 02:10 | low-frequency extension.
| | 02:13 | Listen again in the context of the mix.
| | 02:16 | Pay attention to the Rhodes as it
relates to the rest of the instruments in the
| | 02:19 | arrangement, especially the vocal and the bass.
| | 02:22 | (music playing)
| | 02:33 | Hopefully you notice that the
Rhodes in context sounds a little washed out and
| | 02:36 | muddy, like it isn't sure
where it belongs frequency-wise.
| | 02:41 | The lows and low-mids fight for space
with the kick and bass guitar, and the
| | 02:46 | darker quality of the harmonics don't
complement the melody and sparkle as
| | 02:50 | well as I would like.
| | 02:52 | Based on how it's sitting now,
there's no doubt that this Rhodes track will
| | 02:56 | need a bit of EQ.
| | 02:58 | Because I know the buildup in the
lows and the low-mids are going to be
| | 03:01 | especially troublesome, as they tend
to be with most instruments that live in
| | 03:05 | this middle ground, I'll start with
the track in isolation and try to break
| | 03:10 | out some of that low-frequency crud
with a bit of subtracting EQ in the high-
| | 03:14 | pass filter.
| | 03:16 | Listen as I adjust the
parametric band to break up some of the
| | 03:20 | low-mid resonance.
| | 03:22 | Notice how I specifically boost with
a narrow Q setting and sweep to find
| | 03:26 | the offending frequency range
and then proceed with my cut.
| | 03:31 | After, I will enable a high-pass
filter to cut some of the low-frequency
| | 03:35 | extension off the bottom end of the
instrument to make space for the bass and kick drum.
| | 03:40 | (music playing)
| | 04:21 | This boost-sweep-and-cut trick works
extremely well when trying to find the
| | 04:25 | nasty resonant patches in a signal's
frequency content. But try to first
| | 04:30 | identify in your head what the
problem might be as opposed to looking for
| | 04:33 | trouble where it doesn't exist.
| | 04:36 | In other words, if you just go
looking for frequencies to cut from without
| | 04:40 | really having a reason to do so, you
will certainly find spots in the frequency
| | 04:44 | spectrum that ring out more than
others when you sweep through the bands.
| | 04:49 | This isn't always a bad thing, as
every instrument has a unique frequency
| | 04:53 | footprint that creates its distinct timbre,
| | 04:55 | so be sure you're removing frequency
content with the clear goal in mind rather
| | 05:00 | than just hoping you get lucky.
| | 05:02 | Now at this point I've only treated
the signal in isolation and if I stopped
| | 05:07 | here, I will be missing the most
important part of the EQ process.
| | 05:10 | Now that I worked on some potential
problem areas, I need to further refine the
| | 05:15 | EQ in context with other elements in the mix.
| | 05:18 | It could be very frustrating at first
trying to use EQ in context, because your
| | 05:23 | tendency might be to solo that
instrument to hear what's going on, but you'll
| | 05:28 | get used to it in time.
| | 05:29 | So fight the urge and do your best.
| | 05:32 | Rather than soloing, sometimes it can
help to turn up the instrument's volume
| | 05:36 | while EQing in context.
| | 05:39 | Listen and watch as I adjust the EQ in context.
| | 05:42 | Notice that I use the same boost-and-
sweep trick to find additional resonant
| | 05:46 | patches that might get in the way of the vocal.
| | 05:48 | (music playing)
| | 06:29 | After notching out more of the lower
midrange resonance that can muddle the
| | 06:33 | vocal intelligibility, I also tightened
up the high-pass filter to really remove
| | 06:38 | most of the bass note's fundamental
energy, to keep things nice and open for the
| | 06:43 | bass guitar that likes to sit in a
pocket between the deeper kick and the other elements.
| | 06:50 | Because the Rhodes is really the only
instrument carrying the chord progression
| | 06:53 | here, I have also brought out some of
the sparkling in the top end using a
| | 06:58 | high shelf and another parametric band
to boost the detail of the instrument's
| | 07:03 | upper harmonics and help to better
define those core changes once it's placed in the mix.
| | 07:09 | Listen once more as I bring the
EQ in and out in four-bar segments.
| | 07:14 | It's a subtle change, as many EQ tasks
will be, but if you listen carefully, it
| | 07:19 | helps clean up the midrange
and define the chords a bit more.
| | 07:22 | (music playing)
| | 08:03 | Did you notice throughout this whole
process that I've not mentioned specific
| | 08:07 | frequencies to always cut or boost on Rhodes?
| | 08:10 | Should you use the same EQ curve I
came up with on a Rhodes in your mix?
| | 08:15 | Absolutely not.
Every instrument in context will be different.
| | 08:19 | If this instrument was playing only
next to the lead vocal without any bass or
| | 08:23 | drums, I would have ended up with an
entirely different EQ curve, because the
| | 08:28 | context would be different.
| | 08:31 | If you can take away only one idea
about EQ from this course, it's this:
| | 08:36 | context matters.
| | 08:39 | Use EQ to strengthen your desired context.
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| Get in the Mix: Creating complementary EQ curves| 00:00 | We now know that it's best to make EQ
decisions in context, based on how we
| | 00:05 | want to push and pull the listener's
focus and complement all the instruments
| | 00:10 | and song as a whole.
| | 00:12 | We also know that frequency and
pitch are directly related. and therefore
| | 00:17 | elements playing in the same octave are
in danger of competing with each other
| | 00:22 | and may special considerations in
regards to EQ to sound good in context.
| | 00:28 | Simply boosting an instrument's
fundamental frequency tends to make instruments
| | 00:32 | blur together in a mix.
| | 00:34 | Remember, it's an instruments harmonic
series that give it its unique tone and
| | 00:40 | quite often the frequencies near the
fundamental tend to sound very similar from
| | 00:45 | instrument to instrument.
| | 00:47 | That being said, when dealing with
instruments that live in the same frequency
| | 00:51 | range, we must attempt to create
complementary curves that allow each instrument
| | 00:57 | to speak in the desired way, without
blurring over each other or overpowering
| | 01:02 | that specific frequency range.
| | 01:05 | Now where this is most critical is
around the low end of a mix, specifically
| | 01:10 | the bass instruments.
| | 01:12 | Kick drum and bass often have a
tumultuous relationship because they each want
| | 01:17 | to carry the low end of the mix.
| | 01:20 | But if approached correctly, the two
can share complementary EQ curves that
| | 01:25 | unifies them into a deep
punchy low end that sounds awesome.
| | 01:31 | Let's check out an example of
complementary EQ curves between a kick and bass guitar.
| | 01:37 | It's time to get in the mix.
| | 01:43 | Take a listen to this mix. The bass
and kick drum have yet to be EQed,
| | 01:47 | so see if you can notice some blurring between
the two instruments and the rest of the mix.
| | 01:51 | (music playing)
| | 02:04 | Hopefully you noticed that the kick
drum is a bit heavy in the low-mids,
| | 02:07 | sounding a bit like knocking on a cardboard box.
| | 02:12 | This resonant buildup in the low-mids
is pretty common, depending on how you
| | 02:16 | mic your kick drum.
| | 02:18 | What it does is tend to blur the
sweet lower harmonics of the bass guitar.
| | 02:23 | When this critical frequency band gets
masked by the kick drum, it really blocks
| | 02:28 | the instrument from speaking through the mix.
| | 02:31 | To get a better sense of what's going
on between these two instruments, let's
| | 02:35 | listen again with just the
kick and bass in isolation.
| | 02:38 | (music playing)
| | 02:50 | Again, that kick drum has a nasty little
peak in the 300 to 500 Hz range that is
| | 02:55 | making it sound boxy and eating up
the frequency range where my bass and
| | 03:00 | acoustic guitars want to live.
| | 03:02 | To solve this, I'm going to
redistribute some of the frequency spectrum of the
| | 03:06 | kick drum to allow the bass to cut
through a bit better and remove some of
| | 03:11 | that box-like sound.
| | 03:13 | To do this, I will first pull out a
bit of the low-mids, around 400 Hz in this case.
| | 03:19 | That will get rid of some of that boxy sound.
| | 03:23 | To redistribute some of that energy and
push those subfrequencies a bit more, I
| | 03:27 | will boost around the kick drum's
fundamental with a slightly narrower Q to
| | 03:32 | really focus the boost.
| | 03:34 | If you're having trouble finding the
fundamental of your kick drum, try using
| | 03:38 | the boost-and-sweep trick
that I showed you earlier.
| | 03:41 | Most kicks will have a fairly defined
peak that will pop out relatively easily.
| | 03:47 | After that, I'll remove a bit of
the energy from the kick's first
| | 03:51 | harmonic, around 120 Hz.
| | 03:53 | This will make more sense
when we work on the bass EQ.
| | 03:57 | To top everything off, I will bring out
a little bit of the beater with some top-
| | 04:01 | end parametric boost around 4K.
| | 04:03 | (music playing)
| | 04:32 | Notice that I didn't go
crazy with the low-mid cut.
| | 04:35 | This is a taste thing.
| | 04:37 | Aggressive rock tunes tend to have a
distinct scoop mid from the kick drum with
| | 04:41 | a pronounced boost at both ends.
| | 04:44 | But because this has more of a quirky
indie rock vibe than a ground pounding
| | 04:47 | metal track, I want to leave some
of the more organic low-mid intact.
| | 04:52 | This kind of decision making is a
perfect example of why recipes you find in
| | 04:57 | presets or books tend to neglect
the context of the genre and emotional
| | 05:01 | direction of the tune.
| | 05:04 | So before you say, "must cut low-mids
from my kick" every time you start a mix,
| | 05:09 | think about what those
frequencies are doing for that unique song.
| | 05:12 | You may also have notice that I
finished everything up with a high-pass filter
| | 05:17 | set to a very low cutoff point.
| | 05:20 | I generally do this as a safety measure
to prevent any potential super-sub-bass
| | 05:24 | from building up in the mix.
| | 05:27 | Small speaker systems and even less
efficient full-range systems can have
| | 05:31 | trouble when they attempt to
reproduce super-low frequencies.
