Fat, thin, bright, dull, nasal, hollow, boxy - Understand what all these tonal balance terms mean
Fat, thin, bright, dull, nasal, hollow, boxy - What do all these words mean? TONAL BALANCE is vitally important in audio and you need to learn how to speak its language. This video demonstrates with audio examples what the terms mean and what they sound like.
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Thursday July 30, 2020
David Mellor
David Mellor is CEO and Course Director of Audio Masterclass. David has designed courses in audio education and training since 1986 and is the publisher and principal writer of Adventures In Audio.
@JJONNYREPP replies to @AudioMasterclass: Fat, thin, bright, dull, nasal, hollow, boxy - Understand what all these tonal balance terms mean 0953am 7.7.23 lazy intonation and lax desire to deliver one's thoughts coherently... (lazy peoples per se) is basically the basis of regional dialect. that said, the home counties plummy tongue does nothing for me, either. it is said, due to industrial revolution vs pastoral living - speech became more nasally in the cities and towns due to bellowing smog and smoke as opposed to the countryside wherein folk became more coherent.. this is not the case... we dont even take into consideration the alleged elite's desire to distance themselves from anything deemed of the lower orders - speech included. i curse my nasally vile odes but that's due to a desire to distance myself from nasally and allegedly industrial volk. not due to any aloofness.. that and the masses of crushed bone and matter situated atop the bridge of my nose after having run into a tree during the early 80's. i do wonder what my speech would have sounded like if 1: i was not brow beaten by northern-ease and 2: i had not run into that tree all those years ago. p.s that anecdote is worthy of a response in anybody's book.
@mikhailarnautov2540: I like the smiley one
@PavelLitkinBorisovich: Scooped/smile curve is the winner
@marcelomatos26: THank you for the information! Very clear!
@musorix: helpful video
@mahmoudali1716: Great Video Very Very Good ❤❤❤❤❤
@DavidRice-l2n: Try the 200 kilohertz again but turn down to highs
@DavidRice-l2n: Yeah that's cuz everybody cranks up the bass on the stereo and I think that's how it's supposed to sound and during the meantime I'm screwing up your ears
@DavidRice-l2n: You're those signals not making a farting sound below the base is going to have a 14 sound it's got to be rough and in the background and the highest can't have no overtones and then you can hear it lean from side to side
@DavidRice-l2n: No because it will cover the heirs the mistakes
@DavidRice-l2n: Is not leaning between the different notes was not working
@DavidRice-l2n: They should play before the stereo is going to work it's got to be driven off frequency because you can't run multiple signals into one half and expect everything to stay straight it's not going to happen Celestial driven off frequency before it's going to work
@DavidRice-l2n: They should play before the stereo is going to work it's got to be driven off frequency because you can't run multiple signals into one half and expect everything to stay straight it's not going to happen Celestial driven off frequency before it's going to work
@DavidRice-l2n: This may not be the right way to say this but only way I can think of right now is you got to make the amplifier Hertz come out of its normal operation now man
@DavidRice-l2n: It's got to miss and hit like electric guitar sound the raspberry you can make the sound the better it sounds kind of the same way with stereo you start with the base and the more you can improve on yourself to higher and frequency you can get the same effect and this is how to get all volume level so if it's low or full power it's got to have to change distortion I can rock and roll your house😊
@DavidRice-l2n: It's not even close I don't care where you put it if the low signal not manipulating The Hires it's not working
@DavidRice-l2n: Your Lowe's and Highs are being turned up too high
@DavidRice-l2n: Got to be driven out of normal operation before it's going to work
@DavidRice-l2n: No on the dark tone it's just going to cover the sounds you want to hear
@DavidRice-l2n: Can somebody please do something wrong instead of the way they were told or taught to do these things do something against the way you're talking do something wrong the trick was doing things wrong you got to be subtle with the wrong things and it becomes life is lean back and forth like rock and roll that's where the term Rock and Roll come from is it rocks and it rolls was music if you can't hear the rock and roll in the music is not working
@DavidRice-l2n: The best stereos are the ones that are stuck in cars the low frequency signal will dominate the vocals causing the vocals to fade out with the low signal problem being it only works out full volume mess around with that and be extreme with it if you take another amp with a tone and volume control you can control the loudest little better but the trick is to be subtle with that vocal fade out and just end it instead of hitting it really hard and it gives the music will lean towards one side or the other it go back and forth and become random to the point where it becomes find random cuz every time it changes Direction you can see it coming becomes predictable
@DavidRice-l2n: Your differences in the sound of really irrelevant cuz you're not exaggerated enough to really hear
@DavidRice-l2n: Low signal needs to dominate before it starts to work
@xisotopex: do our ears start to compensate, or fool us, if we have been listening to the same source material for a while?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @xisotopex: Yes, human hearing does seem to accommodate to less-than-perfect frequency balances. When mixing or mastering, it's always good to take a break and come back with fresh ears.
