EQ Enima.
This mix is too muddy. There’s no clarity. Time for a little subtractive EQ. Give your mix an EQ enima.! Time to clean out some frequencies. Vocals. Before you crank your 10k, your 2k, your 800, your 125 on the lead, think about what other tracks are in the way! What frequencies on those tracks compete with the vocal. Check your synths! Keep the super highs but try scooping out what you don’t need… maybe a little 6k, maybe a little 2k. Try to make your vocal cut through without even boosting it. Now a little boost on the vocal goes a long way instead of creating high end problems for mastering. What about your kick and bass? Are they fighting over the same frequencies. Got an 808 or kick with a low ring and a bass around 60?… then you’re in trouble. Decide who owns the super low… kick or bass. Who owns 200hz. Scoop out the EQ of one of them. Put them back together… Wait… What’s the singer saying? Still can’t hear that lead vocal? What’s competing with the presence at 3k?.. And the super highs that float above the meat of the track? Shakers baby shakers. Take a look at your alternate percussion. Try filtering out everything above 6k, try carving out 3.5k. You still hear the sssshhhhh that glues the track together but what else do you hear? Vocal baby vocal. And everyone wants to hear more vocal. Remember… EQ is about cutting frequencies, not just boosting. …, especially inside the box where boosting highs can make your mix painfully crunchy. Are you good at subtraction? You just gave your track an EQ enima. How does it feel? and how does it sound!
This mix is too muddy. There’s no clarity. Time for a little subtractive EQ. Give your mix an EQ enima.! Time to clean out some frequencies. Vocals. Before you crank your 10k, your 2k, your 800, your 125 on the lead, think about what other tracks are in the way! What frequencies on those tracks compete with the vocal. Check your synths! Keep the super highs but try scooping out what you don’t need… maybe a little 6k, maybe a little 2k. Try to make your vocal cut through without even boosting it. Now a little boost on the vocal goes a long way instead of creating high end problems for mastering. What about your kick and bass? Are they fighting over the same frequencies. Got an 808 or kick with a low ring and a bass around 60?… then you’re in trouble. Decide who owns the super low… kick or bass. Who owns 200hz. Scoop out the EQ of one of them. Put them back together… Wait… What’s the singer saying? Still can’t hear that lead vocal? What’s competing with the presence at 3k?.. And the super highs that float above the meat of the track? Shakers baby shakers. Take a look at your alternate percussion. Try filtering out everything above 6k, try carving out 3.5k. You still hear the sssshhhhh that glues the track together but what else do you hear? Vocal baby vocal. And everyone wants to hear more vocal. Remember… EQ is about cutting frequencies, not just boosting. …, especially inside the box where boosting highs can make your mix painfully crunchy. Are you good at subtraction? You just gave your track an EQ enima. How does it feel? and how does it sound!