Thank you for this. This has really helped me in many scenarios. I was thinking that maybe some people may not know what the ranges are when it states "fast attack" or "slow release", etc for compression. It might help to maybe put a legend on there where it has the ranges of all these. Thank you again for all that you do.
One of the things I loved about audio engineering and sound production was the wide array of interests and talents the field covers. You have engineers and mathematicians making the software and hardware that we use and then you have those who approach it from feel and emotion. There's room for so many creative types, that's why it's an awesome field.
I agree. One of the most important things I learned from you and implement today is to make big moves to hone in on the sweet spot faster. In the past, i would nudge and change decibels at micro levels only to burn my brain out and fool my own perceptions to end up frustrated and unhappy with my mix. These days I rarely have to use less than 1 decibel adjustments and my mixes are much better. Thanks for the good advice!
videos like those are gold for people who wanna make the jump from mixing to dsp engineering, or for people who wanna know more about filter edgecase situations to come up with sounddesign ideas
Older engineer here, great advice. In days of outboard gear I decided not to care what's on the other side of the sockets (in the box), it's actually liberating to use the tools and just get on with it. Theres no need to worry about how or why things work, we have skilled and knowledgeable people to do that stuff for us.
Thank you again for making videos like this. I got degrees in music and audio engineering and have a personality type that makes me obsess about perfection and technical "correctness." Needless to say, school kind of ruined me for a couple of years. I attribute my recent paradigm shift in satisfaction with my mixing abilities (or lack thereof) pretty much all to you. It's been a breathe of fresh air. Obviously this means I will be sending you the bill for all of my recent software purchases. 😝
Well... You're spot on on many things, here - not overcomplicating, instinct over science, etc. BUT, that said: A) knowing some of the science, in the sense of having at least a basic clear grasp of how your tools work, is certainly no cause for shame, and never did anyone any harm... unless they got caught in a spiral of science and became Sheldon Cooper instead of CLA (who BTW knows quite a bit about how at last his analog gear works!), in which case perhaps they might have picked the wrong career path in the first place B) using a "cheat sheet"doesn't foolproof anything, it may give some general guidance but it's always horses-for-courses and a case-by-case approach, so it's not like downloading one of those will save one from the danger of needing to become a mad scientist - both these things are actually unrelated, and both may be damaging in the sense that they don't help develop the right instincts or gain the adequate knowledge C) when you said "I really believe that audio engineers need to be artists first and foremost", you're totally, dead wrong - that may be PRODUCERS you're talking of, the very word ENGINEER says a whole different thing - and hey, it's not an axiom that someone good at engineering a studio, your music, your mix or a spaceship can't at the same time "care about your music". In this day and age and with all the bedroom/home recording available great technology we have yes, many artists need to be a bit of an engineer, but the opposite is not at all equally true. Actually given the quantity of poor recordings, bad mixes and especially very bad YT tutorials & advice around, a boatload of good engineers with some actual, hands-on knowledge would really not be amiss, today! So... although I agree that the video you quoted is super-nerdy and really not useful nor vitally necessary to making music or mixing in practice, I'd say easy on the generalizations and superficial dogmas & rules, and rather keep up the good work. All of the above in my opinion & experience, of course. ✌ AF
As someone who has a couple of EE degrees, and has worked as an Electronics Engineer for decades, as well as working as a certified professional recording engineer, at the same time as working for a well known musical instruments manufacturing company, I must say that this was great advice that you have given! Well done! I hope people who need to see this video will benefit in the way your stated intentions expressed. You don't have to know about why it's called 'Q' for widening or narrowing an EQ bandwidth to make it sound good. For those who have to satisfy their OCD, they can deep dive into finding out the origin of it, but taking the time to do that will not help one learn how to use their EQ plug-in any better than just changing the setting and listening to the changes it causes.
Love this - the truth is that a lot of people can understand the insane "behind the curtain" stuff on how these tools work yet still have NO idea how to wield them creatively. Two very differnet things.... Like - I got my degree in music composition so I was around other composers who understand theory at a high level and can talk about incredibly complicated theoretical things but yet ... their music almost always was HORRIBLE. So their knowledge does not equal "good music"
As someone who has a background in this type of science (so I might have an easier time digesting this material), I find the content extremely valuable as it gives context to why you would use certain tools, and gives guidance on where to look when you want to modify a sound in a certain way (or when you're not getting the outcomes that you're looking for).
This is why I trust your guidance. Use your ears. Get better at listening. All things you preach. I liken the same principals to weightlifting. There is a whole genre of youtubers out there making fitness overly scientific. IDK, always found more use out of your videos than others.
