Which Effect?

606man · Post by **606man** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 6:54 am

Which Effect?

Which effect do you think is the most important for mixing music? I have a top 5, but I dunno what order I’d put them in.

EQ – Makes sounds fit together, so they don’t ruin each other in the mix
Compression – Makes sounds ‘bigger’, so they cut through the mix
Delay – Creates a sense of movement in the mix
Reverb – Makes music appear to be in a space, thus giving the mix a sense of ‘realness’
Distortion – Roughs things up when they need it. And they often need it!

Actually, that’s nearly the order I would put them in, now that I’m looking at it lol.

We are spoilt with our SP units as they have all of the above effects plus mach more, which is part of the reason SP tracks sound so good, imo.

What about you guys? Do you have an effect you use on every track and couldn’t live without?

J.Daniels · Post by **J.Daniels** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 7:36 am

Funnily enough i never mess with effects for mixing purposes. I usually just cut low frequencies to avoid muddiness and then expirement with a compression plugin and then call it a day. If i spend too much time listening to something over and over, it loses momentum and then i never feel like listening to it again, so i tend to just get the levels right above anything else.

606man · Post by **606man** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:23 am

yeah, ear fatigue is a real problem.

I just leave a track once it's finished and come back to mix it at least a week later. Sucks when you want to show it to people, but worth it in the end!

Dr. Tad Winslow · Post by **Dr. Tad Winslow** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:58 pm

Hmm, that's tough. It's hard to say if EQ is an "effect" per se, as I do some EQing at various stages and don't really think of it as an effect. But if we're counting that I would say that's the most important.

The effects I have been using the most lately is the lo-fi sample feature on my 202. I've been recording most of my drums into the 202 on lo fi, then back into my MPC, then sometimes back and forth a few more times. I usually use at least a slight low pass filter on the kicks as well.

Dj Frantic · Post by **Dj Frantic** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 5:24 pm

filters !!! how can u forget filters

I loves my fitlers, I use a great deal of compression, EQ, delay, and reverb also. I dont use much distortion.

iG9 · Post by **iG9** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 6:08 pm

isolator, delay, compression

606man · Post by **606man** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:45 am

Oh, yes, filters. They are extremely important, so much so that I forgot how much I use them... as a type of shelving EQ mostly. Want a bassline to sit louder in the track? Take off some bottom end! Hats too sizzly? A low-pass will fix that!

Filter sweeps I see as part of the recording process rather than the mixing one. Having said that, the track I'm currently mixing really needs a sweep or two to create more momentum, so it's back to recording for this one...

Distortion, as a mixing effect, is another way to create more movement in a track - but you don't want it to be obvious (ie actually 'distorted'), just a roughening up of a few fequencies here and there. The ear recieves the message of 'that's more powerful' rather than 'that's distorted'. It's almost like another kind of filtering.

Remember 'Make it rough Make it smooth' by Ice Cube?

Nate D. Funkt · Post by **Nate D. Funkt** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:33 pm

Like Dragonfly Jones!?
I'd have 2 say I tinker with the efx #21 which I believe is Canceler while recording a sample cuz I went thru hella records & glorious sounds come from L-R signal. 1st off, I'll have the MP in record mode & go back in 4th from L-R and the difference in sounds I hear...RIDIC
Like for instance, this 1 record one of my fav's...I go 2 Left signal...nothing but Horns/Thump...2 the Right: Percs/Vocals. Eerie

h-rock · Post by **h-rock** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:20 am

I use a lot of distortion, so I guess I think distortion is important, in what I write anyways. compression is second, even though I don't use it very well.

ColeRockLee · Post by **ColeRockLee** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:37 pm

I usually try to sort out all the frequencies and fx during the creation process. Otherwise I slap a multiband compressor on the master channel and tweak until I'm happy with the sound.