Can you PLEASE do a video on recording bass DI and how to achieve a balanced tone and a good mix ? I feel like it's one of the most important parts of the process and NO ONE has good videos on it. It's always drums, vox, or guitar......
'stop just believing everything that you see on youtube.... use your ears' this is a good life lesson too: stop being so influenced by the opinion and process of other individuals and use your own senses and judgements to come to your own understanding. I know it's not easy but it's necessary. thank you sir
I love that instead of saying “I’ve literally had hit songs on the radio, I think I would know” (which would be very valid) you said “hm ... maybe I’m the one in the wrong. Here, let’s do science. Nope, I was right.” Well done.
Because the first option just makes you come out as an arrogant individual making use of the appeal to authority fallacy. In other words: "I am more successful than you are and have been doing this longer than you, so I am right and you're wrong."
It's actually pretty simple: if you listen and find that there is too much of something - cut it. If you find that there is too little of something - add it.
I'm so glad you went down "this rabbit hole" and took the time to really explain. One of the things I HATE about RUclips and many of the folks that preach here is that they almost never create and/or explain the context for their opinions. Too often they don't explain their use case because they are far too myopic. Many young folks are here listening to so-called experts with no life experience; not knowing where their audio journey will land them: theatre, film, radio, TV, video games, music production, musical theatre, FOH, etc. Thanks - Love the vids - Peace
This is eloquently said, "Cut to solve problems and boost to shape tone." Like when you used the MB to cut for de-esser in the last video, solving a problem. An engineering showing other engineers why their beliefs are now just misconceptions. What's so brilliant about this experiment is your results can be tested and verified. If only this was possible in other facets of life there would be much less strife in the world.
You NAILED it... There is no one size fits all approach to mixing. The end result is based on whatever the track needs, whether that is cutting or boosting. I love your objective to "use as few moves as possible" , so true! "Keep it simple stupid" or K.I.S.S. is something I've heard many times over.... Well done ~
okay i knew boosting and cutting should have no difference in theory; but i've never tried phase shift because i'm kinda accustomed to my way of cutting eq. But that perfect silence just gave me weird chills. probably i started mixing with old analogue yamaha console. this man is my god
OMG, I'm crackin' up when it goes perfectly silent! Nice work man! The old adage, if it sounds good, it's good, learn some rules, preactice, paractice, practice, then break the rules, and make it sound great!
It's amazing the parallels I see between our mixing styles. I've been following you for months now and almost every video there's a moment where I go "huh, I do that"
I've been playing music for 30 years and have heard this debate the whole time. Thank you for putting it so clearly. Your channel is one of my favorites!
You know its crazy. Kush after hours was talking about equing a mix in one of his videos bringing up about how people always try to cut and cut to make space for another instrument when the space is already there, and about how boosting the top end will not just affect the top but also the low. This video just helped make it even more sense. Great content man keep it up
Ya I mean EQ should be used to do changes to the frequency balance, therefore you are going to level match the input and output of your EQs. And as it has been shown in this video, a high shelf boost or a low shelf cut yield the same final result in that regard. What you go for has more to do with your mindset than anything else, ie do you think a track has too much bass or not enough highs?
@@kelainefes They don't yield the same result necessarily... it depends on the EQ you use... do an experiment: boost 10db of 10k on 4 different EQs (and use EQs that model famous EQs, like Neve, API, Pultec, SSL)... you'll hear how different they sound... because as you boost EQ you reveal various unique design aspects of those EQs... cutting doesn't reveal the same things. These different EQs can sound as different as a Fender sounds from a Marshall amp... and those differences become more apparent the more you boost.... but those differences are less apparent when cutting.
@@adamwattsmusic Sorry, I should have specified, my statement is true only for EQs with symmetrical cut and boost curves. I am aware that many EQs are asymmetrical.
@@kelainefes I hear ya... I'm referring more to how when your audio runs through a given EQs circuitry---the tone is getting colored by transformers, capacitors, op amps etc. then, this newly colored tone gets the EQ boost, which then reveals how that color has effected your original track at various frequencies. This is why certain classic gear often has a reputation for being paired with certain instruments... API EQs on guitars... Neve EQs on drums... of course, it's all subjective and based on personal taste... But I'd say it depends on your goal: if you're trying to shape your original tone while retaining it's character--subtractive would be my go-to... but if I'm seeking to reveal things inside the track and color it up, I'd think: additive EQ, then immediately consider what character I want to achieve, then it's "31 flavors" time... and then it's fun to explore how different EQs color the tone... the differences between various EQs can be super-dramatic... and then you get into adding overt harmonic distortion before or after the EQ (with tape, tube or transformer drive simulation) and it gets even more complex... there's so much to it... I've been at it over 25 years and I still find and/or learn new little tricks... #nerd
I made a lot of recordings where I intuitively used boosting but with guilt, because those who knew told me it was wrong. Now I understand that my ears were leading me on the right track. Thank you!!!! Excellent video.
After watching tone of videos about EQ on RUclips I finally have learned how it works and it’s exactly the way you described in this video. Yesterday I finished my first song, all produced, mixed and mastered by me and I’m pretty happy with the result so I have to thank you Colt, your videos have been so helpful, you are a very understandable person, all your tutorials are extremely clear in the topic you are talking about. Please keep doing this, I’m pretty sure it’s helping a lot of people all around the world.
You will get the exact same phase shift if you cut or boost. I measured in SMAART. If you cut, the phase will shift one way, if you boost it shifts the exact same amount in the opposite direction. The reason it sounds different when you boost then when you cut is because the phase shift on one is earlier then the phase shift on other!!! Kinda fun!
This is both a great rebuttal to the critical comments, but also a generous and helpful instruction on a pro's approach to eq and mix decisions... Excellent video, Colt!
There's a reason your videos are blowing up the way they are - honestly one of the most solid tutorials/walk-through's I've seen in a very long time regarding boosts vs. cuts. Thanks for this and keep it up, Colt!
As a relatively new person to making music, boosting seems less complicated. It's funny, I had pro review a track of mine for feedback and he gave me two youtube videos to watch on EQ, one was the one you made with boosting, the other was a guy that said cutting is the proper way. So naturally, I was confused lmao. Thanks for clearing this up.