Sseb actually has a lot of good videos.. and I do think they are a good watch for mixers, especially his videos on saturation. I think understanding just a little bit of the science helps you move from reproduction to sythesis in your mixing moves. Its also might help you avoid some of the snake oil in plugin marketing. Edit: an interesting point about the 'use your ears' argument. 'Your' is the key word; your ears are not representative of the entire population. While it's important to use your ears, probably most of the time; it's also important to understand how the science works, both in the mathematics and the psycho-acoustics. A lot of really good mixers will say 'I always just used my ears', but there are way, way more bad mixers using their ears too.
I looked up the video you are referencing and it was actually amazing. Yes, there is some high level physics lessons on the front end (but he provides skip ahead times multiple times to his practical applications). When I was educated in recording engineering I was taught a lot of the science behind it, much of it I forgot, but even in forgetting it it put me in a place to learn and practice proper and more instincual techniques. Im not sure why you found this video offensive, the practical tips in the end are highly beneficial and he taught me some things I hadnt known after doing this 20 plus years. Its always good to learn. You never have it all down. The original video never claims you MUST know the science behind eq to be successful so Im not sure why you came across so defensive. I definitely agree with you that over thinking mixing can be many a downfall. But I dont think his video is an example of that. Its very helpful information, especially the practical applications from 930 mins on.
I made a preset with VMR of your vocal chain. I decided to record through it and it is the best vox i have recorded. Your merhods are easy to implement and just work🤘
Good reminder. I definitely like the science behind these things but most of the time it is just a distraction from my goal of making and releasing good music.
I do have a master's in electrical engineering with a focus in Digital Signal Processing and it has caused me to overthink things when it comes to mixing music and dialing in guitar tones. The best use of my time was simply making music and learning by trial and error.
Truth. One of my mentor had the luck to work with Bruce Swedin. You know how Bruce used the Eqs of the console for every Michael Jackson song? He used exactly the same eq settings on every single channel. 12k boost and something about 8k on every channel the same amount. Every recording was great because of the great musicians and the nice sounding instruments. It was his eq setting and his flavour and he simply used it. Also he used a EMT 250 on every song. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, but always one reverb for all his productions.
I was about to type that it doesn't matter if you don't know the tech specs details about anything as long as you understand how to use it and get great results. It happens a lot with musicians. Some don't know music theory and some don't even know where G is on their instrument, but they can sure play. You pretty much said everything that needed to be said.
I resonated with what you said about audio engineers need to also be artists, although I find that is more true if you are in somewhat of a producer's role. If you are there to just simply "engineer" the audio, then I could find some interest in digging down in that tech knowledge hole.
I didn't notice a lot of videos on youtube about the technical side of mixing tools that put pressure on beginners. But I've noticed a ton of videos like "sweep through the spectrum looking for problems, HP everything, and you're good to go." And that's what most beginners watch. I actualy wish there were less of sweeping-videos and more of the technical stuff on youtube. Then good and practical mixing videos like yours will get more views.
There is theory and practice. I think both are helpful and important, but the ratio between the two will depend on your temperament. For me, I probably would be interested in the "You Don't Understand EQ" ... in theory ;). I have enough mathematics and physics savvy to follow along I'm sure. But there may be some things that go completely over my head. But then again, maybe there's something in it that will just "click" for me and can even apply to the practical side. Yes, it's definitely important to keep in mind what you are in it for, which is to make music that will move and captivate people. But I do think that getting as much insight and data as you can will help you be a better producer/engineer, if not artist or even human being. And finally, you are under no obligation to follow anything that is offered. Take what is useful and everything else alone.
Well, you can drive a car pretty well without knowing why exactly it gets faster when you hit one pedal and slows down when you hit another, let alone what that third pedal and that stick do. But it's a fascinating story! 🙂 Same goes with EQs and filters. Personally, I've always been curious how all kinds of things work.
My dad wouldn’t let me study music in college so I instead got a degree in electronic and computer engineering technology (most related engineering field to music). I wholeheartedly agree with you. I love all the tech and super nerdy details but that’s all a means to an end. Not to govern my mixing decisions, but rather as inspiration for sound design or developing my own tools, as well as just entertainment since it’s so fascinating to me.
I just downloaded the cheat sheet to my mobile. Why is it my mixdown sounds good at home but in a car it sounds o.k. at a friend's house on WiFi it sounds bad what going on there. Also do I eq instruments on each channel or should I leave them sounding as they do and do sewing in the master thanks
A chef doesn't need to know how to make a knife, or a pot or a pan. But I bet they are glad people out there are passionate about creating the tools they use.
