What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies?

Author
Philip
Max Output Level: -34.5 dBFS
  • Total Posts : 4062
  • Joined: 2007/03/21 13:09:13
  • Status: offline
2010/04/13 02:54:58 (permalink)

What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies?

I.e.:
For snare drums: 125Hz?  (q-0.7)
For guitars: 125Hz?
For bass guitar: 30Hz?
For kick drum: 30Hz?
Cymbals, hats: 650Hz?
Piano and orchestrals: 125Hz?
Lead Vox: 125 to 225Hz?
Backing Vocs: 125Hz?
For masters: 30Hz (q=1+)
 
Also, I boost 47Hz on the kick and/or master sometimes.
My low end from about 60 to 120 is about 3dcbs above the rest of the mix.
 
But, I'm trying to solidify the low end as per your ideas.  Thanks for your ideas (great or small)

Philip  
(Isa 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD)

Raised-Again 3http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12307501
#1

12 Replies Related Threads

    skullsession
    Max Output Level: -57.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 1765
    • Joined: 2006/12/05 10:32:06
    • Location: Houston, TX, USA
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 06:53:23 (permalink)
    Hard to answer, Phillip.

    It all changes depending on the song and the way it was tracked.

    I record a lot of different players here, so sounds vary quite widely.  Some players and sounds need different treatment....for example;  a live drum kit throws out all the rules to begin with.  Every kit is quite different - kick, snare, toms, etc.  Different sizes and tunings emphasize different fundamental frequencies.  It's strictly on a case by case basis here.

    But...your basic approach seems somewhat "normal".  I always try to be careful to not suck all the life out of things with HPF.

    One of the tricks I use is a sub.  It stays off for most of the mix.  I only fire it up on occasion to see what's happening that I'm missing.  When I've got it right, the sub fires a certain way.  If there's a problem, I can always tell exactly what it is by shutting off the mains, just listening to the sub.

    HOOK:  Skullsessions.com  / Darwins God Album

    "Without a doubt I would have far greater listening and aural skills than most of the forum members here. Not all but many I am sure....I have done more listening than most people." - Jeff Evans on how awesome Jeff Evans is.
    #2
    Philip
    Max Output Level: -34.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 4062
    • Joined: 2007/03/21 13:09:13
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 08:18:55 (permalink)
    Thanks SkullSession; you've ID'd my problem; I've always had problems 'losing' a bit of the subs. 

    Car 'woofers' can easily get over/under whelmed and I'm looking for some lazy pearls to magnify/glorify subwoofers without getting too much rumble.

    I'll see about adding a sub-monitor (sub-woofer) as you describe.
    post edited by Philip - 2010/04/13 08:22:18

    Philip  
    (Isa 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD)

    Raised-Again 3http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12307501
    #3
    Beagle
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 50621
    • Joined: 2006/03/29 11:03:12
    • Location: Fort Worth, TX
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 09:10:22 (permalink)
    Philip - I don't automatically HPF everything, but I do try to HPF some things to keep the mud out of the mix.

    I've got a chart on my website with EQ "starting" recommendations.  I don't recommend everyone use ALL of the recommendations on every track, I recommend using EQ as minimally as possible, but the chart shows how you can help tracks you think you need something EQ'd.

    http://soundcloud.com/beaglesound/sets/featured-songs-1
    i7, 16G DDR3, Win10x64, MOTU Ultralite Hybrid MK3
    Yamaha MOXF6, Hammond XK3c, other stuff.
    #4
    dlogan
    Max Output Level: -50 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 2544
    • Joined: 2006/02/17 09:34:16
    • Location: Kansas City, Missouri
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 09:29:51 (permalink)
    I'm most likely to HPF kick drum, bass and guitar. Oh and vocals.  For kick and bass, it depends but somewhere between 30-34Hz usually. For guitar, I might be closer to 200Hz, but probably with a more gentle curve than I would use on kick / bass. On vocals, it is probably more a variable based on the singer's voice and range, but you can always use a spectrum analyzer to help you.  But really if you're looking to solidify the low end, the kick and bass are going to make the most difference. But the low end of the guitar and some male vocals if you clean up so of the lower frequencies with a HPF it can help you keep your mid-lows from being muddy. That's a range where I've found it helps to carve a space for everything, especially in a dense mix. If you're just recording a solo acoustic guitar piece, you probably don't need a HPF. But when you've also got piano, electric guitar, bass, etc. it usually helps to use HPF/LPF EQ to focus it down to its fundamental frequencies.
    #5
    batsbrew
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 10037
    • Joined: 2007/06/07 16:02:32
    • Location: SL,UT
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 10:31:10 (permalink)
    my guitar amp has a eq slider on 80 hz.


