Do high pass filters ruin your mixes? Fixing Bad Music Production and Mixing Advice EP.2
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
- I'm fixing more bad music production and mixing advice. Honestly, I enjoyed this one and can't wait to move on to more interesting topics soon!
I'm making this video as a response to the critiques I've received online for sharing some helpful and widely used EQ techniques. Remember that it is always easier to straw man an argument and debunk it than to make a compelling case in the first place. Monitor the phase on your EQ if you are concerned.
As always, I hope you found this video useful or interesting in some way!
Watch Episode 1 here: • Fixing Bad Music Produ...
0:00 - Introduction
0:20 - Good advice
1:12 - Bad advice
1:35 - Where the bad advice comes from (Audio Example)
4:20 - Can you hear the difference? Full Mix Example
5:20 - Plugin Doctor and some social media advice
6:45 - Thanks for watching
The mix was Cruise Control by Jason Jass.
📱 Instagram: @michael.inthemix
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Let me know which one you thought had the high pass filter at 4:20... I'm still waiting on a winner.
Edit: still waiting on a correct answer. I will reveal the answer in my next video.
📱 All my links: linktr.ee/inthemixlinks
0:00 - Introduction
0:20 - Good advice
1:12 - Bad advice
1:35 - Where the bad advice comes from (Audio Example)
4:20 - Can you hear the difference? Full Mix Example
5:20 - Plugin Doctor and some social media advice
6:45 - Thanks for watching
I think a has the high pass applied. I don't know for sure. Its more a feeling thing
B reason: subbass
both are exactly the same mix.
A, It sounds like it has a higher pitch. B sounds like it has more low end and feels a bit more flat.
I would go for A is highpass applied because for B I can hear more sub bass rumble specially on the kick when it kicks in.
We obviously need more musical MythBusters like you and Dan Worrall
Bro Dan Worall is insanely wise
Both British too
Does that mean we'd be better mixers if we're British too?
Drink tea and biscuits for better mixes@@DeltaWhiskeyBravo13579
imagine both of them collabing. the best in audio education
Was a little worried when I saw the thumbnail, but I am glad you used the clickbait properly and got people to the “correct” conclusion. Lots of crazy info on this topic
I had to make sure I drew in people who were looking to have their view affirmed, only to show them the truth instead! Thanks for trusting me.
@@inthemix I came here for an argument! 😜
Same@@Tekkerue
This is weak sauce advice, why focus on the “DONT DO THIS” instead of show what to do? Look up alexmadeit he’s leaked audio school material thank me later
This comment just stopped me from writing "no" without watching the video. Suppose I'll watch it now 😅
A & B sound the same to me for the most part. Which brings up an interesting point. Like 99% of the people listening to your music isn't gonna hear the difference either, or even care or know what a little phasing or pre-ringing is/sounds like.
Listening on E8XT's
Literally exactly, I think its a trick question, but even if its not, it may aswell be, theres NO audible difference to 99% of people, on 90% of devices.
Yeah true. I have 10+ years playing piano, so my ears are pretty sensitive, but generally I don't hear the differences. I thought it's because I wasn't a pro in digital music.@@t3ch_n0
@@t3ch_n0there will be audible differences when you're mastering the track. You'll be able to punch through harder during limiter with phase aligned tracks
but you're listening on a low-to-mid-range pair of monitors. When people mix and master music it's designed to sound great on ALL speakers. Especially dance music. If the low-end sounds like shit, it will literally never get played in a club or by any DJ.
Audible differences are only one reason people do this. The second one is low end rumble from different tracks adding up and thus forcing you to mix at a lower level before you risk clipping.
This problem by now only applies to the main bus since floating point computing allows us to exceed 0dB on individual tracks but there used to be times where this was different. The lower bit rate forced you to record as hot as possible to use up as much of the precious dynamic range as possible. But since you were not allowed to go past 0dB at any point in the chain a simple EQ boost on a single track could cause huge problems, because you already were as close to the ceiling as possible. So high pass filters were not only used to give every instrument it's own place in the mix but also to help to be deal with the limitations of early digital recordings.