Well, without people understanding the science behind EQs, no mixing engineer would be able to mix good sounding songs. So we shouldnt think its not important. We dont need to know the details about eqs to mix a song, but thanks to science we have a great variety of different eq plugins available nowadays . Also, this type of science can explain why after a low cut filter the peak level is increasing which is important in pratical mixing.
Saying that you don't understand EQ is like saying a painter don't understand colors. So what if you don't know how they're made?! Some simple but counter-intuitive things are important takeaways about EQ : - 1 : If you push the high frequencies of a source which fundamental is already high, you won't make it cut through the mix. You're adding more of the same color when you're trying to make it pop thus you need contrast. Beefy up a flute, give some sparkle to that bass! This is super true for bass : the high tend to pierce through but it can be very harsh). - 2 : "Always correct first" is a myth, or should I say, subtractive EQ is not always good correction. Often, there is nothing to correct, and in that case, reinforcing the fundamental frequencies will just make it sound fuller - but it will just boost the characteristics of the sound, so if you want to change that like you did with kick here, that 's different. Why not adding more of what's good?! Subtractive EQ is often much better replaced by dynamic EQ - or multiband compression, which is the same thing : without a compressor's threshold, dynamic EQ couldn't work. That is so it cuts out annoying frequencies only when they actually appear! - 3 : The more narrow bands adjustments you make, the worst your phase gets. That's because those bands overlap and create phase distortion (as I understand lol). This is why you will never see a graphic EQ on a mastering chain for example. Phase integrity matters a whole lot more for recorded sound (not synth) than people are willing to admit - that is, if you want to capture what you hear in the room. - 4 : High pass filter ruin so many tracks. If you're not un a live environment and your studio picking up hum in that range... why? Why cutting the beautiful bass of a piano only to use 7 "fat" plug-ins in a row after the fact? People want hi-fi but they cut down uprights at 80 Hz in a perfect room... color me confused. Why not get more to work with? If there's no hum or weird rumble, you can always cut it later anyway and the track will remain clean.
You don’t NEED to know these things to be a good or even great mixing engineer but there’s a few good reasons that someone might want to. You’d think that learning all of this stuff over complicates it, I’d say it’s more of a bell curve, you start off simple (because you don’t know anything yet), you progress and get more complex as your knowledge grows, if you keep going you’ll get to a point where the complexity is just getting in your way and your mixes will suffer because of it, then as you learn even more you get to a point where it’s all second nature, you don’t have to think about the technical stuff while your mixing but if something goes wrong you’ll know why. I think your right that sound engineers need to have that creative side to provide the emotional intent but I also find that as engineers it’s our job to know all the hyper technical stuff that no one else thinks about, because when something goes wrong, people will look to you to solve it and if you don’t know the systems at play you won’t understand why it went wrong or how to fix it. I would say there’s a lot of personal preference, personally I do a lot of research on my own into this stuff just for fun because I feel a need to know exactly what’s going on but it’s fine if someone doesn’t want to do that but to call yourself an engineer and not know any technicality just waters down the meaning of that title even further
As an artist all you need to know is 'cause & effect'. If I do this... this happens. The more experienced you become the more incidents of 'cause & effect' you store in your creative vocabulary. It's that simple. 😎
I'm far from being a successful mix dude, I do not understand the math thing behind everything, nor the electronic things on hardware. I've learn electricity/electronic at school, that was a pain to me, and still is when related to music. I much more like the fact music can be done by crafting and trusting what we ear, more than what it does on the super deep engineering side. And tbh, I don't care what it does, all I want in the end is making music, not being an engineer. I like to understand the basics that can help me understanding more eq, compression and stuff, but when it goes super deep… that's not from me. I consider myself more like a music fan, not a technical fan. I trust my tastes and feelings more than I trust all these super deep stuff.
I watched sseb's videos and they went over my head as well. I did go to high school for electronics but it didn't help to understand his videos much better. But of course, you don't have to be a car mechanic to be a good driver, same applies here.
I have good news: you don't have to fully understand. If you know what's going on (cut, boost, shelf, etc.), plus you gain experience (what works and what doesn't), all that matters is whether it sounds good or not for you.
Audio "engineering" is essentially high- and low- frequency signal processing. So you might have one foot in the door. Somewhat to the point of this video, though, there're a lot of not-directly-related skills that are fairly particular to music production itself. If you're interested in the producer role, engineering helps but so does elements of music theory, composition, arranging, proficiency with specific instruments, literature/poetry, psychology, story-telling, marketing, networking, etc. See also Taleb's "green lumber" fallacy.
Yes, you don't need all that knowledge to mix well, it helps if you do tho. Surprised that you didn't really understand what he was talking about to be honest....
