EQ in techno

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surface
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by surface »

I find I am selecting sounds and arranging them more carefully.
If you consider sub vs white noise as the ultimate contrast in terms of frequency, then you can place your sounds within those extremes.

I tend to do very little to full-bodied type sounds, that are most prominent, and apply heavy eq to other elements that are lower level background sounds but typically high or low shelf to "push" them to the top or weigh them down to the bottom ..

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Mattias
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Mattias »

A comment on internet tutorials;

Most are dull, honestly. Practically they offer somewhat decent but seldom relevant information and usually have
one way solutions.

But there are many places to salvage great info (here for example) as well. Several good sites have been putting together compendiums and great link compilations to check out.
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Mattias
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Mattias »

therottencircle wrote:i wish i had the knowledge on eq and all that "Mastering"stuff
But EQ while creating music and mixing it is not to be confused with EQ decisions in mastering.
While it's good to have insight (and fun) you don't need to think about that as a creator and producer of music.
pimo wrote:
I stay within that range of 3-5 bands aswell for mixing, so its great to hear that im not doing anything strange!
Right on. Usually it's enough to just add one band, turn down something in the sound that messes with the mix and adjust the EQ output and boom, it's done.
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Will Frances
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Will Frances »

Some good info on this thread, as always a little knowledge and a lot of hours will get you there!

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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Hades »

surface wrote:...If there's stereo info to begin with! ..
true, forgot about that tiny little detail :)
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Críoch »

Bit late getting in on this one - busy day.

Not sure what I can really add to the whole conversation, but it seemed like to me that OP answered their own question right from the get go. I think you can very easily EQ too much. Its destructive. I guess you dont always need to EQ as harsh as you think. I think it can really fuck with the balance of a sound.. like kicks or bass. I guess when you hear shit going wrong like that its the first indication that all is not well. TIme to start again. Turn stuff down. Change the sound. Plugins like Span & Smexoscope help me out so much.

Other people spoke about using the right sounds & other stuff - like a band or orchestra. I totally agree with that.

Placing instruments in the right position L/R, establishing their distance from the listener with reverb / LPF and deciding the right height for frequency / Octaves helps them to project properly and reduces clashing.

Also important is programming the sounds to play at the right times.. where there is a free space, encouraging syncopation.
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Críoch »

surface wrote:I find I am selecting sounds and arranging them more carefully.
If you consider sub vs white noise as the ultimate contrast in terms of frequency, then you can place your sounds within those extremes.

I tend to do very little to full-bodied type sounds, that are most prominent, and apply heavy eq to other elements that are lower level background sounds but typically high or low shelf to "push" them to the top or weigh them down to the bottom ..
Ideas are so fucking abstract unless you speak about them sometimes. If I had to put some words together about my approach then it would probably be something like this too. This post has really struck a chord with me.

I hadn't fully conceptualised what I do.. but upon analysis, this is becoming my approach too. The product of trial & error.
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surface
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by surface »

I am slowly seeing that setting the levels of sounds is half the battle, then pan them and readjust, then eq and readjust again, then effects, readjust, etc.
Obviously this is super-oversimplified, but I find keeping it simple from the start kills a lot of frustration along the way.

The biggest eye-opener for me was getting the concept that eqing one sound in context, even slightly, has such a big affect on all other sounds.
Almost like looking at things in reverse in ways and deciding what sounds are too prominent and can afford to be stripped back a touch, letting the rest take up the space created, without so much impact on that one sound that it gets lost.

Makes sense to me now (took long enough!) as there's only so much headroom, like a river running under a bridge. There's a limit on what will pass through before things get out of hand.

The hardest battle is deciding which sounds "matter" the most ..

arkos
Re: EQ in techno

Post by arkos »

surface wrote: The hardest battle is deciding which sounds "matter" the most ..
Well if your making club music it's not really, the kick and the bass :mrgreen:

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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Hades »

arkos wrote:
surface wrote: The hardest battle is deciding which sounds "matter" the most ..
Well if your making club music it's not really, the kick and the bass :mrgreen:
AND that other sound. :lol:
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by dubdub »

Mattias wrote: Right on. Usually it's enough to just add one band, turn down something in the sound that messes with the mix and adjust the EQ output and boom, it's done.
HPF filtering has been discussed here before obviously - I have a habit of having a slight shelf on the very topend (like 18k+) on almost every sound though - do you think that's a bad habit to have aswell?

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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Mattias »

Not necessarily. If you like what it does then go for it.
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by christianmdp »

This thread for sure gave me some good insights on how i should treat my leads and pads.

I was cutting radically everything under around 400hz or 500hz and at a glance it was sounding good, but after listening again and again they started to sound thin. I didn't put some low frequencies back yet because i was affraid it would ruin my low end, but as making music is experimenting, i guess i already have some exercise to do tonight!
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by bioniceye »

great topic
i was struggling with a pad sound with lots of freq in the low and mid the last few days
i had problems with my mix cause the percussion sub and kick were also in that range
when everything was playing it sounded good but in the break there was a heavy volume swell on the pad sound
so this topic is really helpfull
i have to look into that mid / side trick

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Re: EQ in techno

Post by christianmdp »

bioniceye wrote:when everything was playing it sounded good but in the break there was a heavy volume swell on the pad sound
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. :? :roll:

Did you solve this anyhow?
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by christianmdp »

oh, and by the way i gave back some mid low frequencies to my leads and they are sounding better with no mud at all on the low end!

also gave back some high end frequencies to my claps and hihat. Loving how everything is brighter and wider now.
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bioniceye
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by bioniceye »

gain staging, panning, eq and compression
and clever choosing your sounds
will help to resolve the problems in your mix

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Re: EQ in techno

Post by christianmdp »

right on.

panning opposite as the synths, little eq and compression should do the trick.

But before all this i'm going to solo the pad along with each synth to check if there is any conflict between them. Will do this tonight.

thanks
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Dattington »

christianmdp wrote:right on.

panning opposite as the synths, little eq and compression should do the trick.

But before all this i'm going to solo the pad along with each synth to check if there is any conflict between them. Will do this tonight.

thanks
Also take a look at m/s eq. If you have a big fat synth down the middle you could maybe take out some of the mono signal from the pad to make some more space. I'm still getting my head round m/s tbh but it's definitely helping free up space in the mix.
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Re: EQ in techno

Post by Lost to the Void »

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