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bluesfordan · August 10th, 2009, 11:25 PM

before you eq, check a couple things first. Did the drums sound good in the room, or not? You said you didn't like how it sounded, I'm assuming that's on playback. If the drums sounded good in the room, re-position the mics and record again. Move the mics in increments of 1/4", it makes a difference. Do everything possible to get the best sound without resorting to eq. It takes a lot of work, but a great sound to tape (or disc) to start with, will make your life a lot easier when it comes time to mix down and master.

And here's a piece of advice. When you find the spot where it works, where you get a good sound with no eq, document what the heck you did. Measure the distances, draw diagrams, which mics you used, what gain levels. Document, document, document. When you are a big shot AE, you'll be drumming this into the heads of the snotty interns that you'll need to do all the mic moving for you

See, the problem is, if you eq now, you're going to cause frequencies to step on each other when it comes time to mix. Mixing is exactly what it sounds like, you're mixing stuff together. The key to mixing successfully, is to cut out frequencies from one track, to let another track 'sit' more comfortably. If you added some lower mids to a bass track to make it 'fatter', when you go to mix it with some drums that also have the same frequencies 'fattened' up, the result may be a muddy mishmash. Think of it like this, if you add salt to the bass tracks, and add salt to the drum tracks, and add salt to the guitar track, your mix is going to be way too mega salty. Better to record with as little or no eq as much as possible, so when it comes time to mix, you can remove stuff to make things fit. There is only so much room to listen to in a recording. To make a kick have thump, you've got to identify what frequencies make that thump work. Then, when you mix in the bass track, utilizing a very narrow Q, you cut from the bass that frequency that gives the kick the thump. The result, bass that works with the drums, and doesn't mush it into a sonic dogpile.

Part of the trick to recording is recognizing that things that sound good by themselves, like your guitar in your bedroom, does not necessarily translate into sounding good when recorded with drums, bass, etc. It is often counter-intuitive, but that is what makes a good AE what they are.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I felt I ought to put that out there as food for thought.

August 10th, 2009, 11:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
bluesfordan Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Nashua NH Posts: 706	before you eq, check a couple things first. Did the drums sound good in the room, or not? You said you didn't like how it sounded, I'm assuming that's on playback. If the drums sounded good in the room, re-position the mics and record again. Move the mics in increments of 1/4", it makes a difference. Do everything possible to get the best sound without resorting to eq. It takes a lot of work, but a great sound to tape (or disc) to start with, will make your life a lot easier when it comes time to mix down and master. And here's a piece of advice. When you find the spot where it works, where you get a good sound with no eq, document what the heck you did. Measure the distances, draw diagrams, which mics you used, what gain levels. Document, document, document. When you are a big shot AE, you'll be drumming this into the heads of the snotty interns that you'll need to do all the mic moving for you See, the problem is, if you eq now, you're going to cause frequencies to step on each other when it comes time to mix. Mixing is exactly what it sounds like, you're mixing stuff together. The key to mixing successfully, is to cut out frequencies from one track, to let another track 'sit' more comfortably. If you added some lower mids to a bass track to make it 'fatter', when you go to mix it with some drums that also have the same frequencies 'fattened' up, the result may be a muddy mishmash. Think of it like this, if you add salt to the bass tracks, and add salt to the drum tracks, and add salt to the guitar track, your mix is going to be way too mega salty. Better to record with as little or no eq as much as possible, so when it comes time to mix, you can remove stuff to make things fit. There is only so much room to listen to in a recording. To make a kick have thump, you've got to identify what frequencies make that thump work. Then, when you mix in the bass track, utilizing a very narrow Q, you cut from the bass that frequency that gives the kick the thump. The result, bass that works with the drums, and doesn't mush it into a sonic dogpile. Part of the trick to recording is recognizing that things that sound good by themselves, like your guitar in your bedroom, does not necessarily translate into sounding good when recorded with drums, bass, etc. It is often counter-intuitive, but that is what makes a good AE what they are. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I felt I ought to put that out there as food for thought.