July

Mixing Live Audio: Eliminating Competition with EQ

Posted In: Recording by claybutlermusic

Today, I’m going to enter into more technical territory and discuss mixing. As the title says, the key to obtaining a better mix is by eliminating competition. Too often, engineers who are just starting out focus only on volume for mixing. While volume is a huge component of mixing, it’s not the end-all-be-all. Unfortunately, many newer engineers don’t fully embrace the practical use of equalization and use it only for aesthetic purposes. However, EQ is a crucial tool for eliminating competition between instruments, which is the start of building a good mix.

So, how does EQ eliminate competition? Sometimes when mixing, you get into a sort of “volume battle” between instruments. You turn up Instrument A because you can’t hear it over Instrument B, only to turn up B because you just masked it by turning up A. Rinse and repeat until your eardrums cringe and you’re so frustrated that you want to pull your hair out. EQ is the answer. Instead of EQ-ing instruments to sound good by themselves, try EQ-ing them to work with each other. If two instruments are playing in the exact same note/frequency range they will be difficult to distinguish from one another in the mix, no matter how hard you try with volume. If you have boosted 400Hz and 1.5KHz in one instrument, try cutting those frequencies in the offending instrument. The “mirror image mixing” approach goes a long way in clearing up a mix. While the instruments may not sound great on their own, in combination they have a better chance of being distinguishable.

Use EQ to eliminate “unneeded” frequencies from instruments. Doing so will reduce excess acoustical energy, in turn providing more clarity at lower volumes. If a lead vocal is not clear enough in your mix, increasing the volume may not always help without some EQ help. However, boosting frequencies with EQ may not be the answer either. First, try the “subtractive” EQ approach. Cut unnecessary bass frequencies from the vocal to reduce “muddiness” before increasing the volume. If that’s still not enough, find the frequency range you need to hear more of in the vocal and CUT it from other instruments. That often solves the problem without increasing any overall volume.

We’ve all heard the saying “a place for everything and everything in its place”. The same principle applies with EQ. We touched on this a little when we talked about “mirror image mixing”, but let’s take it one step further. Each instrument should reside in its own frequency range. Ideally, the players themselves should take the first step by playing in different registers from other members. If they don’t, it’s left up to us as the engineer to compensate. Try carving out niches for instruments to sit in. Pull some low mids out of the keys to make room for the guitar. Pull mids out of the guitar to make room for the keys. Let the acoustic just handle the high “chingy” stuff. Pull the lows out of everything else to make room for the bass. Granted this is a very simplistic, oversimplified example, but the principle works very much this way.

So, if you’re having trouble with getting a solid mix without the volume battle, give these techniques a shot. Be mindful of excess acoustic energy, put everything in its place, and eliminate the competition!

Until next time, here are two great books on mixing that I refer to often.

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