High Pass Filtering during recording???

[Alex Wyler]

Tchad,

Thanks for all your information about the SansAmp Classic that you like to use.

I know that you own some Neve 10 series channels and most likely use these for tracking and overdubs.

In the studio that I did my apprenteship with, all of the house engineers had the same method. Not saying that it is correct but that it is the way I leanred and I have been using ever since. Lately I have been thinking that perhaps this method is not the best way to build a track but I am not sure. I wanted to ask you what you think Tchad.

Basically the way I learned tracking on a Neve 80 series console that had a variety of the 10 sereis input pre/eq modules was to use the high pass filter control during the recording to filter out the low end at different points on the dial depending on the instrument. But everything would get some kind of filter and the logic behind this was that the low end component of each instrument would be clearly defined by omitting frequencies that would cause that instrument to conflict with another Thus making the low end of the mix defined and tight instead of murky, mushy and muddy.

For Example:

Bass Guitar: 35Hz HPF
Electric Guitar: 60Hz HPF
Acoustic Guitar: 120Hz HPF
Vocal: 80Hz HPF

I'm not sure what the exact points are on the 1084 HPF but Tchad, do you apply these while recording?

If not, do you apply them during the mix?

If not, how do you clear the bottom end of your mixes?

If I record everything flat through a Neve 10 series module and then push the faders up, there are some serious low end problems! Way too much low end.

Just looking for your opinion here on what you think the best way to go about clearing up all the mud is?

I read Lanois saying that he likes to use only the low shelving Neve eq to trim the mud and the high shelf to add the air but he isn't so keen on using mid bands to carve things. That is another way but seems like a bit of idealism to me.

Love to know what Tchad Blake thinks about all this!

[tchadb]

Originally Posted by Alex Wyler

Tchad,

Thanks for all your information about the SansAmp Classic that you like to use.

I know that you own some Neve 10 series channels and most likely use these for tracking and overdubs.

In the studio that I did my apprenteship with, all of the house engineers had the same method. Not saying that it is correct but that it is the way I leanred and I have been using ever since. Lately I have been thinking that perhaps this method is not the best way to build a track but I am not sure. I wanted to ask you what you think Tchad.

Basically the way I learned tracking on a Neve 80 series console that had a variety of the 10 sereis input pre/eq modules was to use the high pass filter control during the recording to filter out the low end at different points on the dial depending on the instrument. But everything would get some kind of filter and the logic behind this was that the low end component of each instrument would be clearly defined by omitting frequencies that would cause that instrument to conflict with another Thus making the low end of the mix defined and tight instead of murky, mushy and muddy.

For Example:

Bass Guitar: 35Hz HPF
Electric Guitar: 60Hz HPF
Acoustic Guitar: 120Hz HPF
Vocal: 80Hz HPF

I'm not sure what the exact points are on the 1084 HPF but Tchad, do you apply these while recording?

If not, do you apply them during the mix?

If not, how do you clear the bottom end of your mixes?

If I record everything flat through a Neve 10 series module and then push the faders up, there are some serious low end problems! Way too much low end.

Just looking for your opinion here on what you think the best way to go about clearing up all the mud is?

I read Lanois saying that he likes to use only the low shelving Neve eq to trim the mud and the high shelf to add the air but he isn't so keen on using mid bands to carve things. That is another way but seems like a bit of idealism to me.

Love to know what Tchad Blake thinks about all this!

It's different all the time with different instruments. I tend not to filter bass or kick when recording but will sometimes in the mix.
Shelf/peak???? What sounds good at the moment?
I do believe in carving space so there aren't so many 'like' frequencies among the instruments. Do it any way you can but it seems to work better for me using mostly subtractive EQ as opposed to additive EQ. (This doesn't mean I don't use additive EQ).

Please see 'addition' below.

[tchadb]

Originally Posted by tchad blake

It's different all the time with different instruments. I tend not to filter bass or kick when recording but will sometimes in the mix.
Shelf/peak???? What sounds good at the moment?
I do believe in carving space so there aren't so many 'like' frequencies among the instruments. Do it any way you can but it seems to work better for me using mostly subtractive EQ as opposed to additive EQ. (This doesn't mean I don't use additive EQ).

That sounds so moronic, I need to add a little to this.
I'm trying to write down what I do. I find myself trying to sound like I know what I'm doing because, well, it's in black and white here.
What I really do, almost every day, is twiddle knobs until it sounds good to me, period.
I go down many stupid, awful sounding roads, every day.
I formulate a theory for myself about how it all works one day, but it doesn't work the next. What is that?
Just now is a moment when I'm asking, 'why do you guys (familiar, meaning both male and female) care what I do in detail?'. Find your own thing.
When you hit a brick wall, twiddle lightly or extremely, on all knobs available.
Experiment with spontaneous abandon.

[tunasafedolphin]

Originally Posted by tchad blake

That sounds so moronic, I need to add a little to this.
I'm trying to write down what I do. I find myself trying to sound like I know what I'm doing because, well, it's in black and white here.
What I really do, almost every day, is twiddle knobs until it sounds good to me, period.
I go down many stupid, awful sounding roads, every day.
I formulate a theory for myself about how it all works one day, but it doesn't work the next. What is that?
Just now is a moment when I'm asking, 'why do you guys (familiar, meaning both male and female) care what I do?'. Find your own thing.
When you hit a brick wall, twiddle lightly or extremely, on all knobs available.
Experiment with spontaneous abandon.

This is the best thing I've read on GearSlutz in a long time. Thanks for writing that Tchad.

-Christian

[frank lyon]

Originally Posted by tchad blake

When you hit a brick wall, twiddle lightly or extremely, on all knobs available.


Experiment with spontaneous abandon.

A+++++++++

Would Read Again

[hangman]

Originally Posted by tchad blake

When you hit a brick wall, twiddle lightly or extremely, on all knobs available.
Experiment with spontaneous abandon.

are those cards from oblique strategies? if they're not, I'm adding them to my deck.

[blastula]

Gauguin asked Van Gogh "How did you get this yellow ?" Van Gogh said " I drank half a bottle of absynthe, cut off my ear, delivered it to the prostitute down the road, came back, mixed some cadmium light and a little yellow ochre. Why do you care? I'm crazy, you know." Gauguin replied, "Yes I know, and how did you get that blue?"

[tchadb]

Originally Posted by hangman

are those cards from oblique strategies? if they're not, I'm adding them to my deck.

Cool.