Drone/pad EQ-ing.

[animapara]

Guys ...

Stuck with drone/pad sounds :(

What is the basic concept in EQ-ing drone/pad sounds? Removing resonances and/or various unpleasant whistle frequencies with notch-filter? Of course, some LP/HP filtering - but it's matter of personal taste.

Yeah, i know .. some say "I don't do any eq on drones trying to carefully select source sounds" - but it's not my case. I believe in some EQ-ing
when making drones. 

Is removing resonances all i need to take care about drone/pad/any sustained sound? As i understand, traditional cutting low-mids area trying to clean up
sound is not a way when we talk about drones.

Please, tell what you usually do with EQ when making drones ...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[APK]

Hey there.
I think you are onto the main problem, which is resonance, a sharp build up at a particular frequency. I'm always notch EQing them down because they will remain annoying otherwise. A dynamic EQ can be useful, but regular notch works of course. Beyond that, how I would EQ a drone depends what is sitting with it, and where it is good to leave some space for other sounds. For which there is no real formula. Drones and pads can vary greatly, so it is more a case by case issue. One good trick is to turn the thing up loud. Does it still sound balanced and listenable.

Often I will EQ a drone to shape its spectrum. Lower some frequencies and bring up others ... maybe to add a bit of brightness to the high end or cut the boominess in the lows. But as I say, on a case by case basic.

As you say, getting it right when selecting initial sounds and layers is very important. But in my experience some EQ will usually be needed to balance things later on. EQ is such an important weapon.

Because our ears and mind get tired and a bit untrustworthy, I will always park a finished piece for a week or so, then come back and listen it more objectively, as though it were someone else's piece. And listen for anything annoying. Then try to correct it. This will primarily be an EQ job, and some related volume balancing.

Conclusion :  For me there is no one way a drone (or pad) is made or should sound. But there are technicalities and aesthetics of music that should be observed. Which means: It should sound good. If it doesn't it needs work !  :)

[Castleview]

Cutting mids is fine as long as you don't overdo it. Too many mids can muddy the sound very quickly.

Removing resonances isn't really a must but it can help. I do it quite often but there's no rule saying you can never use resonance when filtering your drone textures. There aren't too many rules to making drones except for the basics like monitoring the frequencies and like APK said, making it sound good.

[animapara]

APK, Castleview ... thank you very much for your answers.

I've attached one example of drone i'm aiming to recreate: https://www.dropbox.com/s/a6jbxb8zbafurtx/Sound%201.mp3?dl=0 It's excerpt of a track from Alio Die album "They Grow Layers of Life Within". This type of drones i call "lightweighted" (it's usual for drones that Stefano does) because it hasn't too much of low-end. If you look in spectro analyzer it has rarely something below 100-120 Hz.

My problem is that after i carved all resonances and unpleasant frequencies, my drone starting to sound "soft and weak" comparing to Alio Die's drone. I'm loosing some kind of sound "edge" and become more "amorphic" and shapless. And i don't know what to do to reinforce the shape and get the edge back :(

[animapara]

Also ... about drones

I heard a lot from various ambient musicians that they do not apply any compression on drone sounds in mixing. But ... in mastering stage? Does drone ambient need a touch of compression in final mastering?

Thanks.

[Seren]

I suppose I play around with a sound until it is how I want it to sound - whether that is EQ or anything else.
I have used comb and other filters and set the parameters slightly differently for left and right channels.
I have filtered out unwanted prominent frequencies - but also filtered out frequencies until the sound left is seesawing on the edge of pleasant - depends on what I want the music to do. Fractured has some pretty intense/harsh sounds in.
Sometimes I copy the tracks and do notch passes - and then mix them back together - so the end sound has most of the original, but somehow faded, like an old manuscript.....

[animapara]

To keep the shape, you have to work at the source. Not after the reverb with a drone or pad. Drones and Pad sounds often have effects, then work on the source sound first.

It's not that easy to me ...

Well, i want to do a drone with "flat low end" (means that the drone doesn't have too much of low freq below 120 Hz) I apply a filter which cuts high end and low end below 120 Hz. And now my drone starts to sound weak and losing its "sharpness" and "edge" ... then i boost mid freq to compensate it - and i got unnaturaly "plastic-like" sounding drone :(  That's my problem ... when i cut lows - i got weak, shapless sound ... when i add mid freq - i got plastic :( I don't know where lies a "balance".

