Photo by zteamie
Recently I had a chance to sit in on a seminar given by Kent Morris. Kent’s a brilliant guy. He works with Peavey and focuses on training churches on sound systems and how to use them. The topic of the seminar was how to use multiple microphones in a live situation.
Since this blog is about home studios, I won’t be getting into all the different topics he covered. Suffice it to say, Kent’s a brilliant presenter. If you ever get a chance to hear him speak, please do so.
What really captured my attention was something Kent said about EQ. He was talking about how to EQ a vocal to bring out clarity and definition when he made the following statement:
“Every instrument you deal with has a fundamental frequency in the 250-500 Hz range.”
The dictionary on my Mac defines fundamental frequency as “the lowest frequency produced by the oscillation of the whole of an object, as distinct from the harmonics of higher frequency.”
What does that mean? Let’s say I’m singing an A note. 440 Hz is the fundamental frequency of that note, but that’s not the only frequency present. The sound of my voice is made up of that fundamental frequency combined with a complex mixture of harmonics at higher frequencies. These higher frequencies are what we use to differentiate my voice from another voice singing the same note.
Or let’s say a piano and an acoustic guitar play the same note. The reason we can tell the difference is because the harmonic content of each instrument gives the instrument its timbre.
To review, the fundamental frequency defines the pitch, while the harmonic content defines the tone of a sound.
So what does Kent’s quote have to do with us? Well, when mixing a song, we’re combining a bunch of tracks. If the fundamental frequency for each of these tracks is somewhere between 250 Hz and 500 Hz, then we’re obviously going to have a huge build-up in that range.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is where the mud comes from. You know what I’m talking about. Each track you recorded sounds amazing when you solo it, but then when you bounce a mix of everything, it’s all muddy and cluttered, and it gives you a headache. (I’ve done mixes in the past that literally give me an instant headache…sigh.)
Dealing with the “mud range”
So how do we take this information and put it into practice? Here’s my advice: next time you’re mixing, and things are sounding muddy, don’t immediately reach for the high frequency EQ knob and turn it up. Instead, spend some times cutting out some of that low-mids.
It’s been said many times, but I’ll reiterate it here. EQ is meant to be a corrective tool more than it’s meant to be an effect. Removing problem frequencies (doing an EQ cut) is almost always more effective than boosting other frequencies.
The easiest way to do this is to take one of your EQ bands in the low-mid area and do a big boost. Next, sweep the frequency up and down until you find where the “mud” is coming from. (I have a sneaky suspicion it’ll be between 250 and 500 Hz.) Once you find the frequency, turn the gain down until you’ve done about a 3 dB cut and take a listen.
Oftentimes a 3 dB cut is all it takes to clear things up. Use more or less as you see fit, and hopefully there will be much less mud in your future.
How do you handle EQ? Leave a comment.
E.Q. drives me bananas! But I would like to get a better grasp on using it. I’d much rather get the sound from the mics and the pre’s. But sometimes you have to reach for the E.Q. I think this has a lot to do with many of my recordings turning out “lo-fi”. I’ve gotten better at using recording gear over the years. But I still have a hard time with E.Q. and Compressors(I’m finally starting to understand compressors a little bit better, though). I have nothing against Lo-Fi Recordings. Heck, some of my favorite music was recorded that way. But when you buy “Pro-Audio” gear, I figure that isn’t your goal! Your goal is “Pro-Audio”.
yes indeed. learning how to EQ was a life changer for me. i also wish i would have known “then” what I know “now”. my very first project was just stinkin terrible. all those tracks are gone now and there is no way to go back and fix anything. i attempted EQ but i didn’t know what i was doing 8 years ago. luckily i have a better grip on it now and now my ears are happy with comes out of my speakers. really learn your frequency ranges. it will make all the difference.
EQ can be the make all or break all of a track. I've learnt that many times, whether it be mixing a track at home, or live at a venue. I have found, like you have described Joe, is that cuts do help. I try to find a 'home' for each instrument in a certain frequency range. With say kick drum and bass guitar, I spend a lot of time locking them in together as I often find that one usually overshadows the other. Over the past 3-4 years of me working with audio, my eyes have been totally opened by experience and reading other peoples views on the subject.