Mixing With EQ - Subtractive EQ - TheRecordingRevolution.com
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2016
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2 of 7 - EQ can be used to either boost or cut. Simple. But did you know that subtractive EQ (cutting) has twice as many benefits as boosting?
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People always say this, but I never really got it until you laid it out here. Thanks always, Graham, and blessings to you.
Clearest tutorials on YT by far - thanks for explaining the why so well
Thank you for saving every single song I make from this day forth. Cutting the bad essentially boosts the good. I've never heard subtractive EQ be explained this way and now it all just clicked. Thank you so much!!!!!
Hello Graham. Subtractive EQ is definitely necessary. I do it first. Then compression if necessary, then boosting EQ or tone shaping EQ if necessary. Then send via bus to time based processing if necessary. Great videos sir. I'm a fan.
A few years ago I was able to achieve what I considered my first really good mix(translation of what I heard in my head coming out of the speakers), which was something I tried to do for years, with subtractive EQ! It felt AMAZING and I'll always use it! Reveal that beauty! I think one of the biggest applications for me us cutting a lot of the low end out of guitar leads to let them sit on top nicely without muddying anything up. Subtractive EQ is really awesome! :)
Thank you,well done. Subtractive eq has been helpful and I now use it more often than not,its almost always appropriate.
Always have used EQ dynamics to both subtract what is not needed and to add enhancement to what is worth keeping in the recorded work.
I am amongst those very grateful to you Graham for helping with your tips and advice born from your natural charisma to know what is going to be of a benefit into the mixing and mastering stages of an audio production.
Thank you very much Graham for sharing your skills knowledge experience and your intuitive talent on audio production ☺
I haven't really thought about subtractive eq much. But I'm mixing a song right now, so just went through and tweaked some eq - took a bunch of lower levels out that didn't need to be there. And I think it helped clean up a muddy bottom end a bit. So thanks for the suggestion!
they both have their merits, but I find to really get polished mixes, you need to find the balance between both.
great video as always. cheers!
these vids are awesome...I'll be investing in my first interface and DAW at christmas and I cant get enough of your vids at the moment :)
Man...You explain all of this stuff SO well. Thanks for the videos.
What a great tip! Trying to step up my EQ game. Simply said. Keep it up G.
Thank you so much for posting your videos. I enjoy each one. Sometimes I don't totally agree with you but there is a beautiful nugget in each one. Bobby Reed
This is great! I hear so many messy mixes due to not doing this. Love it. Spread the word #studiolife
I use subtractive EQ constantly. Every single one of my tracks has at least one subtraction in it.
I def like this concept, of subtracting first to show the hidden gems... Great video
Thanks mate! Always a great reminder on basic EQ!
Great, Great ,Great... It does make a lot of sense. I have been applying this technic and I am still growing with it. Very Helpful video... Thanks Graham... Peace...
used to use it (sub eq)...been a while i havent...thanks for reminding me!!! :) keep up the good work man cheers!
Very good video. I am excited to try this as I have stopped using EQ at all, because it seems I get a much cleaner sound,so I will certainly try this and see what results I get.
Makes perfect sence... Re-do some mixes next week..
Thanks for making these videos, I really appreciate them.
Thanks again for another great video.. great to learn about subtractive EQing! Great eye opener!
Great video Graham, really helpful!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
I really appreciate what u do.Thanks for these videos. :)
I'm just starting to get that subtracting some frequencies is very important. Thanks!!
fantastic way to explain why mixes sound awfull and ppl don`t know why...keep em coming
You are giving away my secrets! Lol nah this great info. Been doing this for years learned about it back in 08 and it's truly been a life changing technique !
Great video. I know know this stuff, but many times, reaffirmation is good.
Good work champ!!
Great Vid again Gram. Thanks. Personally, on Vocals for example i use both sub / sup. I Take out some of the freqs i dont like in the vocal, compress it a lil, then up some of the freqs i like and compress a lil. Seems to come out nice.
