Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Make Better Mixes with Selective EQ

12/04/2024

By Craig Anderton

Good mixes often depend on carving out a unique sonic space for each instrument, so you can hear them clearly. Sometimes carving out that space involves level, like making an instrument softer so that another instrument seems louder. A more sophisticated approach involves EQ, like dipping a piano's midrange to make more room for the voice.

This tip dives deeper into using EQ to carve out space. It combines spectrum metering with either static or dynamic EQ to make sure two instruments support each other, rather than make one instrument subservient to another.

The four short audio examples have lead guitar and slide guitar playing together. I wanted the lead to be the highlight, but didn't want to lose the importance of the fluid, aggressive slide guitar in the background. Here's how I convinced them to coexist.

The first audio example plays the lead solo and slide guitar together. You can almost hear them fighting to try and be the top dog but we'll fix that.

Meet Team Spectrum Meter and Pro EQ

The top of Fig. 1 shows the spectrum analysis of the lead guitar part. Unlike the EQ's spectrum meter, the plugin's FFT mode can average the level, and retain an infinite hold time. This is key, because the curve unambiguously shows which frequencies are more prominent in the lead guitar part.

Figure 1: The top image shows the lead guitar's spectral response. The lower image shows the compensation EQ curve applied to the underlying slide guitar part. The upper row of EQ controls isn't shown, because its controls aren't used.

The second audio example uses the static EQ curve in fig. 1 to reduce these frequencies in the slide part. This opens up space for the lead. Now there's more differentiation between the lead and slide, but the slide still comes through well.

Next, we'll take this further with dynamic EQ (fig. 2).

Figure 2: Settings for dynamic EQ. Again, the upper row of EQ controls isn't shown, because its controls aren't used.

The next audio example uses dynamic EQ, so the slide guitar becomes more prominent in the spaces between notes played by the lead guitar. Now instead of fighting with each other, the lead guitar and slide take turns sharing the spotlight.

Using dynamic EQ is not necessarily better than using static EQ. It depends on the musical context. If you want only the lead to be more prominent, the static EQ sounds better. Because I wanted both parts to be equally important-just better differentiated-I preferred the dynamic EQ.

The final audio example takes the old-school approach of simply lowering the slide guitar part's level, without any EQ changes. The lead is more prominent, but the overall sound is less interesting and lively compared to how it sounds with EQ (especially dynamic EQ).

But Wait There's More!

There's also a bonus audio example. I posted an Atmos binaural mix of the complete song (headphones only), and a conventional stereo mix (speakers or headphones), on my YouTube channel. These let you hear the tracks above in context, but the examples also provide a follow-up to previous posts about how modest home studios with no surround system can take advantage of Atmos.

The mix is denser than the previous Atmos vs. stereo example mentioned in the blog postRelease Your Music in Stereo and Immersive, and uses the technique described in Make Stereo Downmixes Feel More Immersive. If you haven't taken advantage of Atmos yet, listen to the binaural Atmos version for headphones, then listen to the conventional stereo version. Despite my efforts to make the stereo version sound as much like the Atmos version as possible, the Atmos mix is fuller, bigger, and has more depth. Remember, all you need to get started with Atmos mixing is Studio One Professional and a set of headphones. Give it a shot!
LINK: https://blog.presonus.com/2024/04/12/make-better-mixes-with-selective-...
See more stories from presonus

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

22/05/2026

Study: AI Labeling Does Not Hurt Video Ad Performance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

NAB Show Makes 200+ Sessions Available on Demand

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Torneos Upgrades Multichannel Playout with Imagine's Versio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/05/2026

CBS Sports Expands WNBA Tip-Off Show To Cover Half of 20-Game, Regular-Season Package

Game Creek Video Columbia and Celtic, NEP Supershooter 8 will house onsite produ...

21/05/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Christina Zelin, Rowan University

Freshly graduated, this upstart producer, director, and camera operator is already working as an AP on videoboard shows for the Philadelphia Phillies In the li...

