Hi all,

Delay charts can come in handy in case you have to adjust outboard equipment. In this chart you can check the amount of delay time to sync with your music. There is one at: Delay Chart (Barry Rudolph)

also some easy compressor cheatsheet. There are better ones I assume: Old Barn Audio Compressor settings

best, opty

PS: This thread has some pretty useful info. Thanks!

 

Weird i've never heard a violins warmth at 240 Hz, oh well ya learn something every day.

Once ya know its lowest pitch you will understand where i'm coming from.


Cheers

 

about all the charts and info that have been posted,I think it is also necessary to mention clearly the type of music we are dealing with...
obviously there are things that matter in jazz that do not matter in rock or techno etc....that should be the very first step before giving
any advice...but that's just my opinion

I just follow my ears when mixing or mastering as all recordings/ samples / tracks are differents so you cant just follow a recipe...
it's good though to have an idea of what frequency does what....

this applies to rock music of course but when mixing there are a few rules I keep in mind that can be applied to lots of genres,
*as said before, get rid of unnecessary bass/LF content that may compete with your kick and/or bass
*you can use side-chaining to make your kick stand out and duck your bass...or with any other instrument that you dont want to have competing against each other
*on toms 500hz is a frequency you dont want to hear that much as it mars the overall clarity of the drums, you might want to boost at around
5khz too to bring a bit more clarity and it's often good to add one (or more) 100%wet pre fader bus(es) for reverb / ambiance that you mix back in.
*it's also good to send all the drumkit elements to a 100%wet "room" bus to get things tighter, if you didnt have a great room to record the drums
*finally, beware of 2khz frequencies, on cymbals/overheards especially...unless you want to drill into the eardrums of your audience!

*to make a bass stand out and give it a bit more body, I often use a pre fader bus really squashed (20:1) that i mix back in

*when dealing with guitars, dont forget to take into account the type of microphone used to record and to emphasize certain of its features/characteristics
*The type of microphone is also used to decide about which compressor to choose, you can also use a bit of delay on an aux bus to thicken your guitar tracks

of course, panning is important, as each piece needs its own private bit of space but it's also a matter of preferences...I just leave the kick and bass at the center.
One important thing though, especially for the drums, you may have content bleeding here and there so make sure your panning is logical and if you use a reverb
bus on your snare, for example stay around the snare position, dont pan the bus to the other side of the board ...simple things like that!

when mastering, the few rules I stick to are fairly simple: first off I often use an aux bus with my track really squashed (20:1) and mix it back in as it brings the track a lot of punch!
then I always use a 1st compressor set to an extremely fast attack (less than 1ms) and release, and a very high ratio (50 or 100:1) not to compress the track but to smooth it out.
from there I pile things up...several comp and eqs on top of each other, trying to get about a dB every time until I have enough
finally when using a brickwall limiter, set the ceiling threshold to -0.3dB to make sure you are on the safe side!

that would be my general advice, from experience as I am no pro!

 

Thank you,very useful info there...

 

nice one!

 

thank you very much...

 

MAN!! THIS ONE POST THAT WILL HELP A LOT OF US

 

The following eq settings are as with the others, just a guide and are aimed at the Drum and Bass side of production!!!

20 Hz and below - impossible to detect, remove as it only adds unnecessary energy to the total sound, thereby most probably holding down the overall volume of the track
60 Hz and below - sub bass (feel only)
80(-100) Hz - feel AND hear bass
100-120 Hz - the "club sound system punch" resides here
200 Hz and below - bottom
250 Hz - notch filter here can add thump to a kick drum
150-400 Hz - boxiness
200 Hz-1.5 KHz - punch, fatness, impact
800 Hz-4 KHz - edge, clarity, harshness, defines timbre
4500 Hz - extremly tiring to the ears, add a slight notch here
5-7 KHz - de-essing is done here
4-9 KHz - brightness, presence, definition, sibilance, high frequency distortion
6-15 KHz - air and presence
9-15 KHz - adding will give sparkle, shimmer, bring out details - cutting will smooth out harshness and darken the mix

Frequency/spectral anylysers are most definiteky you friend!!!!!
I've found Frequencies between 300 and 400hz are usually responsible for a muffled or muddy sound, you could just do a 1-2db cut on your master eq at 350hz.

