Common mixing mistakes and audio myths demystified: Stop the High Pass Filters Madness HPF explained

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Amazon code: mixbustv01-20

First in a series of videos in which we'll try to
demystify audio myths,
explain mixing advice that we feel are misunderstood by many
and fix common bad practices we see spread around on audio forums, blogs etc..

In this video, HPF, High Pass Filters done right. You might think there are no consequences or bad side effects when you HPF everything in your mix, well, that's definitely not the case!
HPF yes, but do it right

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[mixbustv]

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[ArsalanKhanBabar]

"Do not do anything by default."
Best advice for all artists.

[TheFatRat]

The highpass thing really depends on the kind of music that you make. On electronic music I even highpass the different layers of distorted bass sounds and replace the low end with a pure sine. So when I mute the kick and the sine bass there is nothing below 80Hz. That way the subwoofer gets pure sine waves. Subs love sine waves, you know :-)

[jundrix]

'If you cut everything down there we get rid of a lot of energy.' - Yep!

[ChenBoi]

'Don't mix by default' is a really good tip to keep in mind. Thanks for the info this is a great video!

[seanotes]

Basically every mixing decision should have a purpose. I’ve been mixing for almost 10 years and I just learned to stop using plugins just to try and make the plugin shine when it should be the song that shines. I have so many fancy plugins that I automatically reach for them and put them on mixbuses but I tried a test exporting with all plugins then taking most of them off that didn’t serve a specific need and volume matching and I was shocked at the percentage of songs that sounded better when I took off a lot of plugins. Adding plugins just because they are nice will most likely not improve it. So i’d say the biggest thing I’ve learned as an engineer is to only make decisions based off of need and not by default like you said. Great advice.

[chasetheconnect]

Finally someone said it. Energy is important, just because you don't see doesn't mean you don't feel it. This can really save you years of headaches from mixing.

[finngnarnia]

It's funny how the guy is just saying, "high passing is great, just use it properly" and everyone is getting butthurt. He is helping you all get a good mix. Phase issues are a new engineers nightmare. If a new engineer does it by default because some guy on YouTube says to cut everything then they are gonna be beating themselves up wondering why their mix is falling apart.

It is great advice. If you are getting offended by a guy trying to help you out, maybe you need an ego check.

[berrie-music]

"If you cut everything 'down there' you will lose a lot of energy."
As a male, I totally agree with that statement ;)

[erinburke]

The trick is to use a gentler slope on the HP so the low end cut is gradually blended into the higher frequencies. Try a single pole (6db/oct) HP and watch your mixes instantly improve.

[mikefreschezza]

Such good advice, this is the 1st video I've seen addressing this issue, It was driving me mental trying to get my mixes sounding right and I decided to take nearly all of the HPFs off, it makes a massive difference. Here's my advice, if you DO need to Low cut...

1. Use a linear Phase EQ, yes it uses much more CPU but that's a good incentive to use less instances.

2. Use the minimum slope you can get away with - it's tempting to always use a 48db/oct slope, but always start with a 6, 12, 18 or 24db/oct slope, trust me.

3. If you have a pair of NS-10s, use them to adjust the HPF in isolation, they will show you what it is really doing to the signal.

[FuzzFace]

I've had a sneaky suspicion of this for years, but every single video I've ever seen regarding mixing has said that you should HP all tracks except kick and bass. I'm gonna try a different approach on my next mix and see how it turns out. Thanks for the advice man!

[dvnybeats]

MIXING DOESN'T HAVE RULES!
IT HAS GUIDELINES.

[PlayTheGuitarra]

I actually found that using a low shelve cleans My tracks much more and removes mud much better than high-passing... I have tried this with the tracks of my first album which were poorly recorded and suddenly applying a low shelve cleaned My guitars and made them appear much more clearly in one move than applying a high-pass, a Bell at 220hz a low pass to remove hiss and a bell to Boost the highs, suddenly I could get almost the same tone on My guitars but sounding much more clearly and natural just by cutting the lows by ear with a low shelve. To me it was a Game changer

[ray-slqb]

"Don't do anything by default" single greatest device I've ever heard

[rickspyder]

Holy Shit, This is exactly the frustration i have with mixs. thinking i'm doing the right thing whith HPF. Can't wait to try it. I also remember bringing up an earlier version to grab a clip and thinkin. Shit the old one sounded better so now i'm trying to recreate that sound by removing plugins later. Now i just trash all plugs and start over with the current version ....who's with me on this one

[tbear]

Thanks for providing some really important info, and for clarifying issues that most tutorials leave out. I admire you for having the balls to go beyond the usual fare, and actually teach something that gets to the heart of an issue, instead of just offering a one-size-fits-all solution.
Cheers, homie.

[dwayneyule]

Wow, the most solid 12 mins of mix advice I've had the pleasure of listening to!! Thank you, you rock!!

[getulioprates]

Extremely important advice! The best recording/mixing/mastering engineer I know personally told me once to not abuse the High Pass Filter, but I never heard before the phasing issue generated by zero latency eq's. The Linear Phase Eq tip is the gold of this video. I never heard it before!

[willischirwa]

I got the LoCut advise from a mastering engineer who has a name in the industry. His name is Friedemann Tischmeyer. He published one of the first mixing in the box books years back. You can read it there.( F. Tischmeyer, Internal Mixing, pp. 142; 206) He suggests exactly what you call bullshit. Locut on everything that is not Bass or Bassdrum. And to do it multiple times even. Up to four locut instances for vocals eg. On the microphone, on the pre amp, on the individual channel and on the vocal group channel again. Acoustic guitars in case you just want the hi end can take locut at around 250 Hz (cf p142 as well) The only reason that you instead have to call it b.s. is the phase shifts that you may encounter. Hello? Every non linear phase eq will have this "problem" Thats why there are linear phase eqs on the market if you want one. But in the vast majority of cases we do not even want one!!!! We want the phase shifts, my friend. Examples of famous non linear phase eqs wanted? Manley Massive Passive, Pultec, etc
I have seen the reference list of artists that Tischmeyer mixed or mastered. And he is also a known adviser of broadcasting international on the mere technical aspect of audio and if I remember it correctly was on the team of the EBU that provided the new loudness industry standards. In short he is an acclaimed audio expert.
I benefitted a lot from the locut advice. My bass section became not only more defined but also more powerful without the mud from the other tracks.
I do not know your name or your reference lists of artists that you have mixed. Just shouting bullhit on youtube is not enough to shake trusted mixing techniques followed by many.