How to EQ

[soziblewuup]

My new track is soundin pretty good so far, but everythin in terms of how loud the individual components are etc. is letting me down.
I need to learn how to EQ in reason, does anyone have a link to a good tutorial video or explenation.
My drop just isn't punching in, its a really grimey dark sound, and im using 4 oscillators and its full vol, but whatever i do it jst wont give me that hairs on the back of your neck like it dos when i'm listenin to proffesional tracks.
If anyone could help i would be so greatful, thanks x

[MidnightMassDubstep]

(this post has nothing to do with EQing, sorry)
Sounds like a good deal of subtle and effective compression is what you're after! Here's a good link to explain how the fuck to compress shit:
http://www.dubstepforum.com/post1067025 ... e#p1067025
Mad props to shig.
Also, full volume is bad - it means you can't mess with volume levels when you need to. Trust me work at lower volume levels
Also, make sure you're using punchy samples, and LAYER SHIT! It is key.

Hope I helped

[polygonfiction]

LAYER SHIT! It is key.

No joke.

[soziblewuup]

Thanks mate, i used one of those bass settings and it seems to make it quieter but even better on the ear,
and what do you mean by layering, like layering up the oscillators ?

[wayoftheworld]

Thanks mate, i used one of those bass settings and it seems to make it quieter but even better on the ear,
and what do you mean by layering, like layering up the oscillators ?

yep, layering different sounds on top of one another. for example, layering 3 different snares that, together, span a broader space across the frequency spectrum, resulting in a more full sounding snare, or synth, or kick, or whatever is is you're layering.

[WeBang]

Reason needs an 8 point EQ.

[tavravlavish]

i hate mixing in reason.

[vazt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFzYh_C7to

if u dont have monitors and volume is an issue.. u can drop a bit crusher on your master and lower the bit rate while u are creating to clear headroom (funkagenda trick)

[macc]

1) Listen

2) hear what's wrong

3) eq

If nothing is wrong then have a beer and enjoy your immensity.

[polygonfiction]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFzYh_C7to

if u dont have monitors and volume is an issue.. u can drop a bit crusher on your master and lower the bit rate while u are creating to clear headroom (funkagenda trick)

This is a good example for the basics - there's no great mystery for you to get started. Just think of it as resources, a balanced mix generally keeps the ranges of each bus out of each other's way.

Also for your low end, try soloing your sub bass and kick, then LP shelf on the master and slowly slide the shelf up the freqs. This can give you a good indication of how your kick/sub are interacting. - Subfocus trick

[lowpass]

1) Listen

2) hear what's wrong

3) eq

If nothing is wrong then have a beer and enjoy your immensity.

Can I demonstrate the alternative for the majority of noobs when it comes to eq'ing?

1. listen

2. hear what's right

3. leave it the fuck alone

[safeandsound]

And if it is EQ related, here is the basics....

3 main EQ curves:

1)Shelfs, they boost or attenuate frequencies above or below the cut off.

i.e. a low shelf will cut/boost below a cut off i.e. lets say 100hz (so we are talking bass)

i.e. a high shelf will cut/boost above a cut off i.e. lets say 8kHz (we are talking tops)

2)Parametric

i.e.parametric eq, 3 parameters, gain (how much boost or cut), frequency (speaks for itself) and
bandwidth or Q (how wide the bell shape will be either side of the selected frequency, low Q will effect
lower and higher up the band than a high Q)

3)High and low pass filters (do what they say really)

High pass filters cut frequencies below it's cutoff. (they allow the highs to pass)

Low Pass filters cut frequencies above it's cut off (they allow the lows to pass)

The best way is to switch on a band at a time, identify the curve and
experiment with the paramters available.

Here is some pics of different curves :

Parametric bells (boosts and cuts):

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr07/i ... mix1_l.jpg

Low shelf curve :

http://www.mackie.com/Products/mackiete ... oShelf.gif

And this diagram demonstrates the meaning of bandwidth (Q)... which can be widened or made
more narrow with it's corresponding knob on a parametric EQ type.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/ ... ave-bw.jpg

It takes some time and practice to get your EQ chops together.

cheers

[Praktis]

If you are having trouble with the individual levels of each sound in your tune then it could be a number of things, summing it up i would say you are having trouble with your mixdowns in general, not specifically eq'ing or compression... Its not as simple as just saying "stick a compressor on it" to fatten a sound up, proper engineering is so much more involved than that, often times compression used incorrectly will actually make a sound completely lifeless as you are squashing all the dynamics out of it, in essence it could be that you are using too much compression !!!