....way back in the day, WHAT ? 48 or 56 channel consoles were in the 1980s ! I'm from way back in the day, I started building gear in 1959 and I was recording in 1961. One (1) track. My Dad was active in the 20s, make that 1920s, he talked about musicians playing into the megaphone, direct to wax, yup REAL wax ! That's old. Nice presentation, Colt ! Bill P.
Brah, that is fantastic! Great, data-driven way to make an excellent point. I think one additional reason that people adopt the "only cut" philosophy comes from dealing with PA systems: in that environment, I was always told not to unintentionally overdrive the speakers and possibly damage them. But then: I was a drummer for most of the Nineties and proudly avoided the "knobs and fiddly bits" of rock-n-roll. No longer! Thanks for a great vid! Subscribed.
Nicely done, Colt. I've been producing and mixing for 25yrs and my simple formula is: Cartoons for cutting; Hardware for boosting. There's a reason an API 550 has a +12dB range... ;)
I used to confused about boost and cut, because a lot of tutorials keep saying they are different. But you phase switch test convinced me, there is no different between two methods, that is mind opening. Thank you Colt!
I take the approach of - I got a mixer, I put the manual in the closet and learned how to use it. I got a synth, manual got tossed in closet. I basically do what I want. I think that's so good to experiment for yourself before watching all these types of videos no doubt.
As few of moves as possible. Them’s key words. New sub. Thanks for doing the thing and broadcasting it. You’re an inspiration to those of us aspiring to do the thing from home.
First of all, I was one of the comments :D thanks a lot for making this video and putting so much thought into it, it's very sympathetic that you questioned yourself about it after reading all these comments, I definetely feel you lol. I've actually watched a mixing masterclass of Bob Power who said that boosting should mostly be avoided. That's how I came to this believe, which I tested and thought it made sense :D I, too do cut to get rid of annoying frequencies and boost to power up missing ones. But most of the time cutting is enough to me, I just boost some low bass or kick frequencies or the highs to brighten up snares and percussion. What's also important if you boost low frequencies is to cut the just above frequeny a little bit to avoid muddiness in the low end. To me, honestly, the cut version in your video sounded slightly better. If you think about it, there are highpass and lowpass filters and not the other way around like highboost and lowboost filter, right? Would be nice to hear your opinion on it :] Keep up the good work, cyu!
I think the best steel man interpretation of the ‘don’t boost’ argument is that boosting=louder=sounds better because louder. Doing it on solo’d elements they might have a point. In context of a mix louder individual elements don’t create that louder/better effect (for me at least.) That initial mid eq video is a super cool way of getting consistency in mixing. Great one 🙏🏻
I think the only potential danger of boosting is if you boost a lot - like 5-10 dB - it'll always sound better, because louder always sounds better. So it might sometimes sound better because the overall sound is louder, not because the tone is better. That said, great idea, with the phase cancellation. Awesome video!
Don’t know how I found you but watched your mid range video . And it just flipped a switched in my head . Thanks for that bro . Then I watched your mix into your mix bus video . And now this . I’m officially a subscriber. Good stuff man
I always preferred eq boosts as my first step in mixing. Sort of to give every layer their own territory before worrying about overlaps and where to cut. I kept doing this despite hearing the advice of cuts only but I'll admit, it hurt my confidence. This was a really nice exercise and definitely makes me feel a little more secure in what I naturally felt was right for me. Just subscribed, keep it up
New to your channel. Enjoying your posts. I’m a classical music engineer and I found your eq philosophies all valid. My decision around boosting or cutting involves harmonics and instrument and room resonances. Whenever addressing a problem frequency I will want to confirm that the issue I’m trying to fix could not be better solved by cutting or boasting a harmonic further up the octave. This is all in an effort to be as efficient as possible using the fewest moves needed. Thanks again for your channel.
Cole they hatin bru don't even sweat..yo gear get hotter than that hate. They young and novice. Yeen even have to make this vid you a G.O.A.t I remember seeing you tune in on Pensados Place as soon as you left a comment I left one also. I believe in you big dawg. (Aargggh)Blessings.
Man, love your honesty and transparency about the subject 1000% i agreed...Also tired of the bunch BS online from "experts " , your take was on the money , no rules , what ever it takes to get the result you and your client are after ..God bless bro !! stay safe !! Cheers !!!
Awesome video! You remind me a lot of a couple teachers I had back at MI of Hollywood way back in 2006. Been a good decade of busy with work, wife, and now kids and I haven't touched any mixing or writing in over 10 years. Just picked up an apolllo twin and loaded up Luna and was taken back to a lot of fun. Great videos!
The more experienced you are, the more scrutiny you have to apply to yourself, as you can fool and delude yourself using your own experience. For example, if you go to an ER and ask on the power tool amputation cases, you'll find that the vast majority of them happened to experienced workers who knew what they were doing, however, their experience made them over confident and caused them to put themselves in risks no beginneer would.
@@Willifordwav You're missing the point. You should *never* blindly follow adivce from people without context or without questioning it first. If CLA told you that smearing cow shit on your face gaves you a better mix perception, would you do it? After all, he's more successful than you and has been doing it longer than you.
someone finally said it :) also, boosting on an analog device (or emulation) can affect harmonics generated depending on the circuit as well definitely. and boosting or cutting creates phase shifts within that frequency in virtually the same way. it's literally just the shape of the phase shifts you're hearing, or the original spectral balance of the original input that gives it a space in the mix
Loving the scientific approach you apply and the way you explain things. Your mid range vid has already made a big difference to my mixing. Just wanted to say Thanks man, also looking forward to watching your other vids.
Yo Colt, my last mix-listen in my car was amazing, and it was after taking your advice on the last video with your hints and ideas. I was blown away haha. Thanks for doing the research and experiment to shine even more light on EQ topics.
One rule of thumb I use, small cuts to correct problems and keep something sounding similar. Larger boosts to make something sound different. Large boost and cuts are more musical. Small cuts and boosts are more surgical or clinical.
