i supose i just want a basic list of "must do" things
i always filter unecessary sound out. is the order when using compression important?
The beauty of the whole music gig, is that you get to break any rule you like… All you need to do is understand what you're doing and why (that's the hard part). But that's not very helpful from me haha… so it's good to establish a few rules of your own (that way you know when you're breaking them
….). Here's a couple of thoughts:
EQ and Compression. Before or after? No "rules". Just keep in mind that a compressor will receive levels and react to them - this means that if you place the EQ first, then you may accidentally "trigger" the compressor because you've boosted a frequency (more common as an issue on "mixed" signals, like a drum loop… You might accidentally have you HH triggering the compressor, when you'd rather it be more about the kick/snare. For this reason a lot of people swear by EQ second. Not me. I say: EQ first to create "the sound you want" / Compress that sound / EQ second (if desired/needed) to shape the sound within the mix.
Compression / EQ in general - where? - I like to think of it like this: Sound design then sound shaping for the mix. Create the base of the sound - make the synth patch or record the whatever / add the sound design fx you want (e.g. distortion; chorus/phaser; not your dry/wet FX like verb/delay… these can be in fx sends) and then shape the "final sound" with EQ / compression. For this reason, I usually pop EQ / compression last in a chain.
Compression basics: Attack/Release - rules I use and also regularly break(?) - Low end (sub / low bass) - attack 30ms; release to suit tempo and sound, but 60ms-100 typically; low mids: attack 25ms / release twice that; high mids: Attack: 15ms / release twice; right through to very high freq control with 1ms or even less for attack… I'll still keep release at around 30ms at the lowest. Why faster and fast time the higher the frequency? Because you can! Think of BASS as BIG / LONG waves - a very fast attack on a compressor will chop into this wave, effectively distorting it (e.g. creating a click, or literally creating distortion)… therefore longer attack times are better… but very high freq? you can control super quick without screwing up a single cycle of the wave - therefore fast attack are fine.
Compression basics: Threshold / Ratio - Think this: "3:1 is f#cking heaps of compression". 1.5:1 or 2:1 is effective on most "good sounding" sounds (i.e. when you're not trying fix a problem, but rather crafting a mix). Threshold: is the trigger… A compressor waits until a sound gets to the threshold level, and then it reacts according to the compressor settings. Think about which sounds you want triggering your compressor (all (e.g. synth); or just a few (e.g. Drum Mix - kick/snare triggering); adjust so that you're just licking through the trigger area of choice. Note - 3dB reduction is a lot; 10dB reduction is freaky / sh#t loads.
EQ basics: Sweeping sounds: raising an eq up to max level and sweeping up and down the freq spectrum is a great way to identify the key areas/harmonics of a sound (they are the louder distorting resonating parts) - watch your ears though (turn down your headphones/monitors!). Once you find these, you can choose to boost them or reduce them.
EQ basics: fundamental frequencies… any sound with harmonic content has a "fundamental" frequency. This is its "lowest frequency", or at least the lowest part of the harmonic content. Low frequencies typically have more power than high frequencies and affecting this can have a huge change on the sound in a mix. If you accidentally cut the fundamental, then you may lose the power of the sound in the mix. cutting on purpose is fine - it's just good to know where this is. This idea of a fundamental means less on complex sounds (chord progression / note changing, because each different note has a different fundamental frequency) than it does simple sounds (kick / snare / single note / single chord), but it's still handy to know where a rough area of fundamentals are for complex sounds… When sweeping (above), this is the lowest loud point that distorts - mark this point on you eq for reference...
EQ basics: Cuts (HP / LP)… cuts are great. Literally cut the things a sound doesn't need - HH? You don't need Sub frequencies do you… almost definitely don't need lows / low kids right? Well cut that shit out then. You can often HP cut up to the fundamental discussed above (not the same frequency… the slope of the cutoff would affect the fundamental… just up close to so that it doesn't affect it)… Similar for LP cutting of highs - think "does this sound need high content? - e.g. SUB recorded from a hardware synth. Doesn't "need" that hiss does it? Cut...
That's probably enough for now - I actually thank YOU for this thread… I just typed my way through one hell of a hangover there
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Hopefully the above helps with some starting points. remember the original intent though: all rules are created to be broken.