During a recent live session titled “Andrew Scheps on Mixing, AI & The Future of Music” with Yungin Kim, legendary audio engineer Andrew Scheps shared some of his unique approaches to de-essing, revealing practical techniques to manage sibilance and maintain tonal balance in a mix.
Scheps explained his dual de-essing approach: one de-esser at the beginning of the chain and another at the end. This strategy helps control the loudest S sounds before compression and allows for further correction after applying EQ and compression, which often reintroduce sibilance.
“You can catch the really loud S’s when the signal isn’t compressed and get them to a manageable level. But any compression or EQ you apply afterward tends to bring the S’s back up, so I de-ess again at the end of the chain.” – Andrew Scheps
One of Scheps’ favorite tools is the de-esser in the Waves Omni Channel, which he frequently uses due to its full-spectrum capabilities. He shared an interesting trick: by holding down the “control” key while adjusting the frequency knob, the de-esser transforms into a band-pass filter. This allows for precise identification and attenuation of problematic frequencies.
“Hold down control while using the frequency knob: it turns into a band-pass filter. Sweep until you find a really harsh sound, and then start pulling it out.” – Andrew Scheps
Another essential tip from Scheps involves tonal balance. He emphasized that adding low-end can counteract harshness in a sound, using electric guitars as an example. Excessively cutting low frequencies can make the sound piercing, but reintroducing them restores a balanced mix without overly taming the midrange.
Scheps also discussed handling 808s in hip-hop mixes. To make the 808s stand out, he often applies a high-pass filter to other tracks. However, he warned that this technique can introduce harshness, highlighting the importance of maintaining overall mix balance.
“Sometimes I want the 808 to go crazy, so I high-pass everything else. But doing that adds harshness to the high-passed tracks. I rarely think about the overall balance, but it’s essential.” – Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps’ methodical and experimental approach provides valuable insights for producers and audio engineers striving to achieve clean, balanced mixes. His tips demonstrate how small adjustments can significantly impact the final quality of a production.
