Tastes on Guitar fizz

[Phil_ocean]

Hey guys, I wanted to ask you what is your opinion on fizz on guitars? I am personally not a fan, but many musicians (not only guitarists) tend to like them as they add a bit of life to the song and i also hear a good amount of them in some records i admire for their production. What is your opinion about it? Im talking about fizziness after low pass filtering them a bit

 

[H-evolve]

My boring answer would be: it depends. I guess a like "some fizz". This is probably why a lot of people mic with a SM57, right? It has a certain fizzyness to it (that prevails even after a low pass). What I don't like is when it becomes a bit too much (hence the "it depends").

I prefer when it is subtle and not over-present. I really enjoyed the video that Ola did a few weeks back, where he demo'd a Randall amp mixing an SM57 with a e906. The e906 seems to cancel most of the fizz from the SM57 and I quite enjoy that tone.

 

[Phil_ocean]

My boring answer would be: it depends. I guess a like "some fizz". This is probably why a lot of people mic with a SM57, right? It has a certain fizzyness to it (that prevails even after a low pass). What I don't like is when it becomes a bit too much (hence the "it depends").

I prefer when it is subtle and not over-present. I really enjoyed the video that Ola did a few weeks back, where he demo'd a Randall amp mixing an SM57 with a e906. The e906 seems to cancel most of the fizz from the SM57 and I quite enjoy that tone.

Got to check it out

 

[Jormyn]

If you're calling it "fizz" then, IMO, that means it's the part that isn't contributing anything to your tone, but that's admittedly subjective.

Personally, I'd rather get rid of the 3k-6k fizz, the spike I always find around 9k, and not low-pass the higher frequencies much at all.

 

[H-evolve]

Got to check it out

If for some reason you weren't able to find it, here it is.

Each of them sound quite nice on their own. Solo I probably still prefer the SM57. But the mix of both is very interesting I think.

 

[Phil_ocean]

If you're calling it "fizz" then, IMO, that means it's the part that isn't contributing anything to your tone, but that's admittedly subjective.

Personally, I'd rather get rid of the 3k-6k fizz, the spike I always find around 9k, and not low-pass the higher frequencies much at all.

Hey, i didnt use the correct term then. When i said fizz I meant the frequencies higher than 9-10k where there is still some leftovers from the low pass. I used to kindly reduce them but it seemed to many friends of mine that it would lose some energy (It kinda did but it cleared the tone at the same time) and I'm not speaking about making the guitar dull just losing previous energy.

 

[Phil_ocean]

If for some reason you weren't able to find it, here it is.

Each of them sound quite nice on their own. Solo I probably still prefer the SM57. But the mix of both is very interesting I think.

E906 has amazing sound already by itself ! Blending them just gives a more complete tone but that E906 is amazing, I did a little search and it seems to be primarly for cabinet micing but the price is really attractive!

 

[H-evolve]

E906 has amazing sound already by itself ! Blending them just gives a more complete tone but that E906 is amazing, I did a little search and it seems to be primarly for cabinet micing but the price is really attractive!

It is attractive! I ordered one earlier this week!

 

[Phil_ocean]

It is attractive! I ordered one earlier this week!

Awesome, post some experiment recordings here whenever you can dude

 

[newamerikangospel]

I find that the top end of a guitar, is kind of like a kick drum. It's not adding to the tone, but it can give it a bit of perceived clarity in a mix. However, I like to use the idea of "sizzle" like frying something in a pan, not "fizz" which is like plastic bags being smashed.

 

[Beauburchell]

I prefer to just barely reduce the offending fizz rather than eliminating all of it.

 

[Phil_ocean]

I prefer to just barely reduce the offending fizz rather than eliminating all of it.

Yea i also was talking about reducing it not eliminate it. Im just curious what are your tastes concerning the 8-10k region of distorted guitars

 

[Beauburchell]

I prefer to treat everything from around 1k up the same. Just sweeping and notching anything that's too offensive. I think keeping the high frequency stuff in there is important because if we eliminate everything above... Let's say a ridiculous number like 6K as a bad example, then the only thing living in the high frequencies of your mix is cymbals, drum attack and vocal esses. Only those elements will get boosted when a typical car stereo high shelf is applied. I prefer the guitars to also be there just enough so that doesn't happen. You can experiment by applying a extreme high shelf eq at around 6k on your master. In my opinion, the mix should not change, just get way too bright.
B

 

[Phil_ocean]

I prefer to treat everything from around 1k up the same. Just sweeping and notching anything that's too offensive. I think keeping the high frequency stuff in there is important because if we eliminate everything above... Let's say a ridiculous number like 6K as a bad example, then the only thing living in the high frequencies of your mix is cymbals, drum attack and vocal esses. Only those elements will get boosted when a typical car stereo high shelf is applied. I prefer the guitars to also be there just enough so that doesn't happen. You can experiment by applying a extreme high shelf eq at around 6k on your master. In my opinion, the mix should not change, just get way too bright.
B

I agree about keeping the high frequency information there but Im asking about the specific region above 8k-10k since in some albums I hear its there (i wouldnt say in abundance but its definitely there) and in others its reduced significantly (but not eliminated).

 

[schwinginbatman]

I think it's really wise to get as much fizz out as possible prior to your EQ, that makes it so much easier. I find everything past 12kHz can be totally excised for the benefit of the tone, but high-passing beyond that leads to some dull tones IMO. The way I prefer to mic amps (or impulses that are similar) leaves a nasty fizz spike around 8-9 kHz that needs to be notched, but the rest can be left most of the time. In order to get real bright tones, I set the high-pass around there and then set the treble and presence to taste.

 

[Phil_ocean]

I think it's really wise to get as much fizz out as possible prior to your EQ, that makes it so much easier. I find everything past 12kHz can be totally excised for the benefit of the tone, but high-passing beyond that leads to some dull tones IMO. The way I prefer to mic amps (or impulses that are similar) leaves a nasty fizz spike around 8-9 kHz that needs to be notched, but the rest can be left most of the time. In order to get real bright tones, I set the high-pass around there and then set the treble and presence to taste.

I tend to do the same thing after experimenting a bit with the tone. It seems to me though, that after some careful listening to some songs I like and have a healthy amount of 8-10k, they gave the impression of being very open even if the tone itself is not that good. It helps the feeling of the song I think even if he/they had to "sacrifice" the tone.

 

[Jormyn]

Another thing that I've found helpful recently - try hunting down all the gross resonant frequencies BEFORE you touch the low-pass. With the really gross noises notched out, you can leave a lot more of the remaining fizz/air in there.

 

[Phil_ocean]

Another thing that I've found helpful recently - try hunting down all the gross resonant frequencies BEFORE you touch the low-pass. With the really gross noises notched out, you can leave a lot more of the remaining fizz/air in there.

Gonna try it this way next time

 

[Delitzsch]

One of the key things that gets overlooked when low-passing, is the slope. Most EQs default at 18 dB. I prefer to use a less aggressive slope; either 12 or 6 dB. By using a more gentle slope, I can be a little more aggressive with what frequency I set my low-pass at without it crushing all of the high-end.

 

[Korwent]

Most of the time it's 6dB for me too, sometimes 12 but I don't like low passing the guitars too much.