29
votes
Accepted
Why is 'additive' EQ more difficult to use than 'subtractive'?
There are many differences between boosting and cutting with EQ. I'll discuss the ones that stand out to me the most:
One way to think about a mix is that it's like packing a box, or perhaps like ...
- 56.1k
19
votes
Accepted
How do I use an equalizer?
There is no one way to use an EQ, but there are a few common techniques that people use to EQ, and they can be applied on most sources.
First a few general tips:
Make small changes. EQs are not ...
- 770
12
votes
Why is 'additive' EQ more difficult to use than 'subtractive'?
Nothing wrong with the answers so far, but they're missing one important point as to what happens when you use either additive or subtractive EQ.
You boost or cut at a frequency, with a Q or width ...
- 27.5k
11
votes
How dry does a rock/metal vocal have to be during recording?
In addition to what user90207 said, dry vocals play nicely with several common effects:
Pitch-correction software may have difficulty tracking pitch on very wet vocals, or more commonly the reverb ...
- 7,423
11
votes
Can Bluetooth mix input from guitar and send it to headphones?
In short, no. Different sources give Bluetooth a minimum latency of 32 to 40 milliseconds that is very high for guitar. In practice the latency is usually much higher, and since you have two ...
- 2,790
10
votes
Accepted
Why do digital mixers use a compressor on each track?
If you run a compressor on the master, a peak being reduced will affect every channel - so for example, you could hear all your instruments dropping volume.
It does change the dynamic of the whole ...
- 36.8k
10
votes
How do sound waves travel and their reflections?
I refer you to Wikipedia.
The motion of sound can be hard to understand because we can't see its propagation. We can sometimes understand it more easily by analogy to waves we can see, for example ...
- 2,420
9
votes
What is the difference in using mono reverb vs stereo reverb?
What is stereo reverb
"Stereo reverb" may mean different things:
mono in, stereo out
stereo in, stereo out
The latter category is further split between "true stereo" and "dual mono" categories, and ...
8
votes
Does the microphone gear/setup used to record vocals determine the output quality of the music or does the mixing and mastering?
I think the heart of the question is, which is more important: gear or skill?
The answer to that question is skill is more important. Skill is the product of training, practice, and experience, and ...
- 56.1k
8
votes
Accepted
How can I set balanced volume levels prior to mixing?
Before you launch Live to start recording, composing, mixing, etc., do the following:
Leave the monitors at their current setting and do not change that.
Turn the big monitor level knob and the ...
- 56.1k
7
votes
Acoustic Guitar in the Live Mix
In a lot of mixes, it's normal and even intentional for the acoustic guitar(s) to get hidden behind the electric guitars and other instruments during the loud parts. If you listen to the Led Zeppelin ...
- 56.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Efficient strategies when recording alone
One simple "technique" can improve your solo recording drastically: whenever you start recording a song, begin with recording a guide track.
This is a track where you sing the song, accompanied by a ...
- 5,923
7
votes
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Getting the right balance of frequencies in mix
Matthew has provided a great answer. I want to expand a bit and look at different aspects of your question to help with some misconceptions that might be causing trouble.
I would take a ...
- 56.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Confused by overtones when transcribing music
I think your idea is definitely reasonable: an emphasis in the treble part of any sound will tend to emphasize higher partials which could throw off your transcription. This is vastly more likely to ...
- 18.2k
7
votes
Why do digital mixers use a compressor on each track?
It's necessary to add compressors on each track to change the dynamics of the tracks. Generally you should record and mix at appropriate levels so that you don't need to do any peak reduction to ...
- 56.1k
7
votes
How do I use an equalizer?
The best way to use an equaliser is not to NEED to use it.
Yes, some instruments share a frequency range, playing them together can sound muddy. So DON'T play that pair of instruments together. It'...
- 90.4k
7
votes
Accepted
How do sound waves travel and their reflections?
1) The quantity of sound waves produced in air depends on the intensity or amplitude. If you pull your guitar string back a very short distance from its normal resting position, then the oscillations ...
- 11.2k
7
votes
What’s the Purpose of “Mixing” a song
Let's say you've recorded a couple of vocals, a set of drums, two guitars, bass and keyboards. Using only one track for each, that's seven different tracks. (Keys are usually stereo, drums could be ...
- 190k
7
votes
How dry does a rock/metal vocal have to be during recording?
I'd suggest keeping the vocal signal that you actually record as dry as you can, but put some nice effects on the vocal signal going to the singer's headphones as they perform.
That way they'll feel ...
- 11.3k
6
votes
Getting the right balance of frequencies in mix
equal looking frequency spectrum's do not mean that the sound will be perceived similarly. Dynamics, instrument separation, clashing tonal centers, there are a myriad of things responsible for how a ...
- 379
6
votes
Accepted
How to make drums sound punchy and fat?
I would actually say compression and EQ can't do very much to make drums sound great.
In order of impact, to make drums sound punchy and fat:
Play them well or have them played well. Exactly how and ...
- 56.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Judging a mix away from the studio
You are doing it just right. You think the average listener has expensive speakers/headphones? People are going to listen in the car, on their crappy iPhone ear buds, etc. If the mix doesn't sound ...
- 7,120
6
votes
How to identify mud and resonance in a mix
I'm not sure if it's a correct board to post this question, but anyway...
"Mud" usually refers to too much low frequencies and/or too scarce high frequencies. You should correct it per instrument + ...
- 359
6
votes
What's the difference between faders and compressοrs?
A fader and a compressor are two different things.
Compressor
compression is an audio signal processing operation that reduces the volume of loud sounds or amplifies quiet sounds thus reducing or ...
- 31.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Panning distorted guitars (get the attack sound)
By copy/pasting the exact same sound to two tracks then panning them hard left & right, you have in fact created a mono sound that just takes up two tracks.
In stereo recording, the very ...
- 27.5k
6
votes
I tried to match the sound of this song but it sounds very different, what am I missing?
In general its a pretty accurate reproduction!
Personally, when comparing two tracks, I don't find spectrum analyses particularly useful. It doesn't give you an entire picture, and inevitably leads ...
- 71
6
votes
How do I use an equalizer?
The use of EQ is twofold:
to try to give each instrument/part it's own space in the spectrum.
First up - think about what the objective is of a good mix? You want to hear each part that contributes ...
- 3,448
6
votes
Going above 0db and applying limiter
You can run levels over 0db within a DAW (well, sort of. What's really happening is a re-definition of 0db within an extended bit-depth. You can't actually get higher than 'all available bits on' in ...
- 90.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Acoustic Guitar in the Live Mix
I also play a Taylor Acoustic (614CE) in a band with electric guitar and electric bass and drums. I also play in an acoustic duo and play at open mics with other musicians with all sorts of ...
- 27.2k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible