Equalization question.

[Fabry90]

Hi all.
I've a question about equalization. I'm reading many many things about it on various forums but I can't think a correct answer.

I've a bassline, a bass and a synth that I need to song together. Do I need to cut out (so, cut lower and higher frequency) a range of frequency for each of they? Or do I need to reduce volume of useless frequency for each of they and increase them where usefull?

I hope I explained that well. Sorry for my bad english, i'm italian. Thanks

[d-low]

there are many practical uses, but essentially its usually about removing the frequencies that might clash with each other; not always, but sometimes you dont want frequencies over-lapping,

for example, a common EQ trick is to low-cut (remove low frequencies) under 100hz on your kick drum, this ensures the bass frequencies from the kick drum DONT overlap (clash) with the SUB bass frequencies from your actual bassline, that is just one of many good uses of EQ. Hope this helps

[Fabry90]

Thanks a lot guy. Ok, remove frequencies which clash. But when I remove frequencies from a synth, it sounds differently. How can I resolve that?

[d-low]

things are always going to overlap, itll always happen, but EQ is there for you to clean things up when they get too much, or if you want to boost part of a sound louder. sometimes you dont want to use an EQ if its going to change the sound of your synth, its not necessary to use it all the time but only to help you change + blend when you need it. There is no rule book, and if it sounds better without EQ dont use it. Like all these techniques youre using you get better at them with time

[Fabry90]

Yeah, thanks man. I try to keep your advices care.

[Nydus]

there are many practical uses, but essentially its usually about removing the frequencies that might clash with each other; not always, but sometimes you dont want frequencies over-lapping,

for example, a common EQ trick is to low-cut (remove low frequencies) under 100hz on your kick drum, this ensures the bass frequencies from the kick drum DONT overlap (clash) with the SUB bass frequencies from your actual bassline, that is just one of many good uses of EQ. Hope this helps

This is good advice, however the low cutting part I don't agree with.
Let's imagine your Kick's low frequency resonant peak is situated at 100hz. Removing everything underneath that is going to give you a 'knock' type sound as you'll remove a bit of sub that is going to provide the 'girth', so to speak. If clashing is occurring between the Kick & Sub, it can be useful to either:

A) Create a small incision (notch) on the Kick where your sub is most prominent
B) Subtle side chaining between the two elements
C) Leave it. it's unlikely your kick is going to have anywhere near the amount of sub as your dedicated Sub Bass. Dynamically balancing the two is fine.

[d-low]

This is good advice, however the low cutting part I don't agree with.
Let's imagine your Kick's low frequency resonant peak is situated at 100hz. Removing everything underneath that is going to give you a 'knock' type sound as you'll remove a bit of sub that is going to provide the 'girth', so to speak. If clashing is occurring between the Kick & Sub, it can be useful to either:

A) Create a small incision (notch) on the Kick where your sub is most prominent
B) Subtle side chaining between the two elements
C) Leave it. it's unlikely your kick is going to have anywhere near the amount of sub as your dedicated Sub Bass. Dynamically balancing the two is fine.

great point, thanks mate. Reading back my post i see how it could give the wrong impression, removing everything under 100hz would almost definitely take the punch out of your kick, i was just looking for an easy example. My apologies and thanks for the correction

[Krispy]

Interesting, i've always high passed my kicks around 80-120hz no matter what. Never considered cutting out the dominant sub frequency

[Nydus]

great point, thanks mate. Reading back my post i see how it could give the wrong impression, removing everything under 100hz would almost definitely take the punch out of your kick, i was just looking for an easy example. My apologies and thanks for the correction

Hey no worries man, we're all just trying to help.