While I understand the sentiment I would have to disagree that knowing the technical aspects of each tool and process you implement does not need to be sought after. I specifically have trouble with the quote "Audio Engineers need to be artists first and foremost." Where is the engineering part of your title? Sure, you can count "building" mixes as a part of the engineering process but the whole point we sound engineers exist is because the actual artists don't want to handle the technical work which means the engineer does. If all you know is building the mix how would you know about the transfer process between digital and vinyl? How would someone understand that vast amount of EQ filtering on 32 channels is causing phase smear across the mix or that too short of an attack time on a compressor causes waveform distortion with lower frequencies? The most important aspects to an audio engineer should be efficiency and fidelity, transference between a real sound and its reproduction. Sound engineers don't need to be artists, they need to be engineers. An engineer is artistic in knowing when and when not to apply the science, not in just choosing to make a kick drum beefier. At least for the sake of semantics, if you have no regard for the history and academia of sound design/engineering then it would help the rest of us to differentiate yourselves by going by sound "designers" which seems way more fitting to the point of this video. For the rest of us, knowing about impedance, acoustics, the human hearing system, Ohm's law, masking, filtering, dithering and so on is what keeps us being hired instead of misleading a client when they ask for an engineer and instead get a tastemaker. Audio engineers need to be good engineers first and foremost.
my mixing skills getting better in my ears after i watched your magic freq series, is because u choose to teach with simple words and not complicated explaining like a sound science. i mean its good if we understand sound science, but i dont think i would interest if it explained in science words.
My dad said that there's two main parts for a fixed eq, the Q and the fah. when i asked him to explain what that meant, he said "fah q leave me alone."
There's always more science you can learn behind the techniques. Always, in every discipline. No reason to scorn it. Just know where your own diminishing returns are.
Nothing wrong with the video. It just doesn't apply to practical mixing of records. We're record producers not academics. Nobody should have to tell you how EQ works or Compression. If you need that you're WAY behind.
Is the video even directed at mixers at all? I mean, some people want/need to know how these things work. Otherwise who's gonna make the gear we use, right?
That sort of knowledge about digital signal processing is valuable to have some intuition about but yea you don't need to understand the complexities. I have a background in computer engineering and DSP, and I never think about those topics when mixing or producing. The only real value I've gotten out of it is being able to identify snake oil plugins from their documentation / marketing.
Let's assume for a moment that guy really understand what he is talking about (not one of those hundreds who are faking knowledge in way we can observe in lots of pseudo s-f series or movies like those from marvel etc ).... I have serious doubts if he is really understanding the purpose and usage of EQ... Such bold title like 'you don't understand' means he claims he understands but if it is really the case does he understand all his explanations are meaningless and have no use for anybody who is using EQ both professionally and at amateur level?
Wait--did I miss a new Sseb video?! Brb... EDIT: Okay, back. Doesn't appear that he's published anything new. I might need to review an old one, though--after this.
And this is why I don’t like watching UA-cam mixers (other than you). They spend a whole lotta time talking about the bark on the tree and miss the forest entirely. For instance - compression… yes, it’s important to know what attack, release, threshold, ratio, all those things are. But as a professional studio engineer I’m much more interested in the *character* of different compressors and how they actually can enhance your mixing and even tracking. Too many videos diving deep on the unimportant details.
Grab your free Mixing Cheatsheet to learn the go-to starting points for EQ and compression in heavy mixes: hardcoremusicstudio.com/mixcheatsheet
Thank you for this. This has really helped me in many scenarios. I was thinking that maybe some people may not know what the ranges are when it states "fast attack" or "slow release", etc for compression. It might help to maybe put a legend on there where it has the ranges of all these. Thank you again for all that you do.
I realize more and more that you are the only down-to-earth sound engineer here on UA-cam. Thank you for that.
_I d e m_ !
One of the things I loved about audio engineering and sound production was the wide array of interests and talents the field covers. You have engineers and mathematicians making the software and hardware that we use and then you have those who approach it from feel and emotion. There's room for so many creative types, that's why it's an awesome field.
I agree. One of the most important things I learned from you and implement today is to make big moves to hone in on the sweet spot faster. In the past, i would nudge and change decibels at micro levels only to burn my brain out and fool my own perceptions to end up frustrated and unhappy with my mix. These days I rarely have to use less than 1 decibel adjustments and my mixes are much better. Thanks for the good advice!
videos like those are gold for people who wanna make the jump from mixing to dsp engineering, or for people who wanna know more about filter edgecase situations to come up with sounddesign ideas
Older engineer here, great advice. In days of outboard gear I decided not to care what's on the other side of the sockets (in the box), it's actually liberating to use the tools and just get on with it. Theres no need to worry about how or why things work, we have skilled and knowledgeable people to do that stuff for us.
