Comments on: Equalizers 101: Solutions from Mixing Mistakes – Application

By: Latest music mixing software news – Equalizers 101: Solutions from Mixing Mistakes – Application

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:59:22 +0000

[...] Equalizers 101: Solutions from Mixing Mistakes – Application [...]

By: Ken Johnstone

Ken Johnstone — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:44:48 +0000

Hi Rodney,

Thanks for clarifying…

Always good to hear from another member of the Johns(t)on(e) clan!

Cheers,
Ken

By: Rodney Johnson

Rodney Johnson — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:35:07 +0000

A really good general way to apply EQ is to not think so much about what needs to be added, but focus on what you have too much of and try to cut it. And if you must boost certain frequencies, purposely apply too much and sweep the frequency and listen for the frequency you think you need and then reduce the gain until you can just barely hear the difference (compared to no gain at all) when the track is solo’d. This will keep most mic’d acoustic tracks sounding ‘natrual.’ Novice mixers usually over apply EQ and Reverb because they feel if they don’t hear it in a pronounced way, they aren’t making a difference, which usually results in a ‘peaky’ and muddy mix. There are very few rules to this sort of thing (as ‘production’ values many times collide with ‘reproduction’ of natural sound balances) and experience is the best teacher. One thing that all of the professional studio engineers I have talked to are fond of saying is that “air is the best sound mixer ever created.”

By: Rodney Johnson

Rodney Johnson — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:17:16 +0000

You’re descriptions of high/low pass and high/low shelf filtering is somewhat confusing. I think what you meant to say is that the high pass and low pass filtration is a ‘bandpass’ (with a wide Q factor) type filter as opposed to the a ’shelving’ filter in which all frequencies higher (or lower) than the selected cutoff frequency are effected.