| | 05:35 | Because I often mix for the masses who
listen on headphones or even ear buds
| | 05:39 | rather than a small group of
audiophiles with subs that can reproduce 10 Hz, I
| | 05:44 | like to optimize my mix accordingly.
| | 05:48 | Now let's move on to the bass.
| | 05:50 | When EQuing bass guitar many make the
mistake of trying to boost too much of
| | 05:54 | the low fundamental, thinking it will
help add definition and make the bass cut through the mix.
| | 06:00 | Normally, however, that just isn't the case.
| | 06:03 | In fact, that methodology will not only
lead to a muddled low end, but won't even
| | 06:07 | come through on smaller speakers and ear buds.
| | 06:09 | Instead of boosting the lowest
fundamentals, I will boost a bit of the low-mids
| | 06:14 | in two places where I carved out some
space from the kick drum previously.
| | 06:19 | I will also notch a bit out where
the kick drum's fundamental is, sitting around 60 Hz.
| | 06:25 | This complementary curve is what I like
to call a bass sandwich, where the bass
| | 06:29 | is the meat in the middle and the kick
is the bread on the bottom and top ends.
| | 06:34 | This allows the lowest element to be
the fundamental of the kick, pushing
| | 06:38 | the song along, while the bass gains
note definition and warmth through its harmonics.
| | 06:43 | (music playing)
| | 07:11 | Now we are getting somewhere.
| | 07:12 | Together the kick and bass now
form a strong bond that will really
| | 07:16 | complement the song.
| | 07:18 | Let's take a listen in
context with the rest of the mix,
| | 07:21 | first without EQ and then with.
| | 07:23 | I will automate the EQ curve for the
bass and kick in and out so you can hear
| | 07:28 | what we've accomplished.
| | 07:29 | (music playing)
| | 07:57 | I generally like to approach my
kick and bass relationships using this
| | 08:00 | sandwich-style approach.
| | 08:02 | However, the style of music and the
tempo of the song can force you to
| | 08:06 | alter your strategy.
| | 08:07 | For example, in speed metal where the
drummer might be playing 16th-note blast
| | 08:12 | beats, there isn't a lot of
room for sub-bass on the kick.
| | 08:16 | Otherwise, all the notes tend to
blur together and have no definition.
| | 08:20 | In that case the bass may end up
being the lower instrument, sitting below the kick.
| | 08:26 | Reggae and dub is another example where
the bass usually sits below the kick, as
| | 08:31 | the bass is generally the main
rhythmic timekeeper in the song and the kick
| | 08:35 | tends to play a more accenting role.
| | 08:38 | Ultimately, there are no hard-and-
fast rules when it comes to creating
| | 08:41 | complementary EQ curves.
| | 08:44 | The best way to approach this concept
is to really think about the instruments
| | 08:48 | and where they sit in the arrangement.
| | 08:50 | Know that there is a finite amount of
space for instruments to live and breathe,
| | 08:54 | especially in the low end.
| | 08:57 | Listen for material that might
overlap or fight and distribute
| | 09:01 | elements accordingly.
| | 09:03 | Listen to reference tracks in the same
genre and think about how the instruments
| | 09:07 | are being presented, what is living
where, and what is taking priority.
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| Get in the Mix: Creative EQ with the telephone effect| 00:00 | I'm sure you've heard a mix where the
lead vocal or another instrument sounds a
| | 00:04 | bit lo-fi or purposefully low-bandwidth,
but creates a unique mood and enhances
| | 00:10 | the contrast of that element in the mix.
| | 00:14 | EQ curves are not always about
correcting an instrument's tonal balance, but
| | 00:18 | sometimes are simply used for a
creative effect or placing an element in a
| | 00:23 | unique space within the mix.
| | 00:25 | To me there is nothing that
represents this usage more than the
| | 00:29 | classic telephone effect.
| | 00:32 | Let's take a look at applying
this effect to a vocal track.
| | 00:35 | It's time to get in the mix.
| | 00:42 | First, let's listen to an example of
a telephone-style filter in action.
| | 00:46 | (music playing)
| | 01:12 | Listen again as I automate the
effect in and out of the mix.
| | 01:16 | (music playing)
| | 01:42 | Aptly named, the telephone effect
makes it sound like the signal is coming
| | 01:46 | across on a telephone connection.
| | 01:49 | Hopefully you noticed that the effect
sits the vocal in a very unique place in the mix.
| | 01:54 | Not necessarily in the foreground
of the mix, but definitely not in
| | 01:58 | the background.
| | 01:59 | The filter effect gives the vocal of
cool lo-fi quality that grabs the ear, yet
| | 02:05 | takes up very little frequency space,
therefore allowing all the other
| | 02:09 | instruments around it to fill out the spectrum.
| | 02:13 | Let's take a look at how it's done.
| | 02:15 | First I start with a low-pass filter
and sweep down until I find a nice spot
| | 02:19 | around 2 to 3K where I can still
hear much of the harmonics that make the
| | 02:24 | vocal intelligible.
| | 02:26 | Then I will sweep up with a high-
pass filter to remove all of the low
| | 02:30 | frequencies up through around 400 Hz.
| | 02:33 | The combination of a low- and high-pass
filter creates what is commonly referred
| | 02:38 | to as a band pass-filter,
| | 02:40 | and this lays the foundation
for my telephone-style effect.
| | 02:43 | (music playing)
| | 03:10 | Notice that I am using a very
aggressive slope or Q of 24 dB per octave here.
| | 03:16 | This allows the high- and low-pass
filters to really restrict the frequency range
| | 03:20 | and box in the vocal's energy to
just the frequencies I've selected.
| | 03:25 | To take the effect even further, it is
often common to include a resonant bump
| | 03:31 | somewhere around the low-
pass frequency's cutoff.
| | 03:35 | This narrow Q boost can really
make the effect of pop and extend the
| | 03:39 | lo-fi feel even more.
Check it out!
| | 03:42 | (music playing)
| | 04:08 | Hopefully you noticed that when I add
almost 12 dB of gain to my parametric
| | 04:12 | boost I am nearly eating up all of my
headroom, and even starting to clip when
| | 04:17 | I sweep into certain frequency ranges.
| | 04:20 | To counteract this, I can simply trim
down the output of my EQ to regain some of
| | 04:25 | that headroom and prevent clipping.
| | 04:28 | When using this radical of a filter
effect, it is not uncommon to have to
| | 04:32 | re-address your signal's
relative volume anyways.
| | 04:36 | You may need to either raise or
lower the volume of the track in the mix
| | 04:40 | after the effect has been applied, as
it really changes the perceived level of
| | 04:45 | the track in the mix.
| | 04:47 | The telephone-filter effect is an
excellent example of how taking away
| | 04:50 | frequencies rather than boosting them
can actually provide greater contrast and
| | 04:55 | make a track stand out more in the mix.
| | 04:58 | By catching the listener's ear in a
unique way, they're more drawn to that
| | 05:02 | specific element in the mix.
| | 05:04 | So the next time you're working with
equalization, think about not only how it
| | 05:09 | can solve your frequency problems,
but how it can help you creatively place
| | 05:13 | elements in a mix by altering their
frequency makeup in unique and artful ways.
| | 05:18 | While something like this can be
classified as purposefully distorting the
| | 05:22 | original signal and making it less audible,
| | 05:25 | sometimes you have to dirty things up in
order to make other things appear clean,
| | 05:30 | and that contrast is what
makes for an interesting mix.
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| Get in the Mix: Frequency bracketing with filters| 00:00 | Modern software-based instruments,
especially commercial loops and virtual
| | 00:04 | instruments, tend to be very broadband by design.
| | 00:08 | In other words, they tend to fill out
the entire frequency spectrum from low to
| | 00:13 | high pretty much all by themselves.
| | 00:16 | This is to be expected.
| | 00:17 | A loop library company or instrument
patch designer wants to sell their product
| | 00:23 | and doesn't usually think towards
this sits so perfectly in a dense mix, but
| | 00:28 | rather they focus their efforts on the
average hobbyist, who is impressed by
| | 00:32 | huge sounds right out of the box.
| | 00:35 | Besides, just like a picture or graphic
file, I'd rather start with a high-res
| | 00:41 | or full-bandwidth version and
then scale down if necessary.
| | 00:46 | The problem with this is that when
combined with a bunch of other super-
| | 00:50 | broadband material and left unchecked,
these full bandwidth instruments can add
| | 00:56 | up to a muddy mess across your
frequency spectrum, with way too much low end and
| | 01:02 | an unnatural amount of
fatiguing high-frequency content.
| | 01:07 | Combine this with the fact that a DAW's
mixer is completely linear and uncolored
| | 01:12 | in its summing process--that is to say,
unlike an analog environment none of the
| | 01:17 | frequency content gets soaked up
by the circuits or tape formulation.
| | 01:21 | So high- and low-frequency retention is 100%.
| | 01:27 | In my opinion, this is one of the main
reasons digital mixing gets a bad rap
| | 01:32 | because it doesn't help clean
up your frequency mess for you;
| | 01:36 | you have to be in control.
| | 01:38 | So what can we do?
| | 01:40 | As a general strategy, I like to use
high- and low-pass filters across select
| | 01:45 | tracks in my mix to effectively
bracket their frequency response and rein in
| | 01:50 | some of those overly broadband signals,
reclaiming clarity and creating space
| | 01:55 | for other elements to breathe and coexist.
| | 01:59 | Let's take a look at an example of
working with high- and low-pass filters to
| | 02:04 | frequency-bracket competing drum loops.
| | 02:07 | It's time to get in the mix.
| | 02:13 | Listen to the following
two drum loops in isolation.
| | 02:16 | Notice that they are both very
broadband, containing both very low- and
| | 02:21 | high-frequency energy across the spectrum.
| | 02:24 | (music playing)
| | 02:33 | Now let's say I like the hi-hat pattern
of Loop 2, but I really want to keep the
| | 02:37 | kick drum pattern of Loop 1.