In other words i trying to make drone with "flat-bottom" but with no-plastic mid frequencies.


Maybe my problems lies in wrong using of notes (i mean in wrong octaves, maybe too low octaves). I'm using chords, not a single note ... i can even call it "pads" not "drones" where many atonal sounds could be.

[Seren]

drones can have a range of frequencies, but if choosing a particular range you may have to consider how you use the resulting sound.
you have to ask yourself what am I wanting to create with this sound.
Bass drones are very good for creating an open expansive foundation on which to layer other sounds.
higher pitch drones can be very grating on the ear if too continuous, unless you are adding other textures or effects to the sound - including panning and volume movements...
I created some drones using a wine glass as source - very limited in frequency - but did a variety of things with the result rather than leave it as a bald glass sound - even so, some found the result unpleasant.

[animapara]

I found shimmer reverb sits very well with drones ... probably, the best type of reverb to use with drone sounds. -12 semitones down (and maybe another delay with +12 up) with plate or spring reverb gives the infinity :)

You can also record only shimmer sends (delay+reverb) without direct dry signal ... nice impression of wet big space.

[LNerell]

Drones with "knife in ear" frequencies I always notch out with EQ using vary narrow bands of Q to just effect those frequencies that are annoying. And yes, try this before applying effects, especially reverb.

[Scott M2]

After the notching, a good stereo chorus with a very slow sweep (ideally with different speeds on each side) can add some subtle motion to drones before they enter the reverb bath.

[Castleview]

Drones with "knife in ear" frequencies I always notch out with EQ using vary narrow bands of Q to just effect those frequencies that are annoying. And yes, try this before applying effects, especially reverb.

This is something I need to try more often. I have a habit of just applying EQ at the end of my chains.

[animapara]

And yes, try this before applying effects, especially reverb.

hmm ... can someone explain please, whats benefits of doing EQ before reverb? Does it sound more clean, transparent .. or maybe more professional?

[Seren]

Jaja's answer is short and to the point.
Applying reverb just to the sounds you want is much easier than trying to EQ out the sounds you don't want later.

But you can experiment with both and choose which you prefer - sometimes sounds develop a life of their own when something is 'left to chance'.....

Some of the sounds in my music started off in other projects. They did not fit what I was working on at the time, but were inspiration in themselves.

[animapara]

This is easy. A reverb multiplies and extents sounds. It does the same with any unwanted frequency.
If you then EQ the sum of the sound and the reverb, you probably will notch lots of the good sounds too.

Thanks.

Sometimes i feel that some ambient artists mostly use delay instead of reverb ... or add reverb in very small portions so i can't clearly hear the "reverb sound".

[Julio Di Benedetto]

The best that you have is your ears...if they don't know....they will learn.  Get in there and mess around,...totally screw it up and it will open portals for you.

Theres great advice here but this is ambient where normal studio decorum often has little sway so have fun and explore. If you are new to this enjoy the journey as there are no short cuts. If anyone offers them to you dont take them. ;)

[animapara]

Strange ... In most cases, "muddy" frequencies are in 200-500 Hz range.

But related to drone, i noticed that muddy area usually is between 150-180 Hz.

Of course, maybe i doubt but my ears tell me 150-180 :)

[APK]

You can only trust your ears. And make things sound how you want. How you enjoy it.
There is no such things as what a drone frequency is and what to do with it.
Timbre, depth, tone.
It is case by case.
We are not dealing here with an 80s pop tune with the standard studio settings for bass, drums, vocals, etc.
No formula. No set style.
No one type of drone.

[animapara]

No formula. No set style.
No one type of drone.

Yes, in terms of creative process "no formula".

But i can hardly imagine that there is any music label who wants to release unprofessionaly (or bad sounding) recorded music. All ambient music i listened has something common in quality of sound (in drone ambient genre too). So, it somehow reminds of "80s pop sound with same peresets used" :)

[Castleview]

Strange ... In most cases, "muddy" frequencies are in 200-500 Hz range.

But related to drone, i noticed that muddy area usually is between 150-180 Hz.

Of course, maybe i doubt but my ears tell me 150-180 :)

I tend to EQ both of those frequency ranges a lot myself when I'm working on tracks.