Fix Guitars With The "All Boost" EQ Trick From Joe Carrell

[@Producelikeapro]

What are some of your favourite EQ plugins you use?

[@Czyszy]

proq3, because I'm just super used to its GUI. Also, Ozone has the best Match EQ.

[@anubhavlangthasa4203]

90% of the time it's the stock Pro tools EQ plugin. The rest of the 10% is some Waves, McDsp or FabFilter EQs.

[@DeltaWhiskeyBravo13579]

Excellent tips on pro mixing. My current favorite EQ plugin I own is the Pulsar Audio Massive. I'm doing broad stroke EQ edits. My 2 big things I love doing with this Massive is low and high shelf boosts with the Q almost far right, seeming to give an opposing bell. It's also good at giving some analog vibe, which I get just by dropping on the channel insert and turning it on.

[@timbushong4387]

Lately I've been thrilled with the EQ on the Brainworx Focusrite channel strip - it is so responsive and pleasant-sounding! If all I need is a nice, basic, Pultec-range EQ, I seem to be reaching for the free Sonimus SonEQ. Not for surgical stuff, but it's just a nice musical-sounding plug - it lives on my kick 'in' mic. I used to use the UAD Cambridge EQ (no more USD-1 card!), and still have an affinity for the Waves Ren EQ. Great ideas on the vid here.

[@Ryan_Messenger]

Pultec EQ 👍

[@zuu1701]

Dude Joe Carrell always has the most amazing and often weird and wonderful mixing tips and tricks. He’s a great communicator too. Excellent video.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you man! I appreciate it

[@Protocol_17]

Joe seems like the professional’s professional, but still relatable.

[@Producelikeapro]

We appreciate that!

[@joeschlicht]

I couldn't have said that better.

[@Ilove1073s]

It's actually not that weird, I saw a mastering engineer on this channel that said he uses an ear eq with "pre boosted' frequencies that gave excitement to the sound without changing the frequency response, I think it was Gavin Lurssen

[@HalcyonGuitars]

I’m just impressed at how well that acoustic sits in the mix…

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

🎉🎉🎉

[@Producelikeapro]

Yes, rather marvellous!

[@Producelikeapro]

You Rock@@InTheMixJoeCarrell

[@roomofidiots]

I recorded/edited the drums on this song! Did it in my living room!

[@Producelikeapro]

wow! Thanks for stopping by! You did a great job

[@GregWilliamsTU]

Yeah he did!!

[@spiritsoundzlab7636]

Been doing this lately on groups and brings a ton of tone to the mix quickly. A simple waves R-EQ does magic

[@SylvanPaul]

I love this concept. Gonna try this on my Hendyamps Michelangelo and my API 5500! Also will try with some digital EQs too!

[@pablovazquez8386]

For Joe carrell; I love what the curve bender does. You can continue cutting, or maybe it's not the same, you have the side options, which you can enter with more signal to the plugin, and then compensate. in a digital way. I don't know if I understand myself, I'm sorry, English is not my first language (not even my second actually, haha)

[@doug.heartstringssound]

Joe, love your details and communication you use. It's very easy to follow and understand. I especially like your discussion on how or when you'll abuse hardware intentionally and why. Great ideas!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you Doug!

[@bwall615]

Joe, you make the best videos on line. Your demonstrations are top notch. Thank you!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you!!

[@psychologygallery]

Awesome Video and Information, Joe! Many Thanks!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

You’re very welcome!

[@RC32Smiths01]

It's always fantastic to see inside tricks that are lent down as information by greats and experts who know the things or two. Cheers

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@RC32Smiths01]

@@InTheMixJoeCarrell Certainly a pleasure to see

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks RC32

[@Producelikeapro]

You Rock@@InTheMixJoeCarrell

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for your continued support@@RC32Smiths01

[@gbaxter6465]

Wow, my mind is blown. What an amazing treatment.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@Joey-rp5vg]

Thanks for taking the time to show that great tip, cheers Joe. Big thanks to the PLAP team

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks for watching Joey!

[@Producelikeapro]

Our pleasure!

[@thrillerboyrecords]

Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge Joe ❤

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

You’re welcome!!

