Will too many eq plugins on the same track make it sound bad?

[Johnophean]

Anyone...Ialways have lots of eqing to do cuts and rolloffs sometimes I will have 3-4 eq's on a channell just to make it work with the compressor correctly. Is it bad to rolloff everything on a sound down low or should there still be a tail to 20Hz at around -80 or 90db? I find myself running out a bands so sometimes I use multiple eq's (Waves-SSL EQ & Strip, VEQ4, API550B, things like that mostly). I like to always try to give all the tracks a sonnox Eq or sonalkis eq high pass, cuz i like there curve options, sometimes I have to do it twice or more to make mud go away, without affecting the low mids to much. Sometimes I also use a low shelf to help the rolloff. I filter alot and I feel my songs are just to thin, but if I dont do this nothing will cut through! But what will all this filtering do to the sound?
I'm asking all this and telling you all this because I just can't get the lowend to be what I need it to be. Ain't that everyone's problem! I cut everything I can! My guitars are thin down there and I even have to cut the bass down there sometimes up to 60hz, the kick too. I use a sub and referance alot of real deal mixes, so it ain't the speakers, I think its plugins...and well me of course, I make the plugin make it suck, it don't do it by itself! I always have to cut alot on my lead vox to and notch out alot of 240-250hz. Now I'm feeling like I have added so much phase shift that the problems I have in my upper mids and snarky mids (600hz-3.5khz ish) is from phase shift. My mixes sound so harsh and I cut alot there. I cut so much from about 600-800hz and 1-3k its not funny! I never boost there, only sometimes on bass a lil and snare at around 1.2kish. Nothing, anyone? I hate my unpleasant mixes. The work but are very fatigueing!
Any tips, notions? Is it phase shift? How do I do what I need with 1 eq, I wish I could! And does anyone know why after certain compressors there is always a rollup kinda rise up to 20hz and further? The Analog simulation plugins do it alot. Should I be worried about that? I always roll that off again as well cuz i feel like it builds up and hurts the clarity of the track...or am I nuts. Look at it with an Analyzer, it's there.
HELP! ... Again!

[The MPCist]

If it sounds good, who cares!

But one thing I've learned is that the more plugins on track, the more degradation...IMMV.

[Coyoteous]

- even one can, according to some...

[tmcconnell]

Why do you think there's all this discussion about the right mic/pre for a source? its so that you don't have to use signal processing in the first place. My goal in tracking is to record tracks such that, in the end, I need no signal processing. Do I achieve this goal? no. I'd say avoid EQ if possible, use only cuts if possible. In my mixes, the last thing I do before final is bypass all the eq, one at a time, and see if all that anal retentiveness really makes a difference in the final product. In the end, i will often compromise the eq on a track just so I can have less eq in the mix. Filters smear sound. t

[thecount_x]

Hi Johnophean

A couple of things, in no particular order to think about;

1) We can't all be the life of the party.

Choose the most important element for a given part of the song, and make eq cuts to the other instruments to give the part you want to highlight some room to breathe.

2) Don't hit the solo button.

You and whoever is in the room with you at the time will be the only ones who will ever hear things soloed, so focus your efforts on making things compliment each other.

3) Lopass the bass and kicks and hipass most everything else.

When the bass is cranked on everything, for example, everyone will be encroaching on the Bass' territory. The Bass will be overpowered by shear force of numbers and will sound weak in the mix even though it is probably fine. Make the bass support the kick, and let the two of them own the low end. The same concept works for the high end.

4) Have a look at what the acoustics in the room are doing to how you hear and record the sound.

Recording in a room with skewed frequency response is like painting a picture while wearing sunglasses. You will end up pouring a great deal of effort and soul in to a project that in the end fails to impress you.

5) Be open to the idea that you might have too many tracks.

The most important thing is that the song sounds good— obviously. Try muting some tracks. Mute things you are convinced the song can not live without. If the song does not die, so to speak, keep them muted. We have all seen DVD special features for a film where the director says something to the effect of "It broke my heart to cut this scene, but at the end of the day, it did not serve the film as a whole."

Be the one who cuts the part you like the most to make the song as good as it can be.

6) Go easy on yourself. Grab one eq at the most per track. Remember that you do not need to be using every band available to you just because they are there. Try no eq on some tracks. If you need to adjust ten frequencies on a track, consider re-recording the track in a way that sounds good to your ears with no eq. The less you eq, the happier you will be.

Hope this helps

Clifton

[mdjice]

with something like the Wave Q 10 I don't see why you would need another EQ??
you can use the Q 10 for surgical stuff and cutting and maybe a SSL, API or else with more" character" for boosting if needed and to add a bit of color.

[u b k]

disable all of your plugins on everything, fire up a pair of avantones, build a mix, switch to the bigs, and use one band of one eq on any track that's muddying up the low end, and one band from one eq to lift the top on anything that needs to be a little more open.

switch back to the avantones, do a few more automation moves, and call it a day.

i'm being cheeky, but my point is this: your issue is not one of eq, it's arrangement and balances. maybe some monitoring room acoustic issues too, but only you know if you've treated your room and have reliable mains.

i know you probably won't believe me, because i'm not telling you what you want to hear, but let the record reflect...


gregory scott - ubk
.

[Acko]

The journey to doing nothing and having a great mix, can be a long one. It starts with source, arrangment, performance. At one end of my room I have a rug, at the other a wood floor, between that, the direction the musician is facing , appropriate mic choice and placement my EQ is pretty much done. If those elements are in place, It's hard to f%&? up the mix. Your choice of balance becomes merely a matter of taste, not damage control. You'll be able to leave the full rich tones alone when the arrangment is not fighting itself. Then you have a licence to use an eq to shape and sweeten your feature tracks or gently carve some more space. .5 db is a significant boost or cut in this context.