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Eq Mistakes PDF

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301 views5 pages

Eq Mistakes PDF

Uploaded by

Jaime Saldanha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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7 EQ Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making

EQ is one of the most important tools in your mixing arsenal.

If you’re not using it to its full potential, your mixes are destined to sound muddy, lifeless, and
one-dimensional.

Avoid the following 7 mistakes, and you’ll be well on your way to EQ’ing like a pro.

1. You Aren’t Bold Enough

Need to add 20 dB of top end to a kick drum?

So be it.

Sometimes you need a gentle touch, but other times, you’ve got to rip out the chainsaw and
hack away. As long as you’re making deliberate decisions, let your ears be the guide.

Ignore what the screen looks like. Do whatever it takes to bring your mix to life.
2. You Overuse The Solo Button

Mixing is all about context. You’re trying to make a group of sounds blend together as a
cohesive unit.

It’s impossible to do this when you overuse the solo button. This is because ​the solo button
removes the context you need to understand how tracks contribute to the mix as a whole​.

You’ll get much better results if you make the majority of your EQ decisions with the rest of the
tracks playing. Remember – it doesn’t matter how each track sounds in solo. The end listener is
only going to hear the full mix.

When you’re EQing a track that’s part of a multi-miked group (like a kick drum track that’s part of
a full drum kit), this becomes even more important. EQing a track like this in solo can create
unexpected results when it’s played back with the rest of the group. For more on this, watch the
video at the bottom of this post.

3. You Haven’t Mastered The Spectrum

If you find yourself aimlessly sweeping to find frequencies, you’ll likely benefit from ear training.
With consistent effort, you can train yourself to identify frequencies accurately within 1/3 of an
octave, without resorting to the classic “boost and sweep” method that many mixers rely on. If
you’re interested in learning more about ear training, I recommend exploring the following
resources:

● TrainYourEars EQ Edition
● Dave Moulton’s Golden Ears
● SoundGym

Develop a mastery over the frequency spectrum, and your mixes will improve by leaps and
bounds.
4. You Only Boost

Many mixers are die-hard boosters; they add what they want to hear more of. But focusing on
cutting the things you don’t like instead is a better strategy.

Boosting makes things louder. Our ears think louder sounds better. This makes it difficult to
determine whether or not a boost is an improvement over the original, unprocessed track. Is it
really better, or just louder?

By contrast, cutting isn’t subject to this problem. This makes it easier to determine if cuts are
good decisions. If a cut sounds better than the unprocessed track, it’s a clear win. For this
reason, focusing on cutting instead of boosting can often lead to better decisions.

5. You Don’t Know When To Leave It Alone

Not every track needs to be EQ’d. In fact, many don’t.

The best mixers know when to leave tracks alone.

To this point, a lot of people will tell you to high-pass every track in your mix except for the kick
and bass. This is ridiculous. As a general rule, ​the less processing you can get away with, the
better your mixes will sound​. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

6. You Aren’t A/B’ing Enough

Mixing isn’t just about making the right decisions. It’s also about avoiding the wrong ones.

Take the time to ensure that every move you make is actually making your mix sound better.
Get in the habit of A/B’ing everything with the original, unprocessed track. Always level-match
the before and after versions, so you can compare at a consistent volume. If you apply a hefty
boost to a track, this means that you’ll need to turn down the output gain on your EQ to
compensate. This is the only way to determine whether or not a decision is actually making
things better.

Every move you make should be a clear improvement. If you have any doubts, you’re probably
better off without it.

7. You Don’t Know Your Tools

Your plugin library should be like a box of crayons. There should be no question what to reach
for when.

Learn how each of your EQs differ in tone and functionality. Study their unique saturation
curves. Develop your own opinions about when to reach for one over the other.

To this point, there’s a big misconception about phase as it relates to EQ. Most mixers don’t
understand the difference between conventional minimum-phase EQs and their linear-phase
counterparts. It’s important to learn when to use one versus the other, and what the drawbacks
are of each.

To get the scoop, watch FabFilter’s excellent video below:

For more mixing tips and tricks, visit ​BehindTheSpeakers.com​.


Mix By Design is an online training course that will teach you
how to mix like a pro. You’ll discover a simple, step-by-step
system you can use to break through overwhelm, sink into
the creative flow, and make your best mixes yet.

Ready to get on the path to pro mixes?

Click Here To Learn More About Mix By Design

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