Smearing the top end?

[The Arkitekt]

Im lookin for a VST/DX (channel strip emulation, EQ, compressor, idc) that adds a smeared texture to the top end, I hear it on pretty much anything thats been professionaly engineered. You can notice it mostly on vocals and shit, the highs sound very clear and big but at the same time they are not harsh AT ALL and sound rather flat and smeared. Im guessing it's the tubes in the expensive preamps all the big boys use? Idk,,, anyone know what i'm talking about?

 

[Shonsteez]

I have a feeling the sound your hearing is coming from more then just a plugin....Just running a vocal through a Neve console will make it sound ridiculous. I imagine that the signal chain involved combined with the advanced processing and professional mastering is what gives it that sheen? My educated guess tho.

 

[God]

The "sheen" depends on what kind of equalizer the mastering engineer uses. It lives from 10kHz upwards into ranges that are not in human hearing range - but affect lower harmonics (I think), though still boosted, like 32khz. Adding a shelved boost from 15kHz upwards gives the mix more "air". It gives it sparkle with smoothness.

Again, the type of eq you use to do this gives the sheen a certain "color".


I love studiospeak.

EDIT:

I was listening to that Kevin Rudolf radio-crack song "Let It Rock" and afterwards listened to some other track that had a "stuffier" mix. I boosted the mix on my stereo both at the 10k and 16k bands to make the mix "sparkle" cuz I felt it was dead. That's called "ghetto mastering"

 

[The Arkitekt]

Thanks for the insight Steez and God.

@ God, you know any EQ plugins that go that high on the spectrum?

 

[God]

Thanks for the insight Steez and God.

@ God, you know any EQ plugins that go that high on the spectrum?

1. A good analog rackmounted multiband EQ goes beyond 16kHz - that's what they using in mastering labs - would be the optimal way to go.
2. If you can't get that - use get a great multiband EQ for your DAW or mastering program and boost to a range that is between 12-16kHz and see if it gives you some sheen.

You could "fake it" digitally with an "exciter" applied to the mix, but you have to be very careful with this - and I"m unaware of multiband "exciters" that could help you specifically target this frequency range.

Honestly, the human ear can only hear sounds up to a certain frequency (16-18kHz). I wouldn't worry about higher frequencies - in the high end and see how it sounds.

Ultimately the mix is up to your ears. If there is a song that you want to use as a reference for the mix, A/B with the song and see how close you can get.

Remember - you can't make Sterling Sound (a top notch mastering studio) out of every Mac or PC.

Be reasonable with your expectations - and you'll see that you can achieve amazing results.

 

[The Arkitekt]

Of course,,, was just curious because you said that boosting those inaudible frequencies add harmonics to the ones you can hear

Please fill me in on the exciters

 

[God]

Google and http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/33031-exciter-vst-plug.html are a good start to learn about high frequency exciters.

I wouldn't look at that as your solution though... because I don't think that's your problem. But have a look. If you have a more specific question, don't hesitate to post it.

 

[Fury]

well the expensive ass pre amps def dont hurt but u can get that sound witout it...its really not the VST ur lookin for u just need to get ur mixing skill up its all in the attention to detail u give the vocals combined wit the vocal to beat ratio....

on another note i noticed that most of the producers that are mixing a track wit there beat on it have such a biased mix..
they want there beat to bang so hard and standout from the sample to the snare that they completely drown out the vocals to the point where its like the Vocals are secondary to the track..

PEOPLE THE VOCALS ARE THE CENTERPIECE TO THE SOUND IT IS THE FOCUS EVERY SYLLABLE SHOULD BE HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD COMPLETELY IF U KINDA HEAR WHAT THE VERSE IS SAYING THAT MEANS UR VOCALS AINT LOUD ENOUGH...U CANT HAVE A THANKGIVING DINNER WITOUT THE TURKEY OR ELSE UR SIDE MEALS AND DECORATIONS DONT MEAN SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (----- I CAME UP WIT THAT BY MYSELF

 

[The Arkitekt]

Good lookin out God, Ima read up on this in a bit.


Ya Fury, I got that shit down lol. I downloaded some ebooks and they had some good info on it. It says i.e., if you wanna stress the vocals (this can go for any sound in the track you want to stand out), turn all the faders down xept for the vocals, then mix the rest of the stuff in from there. been workin for me so far

 

[StressWon]

1. A good analog rackmounted multiband EQ goes beyond 16kHz - that's what they using in mastering labs - would be the optimal way to go.
2. If you can't get that - use get a great multiband EQ for your DAW or mastering program and boost to a range that is between 12-16kHz and see if it gives you some sheen.

You could "fake it" digitally with an "exciter" applied to the mix, but you have to be very careful with this - and I"m unaware of multiband "exciters" that could help you specifically target this frequency range.

Honestly, the human ear can only hear sounds up to a certain frequency (16-18kHz). I wouldn't worry about higher frequencies - in the high end and see how it sounds.

Ultimately the mix is up to your ears. If there is a song that you want to use as a reference for the mix, A/B with the song and see how close you can get.

Remember - you can't make Sterling Sound (a top notch mastering studio) out of every Mac or PC.

Be reasonable with your expectations - and you'll see that you can achieve amazing results.

word good advice. Thats the thing it will never have that multimillion dollar studio sound.

 

[God]

Good lookin out God, Ima read up on this in a bit.


Ya Fury, I got that shit down lol. I downloaded some ebooks and they had some good info on it. It says i.e., if you wanna stress the vocals (this can go for any sound in the track you want to stand out), turn all the faders down xept for the vocals, then mix the rest of the stuff in from there. been workin for me so far

Also, another idea I just thought of was take your compressor, and sidechain it w/hi-pass at 7-kHz and compress the track you want to add "air" to. This is not recommended for the general mix, just BG vox or stuff like that. Then squash it with a threshold that's insane, like -50db and apply the maximum amount of compression to the vox - like 15:1 or 20:1 or more (and boost the makeup gain.)

It'll start sounding cool and have maybe too much sheen. Even it out with a maximizer or just automate the faders.

Fury: You're right, the vox are the centerpiece of the mix. A lot of people boost the music too much... I dont' think Ark is doing this though, he just wants to add some "brilliance" to the overall mix.

 

[Formant024]

There not to many 'izer plugs that do this nicely (and i cant recommend to use any enhancement processing if/when possible) but PSP mix treble in moderate usage works pretty well for me in most cases. I actualy use it mostly to adapt different sonic characters between signals if they differ to much in the top end in such a way that they dont really blend in the mix.

 

[The Arkitekt]

@ God, That sidechaning idea sounds good, ima give that a try later

@ Formant, the features on MixTreble look nice, I gotta check that out


Appreciate it