EQ Eight Explained – More Than Just Cuts & Boosts
EQ Eight Explained What Is An Equalizer? Have you ever noticed the “Bass” and “Treble” options on an amplifier? Or the “Low, Mid, High” filters on a DJ Mixer? Chances are you’ve used an equalizer (or EQ) in some way or another. An equalizer is a device that can increase or decrease a specific range of frequencies in a track. In music production, EQ’s help producers reduce problematic frequencies, enhance musical ones, and help shape the overall sound to achieve depth & clarity. In this article, you’ll get an overview of a popular, modern equalizer – and a breakdown of the types of filters found in it. su_divider top=”no” size=”1″ All About EQ Eight So what does a modern EQ look like? Watch the video below to see our head of education, Yeuda Ben-Atar, take you through the ins and outs of Ableton’s “EQ Eight” – the stock EQ that …
Read More
Should I Buy It? – House of Kush Review
Should I Buy It? – House of Kush Review This week we’ve got a real treat for you, we’ll be covering more than half of Kush Audio’s entire lineup of audio plugins. Kush Audio has been in the game awhile and they have always created high-quality products, so, we decided to try out as much as of the product line as we could. In the video below Yeuda goes over NINE plugins that range from mixing tools like EQs and compressors to Harmonic sweeteners and a Reverb. He gives you realtime examples on a track he’s been producing. Watch below, and read our breakdown below that. su_youtube_advanced url=”https://youtu.be/3Cjllg8b3WA” width=”400″ height=”200″ rel=”no” modestbranding=”yes” su_box title=”Novatron Rating: 8.5/10″ style=”glass” box_color=”#333333″ su_row su_column size=”1/2″ Pros: – Unique Attack and Release stages that can morph between different compressor models – Factory Presets show off the compressor capabilities, from light compression to fat …
Read More
MS EQ COMP – FREE Midside Compressor
MS EQ COMP – FREE Midside Compressor Internet Co. recently released a FREE mid-side equalizer and compressor plugin called simply MS EQ COMP. The plugin is available both for Windows and Mac OS platforms. It is a straightforward plugin in design and function which we’re quite grateful for, it’s part of what makes this such a quality plugin. The effect features a 3-band equalizer specifically for adjusting the center or the sides. If you aren’t interested in getting that type of processing you can link the modules in order to work in stereo by pressing a clearly labeled and easy to see button at the bottom of the plugin’s GUI. A bonus feature is a preset manager where you can save and recall your favorite presets. Internet Co. features this description on their website – MS EQ COMP can encode standard STEREO (left/right) signal to MS (middle and side) and add EQ …
Read More
ElliptiQ – Elliptic Equalizer by HoRNet
ElliptiQ – Elliptic Equalizer by HoRNet This week we have a very special type of equalizer, an elliptic equalizer. This type of processing tool has its roots based in the history of vinyl cutting. Cutting vinyl made for stereo recordings will inherently produce a sound meant for two channels, left and right. If lower frequencies like bass or kick happen to be out of phase then this can cause cancellation problems and decrease the quality of the recording. An elliptic equalizer works on the stereo field of low frequencies to avoid phase issues. Allow the developer to elaborate, “A tool like this is needed because if the bass frequencies goes in anti-phase or the difference between left and right channel are too wide the needle may jump outside the groove in the final vinyl master, so an elliptic eq works on the difference of the two channels removing part of …
Read More
Neutron – Izotope’s All-In-One Auto-Mixing Plugin
Neutron – Izotope’s All-In-One Mixing Plugin Izotope’s product “Neutron” is a plug-in that comes with a serious combination of tools for mixing, you can chain their Dynamic EQ, 2 Multi-band Compressors, Transient Shaper, and Exciter in any order. The Compressors can produce a clean modern sound or when in “vintage mode” will output signals like a CLA-2A tube compressor; the Exciter offers harmonic shaping with 3 XY selectors that each push the sound towards Retro/Warm/Tape/Tube; the Transient Shaper is an awesome addition to have even if you already have one, and is extremely responsive from subtle levels up to when the effect is increased. Each of these modules allows for multi-band processing and deliver sound that stands up to any other high-end plugin on the market, the fact that you get all of them together at such a low price should be enough to pique your interest. If the great bang-for-your-buck doesn’t do it …
Read More
You’re Doing Too Much: Common Mix Mistakes
You’re Doing Too Much: Common Mix Mistakes We are currently in the middle of two weeks of advanced mixing techniques in our most advanced class here at Beat Lab, and it’s amazing how the more we learn about the process the more we keep coming back to the basics. The simplicity of the concepts of proper EQ, compression, and balance can make these tasks appear to be easy and we often feel we have grasped their importance before we really have. We have all been there and every part of this process of creating records from songwriting, to production, to mixing, and mastering is all it’s own endless rabbit hole so don’t be discouraged. If you feel your mixes still aren’t where you want them to be it’s possible all that is missing is the strongest possible foundation. From there there is often little work left to do. More advanced concepts will definitely …
Read MoreFeatured Masterclass
