Boot Camp Tip: Creating Definition in a Mix with EQ

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[@joshuajonesdj]

Mike’s mix without eq is better than mine with 😂😩

[@mixingwithmike]

Hahaha!

[@MarcoAndKati]

This is the only channel where I put a thumbs up before watching the video. Great content as always!

[@mixingwithmike]

LOL! I throw in a crappy one every now and again so you pay attention first... Hahaha

[@AKASHPMP]

So..I'm not the only who does the same! What a lovely teacher he is 🤗

[@entrancemusicofficial8550]

@@AKASHPMP true, only one man on entire internet that know how and wants to share knowledge. Thats reminds me of some guy on YT, wich name i dont want to tell right now, before i found the great Michael, the guy speaking abouth compressor att. time, and said "If you set att. to 30ms, compressor will wait 30ms and than kicks in" LOL ... God sent Michael to rule them all!!!

[@1erwayne]

This is what separates you and your channel from most others. Great video. Thanks Mike.

[@AkilisMusic]

Amazing video, appreciate all the tips you've been sharing for years!

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@abhinavjoshua]

THIS IS GOLD!

[@luciddreamers6943]

Notification Bell turned ON !!! good work !

[@gregorygeorgewright]

Awesome.

[@lewisknudsen1]

This is so cool, I've never heard of this method before, gonna be giving it a try

[@kitschkub1379]

Been watching your videos for a few months now. Very very grateful for this content Michael. Thank you so much. This was eye opening.

[@fredscott9013]

Wow! I noticed this when I mixed a hip-hop track for a friend the other day and I did a similar layering technique without knowing lol. It feels good to see that my intuition was on point.

[@yojz]

This is incredible, thank you! Subscribing to your yearly All Access membership now!

[@danielarco8566]

Mike, you are great mix instructor.Thanks for your videos!

[@m.i.stapes]

Love it!!

[@frankybebop2913]

That’s a cool Philosophy to mixing! Thanks for allways making the best content!

[@rickblackers88]

Very interesting!

[@hermanshermits124124]

Amazing technique, will definitely work on this. The separation is so clear and wide!

[@1linkjimmy]

Am glad i find this channel this is one of the best channel

[@MOSMASTERING]

Literally just did this for the first time a week before this video came out. It looked insane to do that much boost and into a multiband, but it sounded right so I left it.

[@imremozsik1012]

Mike, you truly are a gift! Thank you!

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@thegroove2000]

Nice.

[@phnxjordan]

This is a game changer for me. I didn’t know what I didn’t know…but now I know😂 thank you

[@GuitarJesse7]

Your videos are great. I’ve been aware of this technique in some ways, but I liked how you demonstrated it in this song, and even in the nuance of different percussive elements. Thanks!

[@audio_odyssey]

Genius! Thanks Mike👍🏼

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@hectormann1843]

Thank you, this is really great!

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@MoveTrueRecords_]

luv u Mike so dope

[@mariuslarue4476]

You are a beast! Thanks

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers Marius!

[@Motiv8Me855]

i will never stop thanking u u are the best teacher

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@JTFuller]

Lord have mercy.. This man is and his explanations are extremely top notch.. Wow.. Thanks Mike.. Once again, incredible..

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@acmeyakko]

I've often done this too, although didn't know a name for it, but I've only done it more since I started using that same console plugin. I really like it. I think the proportional q helps, but it may also just be mental (looking at a fixed set of frequency options, although I'll pair some tracks with a Maag EQ4 for the shelf). I also remember Andrew Scheps saying one time that at some point when someone said they wanted an instrument louder, he wouldn't turn it up, he'd adjust the eq instead.

[@mixingwithmike]

Yes, Andrew is right on as always! EQ is just a volume control within frequency zones.

[@78psuedo]

This is a gamechanger.

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers!

[@athamz9872]

Makes it sound very modern! But be advised, behind that was a really good balance of the, lets say, dull version of things.

[@odysseytrek2842]

Once again a tip that I've never seen - can't thank you enough for your generosity! One question - how do you use this in conjunction with your "functional eq/compression" technique? Would you use one or the other? Both? Depends on song/mood you're in that day? Thanks Mike!!

[@mixingwithmike]

Typically, If I plan to EQ this dramatically, I compress after to glue everything back together.

[@odysseytrek2842]

@@mixingwithmike When you're mixing, do you make the decision to use this technique (dramatic EQ) instead of functional EQ or would you use both techniques together? Is choosing one technique over the other simply a creative choice? Thanks again for your incredible videos!

