The Backwards Way of EQ’ing to Fight Masked Vocals

One Minute EQ Trick - The Importance of Filters for Clearing Up Your Low-End

Today’s tip will be a simple one, but so very useful when you’re trying to get instruments to fit together.

I did this the other day when I was mixing vocals and the instruments were always cluttering up the vocal.

If I pulled the fader up the vocal was too loud.

If I left it alone some instruments started crowding it so it didn’t sound clear.

I’m sure that’s a common problem.

But…

Usually people approach from the vocal track. You might start boosting some mids in order to get it to punch through the other instruments. Or you might compress the vocal too much just to get it to sit better on top of the mix.

Unfortunately both of those approaches might not work.

Then it’s time to leave the vocal alone and start focusing on the tracks that are actually in the way.

So that’s when this trick comes in handy, and look, I even made easy to follow steps!

Step 1 – Make the vocal sound as good as you can.
Step 2 – Find the instruments that are clashing with the vocals (let’s use the bass as an example).
Step 3 – Use an EQ to boost and sweep around the mids. Find the area where the bass is masking the vocals the most.
Step 4 – Cut the bass in that EQ area until the vocals sound cleaner.
Step 5 – Rinse and repeat for other instruments if needed.

Creating frequency clashes by boosting makes it easier to hear where you need to cut. It’s a lot easier than guesswork and reducing frequencies in other instruments to make room for your most important ones makes your EQ’ing cleaner.

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The Ultimate Guide

That’s just a typical example of the easy to follow and practical tips found within EQ Strategies – The Ultimate Guide to EQ. Here’s what a recent customer had to say about the guide:

I love the way you broke down the different frequencies and explained how and why each are so important in each instrument. The book is concise and to the point, no bull, just the facts! I would recommend it to anyone interested in mixing and mastering. -Edward Snow

Grab your guide right here and start your EQ’ing off on the right track (no pun intended!)

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