Yes, that! Thank you for saying it. This whole tight schedule content creation that eventually need to create problems to solve is constantly pushing beginners off track
I couldn’t agree more. It’s why I only post once or twice a month at most. Not good for business but much better for the audience.
Mix A has the highpass enabled. Mix B has more low end in the very sub frequencies. I'm listening through my dedicated sub!
Thanks for sharing your answer, I will share the results next week on my community tab on UA-cam.
Niooooo
I am on the same page
B does not have a filter on it
I thought the same although I'm only on Yamaha HS7s with no sub. Maybe it was placebo but if you're on a sub guess it must be the case
The end of this vid is so so true, I have found vids on UA-cam that question my whole music and then obsess over fixing it when it was actually fine and I spent hours wasting time.
You give easily some of the most informative and useful advice when it comes to this stuff, I'm glad you're making videos like this and just your videos in general, such a gold mine for a newbie like me 💙
I can only thank you. After a 15 year break from my hobby doing music with Orion Platinum that was discontinued. I bought FL Studio. Things had moved on alot. Fl studio certainly has. You've made my learning curve so much easier with your excellent presentation and style. I'm really enjoying my hobby once again. Thank you so much. Awesome tutorials. You've a great talent 👌
Cubase 13 is free now, no dongle ;)
Glad you made a video about this. This has been something on my mind for a while now!
Happy to have added some clarity to the discussion.
A was original and B was High pass filter. To me, the difference was in listening the kick in context of the whole mix. In A the kick felt like it was playing separate to the other sounds of the mix, whereas in B, the kick sounded more included with the other sounds of the mix, so I believe the sub frequencies were cut in the B.
I agree with A as the original and B as High Pass. If you listen verryyyyy closely to the kick, B is a teeny tiny bit fuzzier sounding to me. A sounds like all of the original frequencies are intact.
Exactly
I'm on this one as well. I noticed in B that the kick's body is much more present and blended with the mix, while in A the kick's body is less audible due to the sub content that hasn't been removed. Sometimes less bass = more bass (Maybe? 🤷♂). Listening on Focal Alpha 80.
@@ashleykister4634claps are more crisp too, the low cut brings out the high frequency transients a little i feel
I agree, but for different reasons:
(copy+pasted from other reply)
I hear more bass in A, and likewise I hear more transient definition in B. Can't tell if the lack of transient definition in A is from either slight preringing the HPF gives (if in linear phase) or is instead from the slight added resonance that occurs at the cutoff points of HPF's.
B clearly has more transient. Not sure if this is because those are the original transients that haven't been minimized from an HPF (aforementioned preringing or resonance boost) or if it's because there's a bit less overall sub-bass. It does sound more natural to me, though.
Would have been helpful if he told us whether the HPF would be "Natural Phase" or "Linear Phase."
This is awesome, been watching your videos and have been trying my hardest to learn all these skills you give us. I’ve been runnin the trial version of FL for moooonths now. Been trying to get fluid on it before I purchased it. Thanks for the content man, keep it up!
Great vid Michael! "A negative AUDIBLE difference" is a very important point. There's so many in-depth analytical tools available to us, this makes it easy for mixers to focus on the science way more than the sound.
You REALLY stand out from other Mixing engineers on UA-cam! Great video
I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear you say this, I love a high pass and I've been paranoid about using them since I heard about the phase problems.
Remember that pro artists just create and experiment, everyone else spends time thinking about the bs
@@mcgritty8842I'll steal this. It's powerful and I needed it.
@@mcgritty8842 Yeah I guess I do like to spend a bit of time messing with gear, but with this I just use my ears and ask does a high pass make it sound better here.
Very well said @@mcgritty8842
Phase issues are still a scary concept to me that I don't quite understand. Even after 10 years.
So happy to see this, been thinking about it forever. Thanks for clearing it all up, Mike. Great as always!
Great stuff, glad that you mentioned the low shelf.Anyway, love this type of videos.