Awesome video ! I remember a gig with a band as a drummer (I'm a musician AND a technician) and the sound guy comes to me and says that my Kick sample doesn't have enough low end. So I tell him "boost the low end" and then he starts to tell that bullshit that you only have to use cutting EQ and not boosting, and blabla, and it happens that this guy who is an old man does teach sometimes in a sound ingeneer school... If it sounds good, it is good, and there is no rule, I told him that but he was stubborn xD
Appreciate the follow-up! I think the reality is that most frequency energy in music is in that range referenced in the prior video, that's where muddiness and problems come in. I don't think the issue is phase headroom or noise or even BOOST vs CUT, but more about allocating range and pocketing eq and not just reaching for the boost (or cut) to solve everything. That seemed a bit ambiguous in that last video.
I guess this is exactly why I won't mix someone else's poorly recorded sources. I'm not anyone's clean up boy! I want to control the quality of the source before I switch to mixing. I truly respect what Colt does and I especially identify with having escaped Peoria myself. So, we all have access to plenty of source material in the wild to build our mix templates from. This is especially useful when you are facing audio fatigue and find yourself using your visual queues more than your audio queues. What is everyone getting the most success with sourcing their templates with before switching to automation? I view automation as a way of branding with fresh ears and intervention where needed, the heavy lifting that usually burns out our critical ear has been pre determined, set as a brand, and left for final review. Make sense? Please respond and thank you all for that voodoo that you do!
Great video! I appreciate that you mentioned Phase and headroom as a concern. It just seems that people are taking considerations and making them "rules" and then preaching the misinformation as if they are the experts. I would like to add that the idea also came from the use of passive versus active EQ's and the characteristics that the gain stage had on boosting in some cases, but again that was a "sound" to consider. Also the asymmetrical shapes of some eq curves were a factor in the decision which matches your philosophy on how you cut and boost. Basically, if it sounds good, it is good. Boost/Cut/mold/mangle do what ever, just know what is involved when you do so and what you may be trading off.
The great thing about mixing is there are multiple ways of getting a good result and what sounds "good' or better is very subjective. Boost when you need to and cut when you need to just follow your instincts.
Old School engineers who I grew up around use to say cut before you boost because of TAPE, boosting caused the noise floor to rise so this is where it came from. I remember getting the first DAT recorders which ran at 16 bit 32K or 44.1 and the idea of cutting first died that day. From the moment we went digital with the noise floor below -60 the old saying of cut before you boost faded away. I think that was around 1996. But some teachers still cling to this old school idea because it was drilled into their heads during the tape era. But if you boost a lot with Tape you have to use dramatic Dolby or DBX noise reduction which kills the punch of a song so you had those factors to consider. But in the world of 24 bit audio the noise floor is a non issue if you record at even low levels.
Boost or cut in a controlled environment like a studio makes sense. No problem there. But in the live world boosting can be problematic. You can’t just boost for that bite, grit or shimmer without reaching the threshold of feedback. I’ve seen plenty of young engineers crank certain frequencies and then wonder why the PA or monitors are feeding back.
i wish so many people will watch this video , super important. also ive learned a lot of stuff that are off topic. theres always more to learn from you , great video
Never seen any of your vids before. Excellent stuff. This is exactly what I have always done and have always thought. It is natural logic to me. Very pleased to hear it from an evident pro. Makes me feel happier about my mixing. Now going to watch your Midrange vid.
This is awesome. At last somebody who tells it how it is and not follow a bunch of set rules. I always assumed boosting would make something sound better. Really like these videos 👍
My mixes suck a lot still... But I still kinda like to make music and melodies and fiddling with synths... Makes me happy... But snare sounds like shit xD
I've always understood the argument to be about analog or analog modeled eq's. When you boost it you're adding more harmonics which would be more aliasing, but all ya have to do is oversample it and it's fine. Also boosting with an analog eq is going to boost some analog mojo where only cutting with an analog eq is not going to impart the same mojo. Now maybe one of those sounds better than the other, that's all up to how you hear it. If you never boost with a neve or api eq you're missing out on some great tone and attitude. I've always thought that these "always do this, never do this" rules I've heard are silly. Whenever I hear one of these myths I do a test to see what I think, or what I like better. Which I think is the point here - do your own test and use your ears. Great video, keep up the good work!
Add in that you want to lean towards subtractive EQ for live mixing, not because its "superior" like the old heads will scream at you, but, you DO have noise floor in live and you run the risk of mixing yourself into feedback. This doesnt mean DONT boost it means ONLY use it when its necessary. On a side note this was fantastic!
Love your videos man... Great Great stuff ! Finally... WHAT COMES OUT OF THE SPEAKERS IS ALL WHAT MATTERS ... Right ? You are a pro... and its your... EARS & YEARS !!!! Peace all.... Rezi... Love from Sri Lanka... 🎉🎉🎉
This changed my whole mind about using EQ I was going about it the "right way" for so long. Mixing can be like chess. You want to make the fewest moves possible to win. Right is relative. Thank you!
I was booting 3k on my fav hat while mixing on iPad. The tone sounded sexy to me but my first thought was ‘oh no you can’t boost’. I automatically turned down the gain and it was perfect. Doing that started to break the rule for me and your video has confirmed what I felt at a gut level. You’ve helped me see it on a technical level so I don’t end up forgetting anything. Cheers man.
Well explained, I was always too lazy to actually explain it from the ground up and include examples - therefore, can't help but save link to this video and send people here to help them and to hopefully give you some extra viewers ;) And that's a golden rule #1 what you said - "Do not just believe everything you hear, always check it!" - I approve the scientific method of making decisions based on your own experiences and observations. Things coming from acclaimed pros can often turn out to be just a myth. It is a little bit of facepalm-type situation but also it has its beauty. At the end of the day, the culture of audio recording exists for long enough and in its core, it always was an entirely personal experience (and will stay this way) that it even has its own worshippers. I often like to say this: Physically speaking, the acoustic wave in air is just a series of changing air pressure that travels in some direction, the sound is just imaginary, basically, you just hear things in your head. Sound is the perception of the vibrating air by the brain. The brain is sensitive enough to "see" the difference between tones and sounds depending on i.e. how frequently the air pressure is changing (which in physics, we represent in frequency units [Hz]) and many other factors. There is often the discussion about analogue vs. digital, imperfect vs. perfect, warmth/dark vs. cold/bright. That's pointless, it's interesting and sometimes enlightening but lacks a definitive meaning. So in case you got lost, you don't quite get it and can't decide - just know that it doesn't matter, all of it, analogue, digital, warm, cold, pure or distorted - it all goes through the A/I converter on both, its way in and way out - it gets converted from analogue to imaginary.
