Quik Tipz: Secret Techniques for EQ'n Drumz

from MPCSounds.com

When it comes to equalizing your drums, don't mess around. The drums represent the heart of your mix & should be treated with respect. Below are some invaluable secrets from MPCsounds for EQ'n drums for Hip Hop:

Frequency Selection - If your serious about obtaining a clean and punchy sound for your drums, then you'll quickly learn you must be selective in the frequencies you should to boost and cut for each drum track. Most important to remember - Avoid accumulation of the same frequencies. Particularly, avoid over boosting low end frequencies. This will only muddy up your drums, as well as, mask other important tracks in the mix. Ensure your drum frequencies are even across the board!

Clean it Up - To achieve an overall punchier & cleaner mix, try cutting low end frequencies between 250 - 500hz on drum tracks such as kicks & toms. Cutting frequencies in this range will actually sharpen up drum tracks that sound too bold, harsh, & up-front. For punch, try adding 250 - 350hz into your snare & clap tracks. This will give more snap & body to the rhythm, as well as, balance out where your cut previously on your kick & tom tracks.

Adding Clarity - Cutting out the low frequencies from 100-200hz on cymbal & hi-hat tracks will add clarity while also allowing the other drum tracks that contain natural lows in those same ranges to come through in the mix. Also, boosting highs from 9khz - 12khz will add brilliance to cymbal tracks & boosting around 8khz will add crackle to your snare & clap tracks. If your not satisfied with the depth & feel on your kick tracks, then add a 4db boost at 40hz using a narrow Q of around 20. This will give the kick tracks the punch you're looking for. But...don't forget...high pass your sub kick tracks from 34hz & below, canceling out unwanted low end rumble.

Very good stuff. You know, engineers and producers alike
will somtimes act like this is rocket science, becuase they
don't want people to know the tricks. But you can see by this
man's post, that it's very simple. I would just like to add that the
decible level examples he uses , 4db, etc, are very realistic. You begin to notice real change
from cuts and boosts after about 3db. All these cats taking about,
"yeah, then I take my horn track and raise 1kh up .05 db...
they're bugging. I would like to add tho, don't go nuts with the
'additive' eq. Just like he say, he's starting with cuts. You can take away, but if you jump in and add all the ear candy first, later you'll be running out of room to improve it. You can only crank so much, but subtractive eq is the key. Very good post man!

trupro wrote: You can only crank so much, but subtractive eq is the key. Very good post man!

yes, yes, yes, thank you!

i have a friend that straight up laughs at my face when i suggest to him that maybe he should try cutting the frequencies rather than increasing them.

"hey, that bass sure does sound muddy... but no problem, i'll just boost the high frequencies all the way up so my speakers will explode!"

Cheech wrote:

trupro wrote: You can only crank so much, but subtractive eq is the key. Very good post man!

yes, yes, yes, thank you!

i have a friend that straight up laughs at my face when i suggest to him that maybe he should try cutting the frequencies rather than increasing them.

"hey, that bass sure does sound muddy... but no problem, i'll just boost the high frequencies all the way up so my speakers will explode!"

Haha. I do co-sign the post about subtractive EQ though. And I definitely co-sign Isaac as an avatar!

Yeah, anybody can boost.....but cutting is an art form in itself.

i learned long ago that eq is used to fix poorly recorded material. if you get it right going in eq will not be needed. it is a result 9 times out of 10 from poor mic placement, poor room, and lastly bad gear. these r good reference points but keep in mind that u should be sweeping the frequencies to find out where adjustments need to be made. also the key to eq is having a good room and good monitors. this is a good test to see if your room is suitable. play just a bass line and then walk around the room if u hear the lower frequency more in some areas of the room than others, then there is a problem.
good luck and also learn the ways to avoid using eq such as speading keyboard lines across the octaves and picking good drum samples to begin with.

^^^lol, everybody walkin round they rooms right now sayin "damn, my shiz is flowers up!!!"

i have had problems with my drum geting drowned out buy the instruments , when im making a beat, ill try theses tips i hope they work

Science wrote:i have had problems with my drum geting drowned out buy the instruments , when im making a beat, ill try theses tips i hope they work

same

Word, that's forever the issue with rhythm driven music.
I feel like bass management is the biggest key to a good mix
in almost every genre of music.
One thing I know alot of us do is, crossreferencing kicks
and basslines. After you take out unnecessary lows in
every single track, I mean, very hard cuts of anything below
60hz in everything, (I even do 80hz rolloffs and higher on EVERYTHING except bass and kick), then it's time to bring out the right kind of bass in the bassey tracks. But they clash with each other. You want the chest
thumper in your kick. Oh, but then you want it in the 808 kick that
is underneath. Ooooh, but then you want it in the bassline too, right?
No. You can't have your bass and eat it too, dog. So, try starting with frequencies that perform the function you want for the instrument in question. If you got a nice hiphop sounding attacky type kick, then accentuate a little 90hz, a little 125 for the attack of the beater (you know the slap that happens when a 'drummer' hits the kick pedal, and the beater hits the bass drum head?) and then cut a bunch of 60 hz out.
This is really only if you have more than one kick, like if you will end up stacking an 808/909 in there as well. If not, leave the 60 in. Then do an opposite mirror of this tequnique on the bassline. Take 90 out, almost altogether if it's not a filtered sample, then add a little extra 60 or 64hz.
Or you could do this with the other kick layer. In that case, you can pump the 40-50 range, cut the 60, etc. for the bassline. Or swap that idea with the 808 idea. Mix and match depending on the sound you going for, but having a place you normally start with instead of always just sweeping around makes it alot quicker. This theory applies accross the board, no pun intended. If that low brass horn blast is real dope, and sounds good low, than maybe you can't have your filter bassline on the same event in time, or maybe use a bassline that shines in the 200hz range instead of the same low range as the synth horns, etc. You get the idea. But dude up there is right too; the writing has alot to do with clashes and muddles as well. If you don't want to change any arrangements tho, you can pull off a hell of alot with EQing. If your already doing stuff like this and the track is so dense that drastic cuts and boosts seem to have little effect, then it's time to add some compression on 'dull' parts...

i needed that info on cymbal crashes.
my cymbal crashes would never fit right into the mix.
good info

WORDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD...........

Beat God wrote: these r good reference points but keep in mind that u should be sweeping the frequencies to find out where adjustments need to be made.

Good point. I do this alot. I pay attention to where i sweep on my mixer just to get the track to sound how i want it, especially when im just playing it for my friends straight from the mpc without recording it- and also in the creative process.

When i go to record the track, ill remember what i boosted and cut, then start from there when i start tracking everything out and eqing. That way im not individually **** with stuff that doesnt need to be messed with.

peace.