| | 02:40 | If I play the two back together, not
only does it result in an overpowering
| | 02:44 | low-frequency buildup, the kick
drum pattern turns into a jumbled mess.
| | 02:48 | (music playing)
| | 02:54 | Aside from the pattern not aligning
well, these loops aren't playing nice
| | 02:58 | with each other because both are
filling out the entire frequency spectrum at both ends.
| | 03:04 | To solve this dilemma and regain
some clarity in control of our frequency
| | 03:08 | spectrum, we can use high- and low-pass
filters to bracket the frequency content
| | 03:13 | and place the elements
exactly where we want them.
| | 03:17 | Listen to the bass clear up as I
apply a high-pass filter to Loop 2.
| | 03:21 | Notice that I'm using a slope of 18 dB
per octave to really separate the lows
| | 03:27 | from the highs at the filter frequency.
| | 03:28 | (music playing)
| | 03:41 | What we are left with when I remove the
low frequencies from Loop 2 is a cleaner
| | 03:45 | presentation of the kick drum pattern on Loop 1.
| | 03:49 | I can still hear the high-
frequency content of the kick in Loop 2.
| | 03:53 | This is unavoidable.
| | 03:54 | However, it takes on a more of a
woodblock character than a kick drum and
| | 03:58 | doesn't disturb the kick pattern or
the low end of Loop 1 nearly as much as before.
| | 04:04 | If I decided I like the kick drum
pattern of the second loop instead, I can turn
| | 04:09 | the tables and apply the
same technique to Loop 1.
| | 04:12 | Take a listen.
| | 04:13 | (music playing)
| | 04:25 | I can use the same principles to
control high-frequency content of audio material.
| | 04:30 | Take a listen as I remove most of the
hi-hat and clap of Loop 2 by using a low-pass filter.
| | 04:36 | (music playing)
| | 04:48 | Frequency bracketing or band-pass
filtering with high- and low-pass filters works
| | 04:53 | on any kind of audio signal, not just
drum loops, and can really help you define
| | 04:58 | an element's placed in the mix.
| | 05:00 | That said, be careful with how
aggressively you approach your filtering.
| | 05:04 | Removing some unwanted low-end rumble
can quickly turn into a situation where
| | 05:09 | you're removing the signal's fundamental
frequency content and taking out all of the meat.
| | 05:14 | When I first learned about high- and
low-pass filters, I was amazed at how
| | 05:18 | quickly I could clean up the low end
of my mixes by filtering out everything
| | 05:22 | below 200 or 300 Hz on non-bass instruments.
| | 05:25 | While that technique will no doubt
leave you with a cleaner low end,
| | 05:29 | it will also leave you with a very
hollow mix that doesn't port very well
| | 05:33 | to small speakers.
| | 05:35 | Ultimately, it's a fine line,
| | 05:38 | so use your ears and strive to
understand what frequencies make up specific
| | 05:42 | instruments in your mix and use those
ranges to help guide your cutoff points.
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| Get in the Mix: Automating EQ| 00:00 | Most songs contain a variety of
different sections, as in verse, chorus,
| | 00:05 | bridge, et cetera.
| | 00:07 | It's fairly common for an engineer to
have to automate the level of a track in a
| | 00:11 | mix up or down to accommodate the
new section's arrangement density.
| | 00:15 | For example, I might have to turn up
my vocal in the chorus as additional
| | 00:21 | elements are added to the arrangement.
| | 00:24 | I can use the same technique
with EQ for the same exact reason.
| | 00:29 | Since EQ is just a frequency-specific
level control and most DAWs allow me to
| | 00:34 | easily automate plug-ins, I can
automate bands of EQ to boost or cut during
| | 00:39 | certain sections of my mix to better
accommodate the section's elements.
| | 00:44 | For example, during most of the song,
I might want my guitar to complement
| | 00:50 | the lead vocal by removing some of
the frequencies that compete with the
| | 00:54 | vocal's intelligibility.
| | 00:56 | However, during the guitar's solo, the
guitar becomes the lead instrument and has
| | 01:02 | no vocal to compete with.
| | 01:04 | So adding back or even boosting some of
the same previously removed frequencies
| | 01:09 | during that section can help it
really pop out and come into focus.
| | 01:14 | Let's take a look at an
example of automating EQ.
| | 01:18 | It's time to get in the mix.
| | 01:24 | Take a listen to this track. Pay
attention to the fact that the acoustic guitar
| | 01:28 | plays on its own during the intro
but then accompanies the rest of the
| | 01:32 | instruments when the beat drops.
| | 01:34 | (music playing)
| | 02:10 | I already have an EQ that
I'm happy with for the intro.
| | 02:13 | I have got a bit of top end
rolled off to give it a dirtier vibe.
| | 02:17 | I have added a bit of 2k for a little
more honk and also some low-shelf boost
| | 02:22 | to emphasize the bass frequencies a
bit, since there is no actual bass in this section.
| | 02:27 | But I don't think this curve is
working for me as well as it could when the
| | 02:31 | full band drops in.
| | 02:33 | To achieve better separation between
the instruments when all the instruments
| | 02:36 | are playing together, I can start by
undoing my low-shelf boost to leave
| | 02:41 | space for the bass.
| | 02:43 | I'll leave my cut at around 250 Hz to
keep the guitar from feeling muddy, but
| | 02:47 | I will also cut around 850 Hz to make
room for the piano staff to play on
| | 02:53 | beat 1 of each measure.
| | 02:55 | I'll top it off by moving my top-end
boost to around 5k, to emphasize more of the
| | 03:00 | pick-strum and less of the honk, and I
will also remove my low-pass filter to
| | 03:05 | let it breathe a little bit more.
| | 03:07 | (music playing)
| | 03:37 | Now, let's put the two pieces together
and listen to the full context of the EQ automation.
| | 03:43 | Watch out for a bit of added EQ
automation when the reverse guitar chord
| | 03:47 | crescendos into the beat.
| | 03:49 | (music playing)
| | 04:32 | By altering the EQ curve on the
guitar from intro to full band, I am
| | 04:36 | achieving two things.
| | 04:38 | First, I am accommodating the change
in arrangement so that the acoustic
| | 04:42 | guitar fits into the context of its
new surroundings once the music comes in,
| | 04:48 | and second, because I played down the
high-frequency content in the intro by
| | 04:52 | using a low-pass filter to roll off
the top end and ramp up the top-end
| | 04:57 | boost on the crescendo,
| | 04:59 | I'm further extending the idea of the
song opening up into this big power-punch
| | 05:04 | moment right after the
reverse guitar chord crescendo.
| | 05:08 | So not only am I using EQ to better fit
elements into context, I am also using
| | 05:13 | it to propel the song forward and
create an even greater contrast between the
| | 05:18 | lower- and higher-energy moments of the tune.
| | 05:22 | This thought process can work all over your mix.
| | 05:25 | Try adding a bit of top-end bite to a
snare during the chorus. Sometimes just a
| | 05:30 | dB or two of boost at the right
frequency can do the trick. Or maybe try
| | 05:35 | darkening up the kick drum with a low-
pass filter during the intro or verse,
| | 05:39 | then open it up when the song gets moving.
| | 05:42 | EQ automation is extremely common in
the post-production world too, where
| | 05:47 | automating EQ curves to fit the
context of a camera angle or a scene change
| | 05:51 | is fairly normal.
| | 05:53 | The same basic concept of using EQ
to create focus and contrast apply.
| | 05:58 | However, the elements in a post-
production mix tend to change more often as the
| | 06:02 | scene changes, requiring much more
automation than a typical music mix.
| | 06:08 | Regardless of whether you're mixing
music, dialogue, or effects, EQ automation
| | 06:13 | is a valuable tool you can use to help
individual tracks fit better into a mix
| | 06:18 | and make your overall mixes more dynamic.
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| Learning to listen | 00:00 | Applying EQ is all about listening to an
audio signal and asking yourself, where
| | 00:05 | do I want to take this and why?
| | 00:08 | Approaching every track as if it needs
some sort of EQ applied to it without
| | 00:12 | really having a reason why is a
solution in search of a problem, and that's not
| | 00:17 | how you want to approach EQ.
| | 00:20 | Define your goals and work toward them.
| | 00:23 | Try to hear where your signal
needs EQ before grabbing the knobs.
| | 00:28 | It'll be hard at first,
and you'll need to practice.
| | 00:31 | But in time, you will be surprised
at yourself saying things like that
| | 00:35 | guitar has a bit of resonance around
300 to 400 Hz, and it needs to be carved
| | 00:39 | out a little.
| | 00:40 | What you won't find in this course is
a laundry list of frequencies for every
| | 00:45 | instrument telling you how
they should be boosted or cut. Why?
| | 00:50 | Because I don't know what your
specific instrument sounds like.
| | 00:53 | For example, is your acoustic guitar
a Jumbo Dreadnought Martin, a cutaway
| | 00:58 | Taylor, a three-quarter sized guitar?
| | 01:00 | They all sound very different.
| | 01:03 | What type of strings does it have?
| | 01:05 | What key are you playing it?
| | 01:06 | Are you playing high up on the neck?
| | 01:09 | What other instruments are in the mix?
| | 01:12 | Not only that, every genre of music
has a different approach to what is
| | 01:16 | considered ideal sonicsm
| | 01:18 | so relying on a specific list of
frequencies for anything other than a rough
| | 01:23 | guide of where to look is a mistake.
| | 01:26 | Don't get me wrong.