Thank you again for making videos like this. I got degrees in music and audio engineering and have a personality type that makes me obsess about perfection and technical "correctness." Needless to say, school kind of ruined me for a couple of years. I attribute my recent paradigm shift in satisfaction with my mixing abilities (or lack thereof) pretty much all to you. It's been a breathe of fresh air.
Obviously this means I will be sending you the bill for all of my recent software purchases. 😝
Well... You're spot on on many things, here - not overcomplicating, instinct over science, etc.
BUT, that said:
A) knowing some of the science, in the sense of having at least a basic clear grasp of how your tools work, is certainly no cause for shame, and never did anyone any harm... unless they got caught in a spiral of science and became Sheldon Cooper instead of CLA (who BTW knows quite a bit about how at last his analog gear works!), in which case perhaps they might have picked the wrong career path in the first place
B) using a "cheat sheet"doesn't foolproof anything, it may give some general guidance but it's always horses-for-courses and a case-by-case approach, so it's not like downloading one of those will save one from the danger of needing to become a mad scientist - both these things are actually unrelated, and both may be damaging in the sense that they don't help develop the right instincts or gain the adequate knowledge
C) when you said "I really believe that audio engineers need to be artists first and foremost", you're totally, dead wrong - that may be PRODUCERS you're talking of, the very word ENGINEER says a whole different thing - and hey, it's not an axiom that someone good at engineering a studio, your music, your mix or a spaceship can't at the same time "care about your music". In this day and age and with all the bedroom/home recording available great technology we have yes, many artists need to be a bit of an engineer, but the opposite is not at all equally true. Actually given the quantity of poor recordings, bad mixes and especially very bad YT tutorials & advice around, a boatload of good engineers with some actual, hands-on knowledge would really not be amiss, today!
So... although I agree that the video you quoted is super-nerdy and really not useful nor vitally necessary to making music or mixing in practice, I'd say easy on the generalizations and superficial dogmas & rules, and rather keep up the good work.
All of the above in my opinion & experience, of course.
✌
AF
As someone who has a couple of EE degrees, and has worked as an Electronics Engineer for decades, as well as working as a certified professional recording engineer, at the same time as working for a well known musical instruments manufacturing company, I must say that this was great advice that you have given! Well done! I hope people who need to see this video will benefit in the way your stated intentions expressed.
You don't have to know about why it's called 'Q' for widening or narrowing an EQ bandwidth to make it sound good. For those who have to satisfy their OCD, they can deep dive into finding out the origin of it, but taking the time to do that will not help one learn how to use their EQ plug-in any better than just changing the setting and listening to the changes it causes.
Love this - the truth is that a lot of people can understand the insane "behind the curtain" stuff on how these tools work yet still have NO idea how to wield them creatively. Two very differnet things....
Like - I got my degree in music composition so I was around other composers who understand theory at a high level and can talk about incredibly complicated theoretical things but yet ... their music almost always was HORRIBLE. So their knowledge does not equal "good music"
I love that dudes video about saturation though. Super useful and practical
As someone who has a background in this type of science (so I might have an easier time digesting this material), I find the content extremely valuable as it gives context to why you would use certain tools, and gives guidance on where to look when you want to modify a sound in a certain way (or when you're not getting the outcomes that you're looking for).
This is why I trust your guidance. Use your ears. Get better at listening. All things you preach. I liken the same principals to weightlifting. There is a whole genre of youtubers out there making fitness overly scientific. IDK, always found more use out of your videos than others.
Sseb actually has a lot of good videos.. and I do think they are a good watch for mixers, especially his videos on saturation. I think understanding just a little bit of the science helps you move from reproduction to sythesis in your mixing moves. Its also might help you avoid some of the snake oil in plugin marketing.
Edit: an interesting point about the 'use your ears' argument. 'Your' is the key word; your ears are not representative of the entire population. While it's important to use your ears, probably most of the time; it's also important to understand how the science works, both in the mathematics and the psycho-acoustics. A lot of really good mixers will say 'I always just used my ears', but there are way, way more bad mixers using their ears too.
I looked up the video you are referencing and it was actually amazing. Yes, there is some high level physics lessons on the front end (but he provides skip ahead times multiple times to his practical applications). When I was educated in recording engineering I was taught a lot of the science behind it, much of it I forgot, but even in forgetting it it put me in a place to learn and practice proper and more instincual techniques.
Im not sure why you found this video offensive, the practical tips in the end are highly beneficial and he taught me some things I hadnt known after doing this 20 plus years. Its always good to learn. You never have it all down.
