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How To Mix A Pop Song From Scratch choice of bandwidth, can result in the "sound of the desk" coloring the mix overall, to a much greater degree than it does with fully parametric EQ. But having said that - in almost all cases - the "sound" of the EQ is probably still the major distinguishing feature that separates one mixing console from another. Graphic Equalizers These are by and large an overkill They are best reserved for situations where a number of extremely subtle audio artifacts are already taking place - such as the equalization of a recording studio control room's main monitors, or the delicate final equalization of a finished mix during the mastering process when preparing a CD or other release for listening by the public at large. Graphic equalizers are much less suited to situations where the actual "correction" required is more "general" such as EQing individual instruments as part of a mix - although it must be said, with some particularly difficult sounds, you may occasionally have to resort to using a graphic equalizer to solve the problem - but not generally. Passive and Valve Equalizers It's worth mentioning in passing here, the subject of passive equalizers. Most equalizers use circuitry that actively boosts or cuts the sound in the various bands using electronic feedback techniques which can (and often does) introduce audible "ringing" in the circuitry. Passive equalizers on the other hand work by already cutting the sound in all frequency bands to begin with, using simple, un-powered, passive electrical components like resistors, capacitors and inductors. A single, simply-designed amplifier stage after the equalizer usually makes up for the loss in signal level, so that the level is flat when all controls are in their "centre" position. Therefore, on such an equalizer, when you "boost" a frequency, you're not really boosting it at all - you're just allowing it to seep through unhindered by the passive circuitry. Valve equalizers often work in exactly this way. This gives a much smoother sound. In fact a lot of the "smoothness" attributed to valve equalizers, often has little to do with the fact that they have valves in - it is instead due to the fact that the equalizer circuitry is passive rather than active. Copyright © 2004 Dreampoint Design and Engineering Ltd. - 32 - How To Mix A Pop Song From Scratch So how do you use these all these different types of equalizers in practice? Let me give some practical examples: Noise Reduction Using EQ The act of eliminating unwanted noise from a signal, is obviously one application where it is far better to get the sound right at source. Although this article is about mixing, it is worth mentioning here what the problems are, and how they are normally solved at the recording stage. The elimination of rumbles is best achieved by careful microphone placement and mounting, and the elimination of hum is best achieved by both the careful choice and placement of the cables used - normally "balanced" cables. Elimination of high-frequency radio interference is also best achieved by the careful choice and placement of balanced cables, but because high-frequency interference is so pervasive, this might not always help. Taxicabs for example are often a source of RF interference on microphone cables - especially if those cables are unbalanced. Hiss originating in microphones can be eliminated by the use of high- output microphones coupled with high-performance balanced microphone pre-amps which in the nineties, are now present even in fairly "budget" mixing consoles. Avoidance of hiss from a recording device (i.e. tape machine) is best achieved by the use of a good noise-reduction system such as Dolby, or by recording on a good digital system in the first place - unfortunately, the digital to analog converters on budget recording systems (like some PC sound cards) don't even come close to the high-performance that high-performance digital or even top-end analog systems can theoretically achieve. Also, in practice, avoiding all of these sources of unwanted interference is not always possible. Even the best isolated city-centre recording studio can suffer from very low-frequency rumbles caused by nearby traffic and trains, and the busy lifestyle in a city provides ample sources of radio interference such as power lines, mobile phones, and taxicabs. Despite the noble goals of the "purists" of sound recording theory, it isn't always a practical idea to record all microphones "flat" (without EQ). Although you might not be able to "hear" low-frequency rumble from nearby traffic and other extraneous sources, you can certainly "feel" it - especially if your recording involves a lot of microphones open at once, where "spill" from nearby sound sources (like a bass guitar amplifier) may be common.. For this reason then, it is almost always a good idea to switch in the high-pass filter that most modern mixing desks provide when recording from microphone. The exception to this, is obviously when you are using a microphone to record a very low-frequency sound such as a Copyright © 2004 Dreampoint Design and Engineering Ltd. - 33 - How To Mix A Pop Song From Scratch bass guitar, a cello, or other low-frequency instrument, where keeping ultra-low frequencies is paramount. Similarly - at the top end - any musical instrument which involves an electrical "pickup" device - such as an electric guitar or electric piano - may be susceptible to high-frequency radio interference. When recording electric pianos in particular, I always filter off the very top-end until I can hear it muffling the sound, and then I open it out again until I hit the sweet spot where the basic sound remains unaffected by the filtering. This is based on many sad years experience of recording an otherwise good "take" that is suddenly spoilt by [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] |