EQ in techno

[Dattington]

Be careful with mid/side, overdoing it will weaken your mix in the club

How would you test this? Just use a mono plugin and reference it??

[christianmdp]

Be careful with mid/side, overdoing it will weaken your mix in the club

Ok. As I'm really new into the music production world, I'm experimenting and using all the tips provided here gently.

One thing at a time. To learn is a slow process to get consistent results.

In fact i think i can already post a sample of what i'm doing to get some feedback from some of you. Will post on the proper section of the forum.

Thank you.

[Lost to the Void]

Yes, as Mid Side is phase coherent the best test is a mono plugin, or mono button on your monitor controller etc.
Unfortunately a lot of clubs still run rigs in mono, it`s a cheap way to get more bang for buck out of the amps, and of course it makes dealing with shitty acoustics much more easy.

[Mr.Dino]

EQ for sound design = do what you want.

EQ for mixing = trying to balance elements so they don't clash. If you have 2 or more elements thats overlap heavily you may have to EQ to a point where it destroys the point of 1 or more of the sounds. Sometimes clashes are better dealt with through arrangement (don't play them at the same time) or choosing different sounds entirely.

Thanks

[pimo]

Ive recently discovered how effective more extreme eq is in sounddesign, like a musical tool for bringing out tones and parts that are interesting. However, when you make narrow boosts and make a resonance, you get a very long sustain. I was thinking if i should get a multiband compressor to controll the envelope of narrow parts of a sound. Is there any multiband compressor where you can make really narrow bands?

[Mattias]

That will only worsen the result by introducing other problems. So it's good that you ask first.

[Lag]

Just a quick tip: I used to high pass most of the sounds I thought didn't need bass. It turns out shelf works just fine for sorting the conflicts, while keeping the higher sounds warm and full. It's important not to make too much high pass cuts just cause it turns out sounding too digital and thin.
Best is to actually not have too many elements and leave everything rich in bass and conflicting a bit, just to give it life that so many of the 80s and 90s tunes have.
Here's a good example of a track where a lot of the elements are sorta conflicting and none of them are "bigger than life" but they all have some magical warmth to them.
youtu.be/gtlbOYeJ_-8

[Mattias]

Just a quick tip: I used to high pass most of the sounds I thought didn't need bass. It turns out shelf works just fine for sorting the conflicts, while keeping the higher sounds warm and full. It's important not to make too much high pass cuts just cause it turns out sounding too digital and thin.
Best is to actually not have too many elements and leave everything rich in bass and conflicting a bit, just to give it life that so many of the 80s and 90s tunes have.
Here's a good example of a track where a lot of the elements are sorta conflicting and none of them are "bigger than life" but they all have some magical warmth to them.
youtu.be/gtlbOYeJ_-8

110% This.

However I understand that most people have less then ideal listening environment and then hi-pass everything is the easy way out.

[Lost to the Void]

Common problem though.
Too much/too little bass in techno. It shows up the home studio nature of it all.

From a mastering perspective I find it easier to deal with an over skimmed bass than a thick woolly mushy low end.
Generally its a return to sender when it's like that.

[bioniceye]

Just curious do you mix before panning or after
I do panning before mixing
But i was thinking when the mix is good without panning
The mix with panning will be even better
So i will try that the next time

[Mattias]

Huh? Panning is part of mixing

[bioniceye]

Haha youre right
But do you eq before panning or doesnt matter

[msl]

Generally the rule of thumb in mixing is to use subtractive EQ over additive. However this is techno, so there are no rules, if it sounds good it is good. Often I'll ridiculously boost a narrow band on the synth or bass and it sounds great.

Another rule is never to EQ in solo, always EQ your sounds in the mix. The quickest way to get your mixes sounding more tight is to HPF out any low end in sounds that don't need it (not everything!), and to mono the low end. These two things alone will make a tremendous difference.

My own trick that I picked up from an old hand, is that with every kind of processing and effects is to always back off a little form where you think it sounds great!!! I do this on everything.


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[disparate]

This is something that is happening to me too. I have a pad running thru the track and when i have all the instruments banging it sounds really on the background, but in the intro and he outro with only drums running with it, it becomes more proeminent.

I´m confused if this is a normal behavior or if other elements are fighting for space in the frequency range.

This kinda thing did cross my mind lately too - whether it's natural or a mixing issue. In a theoretically perfect mix, would the pad sound just as loud with all the instruments playing as it would with one or two? Is this even possible/desirable anyway? If not, and if it sounds *too* loud at the start, would it be good practice just to automate its volume? I'm assuming this kind of thing isn't uncommon.

[Hades]

if you are wondering about if it's actually getting lower in volume or if it's just your brain playing a trick on you (which happens all the time btw),
just look at the frequency spectrum of your EQ.

and for most pads, just use mid/side on your EQ (and leave some fundamental parts of your pad at like 50% of the mids) and you'll be more than fine.

[christianmdp]

if you are wondering about if it's actually getting lower in volume or if it's just your brain playing a trick on you (which happens all the time btw),
just look at the frequency spectrum of your EQ.

and for most pads, just use mid/side on your EQ (and leave some fundamental parts of your pad at like 50% of the mids) and you'll be more than fine.

To look at the spectrum analyser is a good idea.

I just got the free Voxengo's plugins MarvelGEQ (graphic equalizer with mid/side processing) and MSED (a tool to encode/decode mid/side and analyse the stereo spectrum).

I did not try them yet, but i hope it helps me to understand how this mid/side process works.

[Lost to the Void]

As I mentioned above, don`t go overboard with mid-side. this is soundsystem music and if you overdo mid-side you can end up with a weak mix.

[christianmdp]

As I mentioned above, don`t go overboard with mid-side. this is soundsystem music and if you overdo mid-side you can end up with a weak mix.

Alright! I will just mess around with it in a sketch to "listen" how it works.

Thank you for the advise and all your contribution to this forum.