I'm trying to set my EQ in advance so that I can keep 'Flow State' when I'm doing something like sound design.

I use Groups for every sound, so I can set EQ on those, before I push into Busses with compression, fast, slow, wide etc.

Everything is synthesis. Does anybody have a list of settings or a template for the sounds that I use that puts the EQ of these sounds in the right space?

1. Pad
2. Air
3. Impact
4. Evolver (noises that don't rise or impact)
   
5. Riser
6. Stab
7. Synth
8. Lead Synth
9. Arp
10. Lead Vocal
11. Backing Vocal
12. Crash
13. Ride
14. Percussion
15. Hi Hats
16. Toms
17. Clap
18. Snare
19. Kick
20. Bass
21. Sub Bass

 

EQ is case-dependent. Presets are somewhat useless.

 

I know there isn't one right way of mixing, but that's kinda strange way to look at it. I do however have some EQ pre-set in template, but it was placed before the compressor so its use is more of how to push (or excite) that certain compressor plugin and most of the time it works for me (after long period of fine tuning) for that particular channel and processing chain, EQ is just part of chain. My point is, what is it that you want to achieve in that template using EQ ? then you can maybe think of having them pre-set in the template knowing it could work with whatever (type of sound in the same category) you throw at it. Apart from them, EQ is 99% case-dependent.

For sound design usage, it can be as crazy as you could think of as long as the end result is what you have in mind and it would be the exact opposite of that in your next project. So rethink the way you want to work, maybe think what you want to achieve for that type of sound first. To EQ and put sounds together in the right space IMO is unique to each project and all its elements, almost impossible to get one that will work with everything project to project.

If you don't really have time for that all, and want a faster EQ and don't really care about how the EQ is set as long as it works all the time but with quick starting point, the closest I could think of is the Izotope Neutron Visual Mixer. Although it includes panning, imaging and stuff, at the core of it, it's EQ (but user can't really see it) and it should work with most type of music as a quick starting point if you prefer to work in groups on something after that.

I wont recommend the Smart EQ grouping as it will present another problem and the mix most of the time wont sound pleasant, it worked for some people tho, they like it.

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2024

Cheers. How you have the EQ sounds exactly how I'm set up and I totally feel what you are on about. Its not necessarily about having everything totally set in advance, but at least a ball park will improve my sound.

The main issue I have is learning difficulties. It isn't possible for me to hear the mix balance individually and fix things. I can create all day long, but I just can't tell which parts of a sound are pleasant etc. I guess I'm more focused on the creative side, not the engineery stuff.

If I try to focus on one element in a compare track I get distracted, I have ADHD, I have a shitload of disorders, its fucked up so I never end up getting anywhere with these simple tricks.

So its not about setting everything perfectly in advance. Its major strokes. So for example there are aspects of the track that create mud, 300 or something. So do I cut that on every track? Does a kick have any 300? Does a Pad? How about Hi Hats? There will be a lot of broad strokes that I can set in advance to make better decisions. If every track is contributing 300hz then maybe that's a huge part of what keeps going wrong in the balance?

So I'm looking for general settings like Pads - what frequencies are generally the best to enhance there? i genuinely have zero idea. I like all the frequencies so I'll just boost them all LOL. Even the 300-400. It sounds warm

On the track I'm trying to fix I dipped a lot of the mid range on all the comps and it seems a lot better already, so there's definitely a sweeping change that I can make to my mix balance. Things like Hats probably don't want any 200hz at all. I don't want a shiny dance mix with width etc, I just want it to sound decent. Right now I get the idea that my balance sounds pretty horrific, so anything that generally fixes 'me' is a plus

Examples...




I'll have a look at the Izotope thing. That might be a huge help if it even just shows me the difference, what choice it makes. If I can see like 'dip 6dB on 300 on these tracks' that could be a huge help. If I make my own choices I'll dip everything and leave 300 hollow... I guess it means setting up a Pro-Q after that plugin to see the before and after? I'll test it on stems and keep the focus just on EQ... Cheers...

 

Did you demo Claro yet? The simplified Produce page interface makes broad brush stroke EQ-ing very fast. It has more than enough visual information to get things very close, quickly. When you flip to the Tweak page, it's your typical Pro-Q3 style display and controls.
Most of the time, what I setup in the Produce page is accurate enough where I don't even need to make changes on the Tweak page. It's already preliminarily adjusted how I want by that point. It is a very efficient workflow. I'm using no acoustic instruments either, so I do not need a surgical instance of Pro-Q3 on every channel. It is the perfect digital eq middle ground for me.

 

I didn't bother. Its too expensive right now, like over £100.... The thing about what I saw in that plugin is that I'm still in control of decisions and I just make shit decisions. I can't get around that. That's what needs to be addressed somehow, where it takes the decision making away completely. I think at that point, like you said, I could make small changes if I cared.

I've had a bash with this iZotope and it seems like a really good solution for getting the balance, but its eating holes in my latency somehow. It might be because I inserted Neutron instead of Neutron EQ

The levels sound ok, I don't know, it seems like a balanced mix, but then when I put another instance on the Master it pretty much destroys the mix with those decisions. It should really have one decision to make at that point if it did a good job - make it louder... So it hasn't convinced me that its decisions are the best.

So I don't know about Claro. It still looked like a rabbit hole for me. I'll have a look at the videos on it, see if that can fix this mess...

 

Maybe check Pulsar 8200? You can set up and label 4 bands the way you want, and it also includes an air, sub-bass and the usual filters.

 

I have presets that I use for a quick workflow. It's mainly about midrange and roll-off, and a few psycho acoustic tricks that I tend to forget.

 

Choose an EQ that you know can is fast and easy to work with instead. Alternatively, use an automatic EQ like Sonible Smart:EQ or a spectral EQ like Gullfoss.

