One of the many tried and true methods for recording acoustic guitar involves using a small diaphragm condenser microphone aimed at where the neck meets the body, as well as a large-diaphragm condenser a few feet off, aimed closer to the lower part of the body. A cheap acoustic guitar recorded in an unforgiving room can really cause unfixable headaches when it comes to the mix. Guitars, both acoustic and electric, are designed to emanate a sound that cuts through dense arrangements, and because of that, it can introduce unwanted harshness if not recorded and then mixed properly. Some engineers swear by using de-essers on cymbals, and while I can certainly see the potential benefits, (a de-esser is simply a compressor that targets a specific frequency range, generally high frequencies) it’s not a technique that I myself usually resort to. Once correct volume levels are set, I’ll sometimes employ sidechain compression (otherwise known as ducking), using the lead vocals and/or kick and snare as the “key input” to gently reduce the volume of overheads during particularly raucous passages. In addition to the snare drum, cymbals and high-hats can be problematic, introducing brittle resonances and ringing, and subsequently dominating the listener’s attention. Rather than boosting excessively in the mid-to-high frequencies to force the snare to be heard, laying in a sample that cuts through, and tucking it in perfectly beneath the original snare might do just the trick, and shouldn’t introduce the harshness that gobs of additive equalization will. There’s a fine line between a snare that serves as a driving rhythmic component, with the proper tone and sitting perfectly within the context of the entirety of the mix, and one that sounds like, well, you’ve seen the memes.Ĭompression can help dial in the appropriate transient and attitude, but don’t downplay drum augmentation and even replacement if your snare isn’t quite cutting through. Sometimes, in order to get a snare drum to cut through, whether the drum is acoustic or synthesized, drastic measures need to be taken in terms of processing. Much like vocals, in modern music productions, the snare is usually balanced in a place of prominence amongst the rest of the arrangement. There are several types of processors that I often use to tame sibilance, which I will detail below, but I find that the extra bit of work in leveling your tracks using clip gain before the vocals hit compression or saturation goes a long way in ensuring a vocal that is bright, yet not fatiguing.Īdditionally, de-essers are one of the most widely used types of processors to fix harshness in vocals, so be sure to check out my article on de-essing, and how I use it. I hunt down sibilant passages, and use clip gain to ensure that they are at a comfortable level - audible and natural-sounding, but not too loud as to drive any inline compression or saturation wild. One of the most common harshness culprits is sibilance - the ‘sss’, ‘ch’, and other similar sounds generated by the human voice. My method of mixing vocals usually involves using clip gain to even out the dynamic range of the performance to a certain extent, so that the signal doesn’t overload any compressors or saturators that I may insert on the vocal. In most genres - especially pop - a bright, clear, prominent, and powerful vocal is generally preferred, and it can be difficult to achieve these qualities without the vocal becoming grating to the ear. The incredibly complex human voice can be quite challenging to record and mix and can introduce issues involving harshness all the way to the mastering stage. I find that there are a few usual suspects that introduce harshness to a production: Vocals This can cause ear fatigue and ultimately detract from the listening experience. Harshness can be introduced by an individual track, or by a buildup of multiple sources together. When listening loudly, often what I am searching for is harshness, which can be defined as a general unpleasantness in the mid to high frequencies (that’s a wide range, I know). When engineering music, I listen in a variety of environments, out of different sets of monitors, and at low, moderate, and high volume levels.
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