3 Smart Mid-Side EQ Moves
Let's go beyond those basic EQ tutorials. Here's how you can use Mid-Side EQ to create space and clarity in your mixes 🎚️ Featuring 3 super practical techniques from Mick Guzauski, Jaycen Joshua, and Streaky - stripped down to what actually matters.
SonicScoop
Add excitement with parallel tube distortion
Mick Guzauski enhances a stereo Jupiter-8 synth bass with parallel tube distortion using an Altec 1567a. The distortion adds excitement and character. He employs the Brainworx bx_digital to apply a high-pass filter and uses the Mono Maker feature to ensure frequencies below 90Hz are mono. This is very important, as in his experience, monoing the bass frequencies provides more punch and clarity in the low end of the mix. Additionally, Guzauski lightly compresses the bass with a Universal Audio 1176 to maintain consistent dynamics.
Mix with the Masters
Mid-Side EQ for tighter low-end and better separation
Jaycen Joshua shows how to use Mid-Side EQ with the Brainworx bx_digital to achieve better separation and a tighter low-end in a drum mix. By reducing masking frequencies in the center channel, he creates space for the vocal, ensuring it sits comfortably in the mix. To help the drums maintain energy, he then adds some of these reduced frequencies back on the side channel. This effectively shifts energy from the center to the sides of the mix, creating a space for the vocal to thrive. He also advocates using the Mono Maker feature to center all low-end frequencies below 61Hz, enhancing the overall clarity and punch of the track's low-end.
Streaky
Widen the vocal to lift up the chorus
Streaky demonstrates how to use the UA UAD Studio D Chorus to widen a vocal, enhancing its perceived size and impact, particularly during the transition from verse to chorus. What is special here is how he ensures the effect is applied only to the stereo sides, leaving the center vocal clean. This technique helps the track's chorus lift and expand without overwhelming the listener with an obvious chorus effect on the vocal. To achieve this, Streaky employs the FabFilter Pro-Q 3 to apply a brick wall EQ, isolating the mid frequencies and allowing only the side signal of the chorus effect to be heard. This approach maintains the vocal's clarity while adding a subtle yet effective stereo expansion.