Thank you for the knowledge and inspiration, brother.
Great video!
This info is amazing!
Thanks for the great stuff
Fantastic video, very helpful and informative
Yes I use it ...makes sense Graham .. Thanks . :)
Thanks for this video, brotha
Hi Graham,
thanks for the great video as always.
Could you answer real quick how you record the audio of your mixing process and then sync it to the video footage to create your youtube videos?
Thanks a lot,
Paul
thank you man!! youre great!
A useful video thanks Graham I do use subtractive EQ a lot in my mixes but what happens when say you have two similar acoustic guitar or vocal tracks which effectively occupy the same frequency area should you do a corresponding boost on one of the tracks so that they don't mask each other?
Hey this video was really helpful! That part where you boosted the mid to help us see what was not sounding great was an eye opener for me. BUT it would really help me to see you go from square one (newly recorded audio track) to the final mix of just a small isolated segment like this piece of this vocal track. Do you have a video that shows that? If not, I would love to see it.
Excellent tutorial...On this plugin, you visually see your cuts/boost. Compare to a SSL EQ where your just turning knobs & hi pass/low pass filtering. Is there any other EQ's you work with beside this? Thanks.
Hi Graham,
Im a FOH engineer for a church in the Chicago Suburbs and have firmly held the belief that subtractive EQ-ing is the best way to get the sound i want. Lately, however, im being told that excessive EQ will impact timing (Frequency). What would be considered excessive?
BTW...I came across your channel while searching for condenser mic comparisons. Had to subscribe! Love your content, tutorials, and your approach to audio production!
Again thank you, would you be able to explain EQ frequencies in male vocals? what to cut or what not to cut. I know every vocal is different but a general in-depth insight on male vocal EQ would be amazing, maybe even a female vocal do's and donts.
I use it on certain instruments like keys and such that don't need to be an interference to the lower freq's in the mix ....I typically use presets in the plugin and adjust to taste....
I have always been a fan of subtractive eq. In the past, I have caught myself taking too much of the signal out and making it really thin. Have you ever noticed when you remove one problem frequency, another one seems to pop up even louder?
Have you heard about the "cut-and-sweep" technique to cut resonances? I read about it sometimes but I'm not sure how to apply well.
How do you go about mixing toms and not having them sound boxy?
I've always preferred using subtractive EQ. Always worked out way more nice for me. Was wondering if you could or if you have talked on the matter of how to fill a really dry lifeless sounding mix? Does it have to do with ambient background noises like extra instrument layers or plug-ins on the instruments?
Can you cut up to 10 to 20 db on a certain frequency like example cuttin the mud can cut more than 5 up to 10 db
Thanks Graham always a pleasure. Yes, I use this all the time and it makes great sense. BTW - if you could cover the digital interface it would be great. I play drums as well as sing and so I'am considering the purchase of a multi-track, like at least eight track input, interface, probably used, so I can get better separation from a simple 2-3 track interface. Peace Brother.
Great, great info!! Less says more (more or less:)
So graham, you pointed out that 200-500 hertz often sounds bad on vocals! But where do you know these frequencys from? I mean, is there like a guide book or something to learn what usually can cause problems in a mix? Or is it all from your experience and ear? thanks!
Ilya Evsukov thanks for the reply! I'm still on my journey to getting experience! :)
me 2 dude ... and i'm glad that mere experienced people are sharing it with us :)
Hey Graham! What do you think about mixing with ez mix? Do you think that's useful?
Great video! What is the name of the band's song you play all the time? 😋
Hey Gram, great video. I've been doing the same for quite sometime now. However, the only implication is that I always end up with very little gain power summed on the main bus and too much headroom (even though my faders are close to 0 db). Any advice at how to compensate the low volume issue (after applying subtractive EQ) without adding noise components when I turn the overall volumes up?
Great question.