@xisotopex: it doesnt matter if I am recording one instrument, or a composition with several, it always sounds like shit. and I am starting with computer audio, virtual synthesizers, not acoustic instruments...
@youvebeenserged7784: Very informative!
@Nemura12: Now I understand why I like my Sennheiser HD-600 so much.
@test40323: Although used by professionals in the recording industry, these fundamental terms for communication are also very useful for layman and enthusiasts. Thank you!
@paulmcdonough9595: What a great explanation, thank you.
@rickyblair8802: Fat just sounded muffled to me
@markkirollos4437: While the information contained in this video is good, the YT audio compression has definitely made it difficult to actually hear the changes you are making to the EQ. If I make the same changes on my own EQ program, the differences are much more apparent, resulting in less confusion. Just a heads up to anyone else watching this in the future.
@Dj-Jon-E-C: Well explained interesting to lean of what the frequencies do. I know a little but this helped me more.
@Михайло-д2п: Now I know everything. Kneel before the almighty.
@velixzeen: Thank you for clarifying these commonly used terms and putting some numbers to them. Cheers!
@simonhickie7589: Excellent demonstration of the effect of changes to different parts of the audio spectrum. I have home-brewed speakers which comprise open baffle bass drivers plus distributed mode mid/treble loudspeaker panels. I use a miniDSP HD as an active crossover and REW to tailor driver responses and overall room EQ. With EQ, the system will play flat down to about 35hz. it still tends to sound a little thin at the bottom end, perhaps because OB bass and DML panels load the room differently from traditional 'point and squirt' speakers. Perhaps, therefore, the overall response needs a bit more of a boost in the 'fat' region and over a smaller frequency range than I'm currently giving it.
@dangerzone007: Why use EQ anyway. (EQ fixes nothing according to the honest Audiophile) so why use it?
@soundssimple1: Discovered channel mid 2023, going thru many past vids. Found this excellent example. Thanks.
@klauskujawa7858: “ TREMENDOUS CLARITY”: #1 my 58 year old hearing is great, I could hear every example the video demonstrates! #2. I prefer “Flat” in every example which makes sense given that it is the same when listening at home- my stereo amplifier settings 95% of the time are set to flat, or bypass tone control all together. Very helpful video sir, excellent content and I am continuing to learn from the videos on your channel….cheers!!!👍from USA
@spectrelayer: Great subject! This issue is one that I paid close attention to while developing the process I market to postmaster audio. The AI has seemed to adopt a different curve than most engineers end up with. I suspect that this may be because many mastering headphones have a bump at the extreme ends and mastering is being biased away from the ends unintentionally. Hear the difference for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLhbOygKkOM
@Kris_M: I'm surprised how well that piece of music and some headphones demonstrate the different tonal balances.
Is there a name for when there is a clear trough between low and mid, and between mid and high? I've got that issue in my car and it sounds terrible.
@andymouse: Wonderful....cheers !
@wiebl5266: I really appreciate this video you made, thank YOU x 10! I know a lot of things you say but when I hear it, the disclarity in my mind disappears. Thank you. I particularly appreciate the term AIR and NASAL, and the boosting of sound range differentiates the speakers that we buy. Thank you so much.
@audiomez: The jazz population would go insane with those descriptors
@audiomez: Ah! Aren’t you edging into timbre??
@audiomez: You left out strident. Lol
@DID70Sworkedoutforyou: this sounds like after masterizing the recording it doesn´t allow to change the sound that much with a weak equalizer
@DID70Sworkedoutforyou: this makes no sense what are you trying to prove with this, don´t really understand
@duedielle: Why he seems create by an I.A. 🤔
@yettamon956: thanks for knowledge, now I understand more about listening music and how to describe it
@alexrichardson9125: It has been so nice to 'at last' understand why my system sounds the way it does. I will get onto my EQ circuit tomorrow! Thank you so much.
