Mids and mixing

[Coma]

Is there a tangible difference between lowering bass and treble instead of boosting mids in a track? Is there any reason to pick one over the other? I'm thinking primarily of guitar tracks.

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Mids and mixing

What you describe is usually how I do it.
I’ll lower bass/treble...my thinking is that I don’t want the guitar fighting the bass for the lower frequencies (bass will always win that fight) and conversely you don’t want to bury cymbals etc that reside in the high frequencies.

You can always adjust the mids to taste once you’ve got the guitar settled into the proper frequency range.


That’s my thought process anyway.

[Demanic]

Re: Mids and mixing

You are better off lowering frequencies because as you add tracks together the frequencies off each track add together cumulatively. You might not have too much bass or treble or mids in any individual track, but you could wind up with too much of any of them in the total mix.

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[Mincer]

Re: Mids and mixing

I think you'd end up with better dynamic range (if that sort of stuff is important to you) by lowering frequencies on either side. You won't digitally clip, either. That being said, some people like to slam it right to the red all the time, but I don't like those types of mixes.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mids and mixing

Either additive or subtractive EQ will work.

The main considerations when EQ'ing are:

1. Gain. When you use additive EQ you are adding a significant amount of gain; you have to be careful that the EQ'd track doesn't end up louder than the original, so some trim will probably have to be applied. That being said, don't be afraid to get extreme with the EQ to make something fit. Try to avoid listening to tracks solo'd when EQ'ing; that way, madness lies...

2. Phase. When using either additive or subtractive EQ, there is usually a bump in the frequency response at the cutoff point; this can create phasing artifacts ... you will want to set the EQ point accordingly. (You could also use a 'linear phase' EQ to eliminate this from happening)

3. Q. Generally speaking, you want to use a wide Q for adding and a narrow Q for subtracting. This applies to hi/low pass filtering as well.

4. Masking. If you are having trouble getting track A to fit, you can try finding the main frequency of that track and subtract it from every other track.

5. "Stuck Fader". A sure sign that you need EQ is when you have a track which has good level but in the mix it simultaneously sounds too loud and too quiet.

6. HPF. Use high pass filtering on every track. Yes, every track.

6. Know Your Room. Use reference tracks often to make sure that what you are hearing as an EQ issue isn't your crappy room causing an issue.

As to which is one is actually needed for a mix, a cool trick is to try the 'pink noise' mixing method. If you are having trouble fitting the track onto the pink noise, you may have to add a couple of dB of EQ. Subjectively speaking, and especially with frequency masking, subtractive EQ is not necessarily the best way to get something to fit.

[Coma]

Re: Mids and mixing

What is pink noise?

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[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mids and mixing

What is pink noise?

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There are several different kinds of of 'flavour' of noise. The two most common/popular are white and pink. The colour refers to the spectral content of the noise.

PINK NOISE has a spectral content that closely resembles the way the human ear perceives pitch.

Pink Noise Mixing is when you set up pink noise at a certain level (I usually use it around -20dBu) and then slowly raise one track at a time until it is barely audible above the noise. The natural way our ears hear frequencies will give you a surprisingly complete sounding mix in a very short time (minutes, as opposed to hours or days).

Pink Noise Mixing is a great way to set up a 'flash mix' for a client when you are pressed for time. Just add a healthy dose of L2 to your 2-bus when done and send it out as a rough!

Hope you find this helpful. It's well worth the time to do some research into pink noise, psychoacoustics, and pink noise mixing techniques.

[Gtrjunior]

Mids and mixing

There are several different kinds of of 'flavour' of noise. The two most common/popular are white and pink. The colour refers to the spectral content of the noise.

PINK NOISE has a spectral content that closely resembles the way the human ear perceives pitch.

Pink Noise Mixing is when you set up pink noise at a certain level (I usually use it around -20dBu) and then slowly raise one track at a time until it is barely audible above the noise. The natural way our ears hear frequencies will give you a surprisingly complete sounding mix in a very short time (minutes, as opposed to hours or days).

Pink Noise Mixing is a great way to set up a 'flash mix' for a client when you are pressed for time. Just add a healthy dose of L2 to your 2-bus when done and send it out as a rough!

Hope you find this helpful. It's well worth the time to do some research into pink noise, psychoacoustics, and pink noise mixing techniques.

It would be fun and enlightening to sit it on a mix and watch you do this.
Even though I understand the definition I think the actual doing of this type of mix would be quite the learning experience.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Mids and mixing

There are a lot of videos on YouTube both for and against. This one explains the process well, but for everyone that loves using pink noise, another guy hates it. It’s very much a YMMV thing. Even if you try it and HATE it, it’s super helpful to get you to listen critically and objectively and (perhaps most important) develop your own tastes and preferences.

[beaubrummels]

Re: Mids and mixing

I second everything TO said with two additions:

Whether additive or subtractive also depends on the quality of the equipment. Some devices are musical and/or transparent with gain and the mix benefits. Other devices when pushed just sound like a blanket on the sound - so filtered it’s like listening from outside the house through an open window. Same goes for subtractive techniques: with certain gear it can just sound like a blanket over the original sound.

I’d be careful with pink noise and be sure to keep at or below the -20dbm like TO said. Louder and it slams the speakers with all the frequencies. I witnessed the cone surround of the bass drivers of studio monitors come apart one time when pink noise was sent into them at near unity. Granted they were old and probably needed to be reconed soon, but that sure hastened the process. Kind of expensive mistake.