I finally unlearned the habit of highpassing most sounds a couple years ago. Ill Gates has a fantastic seminar called "The 80 20 of Mixing" where I first learned about the phase cancelation problem.
Glad to see you are also putting out this corrected version of the information 👍
Did you watch the whole video lol. He is debunking the advice that highpassing most sounds is a bad idea.
@@teunvandenbroek2115 did you read my comment?
you should watch videos instead of just looking at thumbnails and leaving comments
He's not even discussing phase cancellation here, phase cancellation is only something you need to worry about if you're doing parallel EQ'ing. If using an EQ in serial/as an insert at 100% mix for example, you don't need to worry about phase cancellation.
This is aside from the video, but would you be able to do an updated tour of your studio including the lighting, how things are placed, etc.? I noticed right straight how you always have a calming sort of theme to your studio and is something I'm trying to create a sense of for my new studio. Thanks in advance!
If you and others want to see it, I’ll happily make a video. I wouldn’t give advise to people on what to do precisely but I can share what works for me.
@@inthemix please!
Love how in depth these are!
Good video!! And all I know for sure, is that I like example "B" much more. And no matter the processing I would choose... that is where 'my' ears and musical sensibilities would take me. 😊
Imho high pass is better suited for any sound that has no business being in the low end. Even then, gentle curves are better. And EQ. 😉
I agree
Where else would it make any sense in the first place? Sounds pretty natural to me
A has a HPF on it, When you switched to mix B you could hear more sub bass, my headphones go as low as 15hz but I could hear it. Thanks for the video by the way, cleared a lot.
What headphones go to 15Hz?
ATH-M30x, some go even lower, there's a video in this channel about headphones@@timgreig1704
I was on the fence about quitting music altogether because it just wasn't sounding how I wanted it, not to mention EQing I just couldn't figure out whether I was taking out too much, or too little.
This video actually helped me to understand that I might have been focusing far too much on trying to eq the lows off of most tracks apart from bass etc. Thanks!
Really well done video. Sticking to facts. I like the calm presentation and easy tempo of the speech. Thank you!
It’s definitely A for sure 100% reason being is the base and the kick are way more cleaner and puncher! B has more body but is more muddled! For dance music A is what you want! I hi pass everything witch is what I learn from deadmau5! But it depends on what you’re going for and the genre! You can give the packs to someone else who could use them I’m good! Great video and thank you!
This is incredible advice!! Thank you so much for all the help
Nice mix as always !
Thanks a lot for these, appreciating it.
Tuning in from Vietnam :)
Sample B is high passed because it has a little less low end compared to sample A. BTW love your content. You always teach something new. Keep it up❤❤
The answer for me is B - I’m listening with the iphone earplugs on a train, so maybe not the best surroundings but i get the sense that B has the low cut on, in zero latency/ Natural phase mode - the reason being is because i can hear the 180 degree phase shift which usually translate in an enhancement of the mid-low frequencies, very frequent in what is called the ‘Gibbs effect’, not too audible but that’s what my ear tells me.
For ‘enhancement’ i mean an increase in amplitude in an aera really close to the applied Low Cut. Having a low cut/eq on, doesn’t necessarily mean that there’ll ve a reduction in amplitude of the overall dynamic, as in this case. Phase shift needs to be taken in consideration.
This person is professional, as a beginner the video is very easy to follow. I managed to make 1 EP of lofi music with standard chords and following this guy's mixing tutorial, at least it worked in my case. Thank You
Thank you very much, for the FL Studio tutorials which have increased my knowledge in this DAW. I'm still an amateur just learning about DAW FL Studio🙏
Great vid! My take is generally if you have phase issues, you'll hear 'em. New engineers are probably overthinking phase. I only worry about phase when placing mics, or when I hear a phase issue while mixing - which is actually quite rare.
Also if you really want to ensure your phase is correctly aligned, there are plugins for that. I have used them, and no longer do.
Really nice video as usual🙌
As for the mixes, I feel both the Mixes A and B are the same. I couldn't hear any difference honestly. The Mix B seemed slightly different but I feel its just because of the different bass note.