The original video never claims you MUST know the science behind eq to be successful so Im not sure why you came across so defensive.
I definitely agree with you that over thinking mixing can be many a downfall. But I dont think his video is an example of that. Its very helpful information, especially the practical applications from 930 mins on.
The cheat sheet is a great guide to help you feel your way. It’s been a huge help to me.
I made a preset with VMR of your vocal chain. I decided to record through it and it is the best vox i have recorded. Your merhods are easy to implement and just work🤘
Lots of inspiring videos lately, Jordan! 🤘🤘
Good reminder. I definitely like the science behind these things but most of the time it is just a distraction from my goal of making and releasing good music.
I do have a master's in electrical engineering with a focus in Digital Signal Processing and it has caused me to overthink things when it comes to mixing music and dialing in guitar tones. The best use of my time was simply making music and learning by trial and error.
Totally AGREED with Jordan!🙌🏻
Truth. One of my mentor had the luck to work with Bruce Swedin. You know how Bruce used the Eqs of the console for every Michael Jackson song? He used exactly the same eq settings on every single channel. 12k boost and something about 8k on every channel the same amount. Every recording was great because of the great musicians and the nice sounding instruments. It was his eq setting and his flavour and he simply used it. Also he used a EMT 250 on every song. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, but always one reverb for all his productions.
I was about to type that it doesn't matter if you don't know the tech specs details about anything as long as you understand how to use it and get great results. It happens a lot with musicians. Some don't know music theory and some don't even know where G is on their instrument, but they can sure play. You pretty much said everything that needed to be said.
Thank you for your all video and your email information! You have big experience in mixing! My mixing became better , because of you! Thank you 🤘🤘🤘
I enjoy that stuff. That helps me make my mixes more technically complex and precise
I resonated with what you said about audio engineers need to also be artists, although I find that is more true if you are in somewhat of a producer's role. If you are there to just simply "engineer" the audio, then I could find some interest in digging down in that tech knowledge hole.
EQ is basically a frequency based volume control
I think of it as a multi band volume controller
I didn't notice a lot of videos on youtube about the technical side of mixing tools that put pressure on beginners.
But I've noticed a ton of videos like "sweep through the spectrum looking for problems, HP everything, and you're good to go." And that's what most beginners watch.
I actualy wish there were less of sweeping-videos and more of the technical stuff on youtube. Then good and practical mixing videos like yours will get more views.
Love your content! Do you happen to know a good plug-in for tuning pitched screams (like Sam from Architects)?
There is theory and practice. I think both are helpful and important, but the ratio between the two will depend on your temperament. For me, I probably would be interested in the "You Don't Understand EQ" ... in theory ;). I have enough mathematics and physics savvy to follow along I'm sure. But there may be some things that go completely over my head. But then again, maybe there's something in it that will just "click" for me and can even apply to the practical side.
Yes, it's definitely important to keep in mind what you are in it for, which is to make music that will move and captivate people. But I do think that getting as much insight and data as you can will help you be a better producer/engineer, if not artist or even human being. And finally, you are under no obligation to follow anything that is offered. Take what is useful and everything else alone.
Well, you can drive a car pretty well without knowing why exactly it gets faster when you hit one pedal and slows down when you hit another, let alone what that third pedal and that stick do. But it's a fascinating story! 🙂 Same goes with EQs and filters. Personally, I've always been curious how all kinds of things work.
My dad wouldn’t let me study music in college so I instead got a degree in electronic and computer engineering technology (most related engineering field to music). I wholeheartedly agree with you. I love all the tech and super nerdy details but that’s all a means to an end. Not to govern my mixing decisions, but rather as inspiration for sound design or developing my own tools, as well as just entertainment since it’s so fascinating to me.
I just downloaded the cheat sheet to my mobile. Why is it my mixdown sounds good at home but in a car it sounds o.k. at a friend's house on WiFi it sounds bad what going on there. Also do I eq instruments on each channel or should I leave them sounding as they do and do sewing in the master thanks
A chef doesn't need to know how to make a knife, or a pot or a pan. But I bet they are glad people out there are passionate about creating the tools they use.
Well, without people understanding the science behind EQs, no mixing engineer would be able to mix good sounding songs. So we shouldnt think its not important. We dont need to know the details about eqs to mix a song, but thanks to science we have a great variety of different eq plugins available nowadays . Also, this type of science can explain why after a low cut filter the peak level is increasing which is important in pratical mixing.
Saying that you don't understand EQ is like saying a painter don't understand colors. So what if you don't know how they're made?!