In the days of tape we were boosting highs on the way in and then cut some in the mix to avoid noise........Also when there were not enough eq boost in a channel we were patching it to another one and boost the hell out of it..........So yes cut to solve problems boost to shape sound....
Agreed 100% Cut to fix.. Boost for tone shaping. At least that how I've been mixing for 30+ years. Your last video was great. So I got off my lazy ass and fixed my Auratone. I'm now again spending half my time mixing in them... and guess what!! my mixes sound better again. Thanks !!!
WOW thanks man i been always cutting cause my teacher three years ago told me that digital audio is harsh and cuts of at around 16 herts and any friquency above that is digital noice therfore unlike analogue we should cut then gain it back up it reduces the brittle nature of digital audio but you showed me that its the same thing thank you
Dig the the videos Colt... and this one is such a good topic... so controversial! haha. I think the magic really happens when you get specific about why and especially HOW you cut/boost... but especially how you boost. When it comes to boost frequencies... not all boosts are the same! That's why all the plugin companies put so much work into modeling various EQs: they sound different. There's a super fun experiment that can really be paradigm shifting.... pick 4 different EQs and do the same DRASTIC (10db or more) eq boosts on all 4 EQs. I find it especially cool to try with boost in any range above 1k. You'll instantly hear drastic differences in the tonal character of each EQ and they'll be tattoo'd in your "mind's ear"... one will likely be more grainy than the others... one more smooth... another might be really metallic or "ringy"... I've found it super helpful to understand the character of various EQs through exploring what they sound like via this drastic exploration method. Suddenly the pallet of options becomes super clear..... then when I hear a track and start to EQ, I'll reach for the EQ with the CHARACTER I want... rather than just always thinking "I just need some anonymous Xhz turned up (or down)". This would be a GREAT video of its own: Not all EQ is the same!
Oh and... different plugins (especially modeled ones) have a "sound"... do that same boost/cut/phase test thing again, but this time throw a Scheps 1073 on one of the tracks (with no EQ moves).. then flip the phase and hear what tone the modeling is adding... then throw a Puigtec on and do it...
Thank you for doing these basic and very valuable videos - these topics should have been addressed as clearly as you have long ago. We all appreciate you doing these. Forces me to clearify my thinking. Here it is: IMO: Less is almost always more. Here is why: I am trying to teach myself to expose the frequencies i like by cutting adjacent frequencies....Why dont I just add amplitude at 3k - wouldnt that be easier? The emotional soul is where? Sure mid range carries most of it. However the soul of the songs in prog metal i like is closer to the bass guitar. Listen with your ears for problems, listen with your heart for soul. Reveal problems: 1) sweep the amplitude accross the entire range - "notch out the problems with parimentric...once those irritating parts are gone 2) listen with your heart - of course most of any song with guitar and vocals is going to be in the mid range - louder often sounds better - how ever - when you expose something by adding - you will cover something else that i probably really like...Why cutting is better: you wont cause yourself problems with going into the yellow if you only cut - if you add - AND you are already ready using all the available clean bandwidth - which you should be - you will have a problem and need to reduce the volumne. of EVERYthing to stay clean.... Summary - the soul and the sound is in the midrange - adding causes 2 problems while cutting does not - therefor if there is no difference as you have proven with your phase shift experiment - then cutting is THE preferred methiod - dont let your ears fool you - louder always sounds better - or does it"?
MAGIC IS IN THE MIDRANGE mix tutorial
ruclips.net/video/3PnQWjtMROs/видео.html
great vid bytheway
"If it sounds good it is good." The best mixing advise out there!
Can you PLEASE do a video on recording bass DI and how to achieve a balanced tone and a good mix ?
I feel like it's one of the most important parts of the process and NO ONE has good videos on it. It's always drums, vox, or guitar......
Good information. I cut and boost most of the time, but are you using mytek converts
@@MrAdrianloera Only because you don't have the musical talent to know what good sounds like.
'stop just believing everything that you see on youtube.... use your ears'
this is a good life lesson too: stop being so influenced by the opinion and process of other individuals and use your own senses and judgements to come to your own understanding. I know it's not easy but it's necessary. thank you sir
My golden tool is my eyes .
Thanks Mr Obvious. I wrote it down
I love that instead of saying “I’ve literally had hit songs on the radio, I think I would know” (which would be very valid) you said “hm ... maybe I’m the one in the wrong. Here, let’s do science. Nope, I was right.” Well done.
Because the first option just makes you come out as an arrogant individual making use of the appeal to authority fallacy. In other words: "I am more successful than you are and have been doing this longer than you, so I am right and you're wrong."
@@BrunodeSouzaLino no it doesn't. It only bothers certain types of people lol.
Cut the bad, boost the good.
It's actually pretty simple: if you listen and find that there is too much of something - cut it. If you find that there is too little of something - add it.
"I don't hear anything."--Colt Capperune
I laughed out loud.
But I thought RUclips comments and Wikipedia are basically the same thing? 😳😋
They are. I’ve learned everything I know about life from the comment section
Sup there man! Greetings here from Philippines! love your song covers from our country.
I'm so glad you went down "this rabbit hole" and took the time to really explain. One of the things I HATE about RUclips and many of the folks that preach here is that they almost never create and/or explain the context for their opinions. Too often they don't explain their use case because they are far too myopic. Many young folks are here listening to so-called experts with no life experience; not knowing where their audio journey will land them: theatre, film, radio, TV, video games, music production, musical theatre, FOH, etc. Thanks - Love the vids - Peace
This is eloquently said, "Cut to solve problems and boost to shape tone." Like when you used the MB to cut for de-esser in the last video, solving a problem. An engineering showing other engineers why their beliefs are now just misconceptions. What's so brilliant about this experiment is your results can be tested and verified. If only this was possible in other facets of life there would be much less strife in the world.
What's MB? Mixbus/MasterBus?
@@SeanHyland Multiband Compressor. Fabfilter Pro-MB specifically in the previous video.
