EQ frequency settings

[JohnMoxey]

For me I like the best of both worlds. If I was new to EQ it would be more useful than now with the understanding I have built up. After all, it's about trying to make your choices more informed. I guess it depends if you plan your mix, or just encounter the problems as you go. A bit like being able to read music versus playing by ear. Both have their place.

It's an age old argument, hands on, versus theory. Truth is I like to keep my options open. You don't.

This could be like tennis.

 

[travelin travis]

This is probably what your looking for:

http://artistpro.com/index.php?modu...&POSTNUKESID=5291d5dae7774b7e159529c6e2d77647

Be sure to go to "sub-contents" at the bottom of each page. The article covers basic eq theory and has sound examples (hope you're not on dial-up) of cuts and boosts at different frequencies on various instruments. It might give you some ideas on what to listen for to ease the eq learning curve.

Some of us, myself included, are'nt good at mindlessly twisting knobs without having a little knowledge of what the effects might be.

 

[Ford Van]

For me I like the best of both worlds. If I was new to EQ it would be more useful than now with the understanding I have built up. After all, it's about trying to make your choices more informed. I guess it depends if you plan your mix, or just encounter the problems as you go. A bit like being able to read music versus playing by ear. Both have their place.

It's an age old argument, hands on, versus theory. Truth is I like to keep my options open. You don't.

This could be like tennis.

Grasping "theories" about stuff in audio is all fine and good. What it doesn't do very well is get anything done!

I know guys that don't know thing ONE about anything technical in audio, but can mix like madmen! They have just learned that when they want to hear something in a certain way, they turn a knob on this or that.

I am not saying you shouldn't learn about EVERYTHING you can in audio. I am saying that it is most important to translate what you want to hear into some kind of action.

 

[soundchaser59]

What? You ain't gonna come out with your blazin' guns on me here?

You mean my squirt guns???

Besides, Moxey doesn't seem to need any help...... he's holding up his own end just fine!!

 

[Ford Van]

You mean my squirt guns???

Errrrrrrr....maybe you should keep that thing in your pants dood!

 

[soundchaser59]

pins and needles.....

 

[Harvey Gerst]

Grasping "theories" about stuff in audio is all fine and good. What it doesn't do very well is get anything done!

I know guys that don't know thing ONE about anything technical in audio, but can mix like madmen! They have just learned that when they want to hear something in a certain way, they turn a knob on this or that.

I am not saying you shouldn't learn about EVERYTHING you can in audio. I am saying that it is most important to translate what you want to hear into some kind of action.

Absolutely. My son Alex is an award winning producer/engineer, but he adjusts things by just grabbing knobs and turning them till they sound right. He has far less theory going for him than I do. With me, I know what's going on behind the knobs, but it takes me a lot longer to get a good sound when I'm fiddling with the knobs.

The funny thing is that if he's at the board (and I'm producing), I can hear when it's right, as long as I don't look at (or think about) the thing we're adjusting. When he twirls a knob, I can hear when it's right about as fast as he does, as long as I don't concentrate on the theory.

 

[JohnMoxey]

What happened to the other posts?

 

[Ford Van]

This is page two. Look at the bottom right corner of the last post in the thread, and you will see the "Page 2 or 2" box.

 

[Halion]

Experiment, but don't rush it and don't feel bad if it doesn't work out right away - It can take several years of practical experience in many cases just to get "okay" at it.

Very good advice. Even though most engineers will advice to take it easy on the EQ in the end, if your still learning, there's no harm in boosting by 12 db or even more. Just as long as you hear what's going on. I've been EQing stuff for about 3 years while actually thinking about what I'm doing, and only recently I've found out that different plugins/hardware actually do sound different, because I've actually HEARD the difference, not just "knew".

If you boost something hard with