21/05/2026

Media Links Announces Channel Partnership with Clearcast Asia Ahead of BroadcastAsia 2026

Media Links has announced a channel partnership with Clearcast Asia, a broadcast...

21/05/2026

SiriusXM and NASCAR Announce Multi-Year Broadcasting Agreement Renewal

SiriusXM and NASCAR have announced a multi-year renewal of their broadcasting agreement. SiriusXM will continue to carry live broadcasts of every NASCAR Cup Ser...

21/05/2026

Audio-Technica Hosts High-Density Wireless Microphone Demo at Technica House in New York City

Audio-Technica held a demonstration event at its Technica House location in New ...

21/05/2026

RTL Deutschland Selects Ateme Frame-Rate Conversion Technology for Live Event Workflows

Ateme has announced that RTL Deutschland has selected Ateme's software-based...

21/05/2026

BCC Live Deploys LiveU LU900Q for Record-Breaking IRONMAN Texas Broadcast

LiveU has announced that BCC Live deployed the LU900Q intelligent production unit for the first time during the 2026 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North Americ...

21/05/2026

Mark Aitken to Receive 2026 ATSC Mark Richer Industry Leadership Medal

ATSC has announced that Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media and Senior VP of Advanced Technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, will receive the 2026 Mark Richer ...

21/05/2026

BBright Outlines MXL Integration Strategy for Software-Defined Broadcast Workflows

BBright has published a technical analysis of the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), de...

21/05/2026

Esports World Cup 2026 to Be Held in Paris, France

The Esports Foundation has announced that the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) will be hosted in Paris, France, from July 6 through August 23. The event marks the f...

21/05/2026

Chyron Announces PRIME Scorebug and Expanded Chyron LIVE Scorebug Capabilities

Chyron has announced PRIME Scorebug, a scorebug solution built on the PRIME Platform for on-premises sports production, and has expanded Chyron LIVE with purpos...

21/05/2026

Media Links Integrates Xscend Platform with DataMiner at BroadcastAsia 2026

Media Links has announced the integration of its Xscend IP transport platform with Skyline Communications' DataMiner xOps platform. The integration will be ...

21/05/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Nova Lume CEO Jim Casey on Bringing Flexible IP Intercom to Live Production

As live sports productions continue to demand more flexible, scalable, and cost-...

21/05/2026

SVG Rewind: ESPN's Use of POVORA Wireless Tilt Control CapCam Gives College Football Fans a First-Person View of the Game

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...

21/05/2026

Join Shade in Miami and Atlanta for Post-Production Networking Events

Hey Miami & Atlanta post-production folks! Shade is hosting a free private suite at a Braves game (6/2) and Marlins game (6/5) and have about a dozen extra tic...

21/05/2026

Phoenix Suns, Mercury, and Gray Media Extend Broadcast Partnership Through 2030

The Suns and Mercury become the first NBA and WNBA teams to make games available under a single broadcast partner across both over-the-air and streaming....

21/05/2026

Apple TV, MLS to Produce First Major Pro Sporting Event Shot Entirely on iPhone 17 Pros

iPhones are part of the the regular production rotation for Friday Night Baseba...

21/05/2026

SVG Rewind: AIQ: Where Data Meets Dirt Technology Brings Real-Time Data Analysis to Rodeo

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...

21/05/2026

Filmmakers' Favorites: Sundance Film Festival Alums on Welcome to the Dollhouse

Heather Matarazzo as Dawn Wiener in Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse...

21/05/2026

Create, Control, and Personalize Your Listening Across Every Moment

Spotify has always been about helping you find something you want to listen to. And over the years, we've learned your taste and the moments that matter to ...

21/05/2026

You Know Every Song. We Saved You Two Tickets. Introducing Reserved.

Getting concert tickets today can feel like a race you're set up to lose. You show up at the right time, refresh endlessly, and still miss out. Too often, ...

21/05/2026

Books on Spotify: New Updates for Listeners and Authors

In 2022, Spotify entered a new chapter by introducing audiobooks to our platform. Since then, we've grown our catalog to include more than 700,000 titles, e...