@DID70Sworkedoutforyou replies to @alexrichardson9125: normally people don´t understand what the equalizer do to the music and also equalizers sold for home systems are very bad ,in the 80´s i bought a kenwood that also had the reverb ,and it felt better than others till today ,the dbx equalizer is better in a way that if someone does know how to work with it ,it includes a lot of frequencies that can be changed but this is a professional equalizer ,at home i don´t use any, if one knows when hearing music what frequency should be changed for the better this when playing cds,it´s easy but most of the users never really undertstood what it does to the music ,those V shape equalization decrease what already is decreased so it looks so bad having it on one´s system, it can be seen in several videos on youtube or it could ,this new youtube it´s kind of a deal that stole everyone in this planet
@barrymckockiner8737: The song picked has literally nothing playing on the highs and lows. I couldn't pick a worse example
@Hypurr1: The bright/airy sound is why many people turned Dolby off when playing back cassettes. They liked the ~10db boost that Dolby applied to the high end when recording.
I find quite a few shows I've attended the last decade or so have a harsh sound. It's very annoying and makes me want to jump in the booth and correct it. I just keep thinking, "can't they hear that? What the hell is wrong with them?" Then I realize that they grew up in the generation that equated distortion with volume when they are totally unrelated.
@DID70Sworkedoutforyou replies to @Hypurr1: i remenber when dolby apeared ,the decks had a lack of highs ,so people record it with dolby but listen without also increasing the noise ,i myself when home recording never used dolby or any other nr. system, it sounds better and no noise also one can record with the volume louder using the quality of the deck at 100% not limited by a NR.
@MiguelCruz-cm1fe: Hi.
@toldiforakusz: Köszönjük!
@passenger62: To me, 'air' or 'airy' refers to the arrangement - whether cluttered or sparse.
@tylergates4075: What is the song being used, its so good. Sounds like Paul Hardcastle
@AudioMasterclass replies to @tylergates4075: It's just one of my musical doodles. DM
@polmorgan3533: I'm fifty seven and i find i have to cup my hands behind my ears to hear the real sound of my mixes. Thank you for all your good advice it has helped me a lot even though some i don't agree with... haha maybe i'm just a prick. thanks Mate.
@polmorgan3533: You have a great perspective thank you for sharing it.
@polmorgan3533: I thank you for your good advice my friend I have been thinking a lot about what you said on my last post, thanks.
@digitaltrash_: Hollow 1K is hardest to hear, but lacking of it can dramatically make mix lifeless and not real.
@adornohorkheimer: This is simply one of the greatest videos on youtube about music reproduction. Now I know why I like (and don't like) some sound profiles. Thank you so much!
@miketheperformer5972: Finally someone explains these terms in a way I can understand them!
@mattiasbb3k466: Excellent job, well done!👍✅
@dhpbear2: I've heard 'air' used to describe heavily boosted bass. I guess because it 'moves more air'?
@erikmolnar6585: It's balanced. Aside from that, what do you think of the Giles Martin White Album 2018 mix? Are mids on Beatles represses dull and the mix muddy overall? Do they need to bake the master tapes and let a real engineer remix them??? I know I'm off topic, but with all these Beatles, Giles Martin boxes, are they grails or total fu*king Bollocks? I got the White Album box, and it sounds fine if there is nothing else to compare it to. I most definitely love buying a record nobody has ever owned or played so I enjoy playing it, but f**k me, it sounds muddy af
@92trdman: To learn this, prepared a good headphones or loudspeaker with as less coloring or less characteristics as possible...
@scottlowell493: Lack of tonal balance is also what fools some people into thinking something is more detailed or clear than it is.
Focal clear headphones lack low bass, so the mids and treble sound clearer. Quad and Klipsch la scala have no low bass at all, and they are described as "fast." They sound thin to me. The original la scala are aggressive, shouty and harsh. The quad don't move much air, and owners will proclaim they make other speakers sound "Bloated and slow". I consider quads thin and etherial. Quads and la scala need a sub and eq to balance. Elac Debut reference 6 sound dull and muffled to me. While the midrange and bass are nice, the treble is so weak that it doesn't balance them out. Final audio Sonorus IV and VI, Some Beyer dynamic, Sennhieser 700 and 800 (not s) have a sharp 7-9khz and I call them "death by treble" headphones. Muddy? Beats and bose products.