Presets and rough guides are fine.
| | 01:29 | I am sure your EQ came with a bunch
where you could find such a list easily on
| | 01:34 | the Internet, but I want to
encourage you to listen, first and foremost.
| | 01:38 | For example, where is the body or
roundness of the bass instrument in your mix?
| | 01:44 | Pull up an EQ, grab a parametric
band, and boost, sweep, and listen.
| | 01:50 | Play around with it, run it through a
high-pass or a low-pass filter, and listen
| | 01:54 | to the different parts of the signal.
| | 01:57 | Know what frequencies make
up the sounds you're hearing.
| | 02:00 | My sense of roundness
might be different than yours.
| | 02:03 | It's just an adjective that's
loosely trying to describe a feeling.
| | 02:08 | When you're first starting out using EQ,
experiment with your signals a lot.
| | 02:14 | I recommend using EQ sparingly.
| | 02:17 | If you find that you're using a lot of
EQ, say more than 6 dB of boost in any
| | 02:21 | one band on basic EQ tasks, take a
step back and see if you're dealing with a
| | 02:27 | level balance issue.
| | 02:29 | Maybe turning up or down the entire
track will get you where you want to go
| | 02:33 | instead of using EQ.
| | 02:35 | If you still find that you're using that
much EQ, think about re-evaluating your
| | 02:40 | source material, mic placement, and arrangement.
| | 02:43 | Ultimately, all these ideas are just
a rough framework to give you a place to start,
| | 02:48 | so if using 6 or 12 dBs of boost
really gets you where you want to go and you
| | 02:53 | feel it in your gut, do it.
| | 02:55 | While everyone hears audio differently,
the sooner you trust your own ears and
| | 03:00 | stop looking for a magic-bullet list
or a recipe of EQ tricks, the sooner you
| | 03:05 | will be in control of your
EQ and ultimately your mixes.
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| Balancing expectations from the recording process| 00:00 | One of the most common critiques I
have when I review my students' mixes has
| | 00:04 | nothing to do with the mix at all.
| | 00:07 | When the signal you're working with
was poorly recorded, sometimes EQ is just
| | 00:12 | not enough, and knowing when the signal
just isn't going to get better using EQ
| | 00:16 | is an important skill when
working towards the big picture.
| | 00:21 | Take a listen to this guitar that
I've purposefully recorded using poor mic placement.
| | 00:26 | Notice the clipping in addition to
the overpowering signature of the room's
| | 00:30 | acoustics and the hollowness of the guitar sound.
| | 00:32 | (music playing)
| | 00:49 | You might be surprised, but many
novice engineers would find this to be a
| | 00:53 | perfectly suitable starting point in
the mix process and then wonder later what
| | 00:58 | they did wrong with EQ or
compression when the mix didn't turn out well.
| | 01:03 | The reality is that no amount of EQ
can make this guitar sound like it could
| | 01:08 | have if I would've taken more time to
place the mic correctly and capture a
| | 01:12 | good source signal.
| | 01:14 | First off, EQ will never be able
to remove the sound of the room from
| | 01:18 | this recording.
| | 01:19 | In fact, there really isn't a tool
that I've worked with that can effectively
| | 01:24 | remove the reverb from a
recording to my satisfaction.
| | 01:28 | Also, the distortion caused by clipping
the analog-to-digital converter inputs
| | 01:33 | can't be repaired with an EQ,
no matter how hard I try.
| | 01:38 | EQ can only improve on what's there.
| | 01:41 | Think of it this way.
| | 01:43 | If you can make a signal sound 20%
better with EQ and your source signal is 50%
| | 01:48 | of what it could have been had you
taken the time to record it correctly, you
| | 01:51 | will never end up with 100%.
| | 01:54 | It's really that simple.
| | 01:56 | If you start with compromised material,
| | 01:59 | you need to have reasonable
expectations of what EQ can do for you.
| | 02:03 | Can EQ make a poorly
recorded signal sound better?
| | 02:06 | Yes, but you wouldn't wonder why your
homemade stew doesn't taste as good as
| | 02:11 | your favorite restaurant's after
knowingly using crummy ingredients,
| | 02:15 | so don't expect EQ to do
the same thing for your mix.
| | 02:20 | In fact, over-EQing
tends make things even worse.
| | 02:24 | Too much EQ, especially on acoustic
instruments, can result in a strained
| | 02:29 | unnatural-sounding signal.
| | 02:30 | So how do I prevent this from happening?
| | 02:33 | You listen. When recording a signal, ask yourself,
am I going to need a lot of EQ to get
| | 02:39 | this sounding right?
| | 02:41 | If the answer is yes, then maybe
consider a different mic placement,
| | 02:45 | instrument, or signal chain.
| | 02:47 | Seriously, it's not rocket science.
| | 02:50 | If the input signal sounds bad when
it's coming in, then do something right then and there.
| | 02:56 | As an exercise, try pretending EQ
didn't exist and try to capture a signal that
| | 03:01 | will have a pleasing frequency balance
using only basic recording techniques
| | 03:06 | like mic selection and placement.
| | 03:08 | Now don't get me wrong,
performance always triumphs audio fidelity.
| | 03:13 | So if I have captured the perfect take
with less-than-ideal sonics, I will work
| | 03:18 | with it and use EQ to improve it.
| | 03:21 | Sometimes I will even work with the
sonic shortcomings as an aesthetic.
| | 03:24 | Got a clipped signal? Add some more
distortion and make it a statement.
| | 03:29 | Got too much low-end mud that no
amount of EQ is going to clean up?
| | 03:32 | Throw in a telephone effect
and call it a conscious decision.
| | 03:37 | Some of the world's best music has been
recorded in less-than-ideal spaces with
| | 03:41 | less-than-ideal gear.
| | 03:42 | But all things being equal, do your
best to capture a clean balanced signal at
| | 03:48 | the source and you will be more
than halfway to a killer-sounding mix.
| | 03:52 | Don't rely on the old adage
| | 03:54 | "we will fix it in the mix."
| | 03:56 | If you're beating yourself up over a
mix that just isn't working, maybe go
| | 04:00 | back and evaluate the bigger
picture to make sure the arrangement and
| | 04:04 | recording quality stack up.
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|
|
4. Additional EQ and Filtering TechniquesGet in the Mix: EQing FX returns| 00:00 | Have you ever had a mix with what seems
like an impossible amount of reverb or
| | 00:04 | delay, but still remains clear and focused?
| | 00:08 | It's all about clever use of EQ.
| | 00:11 | Many people think that EQs are only
useful for directly EQing a signal chain,
| | 00:15 | but they can be just as powerful when
used on the tail end of a reverb, delay, or
| | 00:21 | any effects return for that matter.
| | 00:24 | A send-and-return relationship is a
common routing technique in which a signal
| | 00:28 | is routed out via a mixer's send over a
bus and brought back into the mix via a
| | 00:33 | return track, usually with the
shared effect applied to the return.
| | 00:38 | Since the effect lives on the return,
many tracks can send to this bus to take
| | 00:43 | advantage of the same shared effect.
| | 00:46 | The more output sent to the send the
wetter the balance becomes between the
| | 00:50 | affected and the dry signal.
| | 00:53 | This is ideal with effects like
reverb and delay because it takes up less
| | 00:57 | processing power on the system and
allows multiple tracks to share the
| | 01:02 | same common space.
| | 01:03 | While reverbs, delays, and other time-
based effects often have built-in EQs, I
| | 01:09 | find I like the control of applying a
dedicated EQ to the return track so I can
| | 01:14 | really shape the sound of
the effect to fit in the mix.
| | 01:18 | Let's jump into an example of
applying EQ to effects returns.
| | 01:22 | It's time to get in the mix.
| | 01:29 | Listen to this snare drum with an EQed
eighth-note triplet delay applied to it.
| | 01:33 | (music playing)
| | 01:54 | Now listen again to the snare in isolation.
| | 01:57 | (music playing)
| | 02:01 | Hopefully you notice that the
delay tail has a significantly different
| | 02:05 | tonal quality due to the EQ affecting
only the delay effects return and not
| | 02:10 | the dry snare signal.
| | 02:12 | In other words, the initial hit is left
unEQed while the delay taps are filtered
| | 02:18 | through a very strong band-
pass filter with a resonant peak.
| | 02:23 | This provides are really cool
dub-style delay treatment, perfect for
| | 02:27 | the song's vibe.
| | 02:29 | Now listen to the snares delay
without any EQ on the effects return.
| | 02:33 | (music playing)
| | 02:37 | Because I'm using a digital delay
here the signal that taps out is tonally
| | 02:42 | identical to the original.
| | 02:44 | In contrast, classic delays used tape
to record and feed back the signal into a
| | 02:49 | loop that would introduce regeneration
artifacts, due to the tape head's bias and
| | 02:55 | mechanical imperfections of the
tape machine's transport mechanism.
| | 02:59 | As the tape feeds back into a delay
loop, each subsequent tap with gradually
| | 03:05 | roll off the high frequencies and
introduce a bit of pitch modulation, among
| | 03:09 | other artifacts.
| | 03:10 | I'm attempting to simulate that
here using EQ after the delay effect.
| | 03:16 | So I've dialed in some high-frequency
rolloff, giving the delay a distinct sound
| | 03:21 | all its own that separates it from the
initial dry signal and creates a unique
| | 03:25 | placement for that instrument in the mix.
| | 03:29 | Now I will move a step further and
automate the EQ to change over time.
| | 03:33 | Listen as I adjust the cutoff point of
a low-pass filter in a parametric filter
| | 03:37 | simultaneously to create a
cool resonant low-pass filter.
| | 03:41 | (music playing)
| | 03:44 | Using EQ to control your effects
returns is a great way to shape the sound of
| | 03:48 | your effects to better fit the
context of your mix and preserve clarity in
| | 03:52 | your low end.
| | 03:54 | Like I said earlier, many delays and
reverbs feature built-in equalizers and
| | 03:58 | those can work just fine,
| | 04:00 | but I personally like the flexibility
of a dedicated EQ strapped onto the tail
| | 04:05 | of my effects chain so I can really
tighten up a muddy reverb tail or focus a
| | 04:09 | delay into a specific place in the mix.
| | 04:13 | Many times the EQ I use on effects
returns is made of very subtle high- and low-
| | 04:17 | pass filters set between 100 and 200
Hz at the bottom and 10-15k at the top.
| | 04:24 | In that case, I'm just looking to keep
any low- and high-frequency buildup from
| | 04:29 | occurring as I extend a sound's
decay time using reverbs and delays.
