how to get that beautiful shinny top end...

[audio junkie]

Great thread below on the bottom end... I for one have spent a good while working on my low end...(thrown max bass and all that stuff out the window except for special occasions) and I've got my bottom end under control... lately I've been working on the top end... of course that has a lot to do with the front end of your system... especially since most cheap condenser mics tend to be harsh... and the d/a. If your record even a few tracks with those crispy things....then your done for... But at least we've been able to say goodbye to those horrible adats that made all our mixes hell on the ears...(I don't care what Glenn Ballard says) talk about listener fatigue !!... But..I digress...

how about shareing some good tasty eq and comp techniques for getting that nice sparkly high top end in a mix without getting harsh....

I start my mixes crafting what I think is generous high end and when I check against a reference (mastering taken into consideration) I usually have to work on the top some more. Never shinny enough.

Lately I've been using a spectum RTA more.

And I've developed a hot and steamy love affair with my bombfactory Pulteq EQP-1A (the air machine)

Ok guys...let em rip !

[gerax]

Hi

Mixing is a constant evolution for each one, and everybody has it's own techniques to get particular results, so what works for me may not be right for you.
Anyway, lately I've noticed that the high end on my mixes has started to come out nice. I have started to use a similar tweak on the "shiny" tracks: provided that they are recorded right the Pultec is a good plug, but I find myself using the Waves 4 Bands EQ (sometime the 6Bands) and use a band setting on the Highs instead of a Shelving filter, I just point it at the Highest freq (say 21 KHz) with a very large Q factor (say the widest possible) and apply a fair boost (2 to 3 dB, but it depends, it could be more, if needed) so that the high end increases more gently and progressively along the spectrum than with a Shelving filter where you have a "gap" at the corner frequency and everything is bumped up abruptly. I find it to sound more subtle than a shelving filter, but if you start to sum up tracks with this EQ tweak the high end is a little more smoothed out and not as harsh as with shelvings. It's a good trick to use on the Master fader too (in fact it was suggested to me by a Mastering Engineer) to add a little more air to the overall mix. I also find myself filtering out some low end on those tracks that don't need to have that much information in that area of the spectrum (like woodwinds, higher horns, some guitars, Keys, depending on the parts, BG vocals), and kind of cut out the shape of the track; this helps creating space and sitting each track in the mix right so that they don't fight with each other.

I hope you'll find useful.

L.G. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally posted by gerax:
I also find myself filtering out some low end on those tracks that don't need to have that much information in that area of the spectrum (like woodwinds, higher horns, some guitars, Keys, depending on the parts, BG vocals), and kind of cut out the shape of the track; this helps creating space and sitting each track in the mix right so that they don't fight with each other.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Just want to put in a word of caution, here.
I also have done this on a regular basis. Theoretically, it makes sense to "clean up" any possible rumble and low freq resonance.

I also have kind of a "topic of the month" on my techniques, and now it’s "warm, analogue/cold, digital", just trying to achieve different kinds of overall sound.
And I find that these "subliminal" low freqs have much to do with the character of the mix.
Cutting a little here and alittle there could add up to loosing the famous "warmth".

On the highs, I really like to work with the super highs (16-20k), and the Pultec plug is really wonderful for this.
Extreme lows and extreme highs are really crucial elements in giving a "feel" to a mix.

[gerax]

Originally posted by Ben Jensen:

And I find that these "subliminal" low freqs have much to do with the character of the mix.
Cutting a little here and alittle there could add up to loosing the famous "warmth".

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">True, in fact I use this technique judiciously, and I'm not radically filtering out harmonic informations from the source, but in some very dense, articulate mixes with lots of parts and instruments I find this technique helps the arrangement come throught; I was wondering why my mixes were so fuzzy and confused in the bottom end, then I started using this technique (you obviously don't want to mess with Bass and Kick drum) to get a tighter bass and it worked. It depends on the song, but I favor the approach : if you don't need it than cut it out, just get rid of the right amount (not everything).

Cheers

L.G.

[Toney Robinson]

I have always had good luck with my trusty Aphex Aural Exciter type C for adding a nice high end sheen without harshness. I noticed the newer units have "big bottom" for the lows too.