[@Mix3dbyMark]

this is cool. Spectre does this

[@joeschlicht]

These are amazing tips. Thank you Joe and Warren for this series.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@ArloTarr]

I’m voting this KZbin Mix Engineer video of the year! Lots to think about. Lots to experiment with. Thanks Joe!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you man!!🎉

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for that!

[@Ryan_Messenger]

For heavy guitars, I like to cut everything above 6k and work towards 5k until the high end fizz of the guitar track sits right with the cymbals, vocals and high end of the bass guitar. And for leads, I cut even more top and make it sound darker than the rhythm guitar so it doesn't ice pick the listener to death. As metal as that would be... haha

[@frankyfire-tech]

So this is like multi band saturation. Great Idea and results!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks for watching Franky 🎉

[@peterwierenga3182]

Needed the reminder today on this technique to livening up tracks. Thanks y’all!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you Peter!

[@peterwierenga3182]

@@InTheMixJoeCarrell thank you!

[@rome8180]

Is that a Rode Podmic you're using? It sounds amazing. I wouldn't have expected such a crystal clear and balanced sound out of a $99 microphone. Maybe it's the way you're EQing it or the preamp you're using, but I like the sound better than my SM7B.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Yes sir that’s exactly what it is. Good eye!

[@toddcollins6746]

Thanks for this! Really starting to get into what can be done with EQ beyond the basic cuts and boosts!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching Todd!

[@codycreepcore]

I've definitely done this more than a few times and loved the results

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks Cody

[@kendevries8969]

This was a fascinating video about something rather non-intuitive. I am going to try this in my studio. I am using amp-sims and getting the harshness out without destroying the overall sound has proven very difficult.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Hope this helped!!

[@SpaComputerGalliate]

low pass your guitars with a channel strip filter

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

@@SpaComputerGalliate I always do 👊🏼

[@GloveBunniesVideos]

Awesome video, Joe! I always learn the best tips from you.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@GloveBunniesVideos]

@@InTheMixJoeCarrell Actually, the more I thought about it, the better this technique seemed, not just for guitars but for pretty much everything. By emphasizing the specific frequencies in each channel that brought out the character and strength needed (and level matching), you're actually turning down all the stuff that gets in the way, clearing the way in the mix for other elements and really bringing clarity the the mix bus. Thanks again, Joe!

[@1loveMusic2003]

API and Chandler sounded amazing.

[@Producelikeapro]

Marvellous

[@Protocol_17]

The L50 API channel strip work well with electric guitar tracks. Tape plugins are another fast method to lift guitar out of dense mix. The EQ trick looks usable.

[@sprunknmn]

I love this.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Awesome. Enjoy buddy 🎉

[@GregWilliamsTU]

Joe!! Love this video and thanks for using my tracks dude!!!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@102wingnut]

This is a great plugin! Thanks for the excellent explanation!

[@Producelikeapro]

You're very welcome!

[@truth9397]

Wow, this is amazing stuff.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!!

[@officialWWM]

This is cool. I’m gonna try it.

[@DanielGlenTimms]

Cool trick. My Heritage Audio HA73-500's just kill on tracking guitar cabs, and of course the right amp head and fingers with some soul doesn't hurt. I have definitely encountered guitar tracks like that for mixes I am doing. I will try that trick next time. Thanks

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks Daniel 🎉

[@Todzuum]

I love using api 550 and just boosting 10k by 1 or 2 db.

[@billyhughes9776]

Great trick Joe. For my taste I liked the Curve Bender and the API results the best. Really appreciate you sharing your expertise.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching Billy. Best wishes

[@PurpleMusicProductions]

I did too.

[@lemmeador7996]

Good stuff, Joe. Thanks for sharing!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

You bet!

[@WheelieMix]

Never thought about doing smth like this! And yet I mix on an SSL 4000 almost every day! For the SSL 4000. There is a « bonus » to that as if the input is pushed louder, it’ll tickle the circuit to overload. Unfortunately only UAD emulated that part of the circuit afaik. But it can gives a very aggressive sound combined with your technique. Thanks for sharing!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks for watching!

[@eccentricworx]

I just throw the Softube British Channel on my mastering Channel for the same reason, without touching anything as it has a very smooth saturation per default. A well done Emulation can do wonders indeed!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks for watching!

