Hi, I've been working on a track and all I have left to do is get the lead synth chords in but no matter what I do I hear resonant frequencies. If I eq one I hear another then on and on I go until I've notched most of the mid frequencies out that it no longer sounds good!
I am just playing simple three note chords.
I have attached an example which is just an F chord. You really hear it in the shorter notes. It gets worse when I layer synths playing the same line.
One is made with the juno 106 vst the other is Massive. I've also tried serum and still hear it. The resonance filter on the vst's are right down.
Could someone please help me.
I've tried dseq, gulfoss, neutron.
ProQ3 by ear works but then I just find another frequency and keep going.

How do you eq your synth chords? I am just crazy trying to eq every resonance out? They all just sound so piercing to me. Or maybe I've just listened to it so long that I"m aware of them.
Link to clip first is Juno 106 vst, then played an octave higher. Followed by Massive two different patches.

https://clyp.it/nucofvh0

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

 

Room acoustics? Something resonating around your desk or speaker stands? A bad EQ setting on your monitors?
In other words, do you also hear it on headphones? - cause I don't hear crazy resonances

 

Hi, yes I hear it on various monitors, headphones. Even my phone playing in different rooms, and in cars etc. There is one at C7. I can even see them in Voxengo Span.

 

I don't hear it in other peoples music though playing similar sounds.

 

I dont hear resonant frequency in the sample you sent.
But , do you hear it, even in this sample, or do you hear this resonance in the mix?
It can make a big difference, as in the mix, it could be resonating with another instrument, and create these artifacts.
In this case, solo this synth track, and solo each other track one by one to find the one(s) which are interacting with this one.

I had a problem like this once, between a synthetic piano on a Roland JX8P and a real Stratocaster.

 

And dl'ed the clip and sorry, but I can't hear or see any resonances, not even at C7. Yes, the frequency spectrum is full of little spikes, but these are not resonances it's just the sound, there is nothing to get rid of. Maybe try a different waveform?

 

Last edited: Nov 27, 2020

it's a psychoacoustic matter. what that means is that you have better ears than everyone else. so just focus on the melody now and stop worrying about frequencies higher than a sixteenth note. you may use this advice and succeed or ignore it at your peril.

 

Hi, thank you for listening and commenting. I hear it in the sample. So it also gets a lot worse layered and moves when changing chords.
Even when diff layers are playing I'll have to mute each one to hear the one doing it so even one will stand out in the mix but they all usually have different fq pinging my ears.

 

Wow thanks so much for downloading and listening! First chord I hear something at 532, 2nd octave up I hear 3.10k high pitch noise. Third chord 1.59 high ring, fourth 1.32. But while listening other things will jump out.
I hear it before I go sweeping for it to find it too. But in the mix it gets a lot worse. I also hear it in all the main piano libraries. I think I might have to try ignore it.

 

Hi, thanks so much for commenting. I think I will have to take your advice. Even when I think about the song without listening to it in my brain I hear the fq I don't like. I think I've just been listening to it too much.
Together the sound chord sounds so good but then I hear the ringing so start notching them all out. Afterwards I end up ab'n it to the rough and all things in the original sound I really liked are all gone.

 

If you don't trust your and our ears, maybe you trust your eyes?

Spoiler: Jim Von Gucci Synth Vst NO Resonances

F3:


F4:


Second Sound:


Third Sound:


You really want to pull down these tiny spikes at 5xxHz and 1.xkHz???

 

This is a contradiction. If it's psychic (e.g. hyperacusis) it's not physical.

 

To add to what @livemouse said, at some point after working many hours on a tune, we tend to concentrate on details that are much less obvious than they seem to us.
A simple trick is to let it cool down at least pair of days.
Work on something else, forget this song for a moment, then get back to it.

Also, if you could upload a part of the song, we could give an opinion about the frequencies.

 

I can hear them. Takes a trained ear though.

If you can try to eliminate the problem at the source, ie the synthesis level. Otherwise use ProQ3 in dynamic mode.

Since the resonating frequency shifts per not played you need to find the resonating frequency bands and set up nodes for each one and then make them dynamic so they only cut when they cross the threshold.

 

It's called OCD. I should know, I suffer from it. It makes you lose too much time on unimportant things, driving yourself crazy. I used to call it "being too pedant", but there is a difference.

Just try to let it go, cool off for a day, and continue making good tunes.

Edit: try listening to the whole mix and then decide if you should remove some frequency[-ies]. The most important thing in a mix is to decide the loudness/importance of the sounds, before EQ-ing and compressing. Then see if some of them clash - create additional resonances together that jump out, and EQ those out in one of the instruments, maybe even reverse the phase so they cancel out at some frequencies.

Phase button can be so useful, mate, and the good old panning L/R.

 

Last edited: Nov 28, 2020

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. We think a like. I tried at synth level but it's just basic sine wav really and I turned down the resonance on the filter so not sure what else I can do there. Also been using ProQ3 in dynamic mode even automating for different chords. I''ll figure out something, just seemed like no one else had this issue.

Thanks I will try this today.

 

Roland Cloud 106 is harsh and abrasive sound at 44.1 / 48 with horrible aliases. Check demos on Youtube - real 106 sound like Cloud but much more organic, round and alias free. But Roland ACB realy similar to analog synth and SH2 has great model with more smoot that 106! NI Massive have another side of "digital problem" - absolutly plastic, dull, dead and sterile sound. Well, maybe try soft 6db LP filter at 10k?

 

pin point it with an eq and cut it out useally lead synth resonance frequencies are around 8 to10k so start from there.

 

Last edited: Dec 6, 2020

Try DSEQ2, melda, soothe2...