Heavy Guitars: Low Mids - EQ or Multiband

[Darkening]

I've always used subtractive EQ on guitar tracks to clean up the low mids, but I've recently started using the Sonalksis CQ1 to compress them instead of using EQ. I use just a couple dB of reduction, and I think it sounds quite a bit better than using EQ in this case.

How do you clean up the low mids on guitars in hard rock and metal?

[Jonboy79]

I've been kind of following the slipperman eq rules for a while and have had excellent results. Never boosting, always cutting but with your post I'm actually curious to try a combo of both the multiband and eq. Have you tried combining your two methods?

[Darkening]

I haven't tried combining them, but I did a lot of A/B listening over the weekend, and every time I preferred the multiband taking off 1-2dB compared to the EQ doing the same.

It feels like using the multiband helps keep the meat of the low mids intact without being overpowering, whereas using EQ just removes it. The multiband leaves the guitars sounding more natural to me.

[Jonboy79]

Hey, if it's working for you then go with it. Nothing at all wrong with it if you're getting exactly the sound you want.

[el cochino]

Originally Posted by Darkening

I haven't tried combining them, but I did a lot of A/B listening over the weekend, and every time I preferred the multiband taking off 1-2dB compared to the EQ doing the same.

It feels like using the multiband helps keep the meat of the low mids intact without being overpowering, whereas using EQ just removes it. The multiband leaves the guitars sounding more natural to me.

Andy Sneap is doing this, so it can't be that wrong.

[Pfhuck]

Agreed.

Try a midboost with you mulitband compressor thingy too!

1-6k with 1-2 db boost/gain reduction.

Moderate attack.

Fast-ish release.



Laters,
Pfhuck

[luctellier]

I'm using the Waves C4 to compress only the very low-mid section (from 60hz /250hz) post EQ (when EQ is needed). Most of the music I record is drop tuned so this region can get muddy sometimes. This tighten up the low-end without affecting the overall sound.

[Darkening]

Originally Posted by Pfhuck

Try a midboost with you mulitband compressor thingy too!

I tried this last night in place of a EQ boost for presence around 2-2.5kHz.

[lowfreq33]

I'm with you on the multiband thing for this reason: with heavy guitars there's usually a lot of palm muting, which causes a brief resonant peak everytime the player chugs out a note. But the "sustaining" portion of the chord sounds a bit thin if you eq this out. So I'll set a multiband comp for the offending frequency, with fast attack and release. The midrange is SO crucial on heavy guitars, too much and it's annoying, too little and you're back in 1988.

[Darkening]

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

I'm with you on the multiband thing for this reason: with heavy guitars there's usually a lot of palm muting, which causes a brief resonant peak everytime the player chugs out a note. But the "sustaining" portion of the chord sounds a bit thin if you eq this out.

Exactly.