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| Using common vintage-modeled EQs| 00:00 | Sometimes I want an EQ that's
extremely transparent, almost clinical in
| | 00:05 | its application.
| | 00:06 | This sort of tool is great when I
don't want to hear the EQ working on the signal.
| | 00:10 | I just want clean boost or cut
without adding any additional character or
| | 00:14 | driving any additional harmonics.
| | 00:17 | Other times, I'm looking to add a
little extra something to my signals, in
| | 00:21 | addition to just basic boost or cut of
frequencies, and this is when I employ
| | 00:25 | model vintage EQs in my workflow.
| | 00:28 | You have to understand that a DAW's
recording and mixing facilities are
| | 00:31 | extremely transparent.
| | 00:33 | Even the channel strip EQ and
compression rarely add any additional artifacts or
| | 00:38 | color to the signal.
| | 00:40 | Personally, I think this is a good
thing, because it gives me total control
| | 00:44 | over my sonic aesthetic.
| | 00:45 | When I do want to color a signal,
drive the harmonic series, and pick up some
| | 00:50 | extra character, I often
use classic EQs in my tracks.
| | 00:54 | With these, I get sort of a two-for-one
situation, by utilizing the EQ controls I
| | 00:59 | need to shape my instruments,
plus a little something special.
| | 01:02 | Two of my favorite vintage model EQs
are the Pultec EQP-1A and the Neve 1073.
| | 01:11 | Here, I'm using Waves
models of these two classics:
| | 01:15 | the PulTec and the VEQ3.
| | 01:17 | The Pultec is a tube EQ well
known for its dual boost and attenuate
| | 01:22 | controls, and the ability to dial in
a ridiculous amount of gain without
| | 01:27 | getting into trouble.
| | 01:29 | Because of its tube amplifiers, the
Pultec is great at driving the harmonic
| | 01:33 | series and fattening up bass
signals as their lower fundamentals excite
| | 01:37 | harmonics in a more audible range.
| | 01:40 | Listen to this drum loop
with a bit of low-shelf boost.
| | 01:43 | (music playing)
| | 02:00 | The Pultec actually has three
bands of control, but the layout can be
| | 02:04 | confusing to some.
| | 02:06 | The first group has three controls:
| | 02:09 | frequency, boost, and attenuate.
| | 02:12 | In this case, I can simultaneously
dial in boost and cut in this band using
| | 02:17 | the separate controls.
| | 02:19 | This is part of the famous Pultec sound,
as dialing in too much boost and pulling
| | 02:23 | it back with the attenuate control
can yield uniquely pleasing results.
| | 02:29 | The second band features three parameters:
| | 02:32 | a boost control, bandwidth
or Q, and a frequency selector.
| | 02:37 | The third band features only the
attenuate and frequency select controls.
| | 02:42 | Because the Pultec is a tube EQ, it'll
actually color the signal without any
| | 02:47 | boost or cut applied.
| | 02:48 | So sometimes it's nice to just place it
on a track and let it do its thing for a
| | 02:52 | subtle kick of color.
| | 02:54 | Equally as notable and famous as the
Pultec, the Neve 1073 was designed by the
| | 02:59 | Rupert Neve Company in 1970, and the
channel module also featured a mic pre-amp.
| | 03:05 | The 1073 has easily been on the
desert island list of studio staples for
| | 03:10 | decades, and has been used on most
of the hits made in the last 40 years.
| | 03:15 | The 1073's EQ is famous for the
unmistakable sheen, clarity, and presence
| | 03:21 | it adds to the signal.
| | 03:23 | The 1073 is a three-band EQ with
an additional high-pass filter.
| | 03:29 | The high shelf is fixed at 12K and can
be used to add that signature Neve sound.
| | 03:34 | The waves here can be
switched between 10 and 12K.
| | 03:38 | It's just been modified a
little bit in the plug-in version.
| | 03:41 | Listen to this vocal as I
boost with the high shelf.
| | 03:43 | (music playing)
| | 04:12 | The original 1073 mid-band has six
fixed frequency points and no Q control.
| | 04:18 | The bandwidth automatically gets
narrower as you choose higher frequencies.
| | 04:23 | The Waves model I'm using has a few
more frequency bands added for flexibility.
| | 04:28 | The high-pass filter has a frequency
selector with a slope of 18 dB per octave.
| | 04:33 | Both EQs here are definitely what I
would classify as boosting EQs, used more
| | 04:40 | to alter the tone or character of a
signal than clinically notching out problem spots.
| | 04:45 | Many times, I'll use two EQs on a signal:
one to clean things up or correct and
| | 04:51 | another to apply the character component.
| | 04:54 | In this scenario, I will pair the
Pultec or Neve with a normal channel-strip EQ
| | 04:59 | and use both to achieve the desired result.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Using frequency analyzers| 00:00 | I strongly believe that using and
trusting your ears is the best strategy
| | 00:04 | when applying EQ.
| | 00:06 | But there are certain scenarios that
may require a bit more insight into the
| | 00:10 | frequency makeup of a signal.
| | 00:13 | This is where frequency
analysis tools can come in handy.
| | 00:17 | Frequency analyzers are often
referred to as FFT spectrum analyzers.
| | 00:22 | FFT stands for fast fourier transform,
and is the name of the algorithm used to
| | 00:28 | digest the waveform's frequency
display that we see in the graph.
| | 00:32 | Here I'm using Waves' PAZ Frequency
Analyzer, and unlike a traditional
| | 00:37 | oscilloscope that shows me time on the
x axis and amplitude on the y axis, here
| | 00:43 | I can see frequency on the x axis and
amplitude on the y axis, while the graph
| | 00:48 | updates in real time as
the signal plays back. Check it out!
| | 00:52 | (music playing)
| | 01:02 | Frequency analysis tools like this can
provide us useful information about the
| | 01:06 | frequency content of a signal.
| | 01:07 | For example, I can use this tool to
help me find the extreme ends of the
| | 01:12 | instrument's low- and high-frequency
content, giving me some insight into where I
| | 01:16 | might place low- and high-pass filters
to remove any additional rumble or noise
| | 01:21 | from a signal without digging
into its fundamental or harmonics.
| | 01:25 | Listen again, and watch the
analyzer as I play back this vocal track.
| | 01:29 | (music playing)
| | 01:41 | Notice that the vocal doesn't have
much frequency content below 125 Hz.
| | 01:47 | In fact, there's some headphone bleed
down below 125 Hz that could certainly use
| | 01:52 | some high-pass filtering to help clear it out.
| | 01:55 | Watch the graph as I employ a
high-pass filter and sweep up.
| | 01:59 | Notice how the FFT changes to
display the new frequency makeup.
| | 02:03 | (music playing)
| | 02:27 | One thing that can make reading these
FFTs a little easier is to slow down or
| | 02:32 | average out the plot over a longer
period of time, so we can see more of an
| | 02:36 | average frequency level.
| | 02:38 | This can help give us a better sense of
what we're actually hearing rather than
| | 02:42 | the peak values of the frequency response.
| | 02:45 | Listen and watch again as I slow
down the response time of the graph.
| | 02:48 | (music playing)
| | 03:12 | An FFT can provide useful information
and help guide certain EQ decisions,
| | 03:17 | especially when dealing with
unfamiliar room acoustics or trying to figure
| | 03:21 | out what kind of harmonic distortion
or noise a specific processor is adding to my signal.
| | 03:26 | I always want to use my ears as the final judge.
| | 03:29 | No one is going to see an FFT of the
individual instruments in your mix,
| | 03:34 | so make sure you don't lean too
heavily on what things look like.
| | 03:38 | In other words, to quote the famous
music engineer and producer Joe Meek, if it
| | 03:42 | sounds right, it is right.
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| Using harmonic generators to excite frequency content| 00:00 | We learned that spectrum analyzers can
be used to take a peek at the frequency
| | 00:04 | content of a signal, but what happens
if I boost a frequency range of a signal
| | 00:09 | that just doesn't have any energy in it?
| | 00:12 | Take a listen to this 808 kick
drum and watch the output on the
| | 00:16 | spectrum analyzer.
| | 00:18 | Notice that there isn't much going
on in the mid-range frequency space.
| | 00:22 | (music playing)
| | 00:32 | If you are listening on small speakers
or even ear bud headphones, you might not
| | 00:36 | even hear the kick drum, but you can
see in the spectrum analyzer that there is
| | 00:40 | indeed energy in the
signal, way down below 100 Hz.
| | 00:45 | If you hadn't seen the spectrum
plot, you might think, "No problem.
| | 00:49 | I will just boost some of the low mids
to fill out that 808 a little bit more."
| | 00:53 | The problem with this strategy is
that there isn't enough energy in that
| | 00:57 | frequency range to support a boost.
| | 01:00 | You can't boost what isn't there.
| | 01:03 | Well, you can, but you're just going
to bring up noise and unrelated nasty
| | 01:08 | frequencies that you generally want to avoid.
| | 01:10 | So what can we do?
| | 01:12 | In scenarios like this where I want
to give the ultra lows a little more
| | 01:15 | mid-range extension so they fill out
on smaller speakers a bit more, instead
| | 01:20 | of using EQ, I will use harmonic
generators to excite the harmonic series of the signal.
| | 01:26 | You see, I can tell by the FFT that this
808 is primarily a sine wave playing at
| | 01:32 | a fundamental of around 60 Hz,
without much harmonic content beyond that.
| | 01:38 | To excite additional frequencies
beyond the fundamental, I can use a few
| | 01:42 | different techniques.
| | 01:43 | Running the signal through some
sort of distortion will usually drive the
| | 01:47 | harmonic series fairly well, but this
can quickly get out of control and start
| | 01:52 | to destroy my ultra-low lows.
| | 01:54 | Take a listen.
| | 01:57 | (music playing)
| | 02:07 | To better illustrate what's going on
here, let's look at a pure 60 Hz sine wave
| | 02:12 | running through the same effect.
| | 02:15 | Notice the additional harmonics pop
up as I raise the distortion control.
| | 02:19 | (music playing)
| | 02:43 | Another technique is to use
either tape or tube saturation.
| | 02:48 | Tape simulators can warm up the
signal by driving the odd harmonics.