Some simple but counter-intuitive things are important takeaways about EQ :
- 1 : If you push the high frequencies of a source which fundamental is already high, you won't make it cut through the mix. You're adding more of the same color when you're trying to make it pop thus you need contrast. Beefy up a flute, give some sparkle to that bass! This is super true for bass : the high tend to pierce through but it can be very harsh).
- 2 : "Always correct first" is a myth, or should I say, subtractive EQ is not always good correction. Often, there is nothing to correct, and in that case, reinforcing the fundamental frequencies will just make it sound fuller - but it will just boost the characteristics of the sound, so if you want to change that like you did with kick here, that 's different. Why not adding more of what's good?!
Subtractive EQ is often much better replaced by dynamic EQ - or multiband compression, which is the same thing : without a compressor's threshold, dynamic EQ couldn't work. That is so it cuts out annoying frequencies only when they actually appear!
- 3 : The more narrow bands adjustments you make, the worst your phase gets. That's because those bands overlap and create phase distortion (as I understand lol). This is why you will never see a graphic EQ on a mastering chain for example. Phase integrity matters a whole lot more for recorded sound (not synth) than people are willing to admit - that is, if you want to capture what you hear in the room.
- 4 : High pass filter ruin so many tracks. If you're not un a live environment and your studio picking up hum in that range... why? Why cutting the beautiful bass of a piano only to use 7 "fat" plug-ins in a row after the fact? People want hi-fi but they cut down uprights at 80 Hz in a perfect room... color me confused. Why not get more to work with? If there's no hum or weird rumble, you can always cut it later anyway and the track will remain clean.
Sseb's vid changed my philosophy on EQ. It's mind altering.
I love this, and it is so funny to me because this wisdom is actually something that can and should be applied to everything in life.
I like your cheat sheet. I don’t like the constant email spamming I now get cause I downloaded it!
You don’t NEED to know these things to be a good or even great mixing engineer but there’s a few good reasons that someone might want to.
You’d think that learning all of this stuff over complicates it, I’d say it’s more of a bell curve, you start off simple (because you don’t know anything yet), you progress and get more complex as your knowledge grows, if you keep going you’ll get to a point where the complexity is just getting in your way and your mixes will suffer because of it, then as you learn even more you get to a point where it’s all second nature, you don’t have to think about the technical stuff while your mixing but if something goes wrong you’ll know why.
I think your right that sound engineers need to have that creative side to provide the emotional intent but I also find that as engineers it’s our job to know all the hyper technical stuff that no one else thinks about, because when something goes wrong, people will look to you to solve it and if you don’t know the systems at play you won’t understand why it went wrong or how to fix it.
I would say there’s a lot of personal preference, personally I do a lot of research on my own into this stuff just for fun because I feel a need to know exactly what’s going on but it’s fine if someone doesn’t want to do that but to call yourself an engineer and not know any technicality just waters down the meaning of that title even further
Simple is always the best way for a clear mix
As an artist all you need to know is 'cause & effect'. If I do this... this happens. The more experienced you become the more incidents of 'cause & effect' you store in your creative vocabulary. It's that simple. 😎
I'm far from being a successful mix dude, I do not understand the math thing behind everything, nor the electronic things on hardware. I've learn electricity/electronic at school, that was a pain to me, and still is when related to music. I much more like the fact music can be done by crafting and trusting what we ear, more than what it does on the super deep engineering side. And tbh, I don't care what it does, all I want in the end is making music, not being an engineer. I like to understand the basics that can help me understanding more eq, compression and stuff, but when it goes super deep… that's not from me. I consider myself more like a music fan, not a technical fan. I trust my tastes and feelings more than I trust all these super deep stuff.
Big clickbait title, you have some of the most balanced mixes I've ever heard. Still jamming the forevermore stuff.
I watched sseb's videos and they went over my head as well. I did go to high school for electronics but it didn't help to understand his videos much better. But of course, you don't have to be a car mechanic to be a good driver, same applies here.
Sseb made a couple of the best audio engineering videos on youtube and just dipped
Ive seen that video
Doesn’t help my work but seems like he knows something
I have good news: you don't have to fully understand. If you know what's going on (cut, boost, shelf, etc.), plus you gain experience (what works and what doesn't), all that matters is whether it sounds good or not for you.
Love all your vids
Super advice!
I didn't expect to laugh so hard at the beginning.
You have helped me tremendously thank you for the good lessons! And to this, Common sense is most important I’d say , in general lol!
Do you think that having an electrical engineer background could benefit your productions in any way?
Audio "engineering" is essentially high- and low- frequency signal processing. So you might have one foot in the door.
