Frequency?

[dont]

So I watch interviews and tutorials and I hear people talking about freqency. " If your in the right frequency" " " the frequency of this kick or this snare is off" blah blah blah. Now to me it seems that if your frequencies are off it would be pretty easy to pick that out by ear (if you have a good ear). Is there a science behind getting it right? Does anyone use thier hand on thier monitors to audition thier sounds???... I would be interested in knowing how that works and what you feel for if you are using that technique..... I tend to throw a bunch of sounds together then EQ the hell out of it and if it sounds right to me then great- but maybe if I learned something about frequency my tunes would turn out better.

[Eric J]

I always interpreted that as being able to detect conflicts in frequencies when two instruments are interacting in the same range. Basically I take the same approach as you, EQ until it sounds right. Many times, I'll have the EQ's up for many instruments at once and try to visually detect any conflicts to give me a good jumping off point. Logic's built in Spectrum Analyzer in the Channel EQ is great for this.

I would be interested to see if others interpreted it the same way.

[Beermaster]

Good tips !

One of the simplest and most common scenarios is when the Bass and the Kick drum have big overlaps in their 'harmonic content'. Each sounds full and big when you solo them but together they become a blur or smudge each other out. Sorting out the frequencies with either filtering out some of the sub from the Bass sound and tweaking the EQ on the Kick can result in them both working well in the mix with each one audible and separate.

Its cleaning up sounds that share similar frequency 'centres' by highlighting other frequencies by either cutting or boosting certain bands.

[Zeek Whiz]

Very good stuff
kinda re-wording whats been said, i apply what i call "jigsaw piece" eq-ing to stuff thats interfering, aka creating a frequency "hole" in each sound, to give the other a place in the mix. for example (use your ears to determine the center freqs!!!!!!!)
kick - 3db cut of 180 hz 3db boost of 75 hz
bass - 3db boost of 180hz 3db cut of 75 hz
this seems to work quite well

[Stevil]

Is there a science behind getting it right?

it's an art/science

[Don Solaris]

Originally Posted by Zeek Whiz

kick - 3db cut of 180 hz 3db boost of 75 hz

75 is ok, but when i hear 90 Hz boost (often used by trance producers), i ....



Usually what works best for me is a strong notch as 100 Hz and cutoff below 30 Hz.

[Mantik]

Originally Posted by Don Solaris

75 is ok, but when i hear 90 Hz boost (often used by trance producers), i ....



Usually what works best for me is a strong notch as 100 Hz and cutoff below 30 Hz.

boost 100hz with a notch around 60-80hz and it works. makes room for the bass too.