3. Frequency separation.
Now it’s time for the EQ work. And now is when you’ll get a few cliché statements. Clean up the audio first. Cut narrow, boost wide. Cut before boosting. Never let them see you sweat. The suit makes the man. Wait…perhaps a little too cliché.
In channel separation, be it vocals or instruments, you do want to clean up the channels first but here’s another huge tip—don’t try to make a channel sound like something it isn’t—unless that’s done for effect. For example, the acoustic guitar covers a wide frequency range but it’s not there to be a low end instrument. By excessively boosting the lows, you don’t get more bass, you get a muddy mess.
As I heard Andrew Stone once say, you want the instrument to own its frequencies. Every vocal and instrument has a specific fundamental frequency range. These are the core frequencies the instrument/vocal produce and you don’t want two instruments competing for the same frequency space. Go back to the 3D model idea and imagine a kick drum and bass in the same point in space. Which stands out? Neither stands out.
Frequency separation takes a few passes when mixing. You can’t start at one end of the console and work your way to the other. There are a few methodologies that can reduce the amount of bouncing around (trying to get everything to sit in the right freq space). The first is to start with the low end and work up to the vocals, just like with vocal balancing. This process helps create a clean low end but when you get up to the vocals, you might have to go back to other channels to carve out frequency space the vocals need.
The second method is to start with the vocals first. Get those sounding good and then work your way down. This means everything you do keeps those vocals out front. But in either case, you’ll still need to bounce around a little, that’s just how mixing goes…and I love it! Of course, during all this mixing, you might warm up a vocal or decrease an overly bright guitar. You know what’s needed. If not, listen to reference recordings to get an idea of your mix goals.
Let me just go back to something I said a little bit ago, “don’t try to make a channel sound like something it isn’t—unless that’s done for effect.” I’ve had times where I cut the lows and highs from a lead vocal and it created a cool vocal effect that fit the song—no effects processing, just by using EQ adjustments. But if you’ve got a singer with very few highs in their voice, don’t try boosting the highs to make up for that. Clear a path for their natural voice and let it stand out for what it is.
Do note that large EQ changes will change the volume of the channel so don’t be surprised if you need to modify the volume.
4. Effects separation.
Imagine that 3D mix model with all your vocalists and instruments at different points in space. Another way to move them from front to back and up and down is with effects. For example, reverb on backing vocals can push them farther back in the mix, which can be what you want. But if the reverb is on the lead vocal, it could push the vocal farther back in the mix and thus require a volume bump.
Talking effects separation can be tricky because of the types of effects and how it’s used. For example, if I added a bit of distortion to an acoustic guitar (yes, I have, and trust me I had good reason) then that’s going to add to the low-mids. So, I might have to alter the channel EQ to make up for that.
In digital consoles, not only do you have access to a lot of effects, you can also access a lot of extra effects parameters. For example, you can have reverb but also control the frequency range it affects.
In summary, the majority of mix problems I hear are the result of bad relationships. By understanding the three areas of mix relationships and the four ways to put channels into the right relationship, you’ll be able to create a rock-solid music mix.