You'd be having to cut an awful lot to have that issue. When that happens, do you add some makeup gain in the same plug-in to make sure your ears aren't tricked by the different volumes from before and after?
Good point and that is part of my question. Not with all plug ins, but some add some white noise at the time to turn up the make up gain, which is essentially part of my question.
I don't know if this is the answer, but this is what I would do:
If the tracks aren't recorded in a high level, that's okay unless it is far below -18db RMS. In that case I guess I would raise the gain of the track. I believe you won't get white noise unless you put it at like +20db more or less.
Then I would mix it normally and dont worry about the level at the mix bus (unless, again, it's far below -18db in which case I guess I would use a maximizer to raise a bit the level. But not too much so it doesn't get compressed). Anyway, the mastering engineer will thank you for all the headroom haha
Thanks.
I use substractive EQ all the time, but sometimes I go too far. For example in some vocals I've been cutting the nasty frequencies so passionately that the track sounded super clean, but very weak. :) I have a question about low-pass filter. Do you ever cut a super-high freq, say 20kHz on a mixbus? I found this on a reference track to my mix, when I opened a freq analyzer. There was a cut above 20kHz or so...
100% same here!
Hey dude - I won't go into much detail as a youtube comment, but check out the Nyquist Theorem, and the idea behind different sample rates. We can't hear the harmonics above 20kHz by themselves, but they more or less affect the phase of the frequencies we do hear, changing the sound quality.
@Thimothy Berner : Just to say, i know we don't hear but they effect the rest, the SACD has been made on that basis. But about the Nyquist theorem, i unfortunately don't have a PhD in Maths ^^
Oh come on. A bachelor's degree in engineering is more than enough to be aware of the Nyquist Theorem. :) It just means you can't accurately sample frequencies above 50% of your sampling rate. If you're sampling at 44.1 kHz, which is the standard for CD audio, then the frequencies above 22k are not being accurately sampled and are thus useless.
Is it possible to cut too much or cut the good without realizing that it is good? how do you tell the difference?
Overkillius when it starts sounding bad you'll know the difference 😊
I wipe my EQ all the time and restart because I'll cut too much; just trial and error like everything else
Yes, it is possible to cut the good or cut too much. How do you tell the difference? Well, you need good equipment to hear the audio signal for starters. And you need to train your ears. Start with whatever equipment you have, and start experimenting. Listen in a quiet environment and pay attention to the audio. Sweep the EQ range and listen for the subtle changes. Practice the art. Another thing you could do is save multiple versions and ask for advice from someone who has more experience. The more you explore the audio range of frequencies, the more you will hear. But it takes time and practice. Have fun with it! Cheers mate
Thanks for sharing Graham. Is there a similar eq to what you're using here within Waves? I use Logic X
Thanks
The Logic stock EQ is very similar and does a great job.
H-EQ from Waves
Do these tips apply to mixing live as well?
I believe so. In any situation, having more headroom is positive.
plus, for example in mics that are used for vocals, when you do a hi-pass at around 100hz, you aren't harming the vocal signal, but you are gettin rid of any unwanted noise you might be capturing at the same time, (like the kick, some of the bass, etc).
How much should we be changing EQ throughout a track? Or do you normally leave things constant?
whatever the source calls for in the context of the mix. Its all up to your ears.
I think that EQ is one of those things that usually stay the same w/o any automation. Especially if you use it really subtle and just to cut harsh frequencies.
Great =D
Do we really need to EQ every track?
I have a problem identifying what is a “bad” frequency. When I sweep the frequencies I hear a lot of things. But unless it is an obvious ringing I don’t know what to listen for. How do I practice hearing what good and what’s bad? I guess what I’m asking about is ear training.
Sweep louder, or trust your instincts.
I mite just get good at this after all.
I use it as a DJ because most dance music producers don't. I have to clean up their mess.
New intro? Make it yourself?
I rarely boost. 😳