    LOL




    Bats Brew music Streaming
    Bats Brew albums:
    "Trouble"
    "Stay"
    "The Time is Magic"
    --
    Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
     
    #6
    The Maillard Reaction
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 31918
    • Joined: 2004/07/09 20:02:20
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 18:10:18 (permalink)
    Another thing that can be used to tighten up the bass on a mix is to use a Mid Side approach where you run a bit more aggressive lo-cut on the Side energy while leaving the mid energy more or less where you usually do.

    best regards,
    mike


    #7
    CJaysMusic
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 30423
    • Joined: 2006/10/28 01:51:41
    • Location: Miami - Fort Lauderdale - Davie
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 20:19:40 (permalink)
    .e.: For snare drums: 125Hz? (q-0.7) For guitars: 125Hz? For bass guitar: 30Hz? For kick drum: 30Hz? Cymbals, hats: 650Hz? Piano and orchestrals: 125Hz? Lead Vox: 125 to 225Hz? Backing Vocs: 125Hz? For masters: 30Hz (q=1+)

    It depends what there set to, but having a high pass set at 30hz in my opinion is too low for any instrument.
    The curve depends on so many things that having a set point at how you set each one up cannot be done.
    I do put a highpass on everytihng though...
    Cj

    www.audio-mastering-mixing.com - A Professional Worldwide Audio Mixing & Mastering Studio, Providing Online And Attended Sessions. We also do TV commercials, Radio spots & spoken word books
    Audio Blog
    #8
    ShadDOH
    Max Output Level: -70 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 1027
    • Joined: 2009/12/31 20:50:02
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 22:04:44 (permalink)
    1 hz... How low can you go?


    Please pray for Foxwolfen, pray for peace for him. And an end to any deception, anger, and hatred around him or influencing him.   


    My stuff is here,  http://www.reverbnation.com/rockinrobby 

     




    #9
    Rbh
    Max Output Level: -52 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 2349
    • Joined: 2007/09/05 22:33:44
    • Location: Indiana
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 22:33:08 (permalink)
    I HPF typically the mid and lower mid range instruments like clean guitars and rhodes around 225 - 250 hz, I occasionally filter 5 string bass at about 50 HZ - depending on the slope.

    I7 930 2.8 Asus PDX58D
    12 Gig
    Appollo
    CbB, Sonar Pro, Reaper, Samplitude, MixBuss
     Win7 Pro

    http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=902832
    #10
    Philip
    Max Output Level: -34.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 4062
    • Joined: 2007/03/21 13:09:13
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/13 23:35:55 (permalink)
    You all have excellent 3-D ideas for tightening/solidifying your low-end.

    Some of my low ends are so tight and completely 'cut out' ... it's as if they run independently within the mix (into the car-woofer). 

    Like, now I'm only hearing the bass and kick in my car's woofer!

    Look what they've done to my song, John (heehee).

    Well, I'm gonna re-read all your thoughts and ponder on them.

    Philip  
    (Isa 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD)

    Raised-Again 3http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12307501
    #11
    batsbrew
    Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 10037
    • Joined: 2007/06/07 16:02:32
    • Location: SL,UT
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/14 10:32:34 (permalink)
    you know, seriously, my HPF's are all over the place, and change from song to song.

    i change up my bass chain, for example, pretty often, and sometimes it comes in already dialed in, sometimes not, so i'm always searching for the balance of pure tone verus WOOF

    so, i've found that, again, you just have to trust your ears on a track by track basis first, then as it's all combined, you have to TRAIN your ears to recognize MASKING.

    number one mix killer, IMHO



    you know what would be a good excercise, would be to output all the backing tracks one by one, and run them thru something like HARBAL, to see what the actual EQ curve signature is of each part.

    you could add up everything that's happening below 100hz, and figure how much of that is collecting and MASKING...

    and figure out which tracks needed more aggressive HPF

    then, you could HEAR what is happening, and that's how you could train your ears to understand what's going on.


    Bats Brew music Streaming
    Bats Brew albums:
    "Trouble"
    "Stay"
    "The Time is Magic"
    --
    Sonar 6 PE>Bandlab Cakewalk>Studio One 3.5>RME BFP>i7-7700 3.6GHz>MSI B250M>G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB>Samsung 960 EVO m.2ssd>W 10 Pro
     
    #12
    Philip
    Max Output Level: -34.5 dBFS
    • Total Posts : 4062
    • Joined: 2007/03/21 13:09:13
    • Status: offline
    Re:What Are Your Lowest-HPF Frequencies? 2010/04/14 23:37:22 (permalink)
    Thanks Bat, RBH, Beag, CJ, Mike, Dlogan,

    You know I cherish your patient thoughts as I listen to your music.  You help me a get it right always!

    Philip  
    (Isa 5:12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD)

    Raised-Again 3http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12307501
    #13
    Jump to:
    © 2025 APG vNext Commercial Version 5.1