| | 02:52 | Listen and watch that same low-
frequency sine wave on the FFT as it passes
| | 02:57 | through tape simulation.
| | 02:59 | (music playing)
| | 03:26 | Here my signal around 60 Hz is being
driven at 3 times 60 and 5 times 60, or
| | 03:33 | the odd harmonics.
| | 03:35 | I want to be aware that a lot of tape
bias could start rolling off my ultra-low
| | 03:40 | lows, which I may or may not want.
| | 03:43 | In hip-hop and R&B I generally like a
very clean low-end extension without the
| | 03:49 | rolloff that tape usually imparts.
| | 03:51 | But that's just my taste.
| | 03:53 | A third technique to excite additional
frequencies will be to use a dedicated
| | 03:57 | harmonic generator like Waves'
MaxxBass or Renaissance Bass.
| | 04:02 | These tools are designed
specifically to excite harmonic content from a
| | 04:06 | signal in a cleaner, more controlled
way than using distortion or tube and
| | 04:10 | tape tricks.
| | 04:11 | Using MaxxBass I can raise or lower
either the fundamental or the newly
| | 04:16 | generated harmonics and blend to taste.
| | 04:18 | I'll be sure to lower the input
control to avoid any clipping.
| | 04:22 | Take a listen.
| | 04:25 | (music playing)
| | 04:56 | Ultimately, I like to shoot for a
balance between different listening systems.
| | 04:59 | In other words, I don't want to
completely compromise a full frequency listening
| | 05:04 | system by driving a ton of low-end
harmonics for ear buds, and vice versa.
| | 05:09 | Adding too much harmonic
distortion can cause the low frequencies to
| | 05:12 | become exaggerated on speaker
systems with subwoofers or greater
| | 05:16 | low-frequency extension.
| | 05:18 | In the end, there isn't a single
ideal way to add additional frequency
| | 05:22 | content. Whether it's pure distortion,
tube or tape saturation, or specialized
| | 05:27 | harmonic generation tools,
| | 05:29 | the technique you use depends largely on
your specific goal and desired outcome.
| | 05:34 | I've shown you a few ways in which I
approach the dilemma and will often try a
| | 05:38 | few different approaches until I find
what works best for each unique scenario
| | 05:42 | I encounter.
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| EQ or compression first?| 00:00 | One of the most common questions I get
from my students is whether they should
| | 00:04 | EQ their tracks before or after compression.
| | 00:08 | And the answer I always
give them is, that depends.
| | 00:11 | I like to consider an addition-
subtraction approach when deciding whether I want
| | 00:15 | to EQ or compress first.
| | 00:18 | What am I going to get rid of, and
what do I want to play up or add?
| | 00:23 | In the case of subtraction, I think
about what part of the signal's frequency
| | 00:27 | response do I not like or what I want to
remove before the signal goes through a
| | 00:32 | compressor or limiter. Why?
| | 00:35 | Because I don't want the compressor's
threshold to be triggered by material that
| | 00:39 | I want to get rid of anyway.
| | 00:41 | For example, if I have a loop with a
ton of low end that I don't need, I might
| | 00:46 | use an EQ to filter out all the bass
frequencies before hitting the compressor.
| | 00:52 | Since those bass frequencies will
likely make up most of that signal's
| | 00:56 | amplitude, they would likely
influence the compressor's threshold in
| | 01:00 | an undesirable way.
| | 01:02 | Sometimes what happens when you use a
lot of compression or limiting is that a
| | 01:06 | signal's frequency response or tonal
characteristics can get a bit flattened
| | 01:11 | out, especially in the low and high frequencies.
| | 01:15 | In this case, if I want to do additive
or boosting EQ, I might consider saving
| | 01:21 | that for after I add compression.
| | 01:23 | That way I can restore some of the
tonal response or shape to the signal post-
| | 01:28 | dynamics-processing.
| | 01:31 | When you first start mixing a song,
don't worry too much about what order
| | 01:35 | you add your effects.
| | 01:37 | I generally reach for whatever
processor that I think will take me in the
| | 01:41 | right direction.
| | 01:42 | However, sometimes I do find it helpful
to apply my compression before I start
| | 01:48 | adjusting the EQ curve.
| | 01:49 | It helps firm the track's dynamics up
in the mix and gives me a better sense of
| | 01:54 | what kind of EQ it's going to need
to sit with the rest of the tracks.
| | 01:59 | Otherwise, trying to EQ a dynamically
wild track can be a bit like trying to
| | 02:03 | hit a moving target.
| | 02:06 | Remember, this adding or subtracting
ideology is just a framework that you can
| | 02:10 | use to think through your processing chain.
| | 02:14 | It isn't a hard-and-fast rule
that you have to religiously follow.
| | 02:18 | In many cases the order just
won't matter all that much.
| | 02:22 | Like if I'm going to do a few dB of
gain reduction on a vocal track, I don't
| | 02:26 | always have to use two separate EQs
before and after compression to achieve
| | 02:31 | my ultimate goal.
| | 02:33 | With DAWs and plug-ins, it's so
easy to play with the signal chain that
| | 02:37 | it's almost a no-brainer to try out
different approaches, just to hear what
| | 02:41 | they might sound like.
| | 02:43 | So experiment, listen, and think
about how the compressor might react to
| | 02:47 | different frequency material
if you reorder the effects.
| | 02:51 | And if you want to learn more about
compressors and dynamic processors, be sure
| | 02:56 | to check out Foundations of Audio:
| | 02:58 | Compressors and Dynamics
Processors in the Online Training Library.
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| EQ and room acoustics: Is your room lying to you?| 00:00 | Have you ever done what you thought
was a killer mix only to take your mix
| | 00:04 | elsewhere and be utterly disappointed:
what was the perfect amount of bass is now
| | 00:08 | way too much in the car, or the chunky
tone of your guitars ends up being hollow
| | 00:13 | and thin on friend's speakers?
| | 00:16 | Mix portability, or how a mix translates
from room to room and speaker to speaker,
| | 00:21 | has been toiled over by mixers
of all skill levels for years.
| | 00:27 | EQ is all about altering the
frequency balance of a signal, adding or
| | 00:32 | subtracting energy from a waveform's amplitude.
| | 00:36 | Rather than relying on a list of
frequencies and recipes to cut or boost,
| | 00:40 | seasoned engineers use their ears to apply EQ.
| | 00:44 | What if your speakers and room are
coloring the frequency response of your mix?
| | 00:49 | In other words, what if the EQ
adjustments you think are making your mix better
| | 00:54 | are actually just a response to how your
room's acoustics are shaping the sound
| | 00:58 | coming from your speakers?
| | 01:00 | Let's try an experiment.
| | 01:02 | I'm going to play back a 100 hertz tone,
and I want you to turn up your speakers
| | 01:06 | and walk around your
room as the tone plays back.
| | 01:10 | As you walk around, note any changes
in the perceived level of the tone.
| | 01:15 | If you're using headphones, this won't work,
| | 01:18 | so come back to this example
when you can listen on speakers.
| | 01:21 | (Tone)
| | 01:52 | Unless you're lucky enough to be in a
perfectly tuned room, you probably noticed
| | 01:57 | that the tone increased and decreased
in level as you moved around the space,
| | 02:02 | most likely building up
in the corners of the room.
| | 02:06 | What you're experiencing is additive
and subtractive phase cancellation of the
| | 02:10 | 100 hertz sound wave bouncing off the
walls and ceiling and recombining with
| | 02:15 | the direct signal.
| | 02:17 | These standing waves create pockets
of build up where the waves combined
| | 02:22 | constructively, a push added to a push, or
destructively, a push added to a pull to
| | 02:29 | create pockets of reduced level or near silence.
| | 02:34 | The creation of these standing
waves are based on a room's modes.
| | 02:39 | Room modes are a collection of
resonances that are based on a room's dimensions,
| | 02:44 | with small rooms exhibiting more
aggressive modal resonance because physically
| | 02:49 | larger lower frequencies have
nowhere to go except to bounce around and
| | 02:54 | overlap on themselves.
| | 02:57 | Sitting at your mix position using
your speakers, take a listen to this bass
| | 03:02 | playing the chromatic scale.
| | 03:04 | Note that each note is played
at the same exact amplitude.
| | 03:08 | (music playing)
| | 03:35 | Did you notice any notes that seemed
to stick out as if they were louder?
| | 03:39 | If yes, then you're experiencing the
effects of your room's modal response.
| | 03:45 | Try going back and playing the same
example listening with headphones, and see
| | 03:49 | if you notice a difference
in the balance of the notes.
| | 03:53 | Remember, each note is being
played back at the same exact amplitude,
| | 03:57 | so if you have a fairly balanced pair
of headphones, you shouldn't notice much
| | 04:02 | difference in the amplitude of each note.
| | 04:06 | Now, imagine you're trying to find
the perfect level and EQ for your bass
| | 04:09 | guitar and the root node of the bass
line sits at one of those frequencies
| | 04:13 | that is either getting boosted or cut
due to your room's modal response and standing waves.
| | 04:20 | You may be inclined to make an EQ or
balance decision that has nothing to
| | 04:24 | do with the actual signal itself,
but only how that single is reacting to
| | 04:28 | your speakers and room.
| | 04:31 | It's like trying to paint
accurate colors with sunglasses on.
| | 04:35 | An exhausted review of acoustic
principles, properties, and treatments is beyond
| | 04:39 | the scope of this course, but all I
want to do here is make you aware of the
| | 04:43 | fact that your room is probably lying to
you, and that the principles shown here
| | 04:48 | bring to light one of the main reasons
your EQ decisions might not translate
| | 04:52 | from space to space.
| | 04:54 | So what can you do?
| | 04:55 | Well, short of hiring an acoustician
and building a new studio, you can start by
| | 05:00 | learning more about
acoustics and acoustic treatments.
| | 05:04 | Take the time to learn your room and
its shortcomings by listening to a lot
| | 05:07 | of reference material.
| | 05:10 | Learn and use a pair of favorite
headphones as an additional reference, and
| | 05:15 | listen your mixes in different
environments to see how your EQ decisions
| | 05:19 | transport from space to space.
| | 05:22 | In all circumstances, use reference
mixes that you know sound good out in the
| | 05:26 | world and compare their frequency
balance side by side to your mix.
| | 05:31 | Does your favorite mix sound like it
has too much bass in your room, then you
| | 05:35 | will likely have to make your mixes
sound like they have too much bass in order
| | 05:39 | to translate well to other playback systems.
| | 05:43 | Bad rooms can screw up the best
engineers and turn them upside down when trying
| | 05:47 | to make EQ decisions.
| | 05:49 | Know that even with treatment, it's almost
impossible to completely fix a room, and
| | 05:54 | even multimillion dollar
studios have similar problems.
| | 05:58 | In fact, I'd rather do a mix in a bad
room that I'm intimately familiar with
| | 06:03 | than in a tuned room with unfamiliar sonics.
| | 06:07 | After learning what your space sounds
like, you'll be able to craft consistently
| | 06:11 | strong mixes despite any shortcomings.
