# Silly Question: Are there any Libraries which are pre-EQ'ed to not have harsh/unpleasant frequencies?



## SwedishPug (Jul 30, 2019)

Are there any libraries which are eq'ed in such a way that obvious frequency issues are pre-removed? (such as biting woodwinds)

Was thinking it could save a bit of time and frustration if the obvious issues were already dealt with before I had to mix. Thanks!


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## Alex Niedt (Jul 30, 2019)

I think keeping recordings in a rather natural state is typically the best practice, as your idea of "harsh" in one context can simply be "present" or a desired "aggressive" in another context. A lot of the time, when the upper mids feels harsh, it's because the arrangement or mix lacks fullness in the low mids and low end. I'd rather sculpt sounds to my own liking in the context of each individual piece than trust someone else to make those EQ decisions for me. If you generally dislike the biting nature of woodwinds, buy Oeksound Soothe and call it a day.


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## Diablo IV (Jul 30, 2019)

Loads have this issue for me too. Usually all hi hats in all drum libraries are pure trash ( you can tell when you play 16th notes), HZ piano very harsh too ( I fixed it using an eq and a tube warmer) . In fact several pianos suffer of this, specially this othet company I wont tell but has like 35 pianos.

Lots of videos about choir libraries have this piercing harshness idk what they were thinking about.

What I don't get is why it seems usually not everyone hears this? Either we are very sensitive or they are just deaf. Idk...


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## Scoremixer (Jul 31, 2019)

SwedishPug said:


> Are there any libraries which are eq'ed in such a way that obvious frequency issues are pre-removed? (such as biting woodwinds)
> 
> Was thinking it could save a bit of time and frustration if the obvious issues were already dealt with before I had to mix. Thanks!




It's all contextual. Certainly some leave a lot to be desired sound-wise, but all the major orchestral libs are pre-treated/mixed to some degree.

The trouble is, what sounds good in one context sounds overly processed in another. Spend a bit of time getting some plugin chains together to fix common issues in your libs as a starting point in your template, then you can tweak as appropriate later.


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## Rick McGuire (Jul 31, 2019)

I don’t think I’ve ever come across a library where the tone was harsh right out of the box-so I’d say so. It’s only when layering samples do harsh frequencies arise


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 31, 2019)

Also depends on what you're hearing them through....your monitors and audio interface are a huge factor.


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## Ashermusic (Jul 31, 2019)

Wolfie2112 said:


> Also depends on what you're hearing them through....your monitors and audio interface are a huge factor.


Exactly.
If a whole bunch of libraries you buy sound harsh to you, it probably has more to do with how you are monitoring them than the libraries.


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## SwedishPug (Jul 31, 2019)

Ashermusic said:


> Exactly.
> If a whole bunch of libraries you buy sound harsh to you, it probably has more to do with how you are monitoring them than the libraries.



Interesting! On that note, what are some Interfaces you'd recommend if this is something contributing to my issue?


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## Ashermusic (Jul 31, 2019)

SwedishPug said:


> Interesting! On that note, what are some Interfaces you'd recommend if this is something contributing to my issue?




More likely to be the speakers and room than the audio interface IMHO.


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## Polkasound (Jul 31, 2019)

No developer ever adds harshness to a library before releasing it, so whatever harshness you're hearing has been captured naturally during the recording sessions. For this reason, the job of EQ-ing to taste is best left to the producer, not the developer, because of the varying contexts in which the libraries will be used.


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## j_kranz (Jul 31, 2019)

Most libraries you buy will have been through some amount of eq treatment, however this is generally done more for consistency than just for taste (although of course taste is aubjective), and to minimize any problem areas but still retain as pure a reflection of the instrument and performance as possible. Imo it would be impossible to eq every library to suit everyones liking since its too contextual... I dont think theres any one eq setting that would work well for every situation.

While I see the “every sample library has this or that problem” type of posts every so often, I usually take them with a grain of salt and attribute that to either ot two things: 1 you may have a less than ideal monitoring situation, or 2 you havent had much experience with RAW orchestral recording session mixes. If all you listen to is the final polished and expertly mixed recording of soundtracks all day, then yes the unpolished raw ingredients may indeed sound harsh to your ears.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Jul 31, 2019)

SwedishPug said:


> Interesting! On that note, what are some Interfaces you'd recommend if this is something contributing to my issue?



What are you using right now for an interface and monitors?


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## Ashermusic (Jul 31, 2019)

j_kranz said:


> Most libraries you buy will have been through some amount of eq treatment, however this is generally done more for consistency than just for taste (although of course taste is aubjective), and to minimize any problem areas but still retain as pure a reflection of the instrument and performance as possible. Imo it would be impossible to eq every library to suit everyones liking since its too contextual... I dont think theres any one eq setting that would work well for every situation.
> 
> While I see the “every sample library has this or that problem” type of posts every so often, I usually take them with a grain of salt and attribute that to either ot two things: 1 you may have a less than ideal monitoring situation, or 2 you havent had much experience with RAW orchestral recording session mixes. If all you listen to is the final polished and expertly mixed recording of soundtracks all day, then yes the unpolished raw ingredients may indeed sound harsh to your ears.



Agreed, I wonder how many people who complain about that harshness have actually sat in a studio while an orchestra was being recorded,. The sound is quite different than sitting in a concert hall.


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## SwedishPug (Aug 1, 2019)

Wolfie2112 said:


> What are you using right now for an interface and monitors?



Focal Solo6 and Apogee Element


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## JohnG (Aug 1, 2019)

Maybe my old 5th grade teacher -- would have been good to filter out some of those frequencies.


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## Jeremy Gillam (Aug 1, 2019)

I have mostly been using Spitfire libraries (Symphony Series, Chamber Strings, Olafur's stuff, Hans' stuff) in addition to Cinematic Strings 2, and I pretty much never find myself needing to remove harshness in orchestral elements. If anything I tend to boost the high end. Obviously it's a matter of taste though, and perhaps I have none!


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## shawnsingh (Aug 1, 2019)

Agreed with what everyone else is saying, but there's another possibility to consider too. A lot of instruments become naturally brighter when played louder. So it may sound unusually bright if the midi stays to much on high note velocities. Lowering overall midi velocities can open up a lot more natural sound that may not be as bright and can make room for more expressive playing that can use the brightness more sparingly for better effect.


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## NekujaK (Aug 1, 2019)

Also keep in mind that multiple instruments playing together create an accumulation of frequencies where they overlap. You may have a guitar, violin, piano and drums that don't sound offensive on their own, but when combined in a mix, frequencies that they share will build up can result in perceived harshness. Good arrangement and mixing techniques can remedy this.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Aug 1, 2019)

I personally hope that there aren't too many pre-processed libraries (unless we're talking about hybrid stuff or processing by top mixers) because it's harder to reverse existing processing than applying your own. So if don't like what they did it will be hard...
I personally have hardly ever opened a library or listened to the walk-through without several instances of EQ opening in my head, so if any of these were pre-processed (certainly) then I never liked what they did! And no amount of arranging (largely separate from sound) would fix this for me, just processing.


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