From the course: Audio Foundations: EQ and Filters

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Creating focus

Creating focus

From the course: Audio Foundations: EQ and Filters

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Creating focus

When applying EQ in a mix there are a number of common mistakes made by novice engineers. Here I want to talk about three of the big ones: trying to make every instrument's stand out in the mix, trying to make too many instruments fit into a mix, and EQing tracks in solo. Not every track can be the star in a mix. All instruments can't have the spotlight at the same time. Instead, you can use EQ to help direct the listener to what the focal point of the song is at any given moment. In fact, you can use EQ to make one or more instruments purposefully sound more dull in order for another instrument to stand out. Photographers use depth-of-field extensively to achieve this same effect. They place the subject of the photo in focus while background elements may be made intentionally out of focus to help draw the viewer's eye towards the subject, and make for a more interesting composition or organization. We can do this in music or post-production too using EQ. For example, the lead vocal…

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