Plugins for the frequency masking

Discussion in 'Software' started by Wolfang, Aug 24, 2020.

  1. Wolfang

    Wolfang Producer

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    I recently used Gullfoss and it was interesting as I've been struggling with the frequency masking. Although I've been using Fabfilter Q3, it is still not perfect. But Gullfoss made it progress a bit in the master bus.
    Neutron was my go-to plugin when I was a beginner, but it also wasn't so helpful for the frequency masking perfectly.
    Are there any easy plugins for the frequency masking?

     
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  3. curtified

    curtified Rock Star

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    No idea what u mean by frequency masking?

    but Izotope Neutron Sculptor, Focusrite X Sonible Balancer, Mspectraldynamics, Oeksound Soothe, Zynapitq Intensity. Maybe a few others out here do the auto eq thing really well. I like how I can slap them on and I don't have to think to hard about Eqing.
     
  4. 5teezo

    5teezo Audiosexual

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    I think he means detection of frequency masking.

    iZotope Neutron Advanced

    ProTip: you have take care of frequency Masking WAY before the Mixbuss on Busses and individual tracks, especially in the sub freqs of Kick and Bass! If Neutron and ProQ don't work for you, you are lacking experience.
     
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  5. Slavestate

    Slavestate Platinum Record

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    Its called learning to use an EQ and mixing..
     
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  6. MrLyannMusic

    MrLyannMusic Audiosexual

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    Best Answer
    i know exactly what you're talking about, and you need to check Trackspacer from Wavesfactory, it's my go to, when it comes to frequency masking, you need to know how to apply it and integrate it into your mix, as overusing it will probably kill your mix, use it on buses, like use a kick signal on a bass buss, to have the best effect, or on guitars using vocals as sidechaine trigger.

    Basically just apply it on those big elements that fight for space, like i said vocals and guitars, drums and bass, be creative on how and where to apply it, but be careful don't just jump to it every chance you get, do your basic steps clean your signals eq, compresses run it through your buses then just use it lightly to give that space in your mix so everything sounds coherent, use in addition to other plugins not as your holy grail.

    Good luck.

    Quick tip, put your basic Buss compressor after Gullfoss in every buss channel, and dial in the setting as you go, mixing is a progressive and a dynamic process, i usually bring every buss compressor window and start mixing the elements using just the 4 or 5 instance of my buss compressors, without the need to touch the mixer, i prefer to use the daw's faders as a last resort to fine tune volumes after my initial balance, and IF YOU STILL can't hear that space harmony between your elements try my suggestion and add in trackspacer preferably first in chain.

    Good Luck.
     
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  7. 6ixcore

    6ixcore Producer

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    Frequency masking is related to phase and time alignment between audio tracks, while Gulfoss or any processor can make it sound better (subjective) it doesnt solve frequency masking. Research and study about phase and time alignment and you'll understand that an AI EQ wont solve everything!
     
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  8. typical-love

    typical-love Producer

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    EQ work (cutting unnecessary frequencies from your tracks), and phase alignment (try Sound Radix AutoAlign or Melda MAutoAlign to start) will take you a long way.
     
  9. noise.maker

    noise.maker Platinum Record

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    Well, with a bit of learning curve of dynamic eq-ing, you can benefit of smooth tweaking and good sonic results. Dynamic eq will tame only selected freq at a certain level of volume.
     
  10. reliefsan

    reliefsan Audiosexual

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    Use the tools you already know. Proq3 in this case. Then
    Use your ears for "PERFECT unmasking" of freq.

    this is the way.
     
  11. phumb-reh

    phumb-reh Guest

    Well, you could use an analyzer on tracks that you feel are conflicting/masking others, otherwise it's just EQing and adjusting volume and panning.

    Also your listening volume is critical as our hearing is not linear but different frequencies react differently to volume in our hearing, see Fletcher-Munson curves, but do basic stuff like highpass everything that doesn't need deep bass, to remove rumble, then vary your listening volumes from soft to loud, preferably with different speakers/phones.

    One of my favourite techniques is only to use cuts and never boost and then make things more/less prominent with volume. This way I can "carve" things in the mix for prominent elements like vocals and leads. One tactic for this is to use a parametric EQ, high Q (narrow boost) and then boost the band with something like +10dB and sweep the range, the distracting frequencies can be identified this way and then removed just turning the +10dB boost to a cut, adjusting to taste.
     