You NAILED it... There is no one size fits all approach to mixing. The end result is based on whatever the track needs, whether that is cutting or boosting. I love your objective to "use as few moves as possible" , so true!
"Keep it simple stupid" or K.I.S.S. is something I've heard many times over....
Well done ~
The wave canceling trick is the most genius way of demonstrating this concept.
You are the only person who is giving new engineers the truth. That's the way I do it, too. Thanks to you...
okay i knew boosting and cutting should have no difference in theory; but i've never tried phase shift because i'm kinda accustomed to my way of cutting eq. But that perfect silence just gave me weird chills. probably i started mixing with old analogue yamaha console. this man is my god
Since watching you're videos I have began boosting as well as cutting and I was blown back by how much I was able to improve my mix.
OMG, I'm crackin' up when it goes perfectly silent! Nice work man! The old adage, if it sounds good, it's good, learn some rules, preactice, paractice, practice, then break the rules, and make it sound great!
It's amazing the parallels I see between our mixing styles. I've been following you for months now and almost every video there's a moment where I go "huh, I do that"
I've been playing music for 30 years and have heard this debate the whole time. Thank you for putting it so clearly. Your channel is one of my favorites!
You know its crazy. Kush after hours was talking about equing a mix in one of his videos bringing up about how people always try to cut and cut to make space for another instrument when the space is already there, and about how boosting the top end will not just affect the top but also the low. This video just helped make it even more sense. Great content man keep it up
Ya I mean EQ should be used to do changes to the frequency balance, therefore you are going to level match the input and output of your EQs.
And as it has been shown in this video, a high shelf boost or a low shelf cut yield the same final result in that regard.
What you go for has more to do with your mindset than anything else, ie do you think a track has too much bass or not enough highs?
@@kelainefes They don't yield the same result necessarily... it depends on the EQ you use... do an experiment: boost 10db of 10k on 4 different EQs (and use EQs that model famous EQs, like Neve, API, Pultec, SSL)... you'll hear how different they sound... because as you boost EQ you reveal various unique design aspects of those EQs... cutting doesn't reveal the same things. These different EQs can sound as different as a Fender sounds from a Marshall amp... and those differences become more apparent the more you boost.... but those differences are less apparent when cutting.
@@adamwattsmusic Sorry, I should have specified, my statement is true only for EQs with symmetrical cut and boost curves.
I am aware that many EQs are asymmetrical.
@@adamwattsmusic I think this deserved to be discussed in the video but was overlooked.
@@kelainefes I hear ya... I'm referring more to how when your audio runs through a given EQs circuitry---the tone is getting colored by transformers, capacitors, op amps etc. then, this newly colored tone gets the EQ boost, which then reveals how that color has effected your original track at various frequencies. This is why certain classic gear often has a reputation for being paired with certain instruments... API EQs on guitars... Neve EQs on drums... of course, it's all subjective and based on personal taste... But I'd say it depends on your goal: if you're trying to shape your original tone while retaining it's character--subtractive would be my go-to... but if I'm seeking to reveal things inside the track and color it up, I'd think: additive EQ, then immediately consider what character I want to achieve, then it's "31 flavors" time... and then it's fun to explore how different EQs color the tone... the differences between various EQs can be super-dramatic... and then you get into adding overt harmonic distortion before or after the EQ (with tape, tube or transformer drive simulation) and it gets even more complex... there's so much to it... I've been at it over 25 years and I still find and/or learn new little tricks... #nerd
I made a lot of recordings where I intuitively used boosting but with guilt, because those who knew told me it was wrong. Now I understand that my ears were leading me on the right track. Thank you!!!! Excellent video.
After watching tone of videos about EQ on RUclips I finally have learned how it works and it’s exactly the way you described in this video. Yesterday I finished my first song, all produced, mixed and mastered by me and I’m pretty happy with the result so I have to thank you Colt, your videos have been so helpful, you are a very understandable person, all your tutorials are extremely clear in the topic you are talking about. Please keep doing this, I’m pretty sure it’s helping a lot of people all around the world.
You will get the exact same phase shift if you cut or boost.
I measured in SMAART.
If you cut, the phase will shift one way, if you boost it shifts the exact same amount in the opposite direction. The reason it sounds different when you boost then when you cut is because the phase shift on one is earlier then the phase shift on other!!! Kinda fun!
I appreciate that you open the door wide for different mixing techniques - no gold standard attitude. If it sounds good, it is good.
This is both a great rebuttal to the critical comments, but also a generous and helpful instruction on a pro's approach to eq and mix decisions... Excellent video, Colt!
Man... its so great to have you on YT!!!
There's a reason your videos are blowing up the way they are - honestly one of the most solid tutorials/walk-through's I've seen in a very long time regarding boosts vs. cuts. Thanks for this and keep it up, Colt!
As a relatively new person to making music, boosting seems less complicated. It's funny, I had pro review a track of mine for feedback and he gave me two youtube videos to watch on EQ, one was the one you made with boosting, the other was a guy that said cutting is the proper way. So naturally, I was confused lmao. Thanks for clearing this up.
....way back in the day, WHAT ?
48 or 56 channel consoles were in the 1980s !
I'm from way back in the day, I started building gear in 1959 and I was recording in 1961.
One (1) track.
My Dad was active in the 20s, make that 1920s, he talked about musicians playing into the megaphone, direct to wax, yup REAL wax !
That's old.
Nice presentation, Colt !
Bill P.
Brah, that is fantastic! Great, data-driven way to make an excellent point. I think one additional reason that people adopt the "only cut" philosophy comes from dealing with PA systems: in that environment, I was always told not to unintentionally overdrive the speakers and possibly damage them. But then: I was a drummer for most of the Nineties and proudly avoided the "knobs and fiddly bits" of rock-n-roll. No longer!
Thanks for a great vid! Subscribed.
Nicely done, Colt. I've been producing and mixing for 25yrs and my simple formula is:
Cartoons for cutting;
Hardware for boosting.
There's a reason an API 550 has a +12dB range... ;)
I used to confused about boost and cut, because a lot of tutorials keep saying they are different. But you phase switch test convinced me, there is no different between two methods, that is mind opening. Thank you Colt!
