How do mix instruments?

[DestroyTheColossus]

¯\(°_o)/¯... just kidding

Im currently working on a project and im trying my hardest to get everything to sit together nicely, come through eachother clearly, and still sound balanced as an individual instrument. Im running into problems mostly in the 100hz-250hz range where the low end for alot of the instruments sit. It seems like if I eq the instruments there until things start sounding clearer, a few of a instruments start to really lose their beef.

My question is, how are you guys EQing instruments to fit together. How do you decide what frequencies to give what instrument, and how do you implement it with boosts and cuts. Also, in the 100hz-250hz range, how are you guys EQing to improve clarity between instruments without losing the balls of one instrument.

 

[crazykarl]

That all depends on a lot of factors. Most importantly: what instruments have the problem, what gear was used on the front end to play it, what were they miked/processed with?

 

[DestroyTheColossus]

That all depends on a lot of factors. Most importantly: what instruments have the problem, what gear was used on the front end to play it, what were they miked/processed with?

Ya, I understand that. My question isn't really about what to do to specific instruments. It's more a question about general mixing. Like for instance if you want the bottom end of the snare to pop out around 200hz (could be any frequency or any other instrument, just an example), what might you do to some other instruments in the same range to allow it to pop out. And lets say there's another instrument that kinda pops around 200hz but you already have something set around there that is more important. How far away from 200hz would you want to get that new instrument pop through to keep the clarity between the two. Like would you give it 195 hz, or further away at 180hz (taking into account there are multiple instruments fighting for that whole area, and you need to fit them all in).

 

[Fox Mulder]

Ya, I understand that. My question isn't really about what to do to specific instruments. It's more a question about general mixing. Like for instance if you want the bottom end of the snare to pop out around 200hz (could be any frequency or any other instrument, just an example), what might you do to some other instruments in the same range to allow it to pop out. And lets say there's another instrument that kinda pops around 200hz but you already have something set around there that is more important. How far away from 200hz would you want to get that new instrument pop through to keep the clarity between the two. Like would you give it 195 hz, or further away at 180hz (taking into account there are multiple instruments fighting for that whole area, and you need to fit them all in).

Trial and error.
If that don't work out then re-track

 

[beyond dead]

i generally don`t do much eqing other than h/l pass filter and a max of 3 db gain anywhere else.
I tend to try to get things sounding pretty good without eq at the tracking stage.