Guitar EQ question, my ears are getting old...

[TheStoryteller]

Hey guys, long time no see!

General question: How the hell do you guys keep your rhythm guitars from being too harsh and piercing in the upper mids and treble areas when using amp sims & impulses? I can eq it and make it better, but then it starts to sound dull and lifeless instead.

I use the latest version of TSE x50 (which is by far the best amp sim I've tried) and have tried gazillions of different impulses, and I use FabFilter for post-eq.

Guitars quad tracked... two pairs with somewhat different sounds panned L<->R. Separate post-eq for each group of two. Hi/lo-cut, a little low mid scoop, and one wide cut (or 2-3 narrow cuts) in the 2-4 KHz region where the obvious problem frequencies are. When I have a "good" sound it's still too harsh, and if I try to get rid of more stuff above 2KHz it get's dull or just weird.

How do you usually treat your post-eq?

(And yep, I saw the video like 3 threads down. That's basically how I do it already.)

Thanks!

 

[Phil_ocean]

Hey dude, i have found the upper mids and especially the 1.8-5k area to problematize me quite often on the guitars. Tape saturation can help and makes them less harsh but I tend to cut very few db (actually not even a whole db)with a narrow Q on 8-9k where i hear fizziness or boxiness (i dont know if thats the term but its like a robotish sound) of the amp sims. If you overdo it though you suck the life out of them. By the way I really like revalver 4, i have tested many amp sims and it seems to me that it is the best of them.

 

[Pinknoise]

Hey guys, long time no see!

General question: How the hell do you guys keep your rhythm guitars from being too harsh and piercing in the upper mids and treble areas when using amp sims & impulses? I can eq it and make it better, but then it starts to sound dull and lifeless instead.

I use the latest version of TSE x50 (which is by far the best amp sim I've tried) and have tried gazillions of different impulses, and I use FabFilter for post-eq.

Guitars quad tracked... two pairs with somewhat different sounds panned L<->R. Separate post-eq for each group of two. Hi/lo-cut, a little low mid scoop, and one wide cut (or 2-3 narrow cuts) in the 2-4 KHz region where the obvious problem frequencies are. When I have a "good" sound it's still too harsh, and if I try to get rid of more stuff above 2KHz it get's dull or just weird.

How do you usually treat your post-eq?

(And yep, I saw the video like 3 threads down. That's basically how I do it already.)

Thanks!

Hello ! I also suggest Kazrog plugins install and try the demo bundle you'll have lots to play with it's awsome ! Have you tried a deesser to tame the harsh frequencies without taking out the good one ? A dynamic eq can do wonders when there is multiple harsh frequencies to tame. But usually you try to get the tone avoiding those bad frequencies but it's not always easy.

 

[Pxz]

Where are you placing your low pass filter? Don't be afraid to go below 10k

 

[MartijnPaauwe]

What Pxz said.

I pretty much always put my LPF around 7-8k, that sounds pretty extreme but it sounds so good in a mix context

 

[Jormyn]

Lately I've been trying to take care of the spiky bits (both low woofs and high fizz) before I even touch the high/low-pass knobs. A bit of a "oh... no shit" piece of advice I saw the other day was that when you find a spike, check an octave above and below it.

 

[Machinated]

do the EQ with the monitors quiet - if you take too much out in those nasty areas you'll suck the life out. if the monitors are cranked, everything is going to sound harsh and you'll probably take out more than you need.

 

[~BURNY~]

I tend to associate harshness with the 4khz area, I cut a few db there with a moderate Q. This is really important.I find that using a very narrow band will create or reveal or enhance more peaks above and below the offending frequency area and trap you in a time loop of suffering, too wide will destroy your tone obviously. Stay simple. Don't overthink it. Everything is relative with sound as you know it. Maybe try a linear phase EQ if the result isn't satisfying with a regular minimum phase EQ.

 

[JeffTD]

With ampsims especially I find myself notching a bit between 3.7khz and 4.2khz - there's usually some really shitty stuff up there that you can slice out. Generally followed by a LPF ~12khz and sometimes a slight push in the 8khz+ range for 'air' vs fizz.

 

[johnny ForTiorI]

i usually cut a couple of whistling frequencies around the 2-5k area with an extremely narrow Q (around 10) about 3-4db. of course that also makes it sound dull for me at first. but then i just take another EQ with a very wide Q (around 0.7) in the 3-4k area and raise it again about 3db to get the presence back in. works well for me.

 

[MrBongo]

you can also record a slightly brighter sound, just so that it´s perfect after cutting

 

[RoTo]

If u are using TSE X50 I suggest you to upgrade your IRs, try to download Ownhammer's IR (they have an excellent demo Mesa pack).
Try this setting:

1. NEW STRINGS.
2. Set the input gain correctly.
3. TS: Tone 3 o'clock ; Volume Between 12 and 3 o'clock.
4. Preamp: Drive 3, 5 the rest of knobs except postgain, set it between 1 and 2.
5. Power amp: default set.
6. Cabinet: try a mix between mics 57 (3 position) and 121 (3-5 position), mix it like 50% 57 and 15-25% 121. (this should give you automatic crisp and presence).
7. Post eq: HP 18 db/oct 80-100 hz ; LP 12 db/oct 8-10 kHz.
8. Find annoying frequencies (this stage depends completely of your rig).

I hope this help you!

PS: Try to add an EQ in your mixbus before judge a tone, retarded people like me always listen music with a rock preset EQ (sick boosts around 6db!!!). Lately I always find myself mixing through an API 560 (parametric) in the end of chain (after final limiting stage).