Reason Tutorials

One thing many beginners have problems with in reason is mixing. While mixing is a very deep subject and in fact many entire books have been written on the subject in this article we’ll attempt to cover the first of the fundamental aspects of mixing, EQ. What devices to use, how to use them and for what.

First of all in Reason there are 3 different devices used to EQ audio signals, and each one has a slightly different sound. Personally I use the devices in the following ways others methods may vary, the thing about EQ being its a very personal and everyone will have variations on how they do things.

M Class Equalizer - I use this for most of my EQ, it can be used for everything from subtle frequency boosts and cuts on single tracks to overall mix EQing. It also gets used a lot to cut the below 30Hz rumble from individual tracks. Sometimes the very low frequencies in a track cannot be heard but can be felt and can in actuality force a track to be quieter as you need to move the fader down to avoid distortion /clipping on the track.

PEQ-2 2 band Parametric EQ - Although this has been superseded by the M Class Equaliser I still think it has its uses, I feel it has a slightly different sound and “feel” to the M Class. I tend to use this for less subtle EQing and for “effect like” EQing, I also use it to do automated EQ to bring out individual sounds for small sections of a mix.

Finally the Reason Mixer EQ - These are pretty much unsubtle “Tone Controls” much like you would see on a stereo amplifier, the mixer EQ is not frequency or Q adjustable and so is really only for fairly brutal or “Quick and Dirty” sound sculpting. In general I would steer clear of using it in mixing as its pretty much impossible to use it for proper EQing. Lets hope this is changed in new versions of reason.

Ok so what is the purpose of EQ in mixing? Well ask 10 producers and you’ll get 10 different answers. The explanation I like best is “EQ is a way of sculpting sounds so they play nicely with each other in a mix”.

Many beginners with mixing think “I want this sound to be massively bassy and loud, Ill boost the low frequencies as much as I can!”. Unfortunately the world is not that simple, all you end up with is a muddy messy bass end that over powers other sounds in the mix and in actuality probably ends up making the track sound quieter as you have to lower it in the mix to get it to work.

No, to do effective EQing we have to look at where each instrument fits into the mix and EQ accordingly. Sometimes in fact you may find you will have to cut “Feature frequencies” of a sound in order to get it to sit with another part of your mix. I know this may sound overwhelming and perhaps a little counter intuitive but don’t worry about it, like I said EQ is an art form and it takes time to develop the sound you want.

One of the most useful things I’ve ever been told about EQ is “In mixing you should spend more time cutting frequencies when you EQ than you should boosting them”, this is solid practical advice and will definitely help improve your mixes no end. EQing out frequencies that clash with other instruments will help you fit things into the mix in a tighter way and will also help your mix feel louder and more powerful over all.

Practicalities - What frequencies do what?

General:
20 Hz and below - impossible to detect, remove as it only adds unnecessary energy to the total sound, thereby most probably holding down the overall volume of the track

60 Hz and below - sub bass (feel only)

80(-100) Hz - feel AND hear bass

100-120 Hz - the “club sound system punch” resides here

200 Hz and below - bottom

250 Hz - notch filter here can add thump to a kick drum

150-400 Hz - boxiness

200 Hz-1.5 KHz - punch, fatness, impact

800 Hz-4 KHz - edge, clarity, harshness, defines timbre

4500 Hz - exteremly tiring to the ears, add a slight notch here

5-7 KHz - de-essing is done here

4-9 KHz - brightness, presence, definition, sibilance, high frequency distortion

6-15 KHz - air and presence

9-15 KHz - adding will give sparkle, shimmer, bring out details - cutting will smooth out harshness and darken the mix

EQ Reference: Frequencies

50Hz
Boost: To thicken up bass drums and sub-bass parts.
Cut: Below this frequency on all vocal tracks. This should reduce the effect of any microphone ‘pops’.

70-100Hz
Boost: For bass lines and bass drums.
Cut: For vocals.

General: Be wary of boosting the bass of too many tracks. Low frequency sounds are particularly vulnerable to phase cancellation between sounds of similar frequency. This can result in a net ‘cut of the bass frequencies.

200-400Hz
Boost: To add warmth to vocals or to thicken a guitar sound.
Cut: To bring more clarity to vocals or to thin cymbals and higher frequency percussion.
Boost or Cut: to control the ‘woody’ sound of a snare.

400-800Hz
Boost: To add warmth to toms.
Boost or Cut: To control bass clarity, or to thicken or thin guitar sounds.
General: In can be worthwhile applying cut to some of the instruments in the mix to bring more clarity to the bass within the overall mix.

800Hz-1KHz
Boost: To thicken vocal tracks. At 1 KHz apply boost to add a knock to a bass drum.

1-3KHz
Boost: To make a piano more aggressive. Applying boost between 1KHz and 5KHz will also make guitars and basslines more cutting.
Cut: Apply cut between 2 KHz and 3KHz to smooth a harsh sounding vocal part.
General: This frequency range is often used to make instruments stand out in a mix.

