Instead of turning down the volume, try EQ

When a sound seems like it’s a little too loud in the mix, a worthwhile question to ask is whether it could use a little thinning in the frequency domain.

Sometimes a strategically-placed narrow cut of a couple of dBs can take the weight out of the sound in the part of the sound that was seeming too loud — leaving the rest of the sound able to shine a little more.

For example: today I had a simple noise riser that I’d programmed for the turnaround back into verse 2 of our new 80s kids song. I got it roughly in the right place, but it still felt slightly too loud, maybe a dB or two.

Instead of turning it down, I put a cut with a Q of 2.5 at around 1,100 Hz, kind of where the heaviness lives in that sort of sound. And I dialed it back -6 dB. Which I bet might seem like a lot, as you read this? But because it’s such a narrow cut, you can get away with more. And the sound just settled right into the mix!

The 1,100 Hz area being taken back allowed the top end of the sound to speak in a way that feels more effortless and less like the sound is “doing something,” if you know what I mean.

Lots of different ways to make space — jamie