That dude literally commented saying your video was bad advice hahaha. Keep up what you're doing my man.
That dude was just asking questions and looking for some clarity.
I take the approach of - I got a mixer, I put the manual in the closet and learned how to use it. I got a synth, manual got tossed in closet. I basically do what I want. I think that's so good to experiment for yourself before watching all these types of videos no doubt.
As few of moves as possible. Them’s key words. New sub. Thanks for doing the thing and broadcasting it. You’re an inspiration to those of us aspiring to do the thing from home.
You are GOLD Colt, I deeply thank you for sharing your knowledge with us 🙏🏼
First of all, I was one of the comments :D thanks a lot for making this video and putting so much thought into it, it's very sympathetic that you questioned yourself about it after reading all these comments, I definetely feel you lol.
I've actually watched a mixing masterclass of Bob Power who said that boosting should mostly be avoided. That's how I came to this believe, which I tested and thought it made sense :D I, too do cut to get rid of annoying frequencies and boost to power up missing ones. But most of the time cutting is enough to me, I just boost some low bass or kick frequencies or the highs to brighten up snares and percussion. What's also important if you boost low frequencies is to cut the just above frequeny a little bit to avoid muddiness in the low end.
To me, honestly, the cut version in your video sounded slightly better. If you think about it, there are highpass and lowpass filters and not the other way around like highboost and lowboost filter, right?
Would be nice to hear your opinion on it :]
Keep up the good work, cyu!
Shelving EQ is the inverse of HPF/LPF...
I think the best steel man interpretation of the ‘don’t boost’ argument is that boosting=louder=sounds better because louder. Doing it on solo’d elements they might have a point. In context of a mix louder individual elements don’t create that louder/better effect (for me at least.) That initial mid eq video is a super cool way of getting consistency in mixing. Great one 🙏🏻
I think the only potential danger of boosting is if you boost a lot - like 5-10 dB - it'll always sound better, because louder always sounds better. So it might sometimes sound better because the overall sound is louder, not because the tone is better.
That said, great idea, with the phase cancellation. Awesome video!
Don’t know how I found you but watched your mid range video . And it just flipped a switched in my head . Thanks for that bro . Then I watched your mix into your mix bus video . And now this . I’m officially a subscriber. Good stuff man
I always preferred eq boosts as my first step in mixing. Sort of to give every layer their own territory before worrying about overlaps and where to cut. I kept doing this despite hearing the advice of cuts only but I'll admit, it hurt my confidence. This was a really nice exercise and definitely makes me feel a little more secure in what I naturally felt was right for me. Just subscribed, keep it up
New to your channel. Enjoying your posts. I’m a classical music engineer and I found your eq philosophies all valid. My decision around boosting or cutting involves harmonics and instrument and room resonances. Whenever addressing a problem frequency I will want to confirm that the issue I’m trying to fix could not be better solved by cutting or boasting a harmonic further up the octave. This is all in an effort to be as efficient as possible using the fewest moves needed. Thanks again for your channel.
Cole they hatin bru don't even sweat..yo gear get hotter than that hate. They young and novice. Yeen even have to make this vid you a G.O.A.t I remember seeing you tune in on Pensados Place as soon as you left a comment I left one also. I believe in you big dawg. (Aargggh)Blessings.
Man, love your honesty and transparency about the subject 1000% i agreed...Also tired of the bunch BS online from "experts " , your take was on the money , no rules , what ever it takes to get the result you and your client are after ..God bless bro !! stay safe !! Cheers !!!
Awesome video! You remind me a lot of a couple teachers I had back at MI of Hollywood way back in 2006. Been a good decade of busy with work, wife, and now kids and I haven't touched any mixing or writing in over 10 years. Just picked up an apolllo twin and loaded up Luna and was taken back to a lot of fun. Great videos!
Fletcher Munson Curve can explain alot about your method. Great video, bro! Cheers!
Im always amazed that ppl starts complaining about how someone uses his EQ when he (Colt) have done this for over 15(!) years :)
The more experienced you are, the more scrutiny you have to apply to yourself, as you can fool and delude yourself using your own experience. For example, if you go to an ER and ask on the power tool amputation cases, you'll find that the vast majority of them happened to experienced workers who knew what they were doing, however, their experience made them over confident and caused them to put themselves in risks no beginneer would.
@@BrunodeSouzaLino so beginners know more than colt capperune lmao 😂
@@Willifordwav You're missing the point. You should *never* blindly follow adivce from people without context or without questioning it first. If CLA told you that smearing cow shit on your face gaves you a better mix perception, would you do it? After all, he's more successful than you and has been doing it longer than you.
someone finally said it :) also, boosting on an analog device (or emulation) can affect harmonics generated depending on the circuit as well definitely. and boosting or cutting creates phase shifts within that frequency in virtually the same way. it's literally just the shape of the phase shifts you're hearing, or the original spectral balance of the original input that gives it a space in the mix
Loving the scientific approach you apply and the way you explain things. Your mid range vid has already made a big difference to my mixing. Just wanted to say Thanks man, also looking forward to watching your other vids.
Yo Colt, my last mix-listen in my car was amazing, and it was after taking your advice on the last video with your hints and ideas. I was blown away haha. Thanks for doing the research and experiment to shine even more light on EQ topics.
One rule of thumb I use, small cuts to correct problems and keep something sounding similar. Larger boosts to make something sound different. Large boost and cuts are more musical. Small cuts and boosts are more surgical or clinical.
absolutely agree! I have some presets for room recordings using 3 parametric EQs, 2 for cutting and 1 for overall shaping, works great ;-)
Awesome video ! I remember a gig with a band as a drummer (I'm a musician AND a technician) and the sound guy comes to me and says that my Kick sample doesn't have enough low end. So I tell him "boost the low end" and then he starts to tell that bullshit that you only have to use cutting EQ and not boosting, and blabla, and it happens that this guy who is an old man does teach sometimes in a sound ingeneer school... If it sounds good, it is good, and there is no rule, I told him that but he was stubborn xD
Appreciate the follow-up! I think the reality is that most frequency energy in music is in that range referenced in the prior video, that's where muddiness and problems come in. I don't think the issue is phase headroom or noise or even BOOST vs CUT, but more about allocating range and pocketing eq and not just reaching for the boost (or cut) to solve everything. That seemed a bit ambiguous in that last video.