3-6KHz
Boost: For a more ‘plucked’ sounding bass part. Apply boost at around 6KHz to add some definition to vocal parts and distorted guitars.
Cut: Apply cut at about 3KHz to remove the hard edge of piercing vocals. Apply cut between 5KHZ and 6KHz to dull down some parts in a mix.

6-10KHz
Boost: To sweeten vocals. The higher the frequency you boost the more ‘airy/breathy’ the result will be. Also boost to add definition to the sound of acoustic guitars or to add edge to synth sounds or strings or to enhance the sound of a variety of percussion sounds. For example boost this range to:
Bring out cymbals. Add ring to a snare. Add edge to a bass drum.

10-16KHz
Boost: To make vocals more ‘airy’ or for crisp cymbals and percussion. Also boost this frequency to add sparkle to pads, but only if the frequency is present in the original sound, otherwise you will just be adding hiss to the recording.

Individual Instruments, what frequencies do what.

Kicks:
60Hz with a Q of 1.4 — Add fullness to kicks.

5Khz with a Q of 2.8 — Adds attack to Kicks

bottom (60 - 80 Hz),

slap (4 kHz)

EQ - Cut below 80Hz to remove rumble
Boost between 80 -125 Hz for bass
Boost between 3 - 5kHz to get the slap

Processing - Compression 4:1/6:1 slow attack med release.

Reverb:Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)

Snares:

200Hz - 250Hz with a Q of 1.4 — Adds wood to snares

3Khz with a Q of 1.4 — Adds attack to snare.

7Khz with a Q of 2.8 — Adds Sharpness to snares and percussion

fatness at 120-240Hz

boing at 400Hz

crispness at 5kHz

snap at 10kHz

fatness (240 Hz), crispness (5 kHz)

EQ - Boost above 2kHz for that crisp edge
Cut at 1kHz to get rid of the sharp peak
Boost at 125Hz for a full snare sound
Cut at 80Hz to remove rumble

Processing - Compression 4:1 slow attack med release.
Reverb: Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)

Vocals

Fullness at 120 Hz, boominess at 200 - 240 Hz, presence at 5 kHz, sibilance at 7.5 - 10 kHz

General: Roll off below 60Hz using a High Pass Filter. This range is unlikely to contain anything useful, so you may as well reduce the noise the track contributes to the mix.

Treat Harsh Vocals: To soften vocals apply cut in a narrow bandwidth somewhere in the 2.5KHz to 4KHz range.

Get An Open Sound: Apply a gentle boost above 6KHz using a shelving filter.

Get Brightness, Not Harshness: Apply a gentle boost using a wide-band Bandpass Filter above 6KHz. Use the Sweep control to sweep the frequencies to get it right.

Get Smoothness: Apply some cut in a narrow band in the 1KHz to 2KHz range.

Bring Out The Bass: Apply some boost in a reasonably narrow band somewhere in the 200Hz to 600Hz range.

Radio Vocal Effect: Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5KHz and lots of cut below 700Hz.

Telephone Effect: Apply lots of compression pre EQ, and a little analogue distortion by turning up the input gain. Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5KHz and lots of cut below 700Hz.

Hats:
10Khz with a Q of 1.0 — Adds brightness to hats and cymbals

Hi Hat & Cymbals: sizzle (7.5 - 10 kHz), clank (200 Hz)

EQ - Boost above 5kHz for sharp sparkle

Cut at 1kHz to remove jangling

Processing - Compression use high ratio for high energy feel
Reverb: Looser than Bass n Snare allow the hats and especially the Rides to ring a little
Get Definition: Roll off everything below 600Hz using a High Pass Filter.
Get Sizzle: Apply boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter. Adjust the bandwidth to get the sound right.
Treat Clangy Hats: Apply some cut between 1KHz and 4KHz.
Hi hats/cymbals - clank or gong sound at 200 Hz, shimmer at 7.5 kHz - 12 kHz

Toms:

Toms - attack (5 kHz), fullness (120 - 240 Hz)

rack toms - fullness at 240 Hz, attack at 5 kHz

floor toms - fullness at 80 - 120 Hz, attack at 5 kHz

Percussion:

conga/bongo - resonance at 200 - 240 Hz, slap at 5 kHz

Guitar:
Treat Unclear Vocals: Apply some cut to the guitar between 1KHz and 5KHz to bring the vocals to the front of the mix.
General: Apply a little boost between 100Hz and 250Hz and again between 10KHz and 12KHz.

fullness (240 Hz), bite (2.5 kHz), air / sizzle (8 kHz)

Acoustic Guitar:

Add Sparkle: Try some gentle boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter with a medium bandwidth.

General: Try applying some mid-range cut to the rhythm section to make vocals and other instruments more clearly heard.

harshness / bite (2 kHz), boominess (120 - 200 Hz), cut (7 - 10 kHz)

Bass Guitar:

bottom (60 - 80 Hz), attack (700 - 1000 Hz), string noise (2.5 kHz)

Horns

fullness at 120 - 240 Hz, shrill at 5 - 7.5 kHz

Strings

fullness at 240 Hz, scratchiness at 7.5 - 10 kHz