Frequency Masking

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by TheMoss, Jan 19, 2020.

  1. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2011
    Messages:
    3,828
    Likes Received:
    2,657
    Location:
    Sweden
    I would start over and attenuate some 500-ish on the mid channel on the guitars (bus) to make room for the vocals, IF it is needed.
    I doubt the snare fundamenral is as low as 100Hz. You can cut everything below 100 on the snare and instead boost the fundamental (around 200?) if you want more body. Then you can SC MB compress that to the bass, or send bass+kick+snare to a rear bus compressor.

    The kick seems to be more "100-ish". Try push up the 60 and boost 3-5k for some clarity/click. Turn up the kick and turn down the snare in volume.

    There is some obvious pumping from compression or dynamic EQ which is quite draining to listen to. Try to ease up on that. Instead try SC compressing bass and guitars to kick, but don't overdo it.
    Also pitch-correct the vocals a bit the vocalist is quite a bit off from time to time. My 10 cents.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2020
  2. TheMoss

    TheMoss Kapellmeister

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2019
    Messages:
    171
    Likes Received:
    74
    i am confusing sometimes about 'which frequency range' is the ok for vocals, and finding myself cutting 300-500 hz. blindly. One of my problem is I cant eq freely. When i watch professional engineers they can cut or boost radically +6 db or +8 db. Sometimes I feel i need to do it aswell but after doing extreme boost on some frequency you need to re- balance the mix. I have some problem on balancing.
     
  3. Blue

    Blue Audiosexual

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2015
    Messages:
    1,807
    Likes Received:
    954
    Spectrum analyzer are helpful for experienced people,but they also may be a trap and counter-productive for novice people IMO.When you're checking spectrum analyzer your brain is focused on what your eyes see while your brain doesn't hear.

    I look analyzers only when I have a doubt about my decisions.First I force myself to EQ only with my ears and in the context of the song.Listening tracks individually is a nonsense for me.
     
  4. TheMoss

    TheMoss Kapellmeister

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2019
    Messages:
    171
    Likes Received:
    74
    Agreed. I'm just checking loudest part of the song (usually chorus) for to be sure is it balanced. otherwise analyzer could be deceptive.
     
  5. xbitz

    xbitz Rock Star

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2013
    Messages:
    843
    Likes Received:
    461
    >> https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/mixing-pink-noise-reference
    free generator
    https://www.credland.net/pink/
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2020
  6. Satai

    Satai Rock Star

    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2013
    Messages:
    453
    Likes Received:
    419
    If you often start second guessing yourself about which frequency range to boost/cut exactly, try this method that I picked up from Stavrou:

    1. Imagine how you want the instrument to sound.
    2. Based on what you just imagined put up an EQ boost or cut as you think needed. Pure guess. The filters are off while you set them up.
    3. Turn it off and on a few times, to see if you like what it did.
    4. If it's not working out, go back to 1, and redesign a new bunch of filters "blind" again.

    His thing is "NO SWEEPING", because it tires the ear out and you lose perspective. It's just a different way to approach it, may help you out. Personally I sweep all the time and for me it helps to take the opposite approach and kinda "listen to all the possibilities, quickly", then I pick the one that seems to be going in the right direction and only play with the amount of boost/cut from then on. So my approach is, sweep to find the key points where this particular sound is changing the way I like it to be, drop the filter there and then only play with the gain as if it was a fixed graphic EQ that I just made for myself.

    As for the amount of gain, it does not matter if the readout says +12 db or something scary like that. Any setting is just fine as long as it's doing what the sound's needing. Since you are only sitting there tweaking the gain by that point, you can really zoom in mentally and pick the perfect setting for the mix you're hearing. Later someone will be looking at it and wondering how you got away boosting +12db, when in engineering school they said that's taboo. But the mix sounds great! So engineering school's smoking nervously in the corner, while you're your own man doing your job just right.
     
    Last edited: Jan 19, 2020
  7. xbitz

    xbitz Rock Star

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2013
    Messages:
    843
    Likes Received:
    461
    using reference tracks also very handy for balancing, ADPTR Audio - Metric A|B is quite useful for this


     
  8. TheMoss

    TheMoss Kapellmeister

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2019
    Messages:
    171
    Likes Received:
    74
    reference tracks! my weakness ! thanks i will download demo
     
Loading...
Similar Threads - Frequency Masking Forum Date
Plugins for the frequency masking Software Aug 24, 2020
hum low frequency Mixing and Mastering Sunday at 5:59 PM
Frequency Hearing Loss Check Site & The Most Accurate Test Lounge Feb 19, 2024
Tips to tame a harsh frequency (acoustic guitar) Mixing and Mastering Jul 9, 2023
What's the highest frequency you can hear? Working with Sound Jun 16, 2023
Loading...