EQing problem ?

[deejaydang]

hey everyone,

i'm just gonna cut down to the chase, i wanna be able to EQ my mix properly . it sounds very good when working on it, in my software . but when i extract it and play it out in my car or on a stereo system per se, it sounds very bad . like its all down the middle and the sound is very quiet . is this due to improper EQing ? or could this be cause i didnt stereo widen my track ? i'm very lost at this point . my entire mix is done but i can not come out with a banging finish product ! please tips and advice for this problem would be very awesome ! bare with me i've very new to music production so i know i sound like a n00b . just looking for some help please and thanks ! and if this is a repost ... please direct to the topic that it will explain to me !

Thanks,
Eric

[essegibi]

You might get a bit further with a limiter of some sort, either using the mastering racks included in live and pushing the treshold a bit, or by using plugs like waves L2 or other similar stuff, but at the end of the day i think it comes down to experience. You might just need to try and change it up a bit, and listen on a lot of different speakers. A good pair of monitors are crucial to achieve a good mix.
I personally believe EQ on the master should be avoided or if absolutely necessary used very moderately. I´d rather try to make all the individual parts of the mix fill out their areas and eq and compress them according to each other.

If the mix sounds good on your system where you work and bad in the car, i´d advise you to get a pair of decent studio monitors. It´s important that the speakers you are working with provide you with neutral sound. Hi-fi stereo´s, car systems etc all colour the sound, good monitors don´t.
They tell you whats there and whats not there. Get to know them by listening to other mixes that you enjoy and try to make yours sound the same.

Dont know if this helps, but good luck!

[perplex]

what kind of monitors you using?

[Cezband]

It's good that you're thinking about things like EQ, stereo width, loudness...but one of the key things to learn is to be patient. You'll get some very practical answers here regarding limiting, compression, EQ, panning, side-chaining etc but if I can offer a slightly different perspective - the most important thing to do is to develop your Ear.

The best way to do it is to explore all those concepts and keep making tracks, but the thing that really makes your favourite music stomp isn't a certain device or trick in the production, it's the ability of the person who made it to know exactly which things in the track to tweak or effect to get that overall awesome sound. And that only comes with practice and patience.

If you're new, you can't expect your tracks to compete on a level playing field with someone who knows loads about production and has spent time focusing on what sounds and equipment to use.

So follow the advice and guidance in the tutorials and threads like these, but remember that it's all a learning curve so try to make steady progress and increase your skillset and understanding and your Ear will develop accordingly.

[Tarekith]

Start here:

http://tarekith.com/assets/mixdowns.html

http://tarekith.com/assets/mastering.html


Let me know if you have any questions.

[memes_33]

room acoustics.

shitty monitors in a well-treated room will (almost) always trump awesome monitors in a bad room.

i'm guessing your bass sounds way too boomy and your low-mids sound muddy or unclear.

bass traps are the best investment for improving your mixes. if you can't hear things properly, then you obviously can't eq properly. it might seem expensive for something that you can't even plug in, but they make a huge difference.

[deejaydang]

thanks everyone with the awesome advice, I'm currently using m-audio BX5a's, in a pretty shitty room . lots of reverb bouncing around due to the empty space and no acoustic foam/bass traps . but i current have some on the way that i ordered so i covered that aspect of things . I've received a ton of great tips that I've been applying including all of your guys help as well, so again thanks ! its starting to sound better then when i originally started . due to the status of my room still be pretty awful to the sound, i build my kicks in my headphones so i don't catch all the reverb that my room causes . but overall I've been applying panning, stereo widening, and also EQing each individual track on its own to get the best sound in the mix . thanks again, and i have been training my ear to catch everything that i want to hear and more ! also i've applied the "if it good quiet then it will sound amazing" loud technique and it has help a lot . not sure if this is a good way to good but i've had a several people to try this way and i'm hoping it works !

if anyone has some suggestions for better monitors or even if have good ones let me know ! cause my max out at a frequency of 22khrz, not sure if this is a good or bad thing . but when i had a friend of mine come over to help with some work on my tracks he says that it could be a slight problem

Once again thanks,
Eric

[memes_33]

cause my max out at a frequency of 22khrz, not sure if this is a good or bad thing . but when i had a friend of mine come over to help with some work on my tracks he says that it could be a slight problem

22 kHz is good. the two rules with monitors are 1) you get what you pay for and 2) everyone has different tastes. i would work with what you have for a little while and try a few out when you can. new monitors are expensive so it helps to know what you want before you get it. it will also give you time to save up!