As has been stated try layering drum hits together, but dont forget to sculpt them round each other with the use of EQ'ing, you need to pick sounds that have seperate charecteristics but just slapping them on top of one and other without eqing them to sit together will just end in phasing issues and more often than not a more lifeless sound than the individual base samples were in the first place... Once you have layered the hits together well they can often be gelled together well by the use of group compression, also parallel compression works really well for dubstep and modern dance music genre's as it keeps the dynamics of the original sound whilst having the punch of a "super compressed" version too (this is not a hard and fast rule though, every tune and every sound is different and should be treated accordingly, only EVER use compression or eq or any other process if it actually needs it)... Other things to take note of is the imaging of the sounds, panning sounds that complement each other or sounds that share similar frequencies works wonders with getting things to have thier own place, try to not only thing of L + R but also how sat back in the mix something is and also how far forward it is (reverbs and delays are often good for giving depth to a sound and controlling how much depth it has)...

One last thing is mastering, are you trying to master it yourself ??? Mastering is so easy to get wrong, especially without the knowledge of the processes involved, you can turn a good mixdown to shite and squash out every ounce of life / impact of the tune if you are just slapping a limiter onto the master channel...

To give more specific help on what could be the problem i would need to hear the tune first, to just say it lacks punch or that big drop is too non-descript... If you have a sample of the tune ill gladly take a listen for you mate and im sure it will help other on here in trying to offer advice too...

[soziblewuup]

Thanks guys i;ve tryed to learn what you guys have being saying.
This is a clip of the song from the intro till just after the drop Praktis, so feel free to tell me what needs doing and how i could improve it overall. I feel the drop is'nt as strong as i would like it to be, but i may be wrong. Thanks in advance
Soundcloud

[Praktis]

Hi mate, i had a little listen and the tune definately has mixdown issues with individual levels, the first thing i would sort out is the drum hits though, what base samples are you using? the kick is too quiet in the mix and it could do with gritting up a bit, some overdrive or tube distortion and then some compression should give it more punch, dont be afraid to have it quite prominent in the mix as its the sort of tune that needs a really thumping kick, the snare also needs a crispier high end layer, again some subtle distortion could work wonders but i would get another snare with a prominent top end and layer it as described earlier in the thread with eq's... Personally i would start from scratch with all the levels, the main bass that comes in later on is far FAR too loud in the mix, thats why the drums just dissapear, your kick and your bass need to be a relatively similar level as they share the same energy and space in the mix, think of them as a joint entity, the snare in dubstep is usually the main drum hit though so that needs to be up there too... Also once you have those bass levels sorted it may be an idea to slightly sidechain the bass from the kick so that the kick still punches through...

If i were you mate i would go to the loudest part of the tune and bring all the levels down completely, then bring the kick in so it is peaking at about -10db and work from there, bring the bass in till it is at a similar level then sidechain a touch, bring the snare up once layered so it is sitting nice then gradually bring in all the other sounds so they fill the gaps and fit in without overtaking everything... Only think about mastering once you have the mixdown nailed...

Hope that helps mate...

[serox]

its a really grimey dark sound,

O RLY?

Can you link me to hear what it sounds like pls. I am using reason again at the moment to make grimy beats.

[soziblewuup]

Hi mate, i had a little listen and the tune definately has mixdown issues with individual levels, the first thing i would sort out is the drum hits though, what base samples are you using? the kick is too quiet in the mix and it could do with gritting up a bit, some overdrive or tube distortion and then some compression should give it more punch, dont be afraid to have it quite prominent in the mix as its the sort of tune that needs a really thumping kick, the snare also needs a crispier high end layer, again some subtle distortion could work wonders but i would get another snare with a prominent top end and layer it as described earlier in the thread with eq's... Personally i would start from scratch with all the levels, the main bass that comes in later on is far FAR too loud in the mix, thats why the drums just dissapear, your kick and your bass need to be a relatively similar level as they share the same energy and space in the mix, think of them as a joint entity, the snare in dubstep is usually the main drum hit though so that needs to be up there too... Also once you have those bass levels sorted it may be an idea to slightly sidechain the bass from the kick so that the kick still punches through...

If i were you mate i would go to the loudest part of the tune and bring all the levels down completely, then bring the kick in so it is peaking at about -10db and work from there, bring the bass in till it is at a similar level then sidechain a touch, bring the snare up once layered so it is sitting nice then gradually bring in all the other sounds so they fill the gaps and fit in without overtaking everything... Only think about mastering once you have the mixdown nailed...

Hope that helps mate...

Right thanks mate i'll give it a go tonight and ill send the same clip back all done, just for practice, ive never mixed down or mastered before so i may struggle along the way lol. What do you mean by my base samples ?

[Praktis]

No worries mate, by base samples i mean the samples you are using before any processing or layering etc... The samples out of the box so to speak...

[soziblewuup]

No worries mate, by base samples i mean the samples you are using before any processing or layering etc... The samples out of the box so to speak...

For my back beats, i bin using drum loops from dubstep producer i think, or another pack like that, i have lots.
And is it ok that i have the zombe in the background of the wobble, i think it adds effect ?