@RemyRAD: Now look wait a minute. There's only one thing to remember here. And it's a mantra. I've lived by. Since 1979. And that is:
An Ounce of Punch. Is Worth a Pound of Sound. And that came from Media Sound Studios, NYC. The home of Bob Clearmountain. To name a few hit engineers from there. And I'm sort of one of them. I maintained and tweaked everything. I modified equipment. I improved equipment. And then I would substitute for other engineers who didn't show up to do recordings. Because most of the assistant recording engineers were unreliable flakes. And us maintenance guys. We had to be thorough, complete, knowledgeable, on the ball, on-time and always at the ready.
And so if you live by that, motto. That mantra. And you engineer in that manner. You don't need to think about anything else. And you can tell.. That's why Bob Clearmountain''s recordings and mixes sound the way they do. So do mine, mostly. It's a thing you learn. A simple thing. And other simple things. Even though Bob Clearmountain also recorded Simple Mines when others were Tears for Fears. As Bob was also, Born, in the USA. And recorded the Springsteen man and Max Weinberg. Whom I've also recorded. What a lovely guy. Un-neurotic, humble, complementary, speaks quietly. I recorded him at the Stone Pony in, Asbury Park, New Jersey. Same place where Linda Ronstadt got put on the map. And I knew I was on hallowed ground. At that legendary place. That was so cool! When we were still all young and beautiful. The good old days. The days we thought would never end.
Why can't I go back in time if I want to? I would like to relive my early professional childhood.
RemyRAD
@RemyRAD: Audio doesn't need fixing. If it already sounds great during the tracking session. Then it practically mixes itself. Especially if you are tracking with,, judicious EQ, pushing into an, 1176 in radical mode. And tracking it that way. You don't need to undo anything! No. You just roll with that on mix down. It'll all fall into place, nicely. And then you can add extra gobbledygook of EQ, limiting, expansion, gating some reverb some time delays and slaps. And check the mix on the, Joint Scale. Does it require one or more joints to sound good? You have to find out. And this must be done in a graduated, process. After the first playback. You graduate to a second joint and playback. Until you get through all variations. That you can remember.
The following day. You will find a mix you can use. To repair. Realize it now sounds great. Bottoboom Boughta Bang, Zippy due DAH Day! Yabaddabadoo and I love you!
Your guitar amplifiers will always sound much better. When you reverse the polarity on the speaker. It is not protruding out toward you from the front. Everyone makes this mistake. Those that have figured it out. Those are the guitar amplifiers that sound great when recorded. Like bigger than life sound. Because they are not sucking away from the microphone diaphragm. Like everybody else's is. The same thing with your hi-fi speakers and your control room monitor speakers. It's a terrible faux pas. I consider it the world's largest Pro Audio Technical FUCK Up of all time! The math nerds got it backwards. They think they are forwards. They are not. People have lost the capacity to cohesively think things through in 3D. And it's a strange regression of most modern human beings. Modern current Homo sapiens. Who get something outstandingly wrong. Believing they are right. Makes me realize. There are 2 different species of Homo sapiens on the planet. Homo sapiens 1.0. Who only can call on their, left or right hemisphere of their brain matter. Which greatly interrupts normal functioning. From that of Homo sapiens 2.0. Like most of us. Who are more evolutionarily advanced. And we gained the ability. To use both hemispheres of our brain matter. That do automatic, error code checking. Against each side. And we arrive at answers. Through logical thought. Homo sapiens 1.0. Do not have that capability nor capacity. They are mentally limited. Due to earlier evolutionary, not yet fully human, DNA.
I definitely know I am onto something here. I'm a retired genius engineer. And not engineering the things I once did. Your mind wants to compensate. And you begin troubleshooting other technological dilemmas. And arrive at answers.
And so while I am neither an official academic scientist nor Dr. I have been one hell of a remarkable, miracle, Engineer. Who's had quite a career. And while I have not always been 100% right. I've also never been wrong. And I approached troubleshooting, much differently from that of, limited, Academics. That have no capacity to think out-of-the-box. At no capacity to actually, think cohesively. And… Well… I get that capability from over 150 IQ. And with MRI photographed severe traumatic brain injury damage. That doesn't look like a living functioning person. And the doctors just look at me shake their heads and shrug their shoulders. And have no idea why I am alive, intelligent and as functional as I have recovered to be. Least of all myself? Except for the possibility?
