Exciters and EQs: What's the difference between the two?

A

acetheface954

Active member
Hello again. I've recently been told by an FP pro that I should seek the use of an exciter to give my mixes sparkle for the high end freqs which I've done but with not very good results. I seem to end up with the exact same issues I would get if I had boosted anything with high end using an EQ in attempt to add brightness; distortion. So what exactly is going on here?
 
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NOTE: what exciters do is ADD harmonics, not just BOOST them (which is the way equalizers are supposed to work). For this reason, exciters ARE a form of distortion - no way around this. But the truth is, many EQs - especially the ones that model certain analog gear - will generate these distortions (or "colorations") as a by-product of their sound. Some plugins do this much better than others. U may wanna check out the "EMI Brilliance Pack" for example. But lemme suggest: don't go crazy on adding "air" or "brilliance" to a final mix. If something's not working, go back to the mix itself and decide which component needs brilliance (usually vocals and 1 or 2 instruments). Brilliance applied too heavily to the master chain tends to make the mix brittle...and possibly distorted.
 
5 Quick Ways to Excite Your Sound


There's a key idea in here: Exciters should NOT be a substitute for EQ. If you are hearing significant tone boosts from using an exciter you are probably using too much. They work best in conjunction with EQ. The article I've linked will give you some ideas.
 
hmm? i think i'm going to have to go with adding reverb to certain parts prior to adding a limiter to the final mix. because adding distortion is conflicting at this point for me since i am unable to tell the difference between coloration and distortion. and i'm not a fan of boosting what doesn't sound like it needs boosting. to me anyway since once again my knowledge on the subject is limited. i probably wouldn't even know if i heard it on a professional piece. so yeah i'm hoping some light reverb will make certain instruments pop more. trial and error link below.



Exciter Take by Arthur_D on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free
 
Sometimes, I'd even go as far as to say, most of the times, coloration you get from a plugin or hardware module, is a side effect of distortion. There are different levels of distortion, however. Some types are good, others are bad.

When you have access to decent source material, an exciter is useless and unwanted. Exciters are usually band-aids for material that is sub-par. You generally use it when something is beyong the normal means of EQ and you need to breathe life into it. 99.99% of the time you shouldn't need it. I can't remember last time I looked at an exciter. You see them more in live sound rigs where they're used as a quick way to add "air" to the sound.

You can kill a mosquito with a shotgun but you'll end up doing more harm than good in the end. An exciter is usually too much for anything and the actual side effects are not worth the remedy.
 
sleepy said:
Sometimes, I'd even go as far as to say, most of the times, coloration you get from a plugin or hardware module, is a side effect of distortion. There are different levels of distortion, however. Some types are good, others are bad.

When you have access to decent source material, an exciter is useless and unwanted. Exciters are usually band-aids for material that is sub-par. You generally use it when something is beyong the normal means of EQ and you need to breathe life into it. 99.99% of the time you shouldn't need it. I can't remember last time I looked at an exciter. You see them more in live sound rigs where they're used as a quick way to add "air" to the sound.

You can kill a mosquito with a shotgun but you'll end up doing more harm than good in the end. An exciter is usually too much for anything and the actual side effects are not worth the remedy.
Click to expand...

i want excitement but not in a way that i can't figure out lol. its like using EQ to me again for the 1st time. add air? to what the bottom? i'm asking because i thought exciters were to be used for the top end.
 
sleepy said:
Sometimes, I'd even go as far as to say, most of the times, coloration you get from a plugin or hardware module, is a side effect of distortion. There are different levels of distortion, however. Some types are good, others are bad.

When you have access to decent source material, an exciter is useless and unwanted. Exciters are usually band-aids for material that is sub-par. You generally use it when something is beyong the normal means of EQ and you need to breathe life into it. 99.99% of the time you shouldn't need it. I can't remember last time I looked at an exciter. You see them more in live sound rigs where they're used as a quick way to add "air" to the sound.

You can kill a mosquito with a shotgun but you'll end up doing more harm than good in the end. An exciter is usually too much for anything and the actual side effects are not worth the remedy.
Click to expand...

Quoted for truth. Exciters suck.
 
acetheface954 said:
i want excitement but not in a way that i can't figure out lol. its like using EQ to me again for the 1st time. add air? to what the bottom? i'm asking because i thought exciters were to be used for the top end.
Click to expand...

