Subtractive EQ

[jlampson]

One of the compliments I routinely get about my songs is that they sound good. I searched for a while on the concept of "subtractive EQ" on the Help and How to board, but couldn't find much, so I thought I'd share my thoughts. Although I certainly don't know all there is to know, I figured any information would be helpful.

Here are three short videos that I think will help you with whatever DAW and EQ you are using:

1. http://therecordingrevolution.com/2012/ ... t-6-of-31/
2. http://therecordingrevolution.com/2013/ ... t-1-video/
3. http://therecordingrevolution.com/2013/ ... t-2-video/

Good luck!

John

[RangerDenni]

yay! Thanks! Every little bit is helpful.

[Kevin Mellows]

I love the Recording Revolution!

[Caravan Ray]

I love the Recording Revolution!

Yes. I have recently been reading stuff on it. It is good.

I have been wondering if it may be worth my while forking out $99 for the videos they are flogging:

http://jumpstartyourmix.com



I know that when I try to read books on the subject, my eyes tend to glaze over. A decent video might be useful for me. The short videos John posted look good. Some nice clear basic "How To" guides might be a good idea.

Anyone heard any feedback about them?

[josh]

I liked these videos, straightforward useful stuff!

As far as the pitch for that JumpStart Your Mix video...

"After one hour of watching these videos you will be able to ... Put together a radio-ready mix that is compelling from start to finish"

That's clearly a lie, so what does that say about the folks who made the video?

[Caravan Ray]

"After one hour of watching these videos you will be able to ... Put together a radio-ready mix that is compelling from start to finish"

That's clearly a lie, so what does that say about the folks who made the video?

Yes - and I have discovered that M&Ms will actually melt in your hand as well as your mouth if you hold them long enough - but despite that, they are still quite a tasty treat and I hold no grudge against the attempted subterfuge aimed at me.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I have discovered that M&Ms will actually melt in your hand as well as your mouth if you hold them long enough

I thought they called them W&Ws down under?

[Caravan Ray]

I have discovered that M&Ms will actually melt in your hand as well as your mouth if you hold them long enough

I thought they called them W&Ws down under?

Actually - they are called 'Smarties'. But I thought I better internationalise my response just to make it clear that I did understand the concept of "advertising".

[Billy's Little Trip]

I have discovered that M&Ms will actually melt in your hand as well as your mouth if you hold them long enough

I thought they called them W&Ws down under?

Actually - they are called 'Smarties'. But I thought I better internationalise my response just to make it clear that I did understand the concept of "advertising".

Ha. Smarties here are little chalky sweet tarts.
They were those things you got for Halloween that weren't great, but you would tolerate. On the candy food chain, they were just above candy-corn and fruit.

[jast]

Actually, Smarties (the chocolate ones) are made by Nestlé and M&M's are made by Mars. They sell both of them here.

I hope you found this contribution to the topic of subtractive EQ useful.

[jlampson]

I hope you found this contribution to the topic of subtractive EQ useful.

Very! I just know that when I listen to some of these mixes I hear a ton of extra whoomph (the bad whoomph) and vocals that don't sit right. I didn't see anything like that on the help board so I figured I'd share a sliver of knowledge I gleaned from somewhere else!

John

[AJOwens]

The manual for my Mackie board has what turns out to be a pretty good tip for adjusting a parametric EQ subtractively:

1. Turn the gain all the way up.
2. Sweep the frequency to find a point where the signal sounds just horrible.
3. Trim the gain below 0dB until the signal sounds nice.

[jlampson]

The manual for my Mackie board has what turns out to be a pretty good tip for adjusting a parametric EQ subtractively:

1. Turn the gain all the way up.
2. Sweep the frequency to find a point where the signal sounds just horrible.
3. Trim the gain below 0dB until the signal sounds nice.

I use that a lot in order to find those awful masking frequencies. Pick something between 300 - 500hz and boost it about 12db. Sweep around until it obstructs the vocals the most. Turn it down to about -2db or -3db (so back to 0 and then down a few). Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[jast]

1. Turn the gain all the way up.
2. Sweep the frequency to find a point where the signal sounds just horrible.

The problem with that is that anything will sound horrible if you boost small parts of the spectrum. The important bit is to decide in advance what aspect of the sound bugs you, "find" its place in the spectrum using a sweep like that (or simply from experience), and correct only that.

[jlampson]

I'm definitely glad this topic is getting some visibility because I think it can help a lot of people. This technique is really about allowing other instruments (vocals included) to have their place and be heard clearly even in a dense mix. Think about it like taking a photograph of a tall person and a short person. You would want to place the short person in front so you can see them both well. As oversimplified as that sounds, I'd just recommend watching the videos and, mostly, TRYING it for yourselves. That's the way you are going to learn it, see the results, and find the most benefit.

[HeuristicsInc]

i generally sweep the vocal track(s) up and down, find its loudest point, then cut the other frequencies there.
-bill