A simple but useful feature of Live’s EQ 8 is the Gain control: It’s just a simple volume control, but it comes in handy for A/B-ing your EQ setups. If you’re making an EQ adjustment that raises or lowers the volume of a signal noticeably, you can cut or boost the gain a return the […]
SUBTRACTIVE EQ
There’s a common rule about using EQ in mixing: cut instead of boost. Like many rules, there are about a million exceptions. This one isn’t even really a rule. For me, it’s more of a workflow: first improve the sound of the mix by removing frequencies that sound bad or aren’t necessary, then boost to […]
MID-SIDE EQ
One very cool thing about Live’s EQ is it’s Mid-Side mode: This allows you to apply different EQ settings to the middle and the sides of a stereo signal. If you’re not familiar with Mid-Side, the concept is pretty simple. The Mid is the mono information in a signal – the stuff that’s identical in the […]
MID-SIDE WITH UTILITY
Another way to get some Mid-Side processing into your life is with Live’s Utility device. Have a look at theWidth control: When Width is set to 0%, Utility will eliminate the sides of a stereo signal and pass through only the mono information. At 200%, the middle is discarded and only the purely stereo information […]
THE MID-SIDE RACK
If you really want to get busy with Mid-Side processing, your best bet is to build a Rack. All you need is an Audio Effect Rack with two chains: Drop a Utility device into both chains. Set the Width of the one in the Mid chain to 0% ….and the Sides chain to 200%. Now, […]
CUTTING THE LOWS
Remember a few tips back when I was talking about seeing sharp drop off in frequencies below 30Hz? These super low frequencies can consume a lot of mix headroom without contributing much to the outcome. These frequencies can cause limiters to respond very agressively and really make a mess of things. They can also contribute […]