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| Boost or cut? The relative nature of EQ and headroom| 00:00 | A common question I get constantly
from my students is whether boosting is
| | 00:04 | better than cutting, or vice versa.
| | 00:07 | This is a great question because
thinking about an answer reveals the relative
| | 00:11 | nature of boosting and cutting
different frequencies from a signal.
| | 00:16 | Generally, we boost for tonal
correction or to increase the good stuff that we
| | 00:21 | like, and we cut to remove artifacts or
things we don't like about the signal.
| | 00:27 | But could we not cut the frequencies
around the good stuff and achieve the same
| | 00:31 | thing as boosting those frequencies?
| | 00:33 | Yes, we certainly can, and many times do.
| | 00:37 | This is the reciprocal nature of EQ:
| | 00:39 | a boost in one place is
similar to a cut in another.
| | 00:43 | If I want to increase the high-frequency
content of a guitar track, I could boost
| | 00:48 | the highs using their shelving filter
or alternatively I could cut lows using
| | 00:53 | the shelving filter and turn
the entire signal up in the mix.
| | 00:57 | (music playing)
| | 01:21 | Why cut instead of boost?
| | 01:24 | Boosting a signal will eat up your EQ
and mixers' headroom and increase the
| | 01:28 | chances of clipping and distortion.
| | 01:31 | Headroom can be thought of as a safety
zone, allowing audio peaks to exceed the
| | 01:36 | average working level of the
signal without clipping or distortion.
| | 01:41 | Think about the ceilings in your house.
Unless you're an NBA player, you can
| | 01:45 | likely walk around the house just fine
without hitting your head on the ceiling.
| | 01:50 | Depending on the height of your
ceilings, there's probably a good two to four extra feet
| | 01:55 | of headroom in case you get
excited and want to jump up and down.
| | 02:00 | Here is a simple example.
| | 02:02 | Let's say you have a signal that's
reaching peaks of -6 dBFS or 6 dBs from the
| | 02:08 | clipping point of your DAW's mixer at 0 dBFS.
| | 02:13 | If you were to boost that signal 12
dB at 10K, that boost will result in a
| | 02:18 | clipped and distorted signal.
That 6 dB is over the system's maximum
| | 02:22 | output value. So, what can we do?
| | 02:25 | Well, if the signal really needs a 12
dB boost and there's only 6 dB left worth
| | 02:30 | of headroom, I could do one of two things.
| | 02:33 | I can either turn the entire signal
down before going for my boost, which most
| | 02:39 | EQs allow you to do with an input
control, or using the reciprocal nature of
| | 02:43 | boost and cut, I could opt for a
different combination of filter settings,
| | 02:48 | possibly cutting other frequencies to
achieve a similar tonality to that boost.
| | 02:53 | At first, your ears will be
more sensitive to boosts than cuts.
| | 02:58 | In other words, you will hear a boost of
3 dB easier than you will hear a cut of
| | 03:02 | 3 dB. But remember, the benefit of
cutting over boosting is that it doesn't eat
| | 03:07 | up any additional headroom.
| | 03:10 | Another potential benefit of cutting or
removing gain is that EQs tends to have
| | 03:14 | more transparent with fewer artifacts.
| | 03:17 | I say this is a potential benefit
because in contrast, you might actually want
| | 03:21 | some of the additional harmonic
distortion added by huge boosts on vintage or
| | 03:26 | vintage-modeled EQs.
| | 03:29 | My point is not to scare you away from
boosting--sometimes it's exactly what the
| | 03:33 | signal needs--but understand that if
and when you do need to boost, headroom
| | 03:38 | will be decreased and at some point
it becomes finite in your EQ or mixer,
| | 03:43 | potentially leading to
clipped or distorted signals.
| | 03:45 | So do yourself a favor.
| | 03:48 | Understand that headroom and level matter.
| | 03:50 | Learning how to use the reciprocal
nature of boost versus cut with an EQ can
| | 03:55 | really be the difference between a
muddy distorted mix and the mix you want.
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| Building healthy EQ strategies| 00:00 | EQ is an extremely powerful tool for
shaping the frequency balance of elements
| | 00:05 | in a recording or mix.
| | 00:07 | It can help bring things forward or
push them back, allowing you to create or
| | 00:12 | take away focus and highlight
important elements while keeping others from
| | 00:17 | being distracting.
| | 00:18 | EQ can help repair poor recordings
and make great ones sound even better.
| | 00:23 | Here are some tips that I've learned
over the years while mixing with EQ.
| | 00:28 | I find that many inexperienced
engineers don't have a goal in mind when
| | 00:33 | they approach a mix.
| | 00:34 | Because of this, they tend to
wander around tinkering with elements out of context.
| | 00:40 | Ultimately, this creates a
muddled and uninteresting mix.
| | 00:45 | I think you should have a plan
and make a statement with your mix.
| | 00:48 | Try to imagine you're finished mix
before you start and use that as a template
| | 00:53 | to push you forward.
| | 00:55 | Try using reference mixes of other songs
from a similar genre to inspire you and
| | 01:00 | get the creative juices flowing.
| | 01:02 | You'd be surprised at how easy your EQ
decisions can be if you actually have a
| | 01:07 | final goal in your head to work towards.
| | 01:10 | Many engineers will tell you that they
never solo anything when they're working,
| | 01:15 | especially when applying EQ.
| | 01:17 | While I find this hard to
believe, the wisdom there is solid.
| | 01:22 | Avoid making final EQ decisions in isolation.
| | 01:25 | I say final decision, because let's be honest.
| | 01:28 | there are times when you need to solo
something up and hear what's actually
| | 01:32 | going on with the recording
before you can create an EQ strategy.
| | 01:37 | I oftentimes work in isolation to
repair any problems from the recording
| | 01:41 | process, such as bad mic placement,
weird room resonances, and stuff like that.
| | 01:46 | Then I will immediately put it back
into the mix and continue adjusting
| | 01:51 | relative to other tracks.
| | 01:53 | At the end of the day, all that
matters is how it sounds against
| | 01:57 | everything else.
| | 01:58 | No one is going to hear your acoustic
guitar in isolation, unless there is a
| | 02:02 | section where it plays by itself.
| | 02:04 | And in that special case, you might
think about automating your EQ to do
| | 02:08 | something special there.
| | 02:10 | One other soloing technique I like to
use is keeping the lead vocal and bass
| | 02:14 | instrument soloed along
with whatever I'm working on.
| | 02:18 | This way I can be sure not to upset
the fundamental foundation of the bass,
| | 02:22 | while simultaneously respecting the
clarity and intelligibility of the most
| | 02:27 | important mix element, the vocal.
| | 02:30 | One of the biggest mistakes new
engineers make is overusing EQ, specifically
| | 02:36 | too much boosting.
| | 02:39 | If you need to boost more than 6 dB in
any given frequency, make sure you're
| | 02:44 | satisfied with your level and pan choices.
| | 02:47 | Many times too much EQ is used to
make up for poor balance decisions.
| | 02:53 | Make sure that turning it up or turning
it down in the overall mix doesn't solve
| | 02:57 | your problem before reaching for too much EQ.
| | 03:01 | Cutting takes up less headroom
than boosting and is generally more
| | 03:05 | transparent to the ear.
| | 03:07 | As an exercise, try doing a
whole mix using only cuts.
| | 03:12 | You might be surprised at the result.
| | 03:15 | Remember that frequency is
directly related to pitch.
| | 03:19 | Understand an instrument's frequency
range and where its fundamental and
| | 03:23 | harmonic content live.
| | 03:25 | Try to relate this to the
arrangement of the instruments and the key of the song.
| | 03:30 | Consider what instruments share
fundamental frequency ranges and which
| | 03:34 | instruments' fundamentals
occupy others overtone range.
| | 03:38 | Boosting an instrument's fundamental
frequencies can result in different
| | 03:42 | instruments sounding similar and less
defined, especially if they're playing
| | 03:47 | in the same octave.
| | 03:49 | Remember, it's an instrument's
harmonics, or overtones, that combine in
| | 03:54 | unique ways to create the one-of-a-
kind timbre of that instrument on that
| | 03:58 | specific recording.
| | 04:00 | Use this concept to play up the
unique frequencies by either boosting them
| | 04:05 | relative to the fundamental or cut in
the fundamental relative to the harmonics
| | 04:10 | to achieve good separation
and definition in your mix.
| | 04:14 | Sometimes certain elements in a mix
just don't work together, no matter
| | 04:19 | how much you EQ them.
| | 04:21 | This could be due to poor arrangement
decisions, like too many instruments
| | 04:24 | playing different things in the same
octave, or just plain bad luck come
| | 04:29 | mix-down.
| | 04:30 | Never underestimate the
power of the Mute button.
| | 04:33 | If you're having trouble getting your
mix together, experiment with muting
| | 04:37 | certain elements to see if things work better.
| | 04:40 | You may be surprised.
