Everybody is crying out for better digital EQ, or better converters; I am crying out for mandatory parametric equaliser licensing with each working ProTools system.
If your mixes sound good and you actually use a lot of EQ, you're probably already a qualified parametric engineer, if not, it's time you started studying for it.
What I want you to try and improve in your mixes is something I have been telling my clients to do for years, and it has worked out very well. Try adopting a different approach to EQ. Do not assume you 'need' to EQ every track, like that's your
job. In fact, start feeling guilty every time you need to use an equaliser. Don't think, 'Ah, this just needs a little EQ". Start thinking, "Why does this need EQ? What else could I do before I use an equaliser?".
Have you ever figured out that your mix actually starts with the arrangement choices you made weeks ago? Of course you checked the sound of everything before you hit the record button, but now that you're in mixdown, you're slaying the tone all over the place just to make the mix work. There seems to be something amiss with this working model, does there not?
It seems everybody with a 'monkey tools' system is now an engineer, and on Saturday night after a few beers, suddenly they're a record producer as well. But a 'real producer' will 'hear' the tonal shortfall in the arrangement at the recording stage and adjust what gets recorded in the first place. Doing this will mean there's less need to work with equalisers during mixdown, and a better mix at the end of the day.
Start getting the most out of the automation in your computer Got a sibilant 'essey' vocalist? Most people just cut around 8kHz to stop that sibilance, leaving the vocal kinda dull. Of course a lot of people also wind in EQ on the snare and the guitars, producing my 'pet hate' mix: i.e. a track that is 'dull and bright' at the same time. It's the most common problem I face: the snare, hats or guitar; are bright but the vocal is dull - grrr...
In fact, a better option is not a de-esser on the vocal, and a little bit of hard work. Go in and find every 'ess' on the vocal and. using automation, just turn down the offending syllable by 2dB or so. It might mean 20 automation moves in the track, but it will sound more open and less processed than the EQ'd version, and lots better than the de-essed version.
Got a guitar that bites too much in the chorus? Try simply turning it down every time it bugs you - just for that split second - instead of EQing it globally in an attempt to smooth it out. Most of the time, the sounds I hear over-equalised actually need level changes not frequency changes.
Still not sure when to EQ and when to level ride? Keep thinking equalisers are cheats that will ruin your mixes, and in no time at all your mixes will sound much better, I promise.
So, getting that parametric license? Most people think you need a surgical four-band, ultra flexible EQ, but for most sounds that I have ever heard the opposite is actually true. I am astounded when people bring their computers into mastering, because then I get a chance to see first-hand just how unaware people are of what they are actually doing.
I keep seeing tracks with two or three plug-in EQs inserted over them; followed by exciters; and God knows what else tacked on to "Get the sound they were looking for because it was recorded in a horrible little room". When I remove the combined 15 or so bands of EQ, time and time again, the source sound is actually fine. So find that Bypass button and start using it.
Still want to use you your equalisers because you don't believe me when I say that you'd be better off without them? Well, here's Ricks secret EQ tip No.2. Stop using parametric-type equalisers! Find an old-style, wide-band equaliser, or a low-, mid- or hi-shelf and try just using that a dB or two at first. If your mixes have more than two bands active on any given sound, and with more than my prescribed 2dB or 3dB of gain or cut, either you know exactly what you're doing and you've held your parametric license for years, or your mixes actually suck and you're out in the world blaming technology or converters, instead of addressing the real problem.
I understand that you might need to use a narrow band surgical EQ to notch out some troublesome 'ring' when you're sound sculpting, but I cannot recall the last time I had to do that, except to counteract somebody's mix after they'd gone EQ-crazy. Sounds which require that kind of surgical treatment don't usually show up unless you stir them up by doing something dumb.
So, bottom line on the road to fixing your mixes: no EQ. Or, alternatively, use one or two bands with wide (not narrow) 'Q'; turn off those high frequency exciters; use your level automation to fix those problems and your mixes will jump! Once your mixes are jumping, you're allowed to go back to using EQs for 'Sound-Smithing' some of the best sounds ever made, because by then, you will be a qualified parametric engineer!
Having said all that about equalisers, I have actually recorded and mixed a whole album from start to finish without ever using a single equaliser, and it sounded absolutely incredible - but I will never do it again because it was way too hard! The gorgeous soundstage and warm tone was a beautiful by-product of the fact that all of the sounds fitted together. Actually, it was a really easy album to mix because an enormous amount of prior thought had gone into the album's arrangement, what was difficult was stopping my assistant from reaching for the EQ. "Can't we just EQ it?" "No we can't, go and move the mic."
If I have more than 2.5dB of EQ running on any given track I am mastering, there's a fair chance I am 'undoing' someone else's excessive EQ choice. I figure, when somebody does a time/motion study of my life, the order will go: Rick O'Neil slept most of his life, twiddled equalisers, and then talked the paint off the walls. So I'm not asking you to find the 'Bypass' button without some real thought and qualification. I reckon I have had my parametric license for nearly two decades now - and all I do all day is fiddle with equalisers.
Equalisers... turn 'em off, learn what makes you need them, then try it again, wide and subtle. Go and see your favourite mastering engineer with your mixes; when the mastering dude has done his thing, ask the question: "How much EQ did you use?". If the answer is more than 3dB in any area, it's time for you to re-sit your parametric license exam. Repeat as necessary, and if symptoms persist, consult your doctor.
Oh, and think about getting a separate computer for emails and dedicating one to your music; it has nothing to do with EQs, but I couldn't actually be bothered writing a column about computers.
Rick O'Neil runs Turtlerock Mastering in Camperdown, Sydney and knows a parametric license is a term he coined for dramatic effect.
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