The Song Fight Bulletin Board

EQ first, compress second. Then re-tweak the EQ.

Paco Del Stinko wrote:EQ first, compress second. Then re-tweak the EQ.

You are referring to the order that you perform the task not a signal path (routing out from eq effect then into compression) is that right? Why in that order?

Thanks for the kind words all. Yes, I wussed out on the vox and mainly due to time and the inconvenience of not having King Colon's WreckordeR handy... The cartoony funness of the song is supposed to be a bull dog ("bully" breed) strolling along in a sweater, but naturally, no one would know that if I didn't say so

G_rock wrote:You are referring to the order that you perform the task not a signal path (routing out from eq effect then into compression) is that right? Why in that order?

I am referring to mix down. I must have read that somewhere, I think. But yeah, when mixing down, tweak the EQ on whatever track you're doing first to get the track sounding like you want/where it needs to be. This is, of course, easier if you recorded a good track in the first place. Then set compression. You'll immediately hear a difference. Adjust the compression to whatever level needed then re-EQ the track.

EQ and compression are some of the trickiest things for me, and I'm still learning about them. I am not pretending to be an expert, just saying it works well, for me, that way. If anyone else cares to chime in, please do. But try that, G-man, and see if it works.

One of the little tricks with EQ is to CUT frequencies rather than boosting them, or at leave boost very carefully. When you boost a particular frequency, you risk pushing something into distorting, even if that particular frequency doesn't look like it's going to distort... just 'cause of the way these things add up. So cut frequencies until it sounds good, then compress, then adjust frequencies again until it sounds right again - I do this final EQing on the whole mix, not individual instruments, which usually means rolling off a little bit of the low end and then normalizing the whole file one last time to get the volume back up.

One thing to listen carefully for, once you start compressing, is "pumping," where you can hear the compressor working... you don't want that. Often, it's the low frequencies that cause the compressor to pump... or just compressing too much to try to get the volume up.

By the way, thanks to all who have reviewed & voted for my recent stuff... tied for third in the "Bully" voting - I did not expect that! Unfortunately, due to health stuff, I'm probably going away for a while again... yeah, well, let's see how many of you young whippersnappers are still entering when you're 61...

Paco Del Stinko wrote: Adjust the compression to whatever level needed then re-EQ the track...But try that, G-man, and see if it works.

I just started messing with EQ and compression in guess and check kind of way. Ill try this on my next project. Thanks bro.

king_arthur wrote:One of the little tricks with EQ is to CUT frequencies rather than boosting them, or at leave boost very carefully. When you boost a particular frequency, you risk pushing something into distorting, even if that particular frequency doesn't look like it's going to distort... just 'cause of the way these things add up. So cut frequencies until it sounds good, then compress, then adjust frequencies again until it sounds right again - I do this final EQing on the whole mix, not individual instruments, which usually means rolling off a little bit of the low end and then normalizing the whole file one last time to get the volume back up.

One thing to listen carefully for, once you start compressing, is "pumping," where you can hear the compressor working... you don't want that. Often, it's the low frequencies that cause the compressor to pump... or just compressing too much to try to get the volume up.

By the way, thanks to all who have reviewed & voted for my recent stuff... tied for third in the "Bully" voting - I did not expect that! Unfortunately, due to health stuff, I'm probably going away for a while again... yeah, well, let's see how many of you young whippersnappers are still entering when you're 61...

Wow thats really helpful man. Like I said I mostly just try something and listen but on my last track I wanted to push the final mix volume up but couldnt get the volume any louder without the pumping effect. I notice in my final mixes typically have a lower volume than the more seasoned fighters. Now I have something to check out to fix the pumping in the final compressor.
I hope your heath is nothing serious and if im still entering at 61 maybe my tracks will be as wise as your advice...

Thanks to Foobar, I've discovered compression and EQ-related issues with my Art Bomb entry. For some suggestions, along with a new master demonstrating their effect, see the Art Bomb review thread.