  12. pratyahara

    pratyahara Rock Star

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    As far as I know Zynapitq Intensity just outlines the prominent frequencies.
     
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  13. pratyahara

    pratyahara Rock Star

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    A simple and very effective solution might be using apulSoft apUnmask.
     
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  14. Gyro Gearloose

    Gyro Gearloose Audiosexual

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    https://www.audiotent.com/production-tips/frequency-masking-explained/

    [​IMG]
    AudiotentTip 306. Frequency Masking Explained.

    Please raise your hand if you’ve ever been working on a mix, and no matter what you do, you just can’t get two elements to sit together?

    You open up EQ after EQ, boosting random frequencies, cutting random frequencies, add saturation, reverb, delay among other plugins, but the two elements are still hidden and overlapping in the mix.

    This is generally down to a psychoacoustic phenomenon known as Frequency Masking. Masking occurs when the perception of a sound is affected and covered by another, distracting the ear from being able to clearly perceive the simultaneous sounds. Basically, two sounds that cover the same frequencies.

    Well, there is good news: Having a greater understanding of frequency masking, the tools at your disposal and some time to practice, you too can create those professional sounding mixes where everything is audible and has an incredible sense of depth.

    Below, we’re going to walk you through how to use a technique called complimentary equalization to help identify and fix problematic masking frequencies.

    Using complimentary EQ can be a fairly time-consuming exercise. Having to go back and forth between EQ plugins, boosting on one channel whilst cutting the same frequency on another is not ideal. However, there’s an awesome new plugin from iZotope called Neutron that will have you dialling this into your mix within seconds. There is also a way of achieving this inside your DAW and we will show you how to set this up inside Ableton & Logic Pro X in our advanced production tip video at the end of the post.

    Ready? Let’s dive in…

    Kick & Bass.

    The foundation to every electronic dance music track is the kick and bass. Getting this relationship sitting right is key. This powerful area can be difficult to mix as the kick drum and bass occupy the same frequencies. Using Neutron we can quickly apply complimentary EQ boost and cuts whilst sweeping the frequencies until we hit the sweet spot. Here’s how it’s done:

    • First, start by applying the Neutron EQ plugin on both Kick & Bass channels.

    [​IMG]

    • Next, inside the plugin, label your channels, Kick & Bass. This makes things easier once you have the masking switch enabled.

    [​IMG]

    • Go to your Neutron EQ on the Kick channel, switch on masking and select Bass. Then go to your Bass channel, switch on masking and select Kick. Next, click Inverse Link for both plugins. This is where the magic happens. With inverse link activated for both channels, this will create a cut on the one channel whilst you boost at that frequency on the other.

    [​IMG]

    • From here you can now sweep your frequencies to make the kick and bass sit in the mix. In this example, we made a boost in the kick at 60hz to add some weight and helped to clean up the bass.
    [​IMG]

    • Next, we added a boost at 140hz in the bass to bring it out of the mix, whilst the kick was cut at this frequency.

    [​IMG]

    Listen to the before and after examples below to hear the effect these both have.

    Before:

    [gmedia id=22]


    After:

    [gmedia id=23]
    Using the new iZotope Neutron EQ is a great way to apply this technique. However, below we reveal how you can set this up inside using the stock plugins inside Ableton Live & Logic Pro X. We’ve also included the project files for both if you want to jump straight in.
     
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  15. Wolfang

    Wolfang Producer

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    Thanks for the tip. I know myself well and notice that I'm lack of exp. That's why I was asking the plugins. Removing the frequency masking is really tricky. Btw, does mixbuss mean the master track or the bus track? As far as know, the mixbuss is only in Logic.
     
  16. Wolfang

    Wolfang Producer

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    Great! Thanks for the tip!!
     
  17. Wolfang

    Wolfang Producer

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    That's what I found recently. Phase!! Thanks!
     
  18. Wolfang

    Wolfang Producer

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    Looks interesting. Need to try it out. Thx!
     
  19. Wolfang

    Wolfang Producer

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    OMG, this is dope! Great explanation. Thx!
     
  20. 23322332

    23322332 Rock Star

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    As long as you have more than one sound in your track, there will be always masking. Of course, you can reduce it, but it will be still there.
    You have to be God, creating the track from sine waves (and maybe some noise) to have no frequency masking at any given moment.
     
  21. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    'MIX'buss is usually your Master, in any daw.
    Although some people do put a mixbuss before the Master channel though.
    5teezo was meaning to do all this on your individual channels and busses or subgroups first.
     
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