hi-end build up

PolarityMan

Ive noticed something that happens quite a bit with my mix which is a build up of harsh high frequencies. Ive narrowed it down to the guitars and overheads. Ive tried cutting one or both in the offending frequencies, and that helps when its turned up, but it robs a lot of vibe and energy when listening at normal volumes.

Any tips for handling this?

Stuckfast

When you say 'high frequencies', which frequencies do you mean? I usually think of harshness as being in the 1.5k to 3.5k region rather than in the top end as such.

spark240

Dynamic EQ ?

PolarityMan

Stuckfast said:

When you say 'high frequencies', which frequencies do you mean? I usually think of harshness as being in the 1.5k to 3.5k region rather than in the top end as such.

I'd say around 3-5khz..but I've found narrow cuts not to remove it that easily, have to go quite broad.

PolarityMan

spark240 said:

Dynamic EQ ?

Are you thinking across the culprit buses or right on the mix bus?

Nerine

There’s not really any simple answer for this. The tendency is to add brightness to sources to make them more exciting. 

But if you EQ in solo, you’re just going to end up with a cumulative buildup of all that high end energy. 

Rather than adding highs to something to give it clarity, conventional wisdom suggests to remove low end. That way you aren’t accentuating any harshness. 

That said, it takes a deft hand and I don’t tend to cut very much because you can very easily remove good stuff. 

As a thought experiment, try mixing the track using busses. 

Bus out your tracks to stereo busses. 

So drums, parallel drums, bass, rhythm guitars, lead guitars, vocals, background vocals etc. 

Start by manipulating the EQ and compression on the busses before diving in to the individual tracks and use some broader boosts rather than severe dollops on individual sources. You may find you actually need a whole lot less EQ to make everything sit nicely together. Using broader boosts help prevent buildup in problem areas. It’s easy to overwhelm a track with buildups of 2-4kHz. 

Personally, I’m mostly an additive EQ’er. And I 99% of the time EQ into compression. 

Remember that volume is also the most fundamental mixing tool you have. 

Can’t hear the guitars? Add more volume and less top end. I know it’s not always as straightforward as that, as you may need to dip a few frequencies that are rubbing against other things, but that’s largely dependent on the source material, too, but you get my drift. 

Maybe have an analyser strapped across your master output too so you can visually inspect if you are starting to get a bit of a buildup in some areas. 

Nerine

I’ll also add that a dynamic EQ or a multiband compressor on your output is a bit of a band aid solution and isn’t really addressing the issue.