What everybody should know
about the exciter
The exciter is an overlooked
effect. As useful as it could be for you, you just don't
think about using it when you need it.
Why? Because you don't
realize what it can do.
Exciters can add life
and high end harmonic content to an otherwise dull signal, bringing out
the harmonics and brightness needed. And all without filling a
sound with too much treble.
What does it do exactly? Basically it adds high frequency
harmonics to tracks without piling on more of the already existent high frequencies. Therefore,
we don't get as much hiss nor an over-exaggerated treble sound. Rather,
we bring out the high
end sparkle present, but buried in the instrument.
How do you use it?
We can use it for a variety of applications. We can get an
extra click out of the kick drum, add life to a guitarsolo or bring out the high overtones of a
piano.
Adding click to a kick
If you have a dull kick drum that needs extra attack from the
beater, try using this effect instead of EQ. Insert it and set it at the frequency of the beater, around 2Khz. Don't add too many harmonics,
since that will just abnormally distort the signal. We just want a
subtle boost in the beater.
If you have Logic Pro, you can follow the picture here below.
If not, try to recreate it in the one you have.
Listen to how it adds just a tiny bit to the high frequencies,
bringing out the beater in the second measure.