[@rickyred001]

SSL channel strip v2 is my go to, the eq on that is superb, but i find a saturator and drive plug in does a great job too as soon as you have done your eq-ing. The ssl vintage drive or their saturator plug is great on acoustic guitars.

[@antcall6779]

Great as always Joe!🤘

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you sir!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Marvellous work from Joe!

[@mpasistasyalanci]

I love this technique, the way you hear more of the circuit than the equalization. I use analogue emulation eq s that way a lot , my favorite eq for this use though is the only real analogue unit I have, the eq of a soundcraft signature console. The way the sapphyre style eq sounds with the wider curves when boosting is great. It has a color applied the moment you move the knob away from 0. I ll pass through it signals and then print them to use in the box, I don't do it often though cause I don't like the converters of this console/interface and it is a hustle to go out of the box for recall and time etc. When Ill have the budget I'm going to buy a better interface (maybe a motu) and I ll connect the 2 stereo group outs and the master out to the line ins of the better interface to print groups and to use the console as my preamp stage for recording and as a summing device

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching! Best wishes

[@jimp.7286]

I will store this trick and give it a try soon. I have something that needs help. On a side note; one trick I use to bring life to electric gits that sound flat or two dimensional is a cab impulse. Some folks say never run a cab sim over a cab that's already there or another cab sim. That it's not needed. Is that a rule? We can learn by breaking rules - like boosting every channel of an eq, lol. If I get over-driven guitars with pain frequency buildup, boring,.....or bees in a can, a cab impulse with beefy resonance can often do the trick and sound more natural than adding/subtracting eq, (if that's the goal),. And just mixing how much into the original signal can also shape it in ways an eq wouldn't. Many impulse loaders give one the option of doing all kinds of tricky things with the file. A good high res. cab impulse over a bad or older one can make the guitar sound modern. If there's one place that often impacts a guitar more than others,...it's the cab and speaker cone itself. The trick doesn't always work but works more often than not, (for me),. No rules around here. Cheers. 👍

[@andrewarbogast1]

Love this! Will def try this on my next mix.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching Andrew !

[@Producelikeapro]

Enjoy!

[@andrewarbogast1]

Just wanted to share that I've been working on a song of mine and was just not happy with how my acoustic was sounding in the mix. I used this trick and it worked perfectly!@@InTheMixJoeCarrell

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

@@andrewarbogast1 awesome! Have a good weekend Andrew

[@andrehines]

This sounds very similar to the style of harmonics and compression you can just get by using a tape machine calibrated to +9. Which is essentially just overloading the tape circuit. Great video. thanks much

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much for sharing that! Very cool

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@ryanmelvey8764]

i like to do this, but have two pieces of gear doing opposite and extreme EQs. so massive treble boost into something else that is then cutting treble and boosting bass.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks for watching Ryan

[@KDMI86]

Awesome technique! I loved the sound of the Chandler. I felt that it glued the guitar a bit more than the others. However, I felt like the API swallowed much less of the acoustic and maintained a little more stereo width. I would have loved to see an example of a neve, and perhaps a low budget stock eq to reference taste.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@danielkisel5661]

Nice video! You can absolutely level match Curve bender better than the other EQs All Softube effects have hidden panels when you click on those icons next to the Softube Logo you will find input and output hidden panel with auto (semi auto which is better than auto in my opinion) level gain compensation.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Nice! Best wishes Daniel

[@adrianwagner336]

interesting how just putting a track through a plugin can change the sound...no additional adjustments needed...thank you!! i often use a TDR Nova for my EQ needs

[@Dylanguitar69]

If you do 9db of boosting across 3 bands, it's not going to be a uniform frequency boost across the spectrum, so in that sense there is EQ being applied with whatever dips and valleys are being created. It's not just "being run through an EQ" Easy enough to see if you run those settings in the video on that EQ through Plugin Doctor.

[@adrianwagner336]

@@Dylanguitar69 🤣

[@adrianwagner336]

uuhhhmmm i was speaking of when he actually DID run it thru the plugin with no adjustments and i do not have the lugin doctor but thanks for playing

[@anwiseru9064]

does nova saturate enough for this sort of trick? iirc its clean unless you set it to some processing mode

[@Dylanguitar69]

@@adrianwagner336 In every example in the video, he is boosting frequencies on the various EQ's/Channel strips. At no point is he just showing the change in sound when the plugin is flat and unbypassed.