Eq or any other methods won't save everything if it's shit going in 9 times out of 10 it'll be shit coming out!!!. Having said that, someone said that'you can't polish a turd' (Chase and Staus I think) and this is indeed true, but you can roll it in glitter!!!!.

 

This one's from Sickand Well,again Drum and Bass......


PART I – Instruments and EQ


Kick Drum

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300 Hz. Try a small boost around 5-7 kHz to add some high end.

60-100 Hz ~ Adds bottom to the sound
100-250 Hz ~ Adds fullness
250-800 Hz ~ Muddiness area
2.5 kHz ~ Slap attack
5-8 kHz ~ Adds high end presence
8-12 kHz ~ Adds hiss and rattle


Snare

Try a small boost around 60-120 Hz if the sound is a little too wimpy. Try boosting around 6 kHz for that 'snappy' sound. Snares are often the driving force of dnb and they take on so many forms that it really comes down to "time spent" here. Experimentation is the key... but here are general guidelines:

220-260 Hz ~ Fatness
5 kHz ~ Crispness
6-8 kHz ~ Adds presence


Hi hats or cymbals

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300 Hz. To add some brightness try a small boost around 3 kHz.

200Hz ~ Clank or gong sound
250-800 Hz ~ Muddiness area
1-6 kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8 kHz ~ Adds shimmer and clarity
8-12 kHz ~ Adds brightness


Rack Toms

240 Hz ~ Fullness
5 kHz ~ Crack / smack attack


Floor Toms

80-120 Hz ~ Fullness
5 kHz ~ Crack / smack attack


Bass Guitar

Try boosting around 60 Hz to add more body. Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300 Hz. If more presence is needed, boost around 6 kHz. Most of this will apply to any bassline.

50-100 Hz ~ Adds bottom end
100-250 Hz ~ Adds fullness
250-700 Hz ~ Muddiness Area
700-1000 Hz ~ Pluck sound
2.5 kHz ~ String noise / pop
3-6 kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8 kHz ~ Adds high-end presence
8-12 kHz ~ Adds hiss


Vocals

This is a difficult one, as it depends on the mic used to record the vocal. However...Apply either cut or boost around 300 Hz, depending on the mic and song. Apply a very small boost around 6 kHz to add some clarity.

100-250 Hz ~ Adds 'up-frontness' / boom
250-800 Hz ~ Muddiness area
2-6 kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8 kHz ~ Adds sibilance and clarity
8-12 kHz ~ Adds brightness


Piano

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300 Hz. Apply a very small boost around 6 kHz to add some clarity.

80-120 Hz ~ Adds bottom
120-250 Hz ~ Adds body
250-1 kHz ~ Muddiness area
2.5-5 kHz ~ Adds presence
6-8 kHz ~ Adds clarity
10 kHz ~ Crisp attack
12-14 kHz ~ Adds hiss


Electric guitars

Again this depends on the mix and the recording. Apply either cut or boost around 300 Hz, depending on the song and sound. Try boosting around 3 kHz to add some edge to the sound, or cut to add some transparency. Try boosting around 6 kHz to add presence. Try boosting around 10 kHz to add brightness.

200-250 Hz ~ Adds fullness
250-800 Hz ~ Muddiness area
2.5 kHz ~ Adds bite
5-8 kHz ~ Adds clarity
8-12 kHz ~ Adds hiss


Acoustic guitar

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off between 100-300 Hz. Apply small amounts of cut around 1-3 kHz to push the image higher. Apply small amounts of boost around 5 kHz to add some presence.