21/05/2026

Investor Day 2026 Remarks From Spotify Co-CEOs Alex Norstrm and Gustav Sderstrm

Opening remarks ALEX Good morning everyone, I'm Alex [Norstr m]. GUSTAV And I'm Gustav [S derstr m]. ALEX Whether you've been following our j...

21/05/2026

Spotify's 2026 Investor Day Recap: Raising Ambition for the Next Era of Media

Today, Spotify hosted our third Investor Day in New York City, offering the fina...

21/05/2026

Spotifys Investor Day 2026: Ambitioniert in die nchste ra der Medien

Spotify hat heute seinen dritten Investor Day in New York City veranstaltet und der Finanzwelt tiefere Einblicke in das Gesch ft, die Produktstrategie und die l...

21/05/2026

Rcapitulatif de l'Investor Day 2026 de Spotify : Des ambitions renouveles pour la prochaine re des mdias

Aujourd'hui, Spotify a organis son troisi me Investor Day New York. En pl...

21/05/2026

Il riepilogo dell'Investor Day 2026 di Spotify: eleviamo le ambizioni per la prossima era dei media

Oggi, a New York City, Spotify ha presentato il suo terzo Investor Day, offrendo...

21/05/2026

Resumen del Investor Day 2026 de Spotify: elevando la ambicin para la prxima era de los medios

Hoy Spotify celebr su tercer Investor Day en Nueva York, donde ofrecimos a la c...

21/05/2026

Rangkuman Investor Day Spotify 2026: Meningkatkan Ambisi untuk Era Media Berikutnya

Hari ini, Spotify menyelenggarakan Investor Day yang ketiga di New York City, me...

21/05/2026

2026 (Investor Day):

2026 : (Investor Day) , , . ...

21/05/2026

2026 :

20 2026 ...

21/05/2026

Resumo do Investor Day 2026 do Spotify: elevando a ambio para a prxima era da mdia

Hoje, o Spotify realizou seu terceiro Investor Day em Nova York, oferecendo co...

21/05/2026

2026: Spotify

Spotify Investor Day ...

21/05/2026

Spotify'n 2026 Investor Day zeti: Medyann Yeni a in Byk Hedefler

Spotify bug n, 20'nci y l d n m m z kutlad m z bu y lda, finans camias na, i modelimiz, r n stratejimiz ve uzun vadeli vizyonumuz hakk nda daha detayl ...

21/05/2026

Cinematic Motion & Ethereal Flows for Sonuscore's The Score

Two new Story Packs join orchestral instrument line-up Sonuscore have just introduced two new additions to The Score, marking the instrument's first maj...

21/05/2026

Heavyocity release Oblivion Drums

30,000 samples, 99 presets & 504 loops Heavyocity are well known for their hard-hitting cinematic instruments, and their latest release is no exception to t...

21/05/2026

Rohde & Schwarz AI powered voice to data: The future of air traffic control takes flight at Airspace World 2026

Rohde & Schwarz AI powered voice to data: The future of air traffic control take...

21/05/2026

Redefining Persistent and Affordable Airpower for Special Operations Forces

SKY RAIDER II INTERNATIONAL's modular open systems architecture delivers expanded operational reach and mission flexibility....

21/05/2026

From Payload to Platform: Autonomous ISR Where It Actually Matters

ASO-enabled WESCAM MX-10 systems conduct systematic wide-area maritime search patterns, autonomously managing sensor scan operations to expand coverage, reduce ...

21/05/2026

Sports content accounts for fastest-growing portion of top global SVOD catalogs

HBO Max, a new addition to Gracenote Data Hub, is home to the most sports programming among major streamers NEW YORK May 21, 2026 New analysis by Gracenote...

21/05/2026

Study: Nearly Half of U.S. Viewers Watch Video With Captions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/05/2026

Apple TV to Capture MLS Game Entirely on iPhone 17 Pro

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/05/2026

MPTS 2026 Draws Record Numbers for Landmark 10th Annivers...

The UK's leading event for the creative industries united thousands of professionals for two days of networking, debate, industry insight and getting hands-...