How to fix low mids in a mix ?!

H

HaydenLM1

Member
Aug 21, 2011
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Its been driving me insane! it kinda ruins everything and when i use a multiband compressor (either the c4 or the cubase one) the sound get really thin and fizzy and same thing when i EQ the low mids out a bit...

E.g. here are my guitars, single track, then doubled and then quad :
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/40566417/LOW MID.mp3

Help anyone ?
 
It sounds like you need to adjust some settings at the source, rather than in post. The guitar is overgained, it's got a scratchy (digital?) treble, too much bass on the amp

Get Andy Sneap's C4 preset, that should help you, but also take a look at your amp settings before trying to fix it during mixing
 
bass is on 4, gain is on 5 with a TS9.. (its a Recto, but its not cracnked at all)
but still i didnt hear any low mids like that in the actual room, or even when my ear was against the speaker..im using SM57 to mic the 2x12 rectifier cab.
 
Maybe it's a room mode. Is the cab close to a wall or corner? Even if it isn't, you might want to try some different placements in the room. Or a different room altogether, if it's a rather small one. Also, moving the mic closer or further away from the speaker can enhance or reduce the low response.
 
its surrounded by 2 walls from the back and one from the left, on the right there is my comp desk. the room is pretty big, but got a lot of stuff in it (drum kit, guitars, comp, monitors and all normal bedroom stuff)
maybe because of that ? lol
could it be that ?
 
"How to fix low mids in a mix ?!"

This isn't a mix. It's just guitars. Post the mix
 
this lowend-peak is roughly at 130Hz = 2,65m wavelenght. does your room have a height / length / width of 2,6m or multipiers of it (5,2m length as example)? your cab/mic is probably sitting in the peak of a room-mode.
try this: play 130Hz with a sinewave-generator with you monitors. walk around and listen where it gets louder/quieter. is it very loud at the position where your cab/mic is? if yes, move your cab around.
if your room is completly rectangular room, you can enter your room-dimensions here, so you can see where the highest pressure-areas of the room-modes are and try to aviod these places. but keep in mind, every room mode has also a deep null... ;)

cheers! ;)

edit:
HaydenLM1 said:
...when i use a multiband compressor (either the c4 or the cubase one) the sound get really thin and fizzy and same thing when i EQ the low mids out a bit...
Click to expand...
important lesson, try to fix problems as early as possible, not "fix-it-in-the-mix"! ;)
 
AEL89 said:
"How to fix low mids in a mix ?!"

This isn't a mix. It's just guitars. Post the mix
Click to expand...

ive put E.g... (guitars got that low mid that im trying to sort..

k.h.e -
thanks man, that is really helpful! so do i have to put my cab on the white spots that the picture is showing ?
 
what are the room-dimensions and the room-shape? if your room is completly square, then theoreticaly, yes.
but first try to identify whats wrong with your actual position and why. (IF this is the root of your problem, i`m not 100% sure ;))
 
the dimensions are :
width 4.3
length 4.3
height 2.5
and its a square shape...

ive been moving the cab around a lot now but still get these shitty low mids even when the bass is on 2...
:(
 
I don't hear anything wrong with your guitar tone other than it sound really scratchy.. The low mids were sorta week, if anything IMO
 
ive been trying almost every possible way to put my cab in the room, but nothing solves this problem! :(

NSGUITAR said:
I don't hear anything wrong with your guitar tone other than it sound really scratchy.. The low mids were sorta week, if anything IMO
Click to expand...

so how would you fix that ?
 
amarshism said:
i wonder if anyone has ever deliberately used room mode peaks and nulls for effect?
Click to expand...

They say that's how the Black Album tone was done. Room modes in conjunction with selective mics/cancellations.

OP: that sounds like a miking problem to me. I used to own a Recto and recto cab and that's the sound of one being incorrectly miked. If it doesn't sound on tape like it sounds in the room, the mic and your placement are to blame. It also sounds like it's not dialed properly. Somebody said it's scratchy and I agree with that, it's not smooth and round like a recto tone should be. The reason Rectos are not more commonly used in most studios these days is that they have to be shaking walls volume before they get to that place where they sound right through a mic. Crank it up.
 
well i cant really crank it so much that it will make the walls shake..so how would you dial in the recto? and ive been moving the mic forever around the cab but nothing solves this, even if the bass is on 0 !
did you mic the cab really close ? cuz im backing off the mic about 4 inches from the actual speaker.. and the grill cloth is on the cab.. im trying to solve that weird low end that im getting, crankin the amp up so it shakes walls wll solve it ? i dont know ..but if it does i will get an anttenuator (?)

and what is room mode peaks ad nulls ? sorry for the noob question lol
 
The bass was on 3..but if i add more ill get shit loads more of that frequency..
Problem. Bahh
 
Try these type of settings for starters (clockface settings):

TS9:

Drive: 9:00
Tone: to taste
Level: 12:00

Recto: Red Modern channel

Gain: between 12:00-3:00, depends on the guitar. Try it so that it first sounds slightly oversaturated, then so that it sounds slightly undergained and then put it in between that area.
Treble: 11:00-2:00
Mids: 09:00-11:00
Bass: 09:00-11:00
Presence: 02:00-05:00
Volume: So that you can speak/shout over the amp

Then put the cabinet on a chair, pull it 1-2ft away from the back wall and turn ~15 degrees so that it's not pointing straight at the opposite wall. Then set the SM57 on axis at the grill to about where the center and the cone meets. Gets you something like this:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1338211/ahjteam/ahjteam_water_v04.mp3
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1338211/ahjteam/ahjteam_latenightmystery_v07_mesa.mp3
 
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