New at Recording... How to EQ?

[Guns1rose]

Hey guys,
I love "trying to record", but really im just getting started at learning to do it. I need to learn about EQing to get the best sound out of Kick Drums, Snare drums, etc...
Well i set up mics, and recorded a track recently with my friend on drums, and then overdubbed bass. To listen go to Myspace.com/tylerfoxwell its the first track that should automaticly play when you open the page. Old Stevie Ray tune. i dont really like the kick drum/snare sounds, could you guys help me of what frequency to EQ and such?
Thanks
Tyler

[bluesfordan]

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.

[Tim Armstrong]

Yeah, doing a lot of EQ often means you didn't do a good job of recording. The ideal situation is when you sound good in the room, then capture that sound accurately with microphones. Move those mics around a little bit if you have to, to get the best sound you can.

More isn't necessarily better, either. Before you can get good with a zillion mics on your drum set, for example, you might be better off with ONE mic up above, pointed down towards the snare, picking up the whole set.

Good luck!

Tim

[woodman]

agree that mike technique is job one — my favorite engineer often spends several hours getting the placements just so.

as for EQing your existing tracks that aren't quite right, you're better off reducing the frequencies that sound bad rather than jacking up the frequencies that sound good. for instance, if you've got kick drum or toms muddying up your overheads, try rolling off the low end rather than trying to boost the cymbals. reducing the bad freqs will make the good ones stand out more, and you can get a little more gain from your drums overall.

[Old Cane]

Holy crap, kid. That sounds great. Well, nothing wrong with your recording or playing. What I think you don't like is the just the drum sound. To me the bas sounds fine and the guitar sounds really good.

So we need some details and/or pictures of what you used to get that drum sound. This may be the limit of the equipment. The ride cymbal is driving me nuts and overall piepan sound of the cymbals. So either cheap mics or cheap cymbals. I think moving the kick mic around would help. You may need a better mic. Snare sounds fine to me. The mix could be better but geez, you're 15 years old! I have heard a lot worse as commercial releases. The drummer needs to work with a click but that's not a "sound" problem.

The only problem I see is that at your age you probably can't spend a ton of money on this stuff. I'll bet for what you own you have made an excellent recording. The problem is, you know what sound you want and aren't getting it. The sound you are after is the sound you are used to hearing from a half million dollar studio. The experts here I bet can get you a lot closer with what you have and you'll also know what to save up for.

This is a very, very good start.

[cousinpaul]

Hey Tyler, you've got a really nice touch on the guitar! What kind of recording gear did you use? Can you go back and work on the individual tracks, or are you wanting to fatten up the finished mix?

[62Caster]

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Yeah, doing a lot of EQ often means you didn't do a good job of recording. The ideal situation is when you sound good in the room, then capture that sound accurately with microphones. Move those mics around a little bit if you have to, to get the best sound you can.

More isn't necessarily better, either. Before you can get good with a zillion mics on your drum set, for example, you might be better off with ONE mic up above, pointed down towards the snare, picking up the whole set.

Good luck!

Tim

+1

I used to record things with the mindset "I'll fix it later with EQing" and that was a baddd technique... EQing is good for some things, but its more fun to have the challenge of mic placement and making a recording sound the best without tons of EQ and effects.

As far as being a beginner at using EQ, when I was a beginner all I did was randomly change frequencies until it sounded cool again probably bad technique haha