I hope this is an easy-to-understand explanation.
There are 2 types of equalizers. Graphic, and parametric. Graphic EQs have little sliders that each have their own frequency. It's best to use parametric as they give much more control and usually have a smoother, more natural effect on the sound (depending on how you use them of course). So I'll explain this using a parametric EQ.
Here is a basic parametric EQ (which comes with
Reaper):
Each little circle you see is called a "node". I think. You place this node over the frequency you want to mess with. Let's say, we want to add a little bass to the track by
boosting the 80Hz range. So let's take node #1 and move it to 80Hz.
Look at the info at the bottom. The node is at 80Hz. The type is a "band" which is used to boost/cut frequencies (boost meaning increase, cut meaning decrease).
So, in "engineer" terms, we applied a
3db boost at
80Hz with a
Q of 2.
What is "Q"? Q is another term for bandwidth. This is how big the curve is. Bigger curves effect more frequencies around 80Hz.
The lower the Q, the more narrow the boost is. The
higher the Q, the more wide (or natural) the boost is. Let's decrease the Q so that it effects only a smaller number of frequencies.
That is a very narrow (small) Q. It is unlikely to do a boost like this. Narrow Qs are usually for precise cuts on frequencies that sound bad.
A larger Q looks like this, and has a more natural sound to it.
I hope this helps and makes sense.