Ah, much better video than the previous eq video... great :)
Sir that magic mid range video is a game changer. Thanks for sharing the knowledge with us. I hope you become a big on RUclips very soon ❤️
honestly since you uploaded the midrange video I got my mixes to sound incredibly better, couldn't thank you enough. Keep it up
I guess this is exactly why I won't mix someone else's poorly recorded sources. I'm not anyone's clean up boy! I want to control the quality of the source before I switch to mixing. I truly respect what Colt does and I especially identify with having escaped Peoria myself. So, we all have access to plenty of source material in the wild to build our mix templates from. This is especially useful when you are facing audio fatigue and find yourself using your visual queues more than your audio queues.
What is everyone getting the most success with sourcing their templates with before switching to automation?
I view automation as a way of branding with fresh ears and intervention where needed, the heavy lifting that usually burns out our critical ear has been pre determined, set as a brand, and left for final review. Make sense?
Please respond and thank you all for that voodoo that you do!
Colt - I am a longtime musician - now trying to learn production. I am thankful for your help! Your videos are great!
Great video! I appreciate that you mentioned Phase and headroom as a concern. It just seems that people are taking considerations and making them "rules" and then preaching the misinformation as if they are the experts. I would like to add that the idea also came from the use of passive versus active EQ's and the characteristics that the gain stage had on boosting in some cases, but again that was a "sound" to consider. Also the asymmetrical shapes of some eq curves were a factor in the decision which matches your philosophy on how you cut and boost. Basically, if it sounds good, it is good. Boost/Cut/mold/mangle do what ever, just know what is involved when you do so and what you may be trading off.
Gems upon gems my friend thank you fr clarifying .!
THIS IS SO GOOD ! YOU OPENED TO ME A WHOLE NEW WORLD AND WAY TO WORK ON MIXES.
The great thing about mixing is there are multiple ways of getting a good result and what sounds "good' or better is very subjective. Boost when you need to and cut when you need to just follow your instincts.
Old School engineers who I grew up around use to say cut before you boost because of TAPE, boosting caused the noise floor to rise so this is where it came from. I remember getting the first DAT recorders which ran at 16 bit 32K or 44.1 and the idea of cutting first died that day. From the moment we went digital with the noise floor below -60 the old saying of cut before you boost faded away. I think that was around 1996. But some teachers still cling to this old school idea because it was drilled into their heads during the tape era. But if you boost a lot with Tape you have to use dramatic Dolby or DBX noise reduction which kills the punch of a song so you had those factors to consider. But in the world of 24 bit audio the noise floor is a non issue if you record at even low levels.
Nice video and you are right experimenting is the key 👌🏾 Cut and boost as much as you need to
I was taught " it's better to cut than boost"or " I cut instead of boosting". Now I'm re educating my engineering
Dude this is the best video I've seen on this!
Some honest and great videos that anyone at any stage of their audio career can understand. Keep 'em coming Colt.
Brother your videos are very practical and intelligible. New fan😇😇🙏
MIND BLOWN. LITERALLY... 0 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOOSTING AND CUTTING... I WENT TO COLLEGE FOR THIS BRO... THEY DIDN'T TEACH ME THIS.
Thanks for watching!
Boost or cut in a controlled environment like a studio makes sense. No problem there. But in the live world boosting can be problematic. You can’t just boost for that bite, grit or shimmer without reaching the threshold of feedback. I’ve seen plenty of young engineers crank certain frequencies and then wonder why the PA or monitors are feeding back.
i wish so many people will watch this video , super important.
also ive learned a lot of stuff that are off topic.
theres always more to learn from you , great video
Never seen any of your vids before. Excellent stuff. This is exactly what I have always done and have always thought. It is natural logic to me. Very pleased to hear it from an evident pro. Makes me feel happier about my mixing. Now going to watch your Midrange vid.
Tell Chris Lord Alge to cut EQ and he will tell you to go pound sand! LOL
I was going to say the same thing. I'm sure he only used cuts in all his Grammy winning stuff ;)
but what that changes ? nothing. eq is a tonallity shaping tool and thats it.
Recording to tape is an entire different animal than digital. Unlike digital, tape has self noise you can hear.
This is awesome. At last somebody who tells it how it is and not follow a bunch of set rules. I always assumed boosting would make something sound better. Really like these videos 👍
This is amazing. Really nice channel bro, I thought the same when watching your previous video. You nailed that one. Thumbs up !
This is how I use EQ, does that mean I'm a pro now? Just kidding, if it sounds good it sounds good
Yes. You are a pro ;)
My mixes suck a lot still... But I still kinda like to make music and melodies and fiddling with synths... Makes me happy...
But snare sounds like shit xD
Thank you for making it clear about the magic is in the mid range. You opened my mind and my tracks has changed dramatically. I so 😊
loving your videos man, learning alot. my take away from this one is "cut problems -boost tone" and to trust my ears. thanks for teaching
I've always understood the argument to be about analog or analog modeled eq's. When you boost it you're adding more harmonics which would be more aliasing, but all ya have to do is oversample it and it's fine. Also boosting with an analog eq is going to boost some analog mojo where only cutting with an analog eq is not going to impart the same mojo. Now maybe one of those sounds better than the other, that's all up to how you hear it. If you never boost with a neve or api eq you're missing out on some great tone and attitude. I've always thought that these "always do this, never do this" rules I've heard are silly. Whenever I hear one of these myths I do a test to see what I think, or what I like better. Which I think is the point here - do your own test and use your ears. Great video, keep up the good work!
Add in that you want to lean towards subtractive EQ for live mixing, not because its "superior" like the old heads will scream at you, but, you DO have noise floor in live and you run the risk of mixing yourself into feedback. This doesnt mean DONT boost it means ONLY use it when its necessary.
On a side note this was fantastic!
Love your videos man... Great Great stuff ! Finally... WHAT COMES OUT OF THE SPEAKERS IS ALL WHAT MATTERS ... Right ?
You are a pro... and its your... EARS & YEARS !!!!
