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There are other kinds of specialty EQs, such as notch filters and band-pass fil- ters, that are offered as stand-alone hardware units, but software programming is able to include many different kind of functions in one plug-in in a way that was too cumbersome to be practical for hardware design. As a result, these capabilities are now frequently a part of one full-feature software EQ plug-in. Notch filtering is the use of very steep bandwidth dipping, generally to elimi- nate problems such as narrow bands of noise that have inadvertently been re- corded with your audio (such as 60 cycle hum). Band-pass filters (high pass or low pass) attenuate some frequencies and allow others (high or low) to “pass” unaffected (as covered thoroughly in my previous book, The Art of Digital Audio Recording).

Other processors that perform functions related to what is done with a traditional EQ include de-essers and multi-band compressors. While these pro- cessors really are more akin to EQs than they are to what we traditionally think of as dynamics processors, because they use dynamics type control (and even dynamics-type nomenclature, like the multi-band compressor), I will covering them in the section on dynamics processors.

Radical EQ

While the majority of the time we are using EQ to enhance sound while balanc- ing our desire for it to sound as good as possible, and to also fit into the sonic environment, there are times when radical EQ can be used as part of a creative approach to a mix. The most commonly heard use of radical EQ is the “tele-

Building a Mix

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phone” effect, in which a voice is made to sound like it’s coming through a tele- phone handset speaker (or any similarly lo-fi playback system). This is often used for one section of a song or one particular line, and it can be a very effec- tive way to grab the listener’s attention (see screenshot 4.11).

I was surprised the first time I explored this effect by how radical an EQ setting was required to produce the telephone effect—severe high- and low- pass filtering and a considerable amount of midrange boost is needed (and considerable reduction in output as well to compensate for the gain in the midrange).

Other uses of radical EQ might involve severe high or low band-pass filtering in order to transform a sound by eliminating major portions of its frequency content. An organ or synthesizer part that includes bass notes might be EQ’d so that the low frequencies are almost eliminated and only the high, right-hand figures can be heard—or vice versa, to retain only the bass parts. A snare drum that sounds particularly “thuddy” with little “snare” or “snap” to the sound might be heavily EQ’d in the high frequencies and dipped in the mids and lows to make it sound more like a traditional R&B snare drum. Yes, EQ can produce very harsh effects and certainly mixes can be ruined with too much EQ, but there is a place for even the most radical EQ settings.

CREATIVE TIP

EQ’ing a mono mix

Referencing your mix in mono is something we used to have to do to ensure mono compatibility when AM radio and most televisions always played in mono. As discussed above under panning strategies, I don’t believe you should pan “safely” in order to ensure reasonable results in mono—there just aren’t sufficient examples of mono playback environ- ments to require that. However, panning is a primary tactic for getting

SCREENSHOT 4.11

A typical EQ setting to produce the “telephone effect” on a vocal.

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elements to fit together that have frequency conflicts, and as a result you might do less EQ’ing of those elements thanks to the benefits of panning. At the same time, your mix might be further enhanced if you do EQ for frequency conflicts before relying solely on the benefits of panning.

So, try dumping your mix to mono and listen to the interaction of elements. Because elements are still interacting, even when panned apart from each other, getting each element to sound more distinct by EQ’ing it in mono may really benefit your mix when it reverts to stereo. Take care when using this tactic not to EQ too much—the goal isn’t a mono mix, which might require more radical EQ to sound its best—but some subtle increase in distinction in elements might be more easily achieved with a bit of mono mixing.

4.4

Processing: Dynamics

Dynamics processors are the most difficult of the common processors to under- stand because their effects are often very subtle, but they have widespread ap- plication in almost every typical mix. For the technical details of how dynamics processors work and the various kinds of dynamics processors, see my previous book The Art of Digital Audio Recording. Here, I focus on the application of dynamics processing in the mix environment.

Common techniques such as compression, limiting, and brickwall limit- ing on individual tracks, subgroups, and the master buss, as well as parallel compression, are explored. I also consider side-chaining (de-essers and other) and multi-band compressors in a separate section, “Dynamic EQ’s,” as they are really a hybrid processor that uses dynamics processing to produce EQ effect. Expanders have a much more limited role in mixing (and audio, in general), but I briefly consider how they may be useful in certain circumstances.