80-120 Hz ~ Bottom end
120-250 Hz ~ Adds body
2.5-5 kHz ~ Adds clarity
8-12 kHz ~ Adds brightness


Horns

There are many types of horns and EQ will affect each in drastically different ways. Here’s a few common EQ affects for most types of horns.

120-240 Hz ~ Fullness
5-7.5 kHz ~ Shrillness


Strings

These depend entirely on the mix and the sound used.

50-100 Hz ~ Adds bottom end
250 Hz ~ Adds fullness
250-800 Hz ~ Muddiness area
1-6 kHz ~ Sounds crunchy
7.5-10 kHz ~ Scratchiness
11-14 kHz ~ Adds brightness



PART II – Frequencies and Domains


50 Hz

1. Increase to add more fullness to lowest frequency instruments like foot, toms, and the bass.
2. Reduce to decrease the "boom" of the bass and will increase overtones and the recognition of bass line in the mix. This is most often used on bass lines in Rap and R&B.


100 Hz

1. Increase to add a harder bass sound to lowest frequency instruments.
2. Increase to add fullness to guitars, snare.
3. Increase to add warmth to piano and horns.
4. Reduce to remove boom on guitars & increase clarity.


200 Hz

1. Increase to add fullness to vocals.
2. Increase to add fullness to snare and guitar (harder sound).
3. Reduce to decrease muddiness of vocals or mid-range instruments.
4. Reduce to decrease gong sound of cymbals.


400 Hz

1. Increase to add clarity to bass lines especially when speakers are at low volume.
2. Reduce to decrease "cardboard" sound of lower drums (foot and toms).
3. Reduce to decrease ambiance on cymbals.


800 Hz

1. Increase for clarity and "punch" of bass.
2. Reduce to remove "cheap" sound of guitars


1.5 kHz

1. Increase for "clarity" and "pluck" of bass.
2. Reduce to remove dullness of guitars.


3 kHz

1. Increase for more "pluck" of bass.
2. Increase for more attack of electric / acoustic guitar.
3. Increase for more attack on low piano parts.
4. Increase for more clarity / hardness on voice.
5. Reduce to increase breathy, soft sound on background vocals.
6. Reduce to disguise out-of-tune vocals / guitars


5 kHz

1. Increase for vocal presence.
2. Increase low frequency drum attack (foot/toms).
3. Increase for more "finger sound" on bass.
4. Increase attack of piano, acoustic guitar and brightness on guitars.
5. Reduce to make background parts more distant.
6. Reduce to soften "thin" guitar.


7 kHz

1. Increase to add attack on low frequency drums (more metallic sound).
2. Increase to add attack to percussion instruments.
3. Increase on dull singer.
4. Increase for more "finger sound" on acoustic bass.
5. Reduce to decrease sibilance (the “s”) on vocals.
6. Increase to add sharpness to synthesizers, rock guitars, acoustic guitar and piano.


10 kHz

1. Increase to brighten vocals.
2. Increase for "light brightness" in acoustic guitar and piano.
3. Increase for hardness on cymbals.
4. Reduce to decrease sibilance (the “s”) on vocals.


15 kHz

1. Increase to brighten vocals (breath sound).
2. Increase to brighten cymbals, string instruments and flutes.
3. Increase to make sampled synthesizer sound more real.



EQ Applications and Understanding


Although most equalization is done by ear, it’s helpful to have an idea about which frequencies affect an instrument in order to achieve and particular effect (hence my tables above). Let’s start at the very beginning: what is frequency? Frequency is the wavelength of sound. That is to say, it is the rate at which a sound wave completes a cycle of positive and negative amplitude. The number of cycles that occurs in one full second is the frequency of a sound wave and that is measured in Hertz (Hz). You will also frequently see the term Kilohertz (kHz) used when talking about sound waves; 1 kHz is equal to 1000 Hz.