The best advice I can give it to forget about them. Only thing I'd use it for is if I had a recording that was extremely dull and needed restoration. Sometimes there is barely any decent high end frequency content that you can pull up, so the distortion from an exciter creates harmnonics and can turn out okay. This is usually after I try an EQ. I don't even have access to an exciter at the moment, however. That's how unnecesary they usually are.

Air=hiss, it can work for live applications.
 
I use exciters all the time. If they're not doing what you want - don't use them. But if you think they suck - you're using them wrong.
 
WeissSound said:
I use exciters all the time. If they're not doing what you want - don't use them. But if you think they suck - you're using them wrong.
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Fair statement. A beginner will likely use it wrong. I stand by the statement that they are largely unnecesary.
 
sleepy said:
Fair statement. A beginner will likely use it wrong. I stand by the statement that they are largely unnecesary.
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Definitely. Exciters and enhancers shouldn't substitute regular EQ/Compression/Reverb etc. If they are filling in the job of a less intrusive process then they're either being used too heavily, or used for some kind of unique effect. They shouldn't be leaned on as mixing tools - they're really just there to add a *little* something extra when used in key places.

But, if you are mixing analog - simply pushing a transformer, tube, or running through certain circuitry can excite harmonics and add texture - which is often enough to give the signal a little extra spark.

One of my favorite excitement tricks is running a kick through a preamp nicknamed the "Electric Scrotum" - it's a custom build that really thickens up the sub range. I run live level into the mic in, and add just a hair of gain. The downside is I have to gate out some hiss, but the plus is a really rich sub.
 
ScorchinBeats said:
exciter = bad

eq + compression = good
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smh lol

---------- Post added at 12:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 AM ----------
WeissSound said:
I use exciters all the time. If they're not doing what you want - don't use them. But if you think they suck - you're using them wrong.
Click to expand...

that's what i figured. nothing can't just be bad if its used to enhance or make something sound better unless its not being used properly or at least good enough. thats why i'm keeping away from it until i know better.

---------- Post added at 12:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:15 AM ----------
sleepy said:
The best advice I can give it to forget about them. Only thing I'd use it for is if I had a recording that was extremely dull and needed restoration. Sometimes there is barely any decent high end frequency content that you can pull up, so the distortion from an exciter creates harmnonics and can turn out okay. This is usually after I try an EQ. I don't even have access to an exciter at the moment, however. That's how unnecesary they usually are.

Air=hiss, it can work for live applications.
Click to expand...

ooooh. so not air from what gets pushed from the sub. and i think i can tell the diff of what would need it and what wouldn't. a riding cymbal wouldn't because it decays and adds hiss. air. a thin sounding hi-hat would need a little something such as saturation or a bit of reverb to give it a more appealing sound. and vocals that require more high end are given a textural feel. sort of a roughness. somebody stop me if i'm wrong.
 
Exciters have a place in mixing just like any other tool. I personally don't use them because I(as in me, not saying everyone)can get more control and better results off other tools I know the ins and outs of. I rely on the stock EQs in pro tools, panning and slight reverb waaayyyy too much to add that "spark" to my sound, lol.

But that's the point, you should know(or spend everyday experimenting until you know)what tools and what chains work to give you YOUR sound. Learn the ins and outs of these tools, I doubt there's an engineer on earth who has never sat in front of some universal device(EQ, Compressor, Delay box, ect)that looked foreign enough to what they're used to that they had to either consume a fair ammount of time figuring it out, or skip on it all together because they couldn't make it do exactly as they wanted. So even as a novice looking at all this stuff that looks confusing, you only better yourself by finding tools that make you stronger and learning them like the back of your hand.

Never let anyone tell you any tool doesn't belong in a mix, it does if you can incorporate it into your sound, and the best engineers usually have a few things they do that are absolutely "obsurd" by the book.
 
I use an exciter on most of my urban mixes. Although the results sound somewhat similar to using EQ; it's different and you have to understand that.

I think they get a bad rep because people often use them as a crutch, and those people usually aren't very good. Just slapping one on the 2buss is a pretty rare circumstance I think - although lots of newbs use them that way. Or they get overused because someone's untrained ear doesn't realize that they are beating a sound upside the head with it. But they do have their place in various applications. I have a hardware one so I can't comment on any of the plug-in exciters.

But if your mix just sounds dull, and it's the WHOLE mix that sounds dull, I would first revisit the mix rather than just slapping an exciter on it. It MIGHT work GREAT, but even if it does, long term you need to figure out why your mixes are dull. In other words, use an exciter to bring something extra to a mix, just like with any other processor - but don't use them to 'fix' something that's fundamentally wrong.
 
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