Mixing technique

[TYY]

Not a gear question, but i had an epiphany while mixing the other day (I am a newbie with about 4 years under my belt)

I sometimes have trouble with buildup in certain frequency ranges in mixes (i.e. muddiness/harshness, etc), but I have tough time pinpointing which tracks are fighting each other in that frequency range. I think I figured out the easiest way for me to determine that:

Mute the MOST IMPORTANT track in the frequency range- i.e. if the mix is muddy in the low mids/upper bass, and the bass guitar is what drives the song, MUTE the bass guitar. Now listen for what other tracks have frequencies in that range and then apply corrective eq to those tracks. Doing the reverse (leaving the bass in and muting other tracks one by one or even in groups) seemed to get me nowhere fast. This also works for upper mid harshness or treble sizzle, but I find it most useful for midbass (100-500Hz).

Anyone else do this?

[Fletcher]

If it works for you that's all that matters...

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

If it works for you that's all that matters...

Exactly.

[DirkB]

The hardest part is listening...

If you have found you're way, stick to it and try to develop it further.

Good luck,
Dirk

[DrewEpton]

Thanks for the post! I'm a newbie (5 years) too and have the hardest time with the mud. Maybe it'll work for me too.

[TYY]

Well, I think it works for me because sometimes there's multiple tracks contributing to mud, but each one one its own has hardly perceptible information in the that frequency range; but, add them up and they become a problem. That's why muting the "important" track in that range allows you to hear ALL the other tracks to hear if there is a problem.

[doug_hti]

beyond trying different methods of doing what you are doing....the best thing that continues to help for me and gets me there the fastest, is to find some consumer playback systems that accentuates/hypes (or can't handle) certain frequencies. For example, ipod headphones for some mid/upper mid harshness, a boombox(small shelf system) for muddy bass/lowmids and top, i like sony 7509s for bass/track relationship and top end, ns10s for getting clearer mids, etc... I don't depend on any them(except ns10s), but sometimes they will get me to a better place faster towards the end of a mix.

[warhead]

I try to leave the track in while I work on it, as that's where it'll be anyhow in the end. But yeah if that works for you then you've struck gold...!

War

[ixnys]

Sometimes for a bass/kick relationship, I'll boost really high with a small bandwith and scoop the frequency spectrum of either the kick or bass. When I find the frequency where together, the bass and kick sounds totally muddy I'll know where to cut.

[jasonare]

This is a very interesting theory which I shall be trying out tonight.

I also have issues at times with muddiness and understanding where certain sounds are sitting in the freq spectrum. Your idea makes sense to me as I have at times looked at the bass eq for the cut or notch rather than whats near it.

Rock On