[@walterlopez1504]

Hey Mike, Great tutorial. The first time I watched it, I was too new to mixing to really understand the importance of what you were saying. After coming back to this video a few months later, it has been game changing. Is there a tutorial for the full mix of this particular song somewhere on your website? I would definitely pay money to see that!

[@mixingwithmike]

Yes, this is part of the Boot Camp Level I program along with 12 other full songs to work on.

[@chaddonal4331]

Michael. Thank you so much for these insights! I do have a follow-up question or territory of questions: No source track starts as a flat track. So, what is the relationship between an existing EQ curve and the mix EQ moves you make? For example, in balancing electric and acoustic guitar tracks, let's say that boosts and cuts are made in different places. But what about the previously existing spectral curve on the track prior to EQ moves? What impact does the existing curve have on the EQ choices you make? Like, maybe boosting 6dB at 1k simply brings that up to nominal level, because it was captured low; so it's not really being hyped -- yet. (I never hear anyone addressing this, particularly when showing alternate EQ curves intended to cause separation. I know: use your ears. But, does an analyzer help to see what actual spectral differences are being made by EQ changes?)

[@hopetea7670]

Hi Mike. In your Mixing With Mike advanced course you walk though subtractive eq first, then compression, then tone shaping eq. Here we appear be shaping first and no initial subtractive eq. Are there curcumstances under which one approach might be favoured over another?

[@SS-vv6jl]

yep would love to see an answer for this

[@jonny7231]

Thanks for the EQ insight!

[@mixingwithmike]

Cheers Derek!

[@ElkinRodriguez7]

Hi Mike, ¿Could we have the same result if we do deep cuts (subtractive eq), instead of doing those big boosts, and then compensate for it by increasing the level of the output? I thought about it when I saw the explanation in the fab filter. It's like the same, but reversing the logic... Would there be less "color" of the EQ?

[@Hive5ive]

but if you're cutting, what are you going to push into the compressor? the whole point is to boost what you want to highlight, and push those frequencies into the compressor

[@Beatsplanet.]

What do you mean by an “Attack Frequency” please?

[@juancarloscervantesflores8649]

nice mike , pleas a tutorial of saturation

[@JoeyFTL]

I second that!

[@acmeyakko]

While I don't know of any videos where he covers saturation like he does this technique, he has several plugin videos on saturators where he talks saturation that might be valuable in the meantime.

[@mixingwithmike]

This will be coming down the line

[@kenwatts3848]

Hey Mike, Quick question: Is this how you work for most mixes or is this just an experiment? Wondering if I should consider using this method on the reg.

[@andyanderson6455]

wow, I've never seen this technique? typically ALL mixers say subtractive eq only - this is extreme BUT sounds more like what I am hearing on pop records these days. How would you approach this in a VERY dense mix of 20-25 tracks all playing?

[@chriskemp466]

Hi Mike, I'm wondering how you avoid bringing out boxiness etc with dramatic eq hikes?

[@chaddonal4331]

(I'm guessing: Avoid boxy frequency boosts!)

[@1masterfader]

Brilliant Does this work with every console plugin?

[@acmeyakko]

In theory, it will really work with most EQs, not just console emulations. In practice, fewer options make for easier decisions (and make it easier to keep track of where you are placing things in the frequency domain to avoid too much overlap which can lead to masking and defeat the point of clarity/definition - that may be a production choice by the way, not always bad, but not the point of this technique - Mike has another recent video on grouping tracks together that explains this more). The problem with some EQs, especially parametric, is that you'll need to be sure that your boost points are not significantly overlapping (e.g. if you have a really broad Q boost on an parametric at 3k for one instrument and at 4k for another, they may still ultimately be boosting the same amount somewhere in between, say 3.5k, which can be particularly bad if both instruments play at that 3.5k frequency a lot at the same time, since you've effectively boosted both the same amount at the same frequency). The proportional Q of the API means that large boosts won't overlap much, or at all, when you boost by as much as Mike is here. You can achieve the same thing on a parametric by making sure that your boosts are fairly narrow (your cuts can still be wide, as needed).

[@mixingwithmike]

You can do it with any plugins although I find it sounds best with analog emulations. SSL E Series, Neve 1081, and the API eqs are my faves

[@thegroove2000]

Back here as my mixes lack definition.