[@rundajulesproductions7735]

I liked the SSL E and the Chandler sound the best with this example. You should have done the visual on the eq'ing with the first examples since the proportional Q of the API causes the gain to be narrower strokes than with the other examples. Just a thought. Thanks for sharing this information! Do you ever combine eq's with this technique? (e.g. using a Neve Eq for boosting low half of the freq. range and an SSL eq for the upper half?)

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

I have never used more than one. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it! Thanks for watching

[@stefanhagel8496]

Great video! Tanks a lot

[@Producelikeapro]

Glad you liked it!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes

[@stefanhagel8496]

@@InTheMixJoeCarrell Tried this yesterday on a drum bus with IK Multimedia's EQ81 and EQ PB.....amazing. Your tutorials are in my top 3 list! Always great....huge fan of yours!

[@PurpleMusicProductions]

So basically in a sense you are using the channel strips and occasionally broad eq curves as colouring boxes unless I am misunderstanding and I apologize if I am. I do this sometimes with the UAD 1176 by switching the knobs to the off mode with no compression. I am still trying to learn the craft of mixing and the track counts in modern productions seems quite daunting, 8 kick drum samples, 12 guitars, 10 snares and etc at minimum 😂😂😅

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Definitely only for color. Making Stale synth or guitar sims sound exciting and more analog by pushing analog gear (or models of analog gear) beyond the norms. Thanks for watching!

[@iSpike]

Love Tricks 🎸🤘🏻😎

[@kristianmarschewski1590]

i´ve got the craneborne audio carnaby EQ. This thing has a hell of flavour. I like to use it on my mixbus, kinda similar to a pultec .

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

🎉🎉🎉

[@kristianmarschewski1590]

@@InTheMixJoeCarrell your trick looks great, i habe to try it. Normaly i use saturation tools like pro tools heat, hg2 black box, arousor, devil loc, etc...

[@loff66]

HI Joe thanks for a good tip. Just one question, I take it this is something youre trying on a rough mix guitar group? As in you havent really worked much on the individual guitar tracks yet, youve just got them levelled and panned and now are pulling an overall vibe for the guitars as a whole and would then get more detailed where required on the individual tracks?

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

That’s exactly right. Not at all an every song thing just when I find myself struggling and needing something to get some life out of some otherwise stale recordings. As I mentioned, these guitars were actually pretty good, but occasionally something heavy handed like this just gets me back to a solid square one. 😂😂. Have a great weekend 🎉

[@ratdogsoundhouse8999]

So Cool!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@richardmcarthur40]

Very cool. I have that stale guitar problem often. Trouble is I DID track them😂

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Hahah. Best wishes Richard.

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha!

[@kalasukra]

Kirchhoff is great and the SSL J from PA

[@andreirlmeier]

Ohh yes !

[@Producelikeapro]

Marvellous

[@Tryggvasson]

very nice tip. but when you talk about broad boosts, are you referring to supporting your significant other?

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Haha. Definitely EQ🎉🎉🎉

[@p.m-audio]

Joe and marc daniel nelson.....the best

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@TicscoCampbell]

MAN THE 154 Was Too Tight Like Bam, The Ssl was aiight but most def can tell 154, i like this video so bad i went and puchase the plugin in and its very nice nice lol

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

That is a cool plug. A cool company really. I have many of their plug-ins.

[@andreirlmeier]

Joe thnx for this video 1000 times

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

You’re very welcome

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for watching!

[@johnmorrison8618]

Basically what a sonic maximizer does right?

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Not really. This is about pushing a ton of tone through an analog circuit (or modeled software) to completely change the character. Its basically abuse 😂😂 But there’s a time and place to max out gear. Thanks for watching.

[@AudioReplica2023]

Bro those acoustics sounds amazing ..forget the electrics , the aco are the hero for me. lol

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching!

[@GregWilliamsTU]

Yeah they do!!

