View Single Post
Old 18th December 2006, 11:38 AM   #1
Frequency
Gear maniac
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 150
Optimize Beats by Eliminating Beats?

Hey guys!

Question.

I occasionally get mails from Modernbeats.com with "Quiktips". Got one today, and I have never heard of this problem.

What are your opinions on this?

See below.



When monitoring mixes through a full professional setup including quality 8"-10" nearfield monitors coupled with a 10"-12" subwoofer, we may be surprised just how much low frequency clutter really exists that simply cannot be heard on smaller setups. But once you are able to hear the overbearing and conflicting low end war going on in your mix, you can finally start correcting those errors resulting in a much cleaner and level-optimized mix!

First and foremost, is learning what a "beat" is. And NO...we are not talking about a "beat" as in a "drum beat", we're talking of something entirely different...

When the frequency of 2 similar instruments within a song are very close in pitch, but not in exact tune with one another, an undesired artifact is born causing an adverse, secondary low frequency wave to modulate called a "beat". In acoustics, a "beat" is an interference between two sounds of slightly different frequencies. Avoiding "beats" are particularly important when dealing with kicks, sub-bass, and bass guitar instruments over other high-end instruments in any given song. This is because lower frequency tracks make pitch conflicts stick out like sore thumbs compared to less-problematic higher frequency tracks.

To elimintate "beats", the most favorable pitch to tune all low-end, non-melodic tracks (drums and percussion) to is clearly the first musical note in the key of your song, known as the root "tonic". Correcting all these subtle pitch conflicts will deliver the most harmonious interaction between all the low-end non-melodic & melodic instruments in your mix!
Frequency is offline   Reply With Quote