Unit 9 - Mixing research/drumming

I decided to research how to EQ on logic pro, in order to help me get a better understanding when mixing the songs for the unit 9 cd project.

The first thing i looked at was this website: https://www.armadamusic.com/university/music-production-articles/eq-explained-the-basics

It states that Equalisation is used to adjust the volume level of a frequency (or range of frequencies), within a sound. It is done by cutting unwanted frequencies and/or boosting others, all to balance out sounds so they work well with one another.

This is an overview of EQ frequencies

Sub bass

Sub bass ranges from 20-60Hz. An appropriate amount of sub bass can give your track a boost in low-end power, but too much will make your low end sound muddy and undefined.

Bass

Bass ranges from 60Hz to approximately 250Hz. A lot of bass may sound nice, but it can also completely overpower the rest of your mix. As always use restraint.

Low Mids

Low mids range from 250-1500Hz. This frequency range is responsible for the warmth and atmosphere of a sound, but there are a lot of instruments that occupy this space. To avoid frequency clashes between these instruments, you'll need to thoroughly consider which sounds boost and by how much.

High Mids

High mids range from 1500Hz to approximately 4kHz. If you're using a lot of lead synths, you will have a lot going on in this frequency range. It’s also the sweet spot of the punch of most percussion instruments (excluding kick drums).

Presence

Presence ranges from 4kHz to approximately 7kHz. Boosting this frequency range can add clarity of the mix or specific sounds, but too much can make an entire track tiresome to listen to.

Brilliance or Noise

Brilliance or noise ranges from 7kHz to 20kHz. It is quite similar to presence in its use, but the higher end of this frequency range is mostly hisses and noise. A small boost may give your mix a bit of breathing space, but too much means you’re drowning the track in high-frequency noise.

Even though this website did help me understand what EQ actually is and it did help me understand the different types of frequencies, I personally found it very informative although I feel it lacked a lot of detail especially when talking about Logic Pro, i felt it mainly focused on FL studios, and the terminology such as "parameter" and "bell filter" this website used i had never seen before so i didn't understand a lot of it. This has definitely changed my approach to using EQ, because rather than experimenting with all frequencies like before, I now know how different frequencies differ sounds.

Example of my own work using EQ

For this example i used EQ on a kick drum. I wanted an outcome of a punchy kick, therefore i left the higher frequencies and focused on the mid and low frequencies. I cut the frequencies ranging from 20-60hz, since the kick sounded way too overpowering and too thick compared to the rest of the kit. I experimented a little bit with the bass frequency (60-250hz) and i slightly boosted it to add a small amount of bass to give the kick that punchy sort of sound.

Drumming

For my drumming in "out of the box" I wanted to try out some new fills, so i listened to different tracks from bands with the same music genre and I decided to take inspiration from bands drummers such as Taylor Hawkins (Foo fighters) Everlong specifically. Don't look back in anger (oasis) and D'you know what i mean by Oasis also.  

The first fill i did in bar 4/5 came from the intro in the song D'you know what i mean. There is a lot of fills in the intro of that song, so i learnt them all and came up with something similar and basic just to begin with.

The main beat i play all throughout the verses and pre-choruses comes from a track called "they don't own me" by Richard Ashcroft, and i added some ghost notes on the snare to complex it a little bit. I really liked how simple yet effective this beat was and i think it adds a lot of emotion with the vocals to the song, I also like how chilled the bet is in the verses and how it just brightens up on the ride during the choruses.

The build up on the floor tom and the snare came from the song Everlong, it's very similar to what Taylor Hawkins plays just after the fill at the end of the 3rd chorus at exactly 3 minutes into the song. I really liked the idea of using this beat to turn it into a build up for the last chorus.

Finally, the big fill into the last chorus in bar 50-53 came from the drum fill in Don't look back in anger when all the other instruments go silent. This is played at exactly 3 minutes and 36 seconds into don't look back in anger, and although the two fills aren't exactly the same, this song gave me massive inspiration on my fill and once i'd played it a few times i wrote the fill similar and it worked perfectly.

Video 1: EQ

Notes from this video:

- EQ let's you change the frequencies of a sound

-Types of EQ= High and low pass filters ( cuts out frequencies from below or above a set point), Shelf ( reduce or increase frequencies from a set point), Bell EQ ( fix or enhance sounds in more detail)

0-50hz (not useful)

50-100hz (sub low end)

100-250hz (power, warmth)

250-500 (fulness, too much can result in muddiness)

500-1000hz (can sound honky or boxy in this range)

1000-2500hz ( helps attract and cut through the mix)

3500-5000hz (detail on the vocal, clearness)

5000hz (lifts the mix, brightness) 

This video helped me get a better understanding of what different frequencies do in EQ, although i think it lacked detail. I'm not sure whether the frequencies on this video we're correct since the website i previously researched stated different frequencies and explanations behind them. This video has also changed m approach to using EQ because it's given me a more detailed explanation on how different frequencies differ the sound of the instrument.