EQ's, compressors, mic pre's...

[lm0989@mac.com]

This quiestion is quite broad. Youll realize im a beginner when i ask this, but if someone could give me a quick rundown of how to work eq's, compressors, and what mic preamps add to the sound, it would be greatly appreciated. If you dont feel like typing but have found a good site on it, thanks also. HEY, you gotta start somehwere and werent you a beginner at some point?



thanks alot


lou

[nathanvacha]

I'll help a little if i can. As far as eq, start by cutting freq.'s you don't want as opposed to boosting whatyou want more of. It's better to cut than boost. In its simplest form, a preamp raises the level of a microphone. a microphone level is much lower than a line level signal so you can think of a preamp as bringing your microphone signal to a useable level. Now, when you see a lot of "preamps", they may have lots of knobs and other features on them that may have different functions/features. But all preamps are going to have a certain signature that they give to your sound which you'll have to learn more about as you go along. That kind of thing you'll just have to pick up i would say... and compressors? That's a long-ish one and lots of beginners are daunted by these unless someone else wants to add something, i'd say tinker with your other equipment for a few weeks and get used to it and then ask someone again. Could you give anymore info about what you have/are doing/are trying to do? Hope that points you in some direction.

[lm0989@mac.com]

thanks for your help

heres what i got...

Powerbook g4 with garageband
M- Audio Mobile Pre digital audio interface
Eurorack 8 channel mixer
Shure sm-57's
Beyer DT770 pro headphones

as far as the pre amp goes... sounds liek that could help. I have an ephiphone sheraton ran into a fender hot rod deluxe. And for some reason, i cant get a good balance outta the sound when i record. When i turn the amp up, the guitar sounds loud but the tone isnt that great. When i turn the amp down and the mic up, the tone improves a bit but sounds really frail. Any suggestions on what to do to find a nice balance? Im thinking about upgrading alot of my stuff so feel free to suggest that too.

[davidl9999]

Hi Lou,

I can't believe that I wrote a post and somehow closed the window before I saved it. Anyway, it was a book, so I'll try to distill it down a bit...

I'll start of with the compressors, and get to where I think your problem might lie.

Compressors...
Hate 'em, love 'em, use 'em for everything.
Compressors are used to even out the level of an audio signal, and to some extent limit the level of a track to avoid overloading mixer buses and down-stream electronics (like a recorder). The opposite of a compressor is an expander. You'll usually see these as "gates" to downward-expand audio signals to minimize noise.

So, put a gate/compressor on each mic'd channel. adjust the gate until no (or minimal) noise bleeds into the mic without the vocalist singing (or instrument playing). Adjust (increase) compression on vocal or instrument channels where you want to have a more constant audio level, but try to stay around 1.3:1 or 2:1 to avoid nasty audio artifacts. Knees (the point at which compression begins) can be hard (instant) or soft (gradual). Hard knees, which cause audio artifacts at the knee point, can be used where a signal is always in compression, but I prefer soft knees which are less intrusive to the listener.

Compression is GREAT on drum tracks to "pop" the sound of the drums out, and to help keep a more constant volume during the performance.


As far as electronics goes, the Behringer UB-802 imited in effects (AUX) channels and doesn't have channel or main inserts - both important mixer features. Most importantly, it doesn't have a Mid-Frequency knob to fine-tune vocal channels. This is critical to have (and properly adjust) in order to avoid muddy vocals. It will be difficult at best to use a compressor without the inserts or separate preamps.

If you like Behringer equipment, take a look at their UB-1204FX or UB-1622FX. I have no idea why Behringer doesn't use a Main Insert loop. I'm a Mackie fan - I like their features and LOVE their preamps. You might want to take a look at the 1204CFX-II or 1604-VLZ Pro. I think that either mixer gives you a lot for the money. Mackie's ONYX line has warmer (and quieter) preamps, but is a bit more expensive.

If you upgrade your mixer, be sure to ask the salesperson if the mixer is a +4dbu or -10dbv unit. You'll need to match your electronics (compressors, etc.) to the mixer bus level. Some electronics are not switchable. Mismatches can result in a distorted signal; hopefully this will help you avoid some headaches in the future.


Here's what I believe might help:

1) Use a Sure sm-58 or beta-58 mic for vocals. The sm-57 does not have the correct acoustic pattern or response for vocals. (<-- absolute first thing to fix)

2) Be sure to use high quality cables. (nuff said - we all know the drill)

3) Add some reverb to the vocal mix. Use something like a Lexicon MX-200, vocal plate preset, on the mixer AUX (FX) loop. Send a little of the vocal signal from the channel strip to the Aux channel just to "warm-up" the vocals.

4) Pan the instrument channel a little off-center to widen the sound-stage, unless the guitarist is the vocalist.

5) With all EQ settings on the mixer vocal channel "flat", turn down the Mid EQ until the vocals sound the best, then turn up the Low and High EQ knobs to further improve the vocal sound.

6) If you upgrade your mixer, gate and compress your vocal channels.

Costs:
sm-58 / beta-58 $90 / $160
Lexicon MX-200 $200
dbx 266 Comp. $150
Mackie CFX12-II $470 <-- comes with reverbs, so no immediate need for the MX-200
Mackie 1604vlzPro $900

Hope this helps,

-Dave

[George Necola]

read bobby owsinsky mixingengineers handbook.. then continue with the recordingengieerhandbook..

amazon have em..

cheers