The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

What is a good eq and dynamic to put on the stereo track before mixing down to a stereo track?

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Don't be afraid to go out on a limb, cause that's where the fruit is....

Hi Jeff, if you are asking about the eq etc in the desk, I used to just start with a flat eq, then shelve off the lower register first so that the compressor is`nt trying to compress something that is not needed and then shelve off the higher frequencies that are not required, you`ll find that will tighten things up a bit, a very slight raise at around 5khz always makes things sound a little sweeter for me, but that`s on my system For me the general rule is, if you have to eq things too much at this stage then it`s best to go back to the tracks in the mix to find out where the problem is.
Then add the compressor, I usually start with a soft knee and experiment from there, compression is really a subjective tool, differs from genre to genre.
Then I would use the limiter, again like everything else in mixing it depends what your aiming for, I rarely set it above 3db, but as I say if your after that loud pumping sound you may want to use it at a higher level.
Why don`t you try uploading a track your working on, there`s always good constructive advice here.
Good luck with what your doing.

T.

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IMO, the way to approach this on mixdown will vary from project to project, but a good general rule is to be gentle, unless you are mixing heavy metal etc.

Depending on how much the individual tracks have been processed definitely has bearing on what you will do at the mixdown stage.

One suggestion is to mixdown without any EQ on the stereo track. then look at some form of spectrum analysis of that mix. Even the screen enhancement on Windows Media player will give an idea. I refer to the Media Player screen that has several yellow bars bouncing up and down with the material during playback. There are no numbers attached to this display, but it certainly lets you know if there are "holes" or strong/weak aspects, across the spectrum. for me, my mixes are usually mid-strong. So I would gently cut in this region (2000 >> 5000 htz, wide Q - 0.7 or less ... about 1.5 db cut)

As for DYN >> I would use a very fast attack/fast release with a soft knee (0 -2ms attack/50-80ms release/knee 4 or 5) on the stereo track and then makeup gain to get the peaks up to approaching zero. How much will depend on the mix. If you mixed it "loud" you might not be able to add much gain. a controlled (free of spikes), lower level mix would allow more room.

In my experience it is worthwhile to note that the capability of the AW machine's Dyn to be used a s a "brickwall" limiter is not the greatest. So if you really want to slamm the track you will probably be plagued by spikes the file may contain.

That said, one approach is to treat the stereo mix gently in the Dyn department, and then when that mix has been made, transfer the 2 track to a stereo pair and then re-record just it, this time using one of the limiter presets. you wil get a bit more gain but be careful not to squeeze the life out of the mix. The whole process is a playing off between "improving" the "tightness" and overdoing it to the point that the mix loses its "natural" qualities. Judgement is based on the material and on how it will sound with other mixes, if it is an album you are creating.

I always, at some point, transfer a mix to WavLab to analyse it. I am primarlity interested in noting the mix's RMS (average) loundness number. Anything in the -16 or -17 dB area is good. Lower than this (- 18 and down) translates to a weak (volume-wise) mix. Numbers in the -15 to 13 db level means your mix is perhaps approaching too "hot" Again - dependent on the mix and its end use.

Hope this helps you.

edit - i see that Mac offered his opinion too. Add his to mine and you will see that EQ depends on what was the character of the mix as it enters the stereo track.

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Byron

Hey Mac, I see that the above post was 1001!! In days gone by it was said that was the threshold to gaining entrance to the Adult section.

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Byron

Thanks guts for the Imput. A lot of this goes over my head cause I'm not a music engineer.
I'm just some guy who loves to play music and got my hands on the AW16 g. Are there any videos on YouTube or anything that can teach a few things..... I will most definitely try to add your guys oppinions to my stereo track. Thanks again.

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Don't be afraid to go out on a limb, cause that's where the fruit is....

Welcome. Gratz on scoring the recorder. It's a fun unit and can give you years of great recordings. I'm not a mixing guru. I just use the presets and roll with it. I figure the Yamaha engineers know way more than me. So I just plug in the eq etc they recommend.

Just have fun.

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GSMUSIC: Hey RZ, Im not no upper class american, the gear I own is what I have special to me. My car sucks, my house sucks, my nieghborhood sucks. Does yours RZ? Does it?

rz-land

There are a couple of vids on You Tube though I don`t know how helpful they are as I haven`t watched them.
Just type Yamaha Aw16g Tutorial and browse through.
Good luck.

T.

_________________
https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac1

https://tmacmusic12.wixsite.com/tmac

http://www.soundcloud.com/t-mac-12

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmCjAzN ... ture=watch

https://www.reverbnation.com/tmac