Keep up with such videos.🙌♥️
I am working on a mix that should sound different from any mix I have done before and this video was scientifically informative.
Great content as always, thanks very much for this!
Please never leave this platform. Love from US 2024
Hello and thank you for the advice, very helpful. I've started using them to consistently publish my songs on my UA-cam channel.
As it were: cool, calm, collected. Thanks so much.
Hey, your channel is one of my favorite and i have learnt a lot of tricks here. Keep up the good work 👍I find A is high passed and B is original as I can hear more sub in B. Also the high frequencies are bit clear on A.
I have to admit, this is SUCH a great exercise to train what we hear.
One of the most important question. 👏 Great Michael 👍
This is brilliant. I've always tried and experimented with HPF s but never tried to visualize it with something as simple as a kick. This cleared up the topic so much. Thank you. Another thing I struggle with is creating space and depth in the track and I've always wondered how to use the combination of stereo and mono reverb and delays in a track to achieve a clean yet deep mix. If this topic is worthy of a video please make something, nonetheless I will be satisfied with an explanation in the comments. Thanks 😊
as a high pass user for lowend user. this vids gonna change my mind & my ears ,thankss!!!
B has the high-pass filter on it, I can hear it in the low-mids :) Thanks for the video!
thx for keeping it short and to the point
I stopped watching UA-cam videos on production I have decided to sit down and put inn the work because the song making process comes with a lot of ups and down. Sometimes what works for A may not work for B. Your advice is good great advice
Thank you for this video. I consider this common sense. Or one would think it is.
There is absolutely no reason, what so ever, to leave unwanted frequencies tornadoing through your mix. Especially subs and low end in general. Leave that area for the Kick and Bass. With the exceptions of specific productions where some percussion elements or other low end instruments wanting to play in that frequency range as well. More often than not, I see useless low end information in hihat samples, snare samples, vocals, strings..etc..etc. And highpass filters is one of the first things I do in a mix when mixing for others. In fact, quite often this fixes all the clarity issues.
With my earliest efforts I knew little about EQ or compression, except that cutting some of the lower end in sounds made the resulting mix clearer. Along with attenuating at 16000, 8000 & 4000 Hz, It's still one of the most important things I have learned about music production. There is no single rule of thumb for where to cut low end. You need a good audio setup for monitoring low end & you have to use your ears. A gentle slope is best of course. And the linear phase trick is handy.
A is with filter because B is more full sound and youre plugin is very welcome, already thanks for aal the videos , tips&trics, you are the mixmaster
thank u so much for this great video. i am happy to see, i am not the only one, thinking about influence of high pass in a mix. of course B ist the one with the filter. the tight impule is destroyed. would be interested into a video about influence of high pass to different tracks in a drum muktitrack and how u can use it to better summing signals just by exploiting their individual phase shift
Example B has the filter on you can tell slightly because the kick is slightly “thumpier” and when you remove some of the sub it opens up more space for the kick over the 808
A was the high passed track. There seemed to be a subtle smoothness to B that gave it a more natural feel.
A is High passed. Low end sounds clearer and increased perceived loudness overall on A. Would love to try your plugin on my mixes. Thanks :)
Thank you bro! This is a very nice data!
Many thanks for this advice !
A is the one with the high-pass filter. You can hear it on the kick; it's warmer on B.
Very wise advice. Thank you 😊
I was replying to a girl I'm in the "talking" phase with and this video popped up in my notifications. I immediately clicked.
It's more important than a reply to a girl l 😅😅😅
you should tell her how the phase shifts when you use an eq on a sound
@@povilasl5383lmaoooo
idgaf
PhAsE iSsUes
Track A has been processed / HPFed due to the ambient synth that's been side-chained sustaining all of the track audibly having more bass / low-mid frequencies around the 150 hz range on track B. This bleeds into the pluck bass and mostly the arpeggiated synth with a similar timbre. To the point where some of it's lower register is obscured. Right as the transition happens you can subtly hear a right pan biased low saw wave tone compound with the bass pluck pumping on the offbeat. It's very subtle, but a reduction in mix clarity.