I can only now assume. That I am so terribly, hideously, brain damaged. The trauma so severe. That I don't know. That I'm supposed to be brain-damaged? I am so terribly brain-damaged. That I'm a real moron. And go about life like nothing's wrong. Ha! That's funny. I am that much of a brain-damaged retardant. I don't know I'm supposed to be a retard? Can somebody instruct me? I mean there's a reason why I only wear flip-flops now. Hot weather. No more worrying about tying my shoes. I don't purchase shoes with laces. Except sneakers. And those you just leave tied in a knot. That won't come out. And you use them like Loafers. Because as you can see. Even black guys that have expensive sneakers. Don't know how to tie their shoes. As it is a very intricate and complex function. When you are upside down and underwater. And not worry your shoes should be. Though I think they do float? And that's like my preservers on your feet. So you couldn't float to the surface. Feetfirst and attach a flotation collar. They will retrieve your head later. That popped off. And fell on the ocean floor again. Not to worry. The cold will help to preserve it and the saltwater will help to, pickle it. So it stays nice and crunchy. When retrieved.
I'm sorry. This post does not include any, Air Sickness Bags.. Please aim for the floor.
RemyRAD
@soberhippie: 1:24 How is it that "woody/tinny" aren't among those?
I'll see myself out
@MusicChannel-rf5zz: Thanks.Can I use it on a vocal track?
@prospektraks: The articulation of these videos is spectacular. I've been making, mixing and mastering music for a quarter of a century now, and I still quite enjoy watching these videos.
@Seiskid: Super helpful tutorial. Simple. Clear. Great examples.
@NaresvaraDas-rv8hp: Very useful. Any chance of a similar class with voice only?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @NaresvaraDas-rv8hp: I don't see why not, but I tend to make videos on whatever interests me in the moment. If the thought sticks in my mind for a while, then I probably will. DM
@erlonbailey8398: Thank you, Paul McCartney.
@k.nyerereture6726: This is useful, but I think it might be great to also explain the different tonal balances by add and cut of dbs. I like though to know where across the hertz each tonal balance can be affected. I imagine it is best to play by ear to know the add and cut of dbs. Could you mate, also suggest the tonal balance by instrument piece?
@RasheedKhan-he6xx: Absolutely stellar! I'm not an engineer, I'm simply the audience but I've struggled all my life to communicate clearly with other enthusiasts (for example when discussing equipment or rooms). We all know the terms but most apply thrm incorrectly. I'm going to share this video far and wide. I do have a, question though : what do the terms "wet" and "dry" and "fast" or "sluggish" mean?
@IllusionistBeatsOfficial replies to @RasheedKhan-he6xx: Wet and dry refer to the level at which an effect is operating on a sound. The 'wet' signal is the one with the effect applied. The 'dry' signal is the original, unaffected signal. The 'wetness' of the sound is the extent to which the effect is affecting the signal. I have no idea about fast and sluggish
@RasheedKhan-he6xx replies to @RasheedKhan-he6xx: @IllusionistBeatsOfficial Cheers! I certainly wouldn't have guessed that on my own.
@IllusionistBeatsOfficial replies to @RasheedKhan-he6xx: @RasheedKhan-he6xx no worries!
@charlesbonkley: 14:12 - I see what you did there.
@paulmertens5522: Thank you! Straightforward but essential stuff with clear examples!
@veerpaldodave9811: 👍
@billcaruso7050: Thank you for illustrating the tonal descriptions that people use to describe spectral shapes of sound.
In a recording studio, these descriptions might be useful, but in an auditorium, I don't see the value of these descriptions since multipath fading causes a plethora of frequency nulls and crests throughout the auditorium and since the locations of people affect the frequency response of a room.
Years ago, I built a scalar audio network analyzer using a sinewave generator, a wideband flat amplifier, an oscilloscope, and a wideband microphone. It was controlled by a laptop driving a GPIB bus. The program sweeping frequencies included a calibration sequence to ensure the tones heard by the microphone were adjusted from 10Hz to 20kHz to be flat.
Result: there were dozens of nulls in a typical house room and hundreds in an auditorium! What's more, the entire spectral response changed drastically as people were added to the room and moved around! Also, these spectral responses changed as the microphone was moved, as expected.
Point is, you can never adjust equalization to the satisfaction of 90% of people in a room, and those 10% who are content with the spectral response will change as people move around in the auditorium.
There is therefore no point in trying to be precise with your language describing these sounds. The spectral responses of a large room are too numerous and varied to allow simple descriptions like this. The descriptions only have meaning in small highly dampened rooms of a recording studio and in the subsequent mixing of recording tracks.
I still thank you for giving us some idea what these crazy descriptions look like spectrally and how they might sound. This has been driving me crazy for decades!