 

I feel you need to reflect on what you are asking. What is wrong with your 'Stab' sound in the context of the tune you're working on? Is that something you could know beforehand?

 

I wonder if a better solution might be something that dramatizes the curves negatively so that I can hear the nastiness and make my cuts accordingly?

I'm not convinced that these things can't be set in advance, because they do this in dance music. They just recycle a template and make small changes across tracks. Its not like I'm going to suddenly introduce a guitar. I write songs, I'm not an Engineer. I just want a general setup where its ok and I don't have to think about it too much.

But the bottom line is that whatever I do I can't hear what is good and bad and somehow I have to find a way to tackle that bad taste.

I think mid range seems to be where I fall down. Do you have a general outlook on where you set things? Are your sounds similar to my palette?

 

I haven't tested these for a few years, but what I remember it was basic, like guitar, drums, bass, vocals. Beyond that, for like 'plucky lead' you're screwed.

They used a lot of CPU as well.

Most of the presets that you find in an SSL etc are guitar song based, not synth songs. If you find one called 'synth' its not gonna fit on the entire palette ... I think that this tells its own story, that nobody ever really thought about synth sounds and mixing.

Yeah I've no idea. I design a lot of my sounds so if it doesn't sit its all on me. I can't ask myself what's wrong if I don't understand what others don't like about it.

I think people make mixing decisions for a reason, even if they can't explain it. I you make a decision to cut 300 then you must feel like there's something wrong there. This kind of thing will build up in every mix if its frowned on, so there must be areas that can be trimmed in advance. Which sounds don't belong there? I'm pretty sure a Hi Hat doesn't for example, so that feels like a solid move to make in advance, to just trim below 'x'.

It might not be related to hearing in any way, rather learning difficulties and ADHD? I don't know. I just know that I can't make decisions. So any basic settings that can clean up my mix, even a 1dB cut on 5 sounds might help.

 

You're maybe looking for something like these

 

These could be really helpful if I can figure out how to translate the real instruments into my synths. Cheers. I'm not sure if it will tell me how much to add in each area, I'll have to run through it all...

 

I don't pay enough attention to EQing tracks as I work but if I did I would probably start off with Cubase channel presets or Izotope Neutron with other DAWs then later, if needed, remove them and work with other plugins to get the sound right.

 

First, learn to distinguish frequencies by ear. I don't mean "oh, it's 300 Hz / 5 kHz / 12,5 kHz". I mean intuitive knowledge where to search. The more you work the more this ability evolves. Why is this important? You should be able listen analytically, band by band. How do the lows sound? How do the mids sound? Etc. If you found a problematic zone you can correct something.

Do you know about boosting a narrow frequency band to find unpleasant or unwanted components of a sound? Boost a narrow band significantlly and move it from side to side.

Try to train yourself intentionally. May be, listen to music (or even noise, yes, the white noise) with bandpass filter and move it. Lowpass and high pass are also good. Think of it as if it was a magnifier. You "see" (hear) just part of frequencies. What spectral part (frequencies) of a mix do you hear? How these bands differ?

What about presets... Yes, it's hardly meaningful. May be it makes sense if you have presets with predefined bands. Without boosts and cuts. Let's take a snare. 200 Hz for the body, 2000 hZ for the attack etc. But in all the cases it won't work. The real body of a snare may lay between 100 and 300 Hz, its attack may lay between 800 and 4000 Hz etc. I don't tell about really creative equing when you form a really unusual sound.

 

Last edited: Jul 20, 2024

Such chart are useful, especially the second one. You create assosiations with names of qualities ("airy", "moody", "boxy" etc.) rather than with digits. Such names are vague but you may give meanings for them by listening. From your experience.

 

Last edited: Jul 20, 2024

Eventide SplitEQ has presets for most instruments/musical contexts, but it's not a simple EQ, it's a transient designer + EQ kinda thing.

 

What isn't being understood is how the retardation works. Its ADHD, learning difficulties. These things don't go away...

So every new track has new things to consider. Even if I can learn these ideas of mud, boxy etc, my brain doesn't connect with them in the moment. This is where I'm retarded. It can't be fixed with words or learning, because every new situation is a new learning. So having learned it already, doesn't mean that I learned this new situation.

So it resets again. I'm up against a new learning. My brain hears 50 things at once and tries to focus on all of them. I can bring it back to 'boxy', but I've forgotten why I'm focused on that. I can't hear anything wrong with it. I can't hear how that relates to everything else. I'm hearing other things at once etc.

This isn't a lack of learning. i've been learning this shit for years. Its not that it hasn't gone in at some point, but its totally useless because of how my brain works. Its retarded in this way... in other ways its high IQ, but this is the part where things are impossible...

So this brings me back to setting things in advance as best as possible... I need to minimize the distraction. I've done that in every other aspect. My system works from start to finish, but I can't get this balance issue right (and reverb). I can call it cutting corners, being lazy or whatever, but you have to understand that my brain isn't normal and it won't function in the way where I can recognize these things. So the fix has to be something along the lines of having things in a ball park setting somehow. We're talking about retardation here and shouting doesn't make it go in, honestly.

I got my first album to a point where I'm happy with it and put it out. Its my taste, but its not balanced, but that's the best that I'm capable of. I'd like to be able to push it further, but it seems like its just impossible for me and I'll never be able to EQ a track...

I'm going to try running with these real instrument settings and see if it helps. I'll have to get creative somehow.

 

Just had a look at that. The presets look different and much closer to what I'm after but the CPU load is pretty high. 4% on 4 channels with nothing going through...

It looks complicated too. I think I need the settings to be simple. I'm not looking to win a Grammy for engineering, I just write songs, but I'd like them to sound more balanced and to have a wider appeal, rather than sound pretty amateur.