Peace all.... Rezi... Love from Sri Lanka... 🎉🎉🎉
Great vid! As you said - if it sounds good, it is good. (Until you wake up the next morning and realise it isn’t 🤣)
This changed my whole mind about using EQ I was going about it the "right way" for so long. Mixing can be like chess. You want to make the fewest moves possible to win. Right is relative. Thank you!
Fuckin GENIOUS explanation to the full bottom
You beat me to it! This was a video Idea I had considered doing for a while now.
Great job
I was booting 3k on my fav hat while mixing on iPad. The tone sounded sexy to
me but my first thought was ‘oh no you can’t boost’. I automatically turned down
the gain and it was perfect. Doing that started to break the rule for me and your video
has confirmed what I felt at a gut level. You’ve helped me see it on a technical level
so I don’t end up forgetting anything. Cheers man.
USE YOUR EARS! So true. Well done!
Well explained, I was always too lazy to actually explain it from the ground up and include examples - therefore, can't help but save link to this video and send people here to help them and to hopefully give you some extra viewers ;) And that's a golden rule #1 what you said - "Do not just believe everything you hear, always check it!" - I approve the scientific method of making decisions based on your own experiences and observations. Things coming from acclaimed pros can often turn out to be just a myth. It is a little bit of facepalm-type situation but also it has its beauty. At the end of the day, the culture of audio recording exists for long enough and in its core, it always was an entirely personal experience (and will stay this way) that it even has its own worshippers.
I often like to say this: Physically speaking, the acoustic wave in air is just a series of changing air pressure that travels in some direction, the sound is just imaginary, basically, you just hear things in your head. Sound is the perception of the vibrating air by the brain. The brain is sensitive enough to "see" the difference between tones and sounds depending on i.e. how frequently the air pressure is changing (which in physics, we represent in frequency units [Hz]) and many other factors. There is often the discussion about analogue vs. digital, imperfect vs. perfect, warmth/dark vs. cold/bright. That's pointless, it's interesting and sometimes enlightening but lacks a definitive meaning. So in case you got lost, you don't quite get it and can't decide - just know that it doesn't matter, all of it, analogue, digital, warm, cold, pure or distorted - it all goes through the A/I converter on both, its way in and way out - it gets converted from analogue to imaginary.
Colt, your color correction has been on point lately! Great info as always.
wow, great video man. the point here is, do what works for you. Big thumbs up! you are a great contributor to our mixing Community!!!
Another highly informative video. Great inspiration for my own channel and music production! Thanks, Colt!
Best tutorials without the B.S. on so many other channels.
Well said.... a lot of people just follow blindly and this is wrong.... great video dude
wow llife changing for me love the nulling test: Do you hear anything? i dont! wahwahwaha love it
I've been of the cutting rather than boosting fraternity. But I started boosting alongside cutting and am actually getting better results now....
Im starting to like my own mix after watching your magic video.thanks master Colt🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
In the days of tape we were boosting highs on the way in and then cut some in the mix to avoid noise........Also when there were not enough eq boost in a channel we were patching it to another one and boost the hell out of it..........So yes cut to solve problems boost to shape sound....
Agreed 100% Cut to fix.. Boost for tone shaping. At least that how I've been mixing for 30+ years. Your last video was great. So I got off my lazy ass and fixed my Auratone. I'm now again spending half my time mixing in them... and guess what!! my mixes sound better again. Thanks !!!
WOW thanks man i been always cutting cause my teacher three years ago told me that digital audio is harsh and cuts of at around 16 herts and any friquency above that is digital noice therfore unlike analogue we should cut then gain it back up it reduces the brittle nature of digital audio but you showed me that its the same thing thank you
Dig the the videos Colt... and this one is such a good topic... so controversial! haha.
I think the magic really happens when you get specific about why and especially HOW you cut/boost... but especially how you boost. When it comes to boost frequencies... not all boosts are the same! That's why all the plugin companies put so much work into modeling various EQs: they sound different. There's a super fun experiment that can really be paradigm shifting.... pick 4 different EQs and do the same DRASTIC (10db or more) eq boosts on all 4 EQs. I find it especially cool to try with boost in any range above 1k. You'll instantly hear drastic differences in the tonal character of each EQ and they'll be tattoo'd in your "mind's ear"... one will likely be more grainy than the others... one more smooth... another might be really metallic or "ringy"... I've found it super helpful to understand the character of various EQs through exploring what they sound like via this drastic exploration method. Suddenly the pallet of options becomes super clear..... then when I hear a track and start to EQ, I'll reach for the EQ with the CHARACTER I want... rather than just always thinking "I just need some anonymous Xhz turned up (or down)". This would be a GREAT video of its own: Not all EQ is the same!
Oh and... different plugins (especially modeled ones) have a "sound"... do that same boost/cut/phase test thing again, but this time throw a Scheps 1073 on one of the tracks (with no EQ moves).. then flip the phase and hear what tone the modeling is adding... then throw a Puigtec on and do it...
Great videos Colt. Thanks for sharing your tips
Thank you for doing these basic and very valuable videos - these topics should have been addressed as clearly as you have long ago. We all appreciate you doing these. Forces me to clearify my thinking. Here it is: IMO: Less is almost always more. Here is why: I am trying to teach myself to expose the frequencies i like by cutting adjacent frequencies....Why dont I just add amplitude at 3k - wouldnt that be easier?
The emotional soul is where? Sure mid range carries most of it. However the soul of the songs in prog metal i like is closer to the bass guitar. Listen with your ears for problems, listen with your heart for soul. Reveal problems: 1) sweep the amplitude accross the entire range - "notch out the problems with parimentric...once those irritating parts are gone 2) listen with your heart - of course most of any song with guitar and vocals is going to be in the mid range - louder often sounds better - how ever - when you expose something by adding - you will cover something else that i probably really like...Why cutting is better: you wont cause yourself problems with going into the yellow if you only cut - if you add - AND you are already ready using all the available clean bandwidth - which you should be - you will have a problem and need to reduce the volumne. of EVERYthing to stay clean.... Summary - the soul and the sound is in the midrange - adding causes 2 problems while cutting does not - therefor if there is no difference as you have proven with your phase shift experiment - then cutting is THE preferred methiod - dont let your ears fool you - louder always sounds better - or does it"?