@bentzcang1447: Sound totally no difference from my mobile phone speaker. I guess >80% of listener in this world use mobile phone to listen to Music now a day. 😅
@_b7090: You're really good at explaining the various topics, bur exposition style sounds too formal and verbose, with that said I love this video, it has helped me realized some important facts about sound that I think will always help me out.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @_b7090: I agree, I'm not so good on camera, but I practise. You will find my more recent videos better I think, and I might come back to this one sometime and remake it. DM
@slaammz9132: I need to do some more ear training to hear the subtler differences, especially Hollow tones. Thankyou !!
@vietnammg: 3:40 This old man is still living in the 1950.. You can't use the word "fat" It's offensive. It should be something like "plus size".. like "wow that's plus size synth tone", not "fat"
@AudioMasterclass replies to @vietnammg: You can't say 'plus size' anymore, it's 'tailored for comfort'. DM
@-DDW--1: I'm only just up to the start of the thin section but am I weird for preferring the flat mix to the fat one? The lowshelving on the fat mix seems to suck the life out of the mix to my ears.
@davelordy: I'm one of the few people who can produce a mix that is fat, thin, bright, dull, nasal, hollow, boxy and (my speciality) muddy.
@andreashultgren1482: Probably the best and most useful tutorial I have ever seen since I started music production three years ago. Thank you.
@MissuMissu362: You saved me thank you 😭🙏🏻
@AudioMasterclass replies to @MissuMissu362: You're welcome. DM
@fancha831: exceptional content, thanks
@AudioMasterclass replies to @fancha831: Glad you think so!
@errorsofmodernism7331: Very good explanation with no frantic arm waving or histrionics
@Lauraraksin77: Hollow has always been an issue for me to listen for in any sound source. Any tips to really distinguish that particular frequency band?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @Lauraraksin77: Dips in the frequency curve are always harder to hear, and probably therefore less to worry about because your audience is in the same position. I'd say experiment with your EQ on a variety of sound sources, comparing dips at various frequencies against flat.
@musicsound2683: 3:38 Tonal balance: Fat
4:36 Tonal balance: Thin
5:20 Tonal balance: Bright
5:59 Tonal balance: Aggressive
6:49 Tonal balance: Smooth
7:44 Tonal balance: Dark
8:40 Tonal balance: Dull/muffled
9:30 Tonal balance: Air/airy
10:34 Tonal balance: Harsh
11:26 Tonal balance: Nasal/honky
12:21 Tonal balance: Muddy
13:07 Tonal balance: Presence/bite
13:59 Tonal balance: Scooped/smile curve
15:07 Tonal balance: Hollow
15:57 Tonal balance: Boxy
16:52 Summary
@felixpalmersteinhauser6856: i find hollow the most difficult to identify
@cloud9savagehenry: Very helpful.
@brianvassallomusic: Very useful and simply explained . To keep handy. Thanks
@anantwashere: Thank you so much.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @anantwashere: You're welcome. DM
@Papa33J: Dude, thank you for this great explanation. I was missing something and I believe I may have it now because of this cool vid.
@steveb9564: First time visit and this is new to me. Fantastic stuff, understood it all. Jam packed and very well presented. Subbed!
@JamEZmusic86: Hi, you say (smoother or Darker) can be a good thing, high frequencies are rolled off perhaps for background music with voiceover. But is it common to roll off the frequencies on everything other than a vocal? Especially if the song has no drums, but instead is just an acoustic guitar only arrangement?
I never can tell if the tradeoff is a good thing. You lose the airy acoustic guitar/pick attack at 10k but the vocal takes a huge leap forward and becomes very intelligible and intimate along with a nice warm overal sound.
I actually really liked the low shelf boost at the start of the video (thick or Fat) demonstration. I would guess you lose a ton of headroom but my ear loves warmer mixes, and that boost didn't seem to blow up the low end while listening on my low end heavy speaker.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @JamEZmusic86: It's usual for finished product to have a full-range frequency balance. So if the high frequencies are only in the vocal, that can be OK. But rather than roll off the high frequencies in the instruments, you might try a dip at around 3.5 kHz, lowish Q, just a couple of dB. That will keep the high frequencies in the instruments and at the same time allow the vocal to come through. DM
@JamEZmusic86 replies to @JamEZmusic86: @AudioMasterclass I really appreciate your response. That is some great advice and it helps me more than you know.
Thank you