Taming resonances

[apaclin]

Hi, today's topic for discussion is resonances. How do you tame them?

My thoughts regarding vocal for example. I see people sweeping for resonances with narrow q very often and I also hear from other ones that this technique spoils the sound

My thoughts, regarding vocals for example:
1. As the notes constantly change it may be hard to catch resonances – some last very short time. So if you are are sweeping – you may miss it because it may happen while you’re not there. Unless you hear them while they happen, but then there's no point in sweeping.

2. There may be be wider areas where resonances appear, so makes sense to correct with wider curves first and then go for narrow ones?

Do you use Soothe2 to tame resonances or do you tame them with equaliser, if so with dynamic bands or regular ones and why?

And what do you think about it in general?

[ore_terra]

if it is a resonance it is (almost) always there.

[MegaBacher]

For inconsistent resonances like with vocals (rather than drums) I use a combination of these 4 plugins stacked in order to clean up the initial recording of a track. These are meant to be corrective and transparent, not to make creative sound effects. That comes later in the mix.

1st - C-Vox Noise Reduction Plugin
2nd - SPL Transient Designer
3rd - Fabfilter Pro Q3 Equalizer set to a high-Q dynamic response on that resonant freq.
4th - Voxengo's TEOTE set to mastering, fluid response and flat EQ.

[James Perrett]

ReaFIR (in compressor mode) is the tool I would try first if eq isn't working.

[Spells]

Old school Waves C4 still works wonders... but Soothe, as much as I am lazy learning newer plugins, really does work.

[Tim Gillett]

There's nothing like a real life audio example. Here's an excerpt from a classic 60's BBC TV show sound track. Can anyone identify the basic correction needed in terms of frequency, Q and decibels?

https://youtu.be/O3Jup5jpxaA

[Cimot]

Hi, today's topic for discussion is resonances. How do you tame them?

My thoughts regarding vocal for example. I see people sweeping for resonances with narrow q very often and I also hear from other ones that this technique spoils the sound

My thoughts, regarding vocals for example:
1. As the notes constantly change it may be hard to catch resonances – some last very short time. So if you are are sweeping – you may miss it because it may happen while you’re not there. Unless you hear them while they happen, but then there's no point in sweeping.

2. There may be be wider areas where resonances appear, so makes sense to correct with wider curves first and then go for narrow ones?

Do you use Soothe2 to tame resonances or do you tame them with equaliser, if so with dynamic bands or regular ones and why?

And what do you think about it in general?

Dynamic Eq, im using free Plugin from Tokyo dawn!work well!

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Oeksound Soothe 2 is by far the easiest and most effective tool for this job IME. I prefer it to Gullfos. TDR Nova is great but you have to tune it yourself.

[amanise]

This is probably a very 'caveman' way of looking at it - but here goes. I see people doing the same thing - so get what you mean. I also see the point made that 'if its a resonance it's always there'. Or - it will be there for longish periods. In respect of things like vox which change all the time, I have found it useful to loop the audio in shorter and shorter loop regions, and sweep with it playing looped so that the suspected offending area comes around continually until you are happy you have nailed where it is and can then drop the EQ point on it and set a better level. The chances are your problem - if not a lengthy resonating one - will be a repeating one throughout - especially if its in a chorus or something. The letter 'F' for example. I don't know how this would be done if your DAW isn't loop focused like mine (ACID Pro 10) - but I can't imagine there's one out there that can't loop at all. Oh, and I use TDR Nova, which I love because it's easy to understand and gives great results.

[MarkOne]

Probably the best method is to move the mic, or change the mic, or record in a different spot, and not have the problem to start with.

[apaclin]

Probably the best method is to move the mic, or change the mic, or record in a different spot, and not have the problem to start with.

Yeah, when I record in a treated room, there’s no such problem, but when record at home for social media, it’s needed to tame the resonances.

[Tim Gillett]

Probably the best method is to move the mic, or change the mic, or record in a different spot, and not have the problem to start with.

Yes. It can seem strange when people use what are almost last resort post production restoration methods to deal with a vocal where the vocalist is available and there is the luxury of a retake. Last resort methods normally come in when there is no other way, such as with historic recordings where a retake is out of the question.