Somewhat to the point of this video, though, there're a lot of not-directly-related skills that are fairly particular to music production itself. If you're interested in the producer role, engineering helps but so does elements of music theory, composition, arranging, proficiency with specific instruments, literature/poetry, psychology, story-telling, marketing, networking, etc.
See also Taleb's "green lumber" fallacy.
We studied infinite impulse response in electrical engineering. Infinite impulse response causes more ringing is all you need to know.
Yes, you don't need all that knowledge to mix well, it helps if you do tho. Surprised that you didn't really understand what he was talking about to be honest....
People love to make such a big deal from everything
I've been working full time in pro audio for 20 years and I don't understand EQ either.
While I understand the sentiment I would have to disagree that knowing the technical aspects of each tool and process you implement does not need to be sought after. I specifically have trouble with the quote "Audio Engineers need to be artists first and foremost." Where is the engineering part of your title? Sure, you can count "building" mixes as a part of the engineering process but the whole point we sound engineers exist is because the actual artists don't want to handle the technical work which means the engineer does. If all you know is building the mix how would you know about the transfer process between digital and vinyl? How would someone understand that vast amount of EQ filtering on 32 channels is causing phase smear across the mix or that too short of an attack time on a compressor causes waveform distortion with lower frequencies? The most important aspects to an audio engineer should be efficiency and fidelity, transference between a real sound and its reproduction. Sound engineers don't need to be artists, they need to be engineers. An engineer is artistic in knowing when and when not to apply the science, not in just choosing to make a kick drum beefier. At least for the sake of semantics, if you have no regard for the history and academia of sound design/engineering then it would help the rest of us to differentiate yourselves by going by sound "designers" which seems way more fitting to the point of this video. For the rest of us, knowing about impedance, acoustics, the human hearing system, Ohm's law, masking, filtering, dithering and so on is what keeps us being hired instead of misleading a client when they ask for an engineer and instead get a tastemaker. Audio engineers need to be good engineers first and foremost.
my mixing skills getting better in my ears after i watched your magic freq series, is because u choose to teach with simple words and not complicated explaining like a sound science. i mean its good if we understand sound science, but i dont think i would interest if it explained in science words.
My dad said that there's two main parts for a fixed eq, the Q and the fah. when i asked him to explain what that meant, he said "fah q leave me alone."
haha! audio engineering jokes
There's always more science you can learn behind the techniques. Always, in every discipline. No reason to scorn it. Just know where your own diminishing returns are.
There's a side to audio engineering that's like the wine movie Sideways.
Learn all you can, then forget it and go by feel
Nothing wrong with the video. It just doesn't apply to practical mixing of records. We're record producers not academics. Nobody should have to tell you how EQ works or Compression. If you need that you're WAY behind.
Is the video even directed at mixers at all?
I mean, some people want/need to know how these things work. Otherwise who's gonna make the gear we use, right?
That sort of knowledge about digital signal processing is valuable to have some intuition about but yea you don't need to understand the complexities. I have a background in computer engineering and DSP, and I never think about those topics when mixing or producing. The only real value I've gotten out of it is being able to identify snake oil plugins from their documentation / marketing.
LMAO! had the same thoughts when I saw it
I don't care if I don't understand EQ as long as it sounds good in my songs when I use it.
Let's assume for a moment that guy really understand what he is talking about (not one of those hundreds who are faking knowledge in way we can observe in lots of pseudo s-f series or movies like those from marvel etc )....
I have serious doubts if he is really understanding the purpose and usage of EQ...
Such bold title like 'you don't understand' means he claims he understands but if it is really the case does he understand all his explanations are meaningless and have no use for anybody who is using EQ both professionally and at amateur level?
Wait--did I miss a new Sseb video?! Brb...
EDIT: Okay, back. Doesn't appear that he's published anything new. I might need to review an old one, though--after this.
You don’t have to know how every part of a car is made and works to know how to drive it.
I don't know how to butcher a cow but I know how to cook burgers.
Drive the message HOME!!!
And this is why I don’t like watching UA-cam mixers (other than you). They spend a whole lotta time talking about the bark on the tree and miss the forest entirely. For instance - compression… yes, it’s important to know what attack, release, threshold, ratio, all those things are. But as a professional studio engineer I’m much more interested in the *character* of different compressors and how they actually can enhance your mixing and even tracking. Too many videos diving deep on the unimportant details.
😂😅🎉
Eddie did.
That guy sounds like yngwie malmsteen
What was all that 😂😂😂
cheat sheet? are you serious?🤣🤣 guys just use your ears
I don’t understand it and I don’t need to understand it. I have ears 🤷🏻♂️
knobs are better than graphs