Subject:What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Posted by: ClipMan

Date:5/8/2010 7:10:42 PM

Searching the net shows there are proponents for one or the other. It appears Rofrano, in his book Instant Acid, is doing EQ first. Others make a good "case" for Compression first. So I put a clip through the paces on both and certainly heard a difference in the overall sound but they both sounded OK to me but what do I know? Any hard and fast rules on this? TIA for any input.

Brian

Subject:RE: What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:5/8/2010 7:44:14 PM

> It appears Rofrano, in his book Instant Acid, is doing EQ first.

I resemble that remark! ;-)

I like to put the compressor last because I use Wave Hammer which has a volume maximizer and I want that to be the final processing. Depending on the sound you are trying to achieve it is perfectly fine to compress first and the EQ the results. You just need to be sure that you don't apply too much EQ boost and over modulate the audio. (btw, a compressor after the EQ would attenuate that for you which is another reason I place the compressor last)

~jr

Subject:RE: What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Reply by: ClipMan

Date:5/8/2010 8:09:58 PM

Hi, Johnny

Neat trick. Probably save me some time futzing with the volume envelopes. Sounds good to me. BTW, learned other good tricks too from your book. Thanks for the input.

Brian

Subject:RE: What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Reply by: ozzborn

Date:5/9/2010 4:25:54 AM

Honestly... it depends on the material.....

IF its a drum loop... I might put the e..q first to filter out the low subs...everything under 30hz must go.

Than i might put an E.Q after the compressor to boost for clarity that the compressor dulled or shifted in the same chain.

Let your ears decide.

My best advice is to always REFRENCE your tracks to other industry tracks in the same vein,CONTENT WISE.

Hope this Helps

www.myspace.com/ozzborn

Subject:RE: What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:5/9/2010 8:55:31 AM

> My best advice is to always REFRENCE your tracks to other industry tracks in the same vein,CONTENT WISE.

Exactly! As Brian knows (because he has my book) this is the advice I give in the first paragraph on the chapter on Mixing:

Learning how to mix requires hands-on training and listening to different mixes and why they sound the way they do. If you are trying to achieve a certain sound, listen to other songs that have that sound. Try to dissect them and understand why they sound the way they do. When you think you have achieved the sound, place your song on a CD or tape between two of the songs you are trying to emulate and listen to the three songs in order. Did yours stand out as sounding different, or did it blend in? This is a good indication of whether you have achieved the sound you are looking for.

~jr

Subject:RE: What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Reply by: ClipMan

Date:5/9/2010 10:57:16 AM

Johnny, Ozzborn

I just remixed a few sessions based on your input and it's like night and day with regards to the time spent mixing this stuff. I'm a believer! Thank you for taking the time. I just want to make music that I enjoy listening to. What a rush! This Acid Pro software is simply amazing. I can preview loops in the project key and tempo while it plays back. I mean, come on ... that has to be up there with miracles and white magic. Rarely do I gush like a school girl meeting Lady Gaga for the first time but Acid is tops. Anyway, here's a small clip from my latest session.

http://76.74.255.198/brian/Cruising With Nat 30 remix.mp3

Brian

Subject:RE: What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Reply by: inocmusic

Date:5/11/2010 8:56:58 AM

Just to give a different approach I split the EQ and filters on my SSL channel strip plugs so I get:

Highpas & low pass Filters -> Compression -> EQ

This way I get the rumble and hiss taken care of before compressing the signal and then EQ the result.. (although I sometimes end up EQing the low end back in but it's more under control post filter ->compression)
If you don't have a dedicated channel strip plug you can still do this with ACIDs native plugins by using
Track EQ -> Compressor -> Track EQ and just use the high and low shelf/pass filters on the first EQ.

Of course this is not hard and fast and it may not always work but I find it a good starting point for many things

of course YMMV

Subject:RE: What comes first? EQ or Compression ...

Reply by: _Gabriel_

Date:6/21/2010 1:05:50 AM

Well there is no right or wrong answer to this, Everybody sets up their templates differently and according to genre, special effects etc. With that said, most of the proffesional engineers I've worked with always put their compressor 1st. When I 1st started I always set my eq 1st in the chain due mostly to all the hearsay I read on the web. Obviously this is no longer the case. On my tracks I have a compressor or a limiter on every single track (1st in the chain) but you really need to have an understanding of how compression works. Always use it musically to tighten up the track and give it some dynamics rather than squishing all the life out of it. Concentrate on your attack and release BEFORE your threshold and ratio. My EQ is usually last in the chain now (again depends on what I'm shooting for).

There is no right or wrong answer, no magic formula and definitely no shortcuts. It all comes down to practice, imagination and really having an understanding of all your effects and how they effect each other, (this really is the key).

Good luck :)