| | 04:42 | I've had mixes that I've struggled
with for hours, only to discover that one
| | 04:46 | unassuming non-critical background
element was fighting me the entire time, and
| | 04:51 | simply muting it allowed the
entire mix to come together instantly.
| | 04:56 | Don't let arrangement vanity ruin your mix.
| | 04:59 | It's okay to mute things sometimes if
it's not serving the song as a whole.
| | 05:04 | If it's causing trouble, get it out of the mix.
| | 05:08 | Presets are great, just not for EQ.
| | 05:11 | Every instrument is unique.
| | 05:13 | Every song is in a different key and tempo.
| | 05:15 | Rooms have different modes and mic
placements vary during the recording stage.
| | 05:20 | Use your ears when applying EQ.
| | 05:22 | Of course there are general areas to
look in when you encounter problems, but
| | 05:27 | crank up that EQ sweep and listen to
the actual signal before you go grab some
| | 05:32 | magical list of frequencies off the Internet.
| | 05:36 | Your room and your speakers
are probably lying to you.
| | 05:39 | Do your best to make sure your EQ
decisions are based on the actual recordings
| | 05:44 | and the way you want them to fit in
the mix, not a correction of your room's
| | 05:48 | wacky modal response.
| | 05:51 | Everything can't be important.
| | 05:54 | Everything in the mix can't be the star.
| | 05:57 | Figure out your focal points and
use EQ to direct the listener to those elements.
| | 06:02 | Use EQ to shape other elements to
complement the focal points, not fight them.
| | 06:09 | Most amateur mixes I here have
serious problems in the low end, because of
| | 06:14 | bad room acoustics or too many low-
end elements fighting each other and creating mud.
| | 06:20 | Be mindful of tracks with lots of low end.
| | 06:23 | Remember that low frequencies are
physically much larger than high frequencies
| | 06:28 | and thus take up more space in a mix.
| | 06:31 | It's common to aggressively cut the low
end of tracks that aren't vital to the
| | 06:35 | bass component of the mix using
shelves and high-pass filters.
| | 06:40 | Make sure that low-frequency
instruments aren't competing with each other and
| | 06:44 | use complementary curves
to help them sit together.
| | 06:48 | Be sure to consider your tempo in the
genre of music you're working on when
| | 06:52 | making EQ decisions.
| | 06:54 | Faster tempos often require more
aggressive low-frequency control and tend to
| | 07:00 | have less bass frequency content overall.
| | 07:03 | For example, a fast rock tune played at
130 BPM with a bass guitar playing 8th
| | 07:10 | notes tends to have a fairly lean
kick drum and bass guitar when compared to
| | 07:15 | the kick and bass of a dub
reggae mix at a much lower tempo.
| | 07:20 | This is because there is literally less
time for the frequencies to play out a
| | 07:24 | mingle in the space outside the speakers.
| | 07:27 | Too much low end on a fast-tempo
song can take away any definition in the
| | 07:31 | individual low-frequency notes,
making them sound like a single note of
| | 07:36 | neverending mud.
| | 07:38 | Many beginning engineers think that
EQ decisions must be static in a mix.
| | 07:43 | That is to say the EQ they choose for
the verse has to be the EQ that will
| | 07:47 | continue into the chorus.
| | 07:49 | Not so. With today's DAW automation
features you can automate almost any
| | 07:54 | parameter of any plug-in, including EQ.
| | 07:58 | so don't be afraid to change your EQ
curves to better suit the arrangement
| | 08:03 | density of the song as it changes.
| | 08:05 | For example, an acoustic guitar in the
intro can be made fuller if it's the only
| | 08:11 | instrument carrying the tune.
| | 08:13 | As other elements are introduced, like
bass guitar, you can decide to cut some
| | 08:18 | of the acoustic guitar's lower
frequencies to better accommodate the new
| | 08:22 | arrangement density of the mix--
EQ automation to the rescue.
| | 08:26 | While there are no hard-
and-fast rules for using EQ,
| | 08:31 | there are many techniques laid out
here in the course that you can use in any mix.
| | 08:36 | Experiment with these techniques for
yourself, as mixing is an art form and also subjective.
| | 08:42 | One person's concept of a balanced
mix could be another person's idea of a terrible mix.
| | 08:48 | So take the techniques you've learned
here, listen carefully, practice your art,
| | 08:53 | and most importantly, have fun.
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5. ConclusionWhat's next and EQ summary| 00:00 | Thanks for watching Foundations of Audio:
EQ and Filters.
| | 00:04 | If you liked what you heard, be sure
to check out my other titles on the
| | 00:07 | lynda.com Online Training Library.
| | 00:10 | If you want to learn more about me or
the projects I'm working on, check out my
| | 00:14 | web site at brianleewhite.com.
See you next time!
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6. An Interview with the AuthorA session with Brian Lee White| 00:00 | (music playing)
| | 00:07 | My name is Brian Lee White.
| | 00:09 | I am a mixer, producer, and educator
based in Oakland, California, and I like to
| | 00:15 | make records and show other
people how to do the same.
| | 00:22 | I grew up in a musical family.
| | 00:24 | My dad played lots of instruments,
played in bands, so I've been playing
| | 00:27 | instruments since I can remember.
| | 00:30 | I got into computers at a really
young age too, computers, technology, and the Internet.
| | 00:34 | So to me, mixing kind of really
incorporates this left-brain, right-brain, very
| | 00:41 | artistic, right, and aesthetics, as
well as highly technical and analytical
| | 00:47 | components, and kind of fusing the two
together into this kind of middle-brain
| | 00:52 | spot to really kind of achieve the
best of both worlds and deliver something
| | 00:58 | that's really special.
| | 00:59 | (music playing)
| | 01:03 | I originally got into teaching sort of
as a way to supplement my income in what
| | 01:09 | is really a hard industry.
| | 01:12 | Ultimately, I really grew to love
teaching, being able to share my experiences,
| | 01:18 | share my tips and tricks with everyone,
and I kind of created this kind of
| | 01:25 | nothing-is-secret approach.
| | 01:28 | I came to that point because I would
have students and I would have friends
| | 01:32 | come to me and they would say things
like, "Yeah, you know, I heard this really
| | 01:36 | cool thing that my buddy was doing and
he told me I am not going to show it to
| | 01:41 | you because that's my trick."
| | 01:43 | I would hear that and I
would say, "That's ridiculous."
| | 01:47 | That's not the mentality that we
need to have in this community of people making art.
| | 01:53 | And I would immediately go and then
show them exactly what they wanted to learn
| | 01:59 | how to do, and then some.
| | 02:00 | The real value of a mixer, a
producer, a songwriter is what's in here.
| | 02:06 | It's those instincts that tell you not
how to do something, not how to turn a
| | 02:12 | knob, but why you would turn that knob.
| | 02:15 | I think ultimately the mix
has to serve the song, right.
| | 02:20 | It has to serve the emotion of the song,
and ultimately, when I'm working for
| | 02:24 | somebody I'm providing a service, so I
ultimately want to achieve the goal of
| | 02:31 | the songwriter and the producer,
sort of where they want to go with their
| | 02:34 | aesthetic, right?
| | 02:36 | And that could be both
artistically as well as commercially.
| | 02:39 | (music playing)
| | 02:43 | What I like personally in a great mix
is I tend to gravitate towards mixes that
| | 02:50 | really make a strong statement, right,
where the artist and the producer and the
| | 02:55 | mixer have all come together.
| | 02:57 | They're all on the same page, and
they kind of say, let's go for this.
| | 03:02 | We're going to go out there.
| | 03:03 | This could be a polarizing aesthetic.
| | 03:06 | This could be the sounds and the
textures and the way we're presenting them--
| | 03:10 | not everyone might get.
| | 03:12 | We're going to make a really gutsy
move on this, and we're going to make
| | 03:16 | an artistic statement.
| | 03:18 | Those are the kind of
things that really excite me.
| | 03:21 | (music playing)
| | 03:23 | As a mixer, of course, sonics are a
big thing for me, how things sound, is it
| | 03:28 | clear, was it recorded well?
| | 03:31 | While that is my job, I think it's
important for me as a mixer and other
| | 03:36 | mixers, all of the greatest mixers,
what they recognize is sort of what draws
| | 03:43 | people to a piece of music or a piece
of art can be totally disconnected to
| | 03:51 | how it sounds sonically.
| | 03:52 | You can see it all over the place, right?
| | 03:55 | You see people listening to songs off
their cell phone speaker and just loving
| | 04:00 | it, just digging it, right?
| | 04:02 | Listening stuff off YouTube. It's
been recompressed thirty times and it's
| | 04:07 | no different to them.
| | 04:08 | They're getting it, right?
| | 04:10 | The emotional connection is not lost.
| | 04:13 | People are really stoked on music, and
it makes them happy, and even in very
| | 04:19 | bandwidth-limited presentations where
the sonics are just horrible, it still
| | 04:24 | makes them happy, and they're still
getting 99% of the same enjoyment out of it.
| | 04:28 | And so I need to take that to heart and
use those concepts to really serve the
| | 04:35 | project I'm working on, and try to
present those so that that enjoyment is
| | 04:41 | maximized, no matter what speaker
system or compression algorithm is being used
| | 04:46 | to put that out there.
(music playing)
| | 04:54 | One of my most important jobs as a
mixer is to really own the aesthetic of the
| | 05:01 | song and the genre and really
present that to the listener.
| | 05:05 | So whether it's a crazy garage rock
punk tune that's going to have all kinds
| | 05:10 | of distorted vocals and drums or
some super clean R&B that's got a ton of
| | 05:15 | low-frequency and a ton of high-
frequency extension, for me, I really want to
| | 05:21 | own that genre.
| | 05:22 | I want to own that aesthetic,
| | 05:23 | and yes, fit it within sort of some
genre expectations and kind of really push
| | 05:29 | that forward so that listeners of that genre,
| | 05:32 | it's not a super-big stretch for them
to kind of take that and run with it.
| | 05:37 | And I think that really makes my job
super fun, because I really get to wear
| | 05:42 | all these different hats and paint with
all these different colors from one day
| | 05:48 | to the next.
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