Eq ing the steel

Bruce Clarke · Post by **Bruce Clarke** » 15 May 2004 11:35 am

I heard a radio interview with Lloyd Green some years ago, in which he spoke about his recording career, and played his guitar,(I think the program was recorded at his home).
Mentioning "Farewell Party" he said "The engineer did a great job of EQ ing the steel." At the time this kind of thing was not easy to do outside a recording studio, but now we have the software. Could any forumite/s with studio experience tell us what the engineer would be aiming for, and maybe a bit about how to go about it.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 15 May 2004 9:54 pm

My experience has been that the steel sounds the best when it's "scooped", bump the top and bottom.

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 16 May 2004 2:33 am

I roll off the extreme high end to get a more "vocal", Les Paul-through-a-Marshall sound for single lines. It muddies up the low notes in C6th if I leave it on, though.

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 16 May 2004 4:37 am

On a session I did, I cut the mid range on the board and my PP sounded just like you know who. Another player told me to listen to my cut and one Buddy did. Blew me away.

Larry Behm<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Larry Behm on 17 May 2004 at 05:21 PM.]</p></FONT>

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 16 May 2004 5:15 am

If you think about it and compare the way many players ( Loyd Included) set up EQ on thier amps, that would be a fine place to start on the console.

the SCOOP..as termed is probably most common. I have come to call it the "Smiley Face"..not to be confused with Smiley Roberts !

Boost the lows..back off the lo mids and hi mids and boost the hi's a tad..

Try this too..

For Steel backup on your tracks use the standard Large Room Reverb or what ever Room Reverb you are using..for the Steel Solo's change to an Early Reflections Reverb with some slap delay..you may find the Steel distinctly coming forward on the track..actually I think you WILL find the Steel jumping forward on the track..

good luck

t

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 16 May 2004 1:31 pm

Another thing worth mentioning...just how much "scoop" (mid reduction) you can use will depend on the material you're playing, and the instrumentation. You'll probably use more scoop when playing instrumentals than you will when backing a singer, and you'll use less as more instruments are added in the track. Backing a singer will usually require a less lows because most of the tones will be in the singer's range. (You don't want to "compete" with the vocals, and lows wash each other out more than highs.) Likewise, you don't want a lot of highs unless you want the steel to really stand out. This has led to a very mid-range steel sound in a lot of NCS stuff recorded today which run lots of instruments and tracks. No longer is the steel as noticeable as it was in the past with artists such as Owens and Price. Of course, settings will vary with the singer's range, too. Sometimes, engineers have specific settings depending on who's voice their recording, and these settings vary little from one session to another once they're decided upon. Instrument EQs are often fine-tuned when all the tracks are laid, so each will "sit well" (read: not be too obvious) in the mix.

Bruce Clarke · Post by **Bruce Clarke** » 17 May 2004 11:11 am

Thanks guys, looks like its scooping time. That's just the info I needed to get started.

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 17 May 2004 3:05 pm

I find that the 2400 Hz frequency or frequencies in that range can be most annoying, especially if an amp sounds 'thuddy' with upper midrange. The pickups on my S-B Pro III put out a lot of upper midrange too, and 'scooping' the 2400 Hz frequency helps somewhat. I don't play country music, so I don't know what kind of sound would be best for that genre. But if I need to play 'clean', adjusting the middle frequencies will make the Sho-Bud tone a little less 'snarky'. When I overdrive the amp I like to boost the 1000 Hz frequency by +5 and decrease the 2400 Hz frequency by -5. That gives me a hollow midrangey sort of sound, somewhat like a Marshall half-stack with everything cranked full blast.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 May 2004 4:22 am

"SNARKY"..now there's a new one..even for Webster..

Send that puppy in to Websters for the next addition..it's a great sounding word..and..fun to say..

SNARKY...

"the presence of too much in the middle"

oh oh..sounds like it could be a DIET related word as well..multi purpose..

"Hey TP..you're looking a bit Snarky"..

"Thanks for the tip Mom"...

t

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 18 May 2004 5:17 am

Tony, "Snarky" is a common and useful term up here. Generally we use it interchangeably with "cranky", and I often use it it my line of work to describe the attitudes of others, as in "He wrote me a snarky letter....".

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 18 May 2004 6:01 am

OK Bob..I'll give..I understood the term to imply the "mids" were to Snarky..but I guess one cannot have a Cranky sounding Steel..can they ?

It's still a great word...

I;'m gonna practice my Steel later..I hope it's not "CRANKY" sounding , like the player..!

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 18 May 2004 7:46 am

"Scoop" also known as "bathtub" curve.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 18 May 2004 12:06 pm

Moved to 'Electronics' section.

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 19 May 2004 11:30 am

Tony: I equate the term 'snarky' with 'miserable' or 'irritating'. So a guitar pickup or amp can sound 'cranky' and will need some smoothing over to make it sound tolerable.