The native FL Studio EQ 2 can draw the exact phase rotation curve, so you can clearly see at which frequency which degree of phase rotation is applied. Helps keeping the bass phase intact and allows creative use as well (e.g. when you intentionally want to rotate phases around a cutoff)
Thank you for your great videos!
This is what we have spectrum analysis for: only cut away the _noise,_ not the *signal.*
I use high passing on _every_ microphone track because there can always be low freq rumble from your steps on the studio floor - or from thumping the desk - reaching the mic via the mic stand.
Do you really know what noise is? I mean in terms of frequency spectrum. If we could easily filter it out noise when it is present in the signal we would not need low noise audio pre-amps and ADCs.
@@hbo001Does _who_ really know what noise is? Anyone who doesn't know their rumble from their hiss doesn't belong anywhere near a mixing console in the first place.
Anyone who wants to *learn* can _solo_ and loop any noise to get a good long look at in a spectrum analyzer. Train your ears _and_ your eyes.
this is great. thank you!
Nice video. I always have problems with the correct amount of reverb and stereo widening for vocals and melodies and the correct EQs for both to get a perfect interaction between them. If you could make a video about that it would help a lot of producers like me, there aren't videos about that matter.
excellent advice & info!
A was hi-passed. Reason: The non high-passed version B feeds the side-chain compressor with more low end energy - i.e. the pumping is more intense.
Mix A has the highpass enabled. You can hear the low end come in when switched to B. It’s subtle but you can definitely hear it
A is the original and B is the one where the high pass is applied, you feel that the kick is less strong, and the other elements, including the mids and highs, shine through better in the mix, this is because even though it wasn't a brutal cut but the fact that the kick is "cleaner" ends up making room for other frequencies, bringing a cleaner sound
Thank you for this topic :)
EQing things is going to change the phase. But it's not like these things are impossible to correct for. Anyway - great video !
On my studio headphones A and B sound absolutely identical. Not sure what system you have to be on to notice a difference. But thank you so much for the insight! :)
Yeah, I haven’t got my monitors hooked back up at the moment, and on headphones it’s hard to tell the difference.
Well, you effectively need good headphones to hear the signal part below 60Hz ! I hear it with a Sennheiser HD 25-13 II...but it's more accurate with big monitors and good acoustic environment.
Yeah, I was listening late at night on buds and it was tough. When I get back I’ll give it a proper listen on monitors and I’m sure it will be obvious.
I feel really good about my answer now. Haha
Great video! Thanks!
very great video, thanks for your work. about that question... "A" seems to me like an a original mix with a great bassline, when the "B" actually have a very much of sub loss, like the high pass filter working around 40hz. literally a huge difference between those mixes.
listening with presonus hd9
B is the HPF. A Original. The sub frequencies in B from the kick are high passed allowing the bass to carry the track more. 👏👏👏
I'm monitoring and my car is Bose Soundsystem currently from what I can tell a is definitely high past the way that I noticed was when we became in the actual attack of the Krum was way more obvious and there was more energy overall in the low end
A has the lowcut filter applied because there is more decay on mix B, the kick sounds rounder and a bit fuller overall!
Definitely B! Videos like this are well enjoyed and informative
Hello Sir nice tutorial
I really learn from you I want to answer your question. its A , Reason is when I applying high pass filter on tracks, with no doubts its cut the rumble ness and I get more cleaned and defined low end of track. with applying high pass filter it also tighten the room. And A is more cleaned and defined
It’s The Mix No. B, kaz in my ear’s the low end seems all over the place in the mix! either way i prefer the kick of the mix A over the mix B 😊
Intersting as usual. With headphones I don't perceive any difference in the deep bass between A and B. But in B I perceive greater clarity of the midbass (high pass on?)
Thanks for this. Could you do a video on mixing sub bass? I always seem to struggle with this part of my mix especially as my monitors don't pick it up great. Thanks
I've only listened quickly via my smartphone inears, but B should be with a high-pass filter. At least it sounds less precise and "fatter" to me than without the highpass filter.
