Author Topic: How to make that crispy high end?  (Read 8853 times)

Uppertone

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How to make that crispy high end?
« on: January 18, 2016, 05:55:07 pm »
I understand that some of it has to do with the mastering for the final product, and that certain genres have different requirements that make the genre what it is.

For example, madeon's track seems to be focused heavily on its high end. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of mixing as it can be ear piercing sometimes. https://soundcloud.com/madeon/pay-no-mind

But, for my tracks I tend to lack it most of the time. This downtempo loop was rendered at -6db with nothing on the master channel. With each sound I mostly cut frequencies that interfered with eachother and/or was peaking. https://instaud.io/hNu

Is there anything that I'm missing here?

kiiskamusic

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Re: How to make that crispy high end?
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2016, 10:51:45 pm »
A quick fix that could help right away would be to add an exciter to your master chain. I use the aphex exciter from waves, but i've also used the harmonic exciter from ozone, and the spl vitalizer (all work very well) Be careful, a little goes a long way and it's very easy to thin your track out or make it too harsh, so be mindful of that. Also, some stereo widening on 5k+ would really open up the top end, also used sparingly. Like i said these are two quick fixes that I use on my master chain to establish crispyness. Whats really important though is that each of your individual tracks sound proper pre-mastering.

-K

Xan

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Re: How to make that crispy high end?
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2016, 02:26:02 pm »
Yup an exciter. I usually set a low pass at 10k and boost a little from there.

Heatcliff

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Re: How to make that crispy high end?
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2016, 03:19:27 pm »
There is now some really good plugins that create that analogue sounding high end boost. The UAD Pulteq EQ (new version) really does the job, or Manley Massive Passive.
Also love the flux epure 3 - it just sounds expensive. I am sure there is some more good plugins out there.

Axis

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Re: How to make that crispy high end?
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2016, 04:53:50 pm »
Just don't be shy about boosting the high end on channels/sounds that have pleasant harmonic content in the upper range.  Also, if you boost at around 10-12K, it's usually a good idea to cut off the extreme highs.  Boosting the master a little bit helps as well, but it's better to boost individual channels.  Exciters are also helpful but be careful not to overdo it.

Artless Venture

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Re: How to make that crispy high end?
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2016, 07:46:14 pm »
...it's better to boost individual channels.  Exciters are also helpful but be careful not to overdo it.

Yes!! Be very careful with exciters and all that stuff on the master, because it will affect your whole mix that you already put a lot of work into! Just pick a few channels that already have some high end (I tend to not push my vocals too much in terms of highs as I find this unnatural and ear fatiguing...). I'd say the mix lives by contrast, so make sure to vary between bright sounding elements and darker sounding ones.

Artless Venture ♢

FarleyCZ

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Re: How to make that crispy high end?
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2016, 07:56:58 pm »
Also watch out for that "exicte -> cut -> excite -> cut" circle. That can mean that high end was good from the first place and something else needs fixing. You should use exciter really just in case that you're sure your mixe's high end is as good as it can be and it's still not enough. Don't do it just for sake of doing it.
"Earth is round right? Look at it from right angle and you'll be always on top of the world."
...but don't overdo it, because that's called being a d***k.