When I work with new or inexperienced audio engineers and producers, there is a basic mistake that I see over and over. When we use plugins, we traditionally put them on the track we want to affect. If I want to add EQ or compression to a vocal track, I would simply add the EQ … Continue reading “Using Reverb (Best Practice)”

Blending processed and unprocessed sound is a classic and effective technique that can provide drastic improvements – and it can be done in every DAW! What is it? The difference between processing a sound and parallel processing is simple. Both start out with an original, unaltered sound and signal path. In a processed sound, there … Continue reading “Parallel Processing”

Learning what different frequencies sound like and the effect they have on the sound of different instruments is an invaluable skill. These are the names we use to classify the bands – the frequencies are approximate, so use your ears! > 20 – 60 Hz – Sub-Bass: Gives boom, depth, and richness – too much … Continue reading “EQ – Different Frequency Bands [20 Hz – 20 kHz]”

Avid Pro Tools Dyn3 7-band EQ (free plugin) Understanding the overall structure of the EQ landscape is important to properly EQ individual tracks and to get them to fit nicely in the full mix. There are certain EQs out today that show the frequency band inside the EQ GUI. These can be quite helpful. Many … Continue reading “EQ – General Use (Tips/Tricks) (Part 3)”

Today I am going to talk about the Q parameter on the bands of an EQ. We will be going a little deeper than we normally do, but that’s the nature of the Q factor. The Q setting is going to affect the bandwidth of an EQ band. This means how much or how little … Continue reading “What is the ‘Q’ setting on an EQ?”

Dyn3 7-band EQ (Avid Pro Tools free plugin) If you look toward the bottom of the EQ pictured above, you will notice 5 different bands: 1. LF, low frequency, red; 2. LMF, low-mid frequency, orange; 3. MF, mid frequency, yellow; 4. HMF, high-mid frequency, green; 5. HF, high frequency, blue. In today’s blog I will … Continue reading “The Different EQ bands and What they mean (part 2)”

Throughout my blog series on EQs I am going to refer to the free EQ plugin that comes with Pro Tools, the Digirack EQ III 7-band. First,...

Introduction to an EQ

In the next series of blog posts, I’m going to go through EQ, or equalization. I will talk about why we use it, and when and how to use...

How to use an EQ

To wrap things up regarding compressors, I will offer 3 Dos and Don’ts as my final word for now. These are things to always keep in mind...

To wrap things up regarding compressors, I will offer 3 Dos and Don’ts as my final word for now. These are things to always keep in mind when working with compressors. Some may have been previously stated in an earlier blog post. DO Avoid using extreme settings to begin with, if … Continue reading “Compression Dos & Don’ts”

As you get better with compressors, you will start playing with other knobs and features. One of these is the knee. The knee refers to...

What does the knee do on a compressor?

A compressor has a lot of knobs and settings. They can be confusing at first. In this blog I am going to talk about one of those knobs –...

A compressor has a lot of knobs and settings. They can be confusing at first. In this blog I am going to talk about one of those knobs – Threshold. A compressor is an automatic volume control. We try to make the signal somewhat the same, static. Without a compressor, we would have to do … Continue reading “Compressors 201 – Threshold”

Today I’m going to go a little deeper into how compressors work. But first, I want you to do an experiment. This experiment will allow...

Today I’m going to go a little deeper into how compressors work. But first, I want you to do an experiment. This experiment will allow...

Yes, more organization! 🙂 I think I have always been somewhat organized. But I have learned to be very organized since starting my...

Yes, more organization! 🙂 I think I have always been somewhat organized. But I have learned to be very organized since starting my...