I've known about this topic for a long time because it's also a big issue in loudspeaker development. A much more important point, in addition to the phase, is the time consistency. With loudspeakers, the so-called 'group delay' is measured. This is a frequency-dependent impulse response. With steep IIR filters, the problem is that this impulse response rises very sharply at the frequency of the filter. Put simply, this makes it sound muddier and less precise. This is not only an issue with high-pass filters, but a general problem with small-band EQs.
Cool video - thanks for making the topic more transparent for the general public!
"Put simply, this makes it sound muddier and less precise. " Like tape?
Litttle late but I feel Mix A has been processed and sounds/feels more consistent on the subs. Both sound great but on Mix B I felt I could hear a slight build up of frequencies in the subs. This is probably more down to the lack of acoustic treatment in my room lol. On headphones, they sounded the same so doing something you can't hardly hear gives a little extra headroom to push the mix louder. Thank you for covering this subject as I have always been reluctant to use high pass filters including linear phase, and only used either low/high shelf when needed.
This video made me resub again. Well put!
I have a mic that sounds like mud, but with a high pass filter, it cleans it up really well (Rode M.2).
A vs B: the difference was very slight and I could only could tell in the mix. I would guess that A would be the original and B is high-pass. It took maybe 5 listens (so I would notice listening to an album) where the bass drum was burying other sounds, and with B, I could hear the other instruments easier. A also sounded more fatiguing on my ear drums when I used headphones especially. I closed my eyes and listened to the comparison. I can feel A almost slamming my ear drums (boompf boompf boompf boompf), but when B played, it felt softer on my ears.
I'm not mixing drums (yet?), but this was a really great lesson (even if I'm wrong). The thing that's driving me crazy is "is this psychological?" because maybe if I'm listening to A enough, would my ears get used to it. A few more listens and I stand by "A = original ; B = High Pass"
Great video Micheal !! Quick question What do you think about M Audio BX5 D3 studio monitors are they good if your room is not treated ?
I'm going to say B is the processed example, because I can hear the bass coming through cleaner and clearer, which only happens when you get the low frequencies out of each others way.
Great vid Michael...
Comapring A and B I feel that B would definitely be the Hipassed sample if you listen closely the Bass on the Kick seems to be more tamed neutral sounding compared to sample A where you feel the kick thumping in the low end.
Great 👍 video, Michael.
My guess is:
[A] is highpassed, [B] is unprocessed
It's more like a feeling since I got no Sub and no large monitors so I went with my ATH-M50x.
[A] sounded more "airy" and "cleaned up" to me where [B] sounded "mushy" to my ears.
Anyways:
Thank's alot for your videos and the effort you put in. Your channel is solid gold 🙏
You are top notch!
I believe A has a highpass on it. It felt like the kick and snare did lack just a little bit of power & Clickiness in the transients in comparison to B. This I believe would be due to the phase shift caused by the non linear cutoff messing with the signal phase :)
Yes! Absolutely! Something I've recently changed in my production was ridiculous low cuts. Just cut the bassy part of a hihat bro, let that transient juice come out of that damn hat, if you want white noise hats just make it in 3oscx instead.
You’re a legend bro
good info for troubleshooting when mixes dont sound boomy enough. tho, honestly. i would never call a 40hz highpass a "ridiculous" move. it is all about taste, and if u know what u do go for it. for me the highpass almost sounded like using a bit of a compressor. really, its really up to u what u do.
still good info for troubleshooting whith mix issues.
Exactly, lowpass and highpass are used to transform the original shape of the sound to make space in the mix and get more control, NOT FOR RUIN anything... Take account if the master are commercially squashed at -5 dB LUFS, the filters are an essential process... thanks.
Nice thought about panicking over subtle things you didn't know existed just because you saw a video. People, trust yourself more ;)
I am glad more people are recognising it these days. Fear is such a good way to get views but it’s not good for us!
Thanks for the video