Can I analyze a Frequency in Avid?

[Grinner Hester]

your only option (as far as I know) within Avid is to EQ it by ear. You know if it’s a low or high vo so you know where to tweek right away. Pretty easy to adjust a bit, play a bit, adjust a bit.
I Have never removed the vo frequency from a music track and have never heard of a need to. I do eq VOs all the time but usually with my external audio console.

[Milton Hockman]

an instructor for a class said that you cut out the frequency in the music track to make a hole for the VO to land. if you don’t then the matching frequencies in the music override with the VO at the same frequency. cutting thos frequencies out gives the VO a place to be and not be combated with.

what you think about that?

[Michael Thomson]

Personally i think its nonsense.

The human voice operates on lots of frequencies. Even the most competent VO artist’s frequency will change dramatically over a read. Besides that humans tend to register in the mid to high range. Broadly speaking the melody of a music track tends to sit here. Basically following your intructers advise just leave the music out or stick a drone under the VO.

[Grinner Hester]

I echo that. I’d say he once had a teacher tell him that and believed it.
I mix all day everyday and have never heard such a thing. If it were constant, I’d know it and if it were in and out only when the frequencies matched, it would even be more obvious.
eq and level has always been all I needed when mixing music and VOs. Been doing it 40 hours a week since ’94 within the Avid and just havn’t heard a problem.

[Duane Fulk]

Reminds me of the old adage “Those that can’t do, teach”. Either the teacher said take out the frequency when he meant take down the level, or possible you heard him wrong, but removing the frequence of the vo would, as has been said, remove the music at that point. It would sound like a train wreck… Ask the teacher again. It would be interesting to know what he really meant.