[@lastboxofsparklers]

While this may sound cool I personally think it should only ever be done using an active eq, as boosting such huge amount on a passive circuit will cause a lot of additional noise to be added to the signal. Fine in the box perhaps I guess.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Typically I use active circuits for this as they are more colored. But whatever works. No rules for me when searching how to salvage something 😂

[@anwiseru9064]

boosting that much on a passive circuit wouldnt add additional noise compared to an active circuit right? youre just manually using an amplifier before the passive circuit, adding more gain would theoretically give you less nosie

[@charlesneal4699]

Awe Yeah,,

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@splashesin8]

😊

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much

[@pablovazquez8386]

Oh man! I am starting to hate Joe....(with love,you know) the trick doesn't matter, but that record is A M A Z I N G !!!!!!! THANKS PLAP and Hated Joe!!!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Haha. Thanks for watching Pablo 🎉

[@GregWilliamsTU]

Yeah it is!

[@TheeRocker]

Some times you just want chocolate ;)

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Well now that you mention it, I guess right now I could indeed use some chocolate 😂 thanks for watching

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha Chocoholic!!

[@Producelikeapro]

Yes, indeed TheeRocker!

[@TheeRocker]

lol, thanks for sharing !!! @@InTheMixJoeCarrell

[@MixingInActionStudios]

This is off topic but how does one stay out of a depression being an engineer… I feel myself slipping back

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

It truly is a difficult career path and lifestyle when work is flying in and you never get out of the chair. I think everyone is different, but for me I force myself to exercise for 30-60 minutes a few times a week. I think it’s as good or better for the brain than it is the body. Best wishes Michael

[@faben70]

Well, why just for guitars? :)

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

I haven’t needed something quite that drastic on anything other guitars or keys. But by all means experiments and have fun!!! Thanks for watching 🎉

[@scottbaxendale323]

I fix guitars with glue and chisels…..😅

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

That could work 🤔. Haha. Thanks for watching Scott

[@edwardlee6516]

im sorry i am glad i dont have to mix this kind of music there is no articulation in it and to me its repetition wall of noise i guess it has its place but to me not very musical your eq helps but to me whats the point

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching Edward. I would add though, IMO, Let’s not make tutorial and product demonstrations about genre. There is no genre that fits everybody’s passions. But luckily that’s not the point. Let’s learn from the methods and techniques and let the backing track just simply be the backing track. We could pick the genre you love and someone else would prefer something else. I think if we agreed as an audio community that the genre could be independent from the information, we would be a lot happier and more successful. My goal personally is to hit a LOT of genres in the tutorials I film because I know a large portion of our awesome PLAP community work in and love those genres. The next one may be steel guitar country who knows 😂. Have a blessed week.

[@nicefish10]

You keep talking about making things “more analog “… Yet you don’t run any of the music through anything analog and I know you have a bunch of analog gear. Can you try using some of it and showing us the difference between using that nice analog use instead of the plug-ins? I know you have an Avalon 2055… let’s hear the guitar through that amazing circuitry!

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Analog videos are MUCH harder to film and not as many of our friends have access, BUT I always love using analog gear and absolutely hope to have enough time to film analog videos along the way. Usually I’m smashing these videos between label deadlines and doing all I can to get ANY video out 😂😂. Thanks for watching brother!

[@billpugh58]

Jeezus that took a looooong time to get ant point.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

But wasn’t it an awesome point and worth getting to!!?? Thank you for watching 🎉

[@Sagerydian]

"It is about the sound of the circuits" - yeah dude, you're working with plugins though. Wake up.

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

That are modeled upon analog circuits. In the box or out of the box it works. Try it 👊🏼👊🏼

[@NewHopeAudio]

his point stands. I don’t understand the point of this comment.

[@lairdey]

Which emulate circuits, hoss.

[@TheEndless560]

Its really pulling that lead delay part forward as well... the delay was being washed out before

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thank you for watching 🎉

[@pablovazquez8386]

For Joe carrell; I love what the curve bender does. You can continue cutting, or maybe it's not the same, you have the side options, which you can enter with more signal to the plugin, and then compensate. in a digital way. I don't know if I understand myself, I'm sorry, English is not my first language (not even my second actually, haha)

[@InTheMixJoeCarrell]

Thanks for watching Pablo!