When sound waves overlap they combine into a new wave and the frequencies interfere, enhance, and cancel each other. This is where equalization (EQ) comes into play. Equalizers allow you to control the frequencies of sound and thus allow you to shape your music so it sounds better (or worse). It is not enough to just have a bunch of great samples and sounds and throw them together thinking it will sound good. Once sounds overlap they change each other and you must be able to control that change or you end up with a sonic mess. Equalization will allow you to cut and boost certain frequencies within each of your sounds/instruments so that they do not interfere with each other (at least not as much).

On the whole the audio spectrum can be divided into four frequency bands: LOW (20-200Hz), LOW-MIDDLE (200-1000Hz), HIGH-MIDDLE (1-5kHz), and HIGH (5-20kHz):



LOW: 20-200 Hz

This range is often known as the sub bass and is most commonly taken up by the lowest part of the kick drum and bass guitar; although at these frequencies it's almost impossible to determine any pitch. Anything below 40 Hz is not heard at all by human ears but can be felt, especially in the chest. Sub bass is one of the reasons why 12" vinyl became available: low frequencies require wider grooves than high frequencies - without rolling off everything below 50 Hz you couldn't fit a full track onto a 7" vinyl record. However I do NOT recommend applying any form of boost around this area without the use of very high quality studio monitors (not home monitors - there is a vast difference between home near-field and studio far-field monitors costing anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000). Boosting blindly in this area without a valid reference point can and will permanently damage most speakers, even PA systems. You have been warned!


LOW-MIDDLE: 200-1000 Hz

This is the range you're adjusting when applying bass boost in the upper ranges to add some presence or clarity to your low end instruments. This is also the main culprit area for muddy sounding mixes. Most frequencies around here can cause psycho-acoustic problems: if too many sounds in a mix are dominating this area, a track can quickly become annoying.


HIGH-MIDDLE: 1-5 kHz

Human hearing is extremely sensitive at these frequencies, and even a minute boost around here will result in a huge change in the sound (almost the same as if you boosted around 10 dB at any other range). This is because our voices are centered in this area, so it's the frequency range we hear more than any other. Most telephones work at 3 kHz, because at this frequency speech is most intelligible.

 

Everyone that wants to get into recording / producing music should read this.

 

Agree... already bookmarked. A wealth of information...including some funny js scripts

 

Great topic thanks to all the posters, very useful

 

Great! Thanks

 

Quick handy tip for those who dont know 60 divided by the BPM will get you started for your delay time...keep dividing the answer by 2 to get 1/4 note 1/8 note 16th etc........

 

Thanks for all this, very useful (I suspect) :D

 

I think these are only useful when trying to gain a grasp of frequencies and nothing else. I use analysers on my master voxengo span, i have a custom curve set so i know exactly what frequencies to hit with what. This is probably the best way to get a balanced mix that will reproduce well, all you need do at that point is use your ears to mix the rest of the track.

I find it easier to use fluid concepts rather than strict rules, such as frequency masking. which is when you have overlapping frequencies they interfere with each other, so if you have hi hats with a lot of top, your vocal will sound dull in that range so you need to boost the vocal and slightly cut the hats. EQ is a tool not an effect.

 

Just from applying the first few paragraphs my drums already sound much better. Thanks! :D

 

happy tweaking then!

 

I agree with that also, dynamic eqing, cutting freqs in one sound to make room for boost in another. Like when I have guitars and or piano with vox all competeing for the same freqs. If I used only those charts above I suspect it would only harm the mix with you boosting everything to try to get more "presence" What Im saying is use the guides, but also take into account that when instrument/vox are in the same same part of the freq spectrum some dynamic eqinq will also give each sound its place in the mix. That combined with panning, different reverbs, and some times Ill even use a stereo tool like Waves S1 to spread out/widen or tighten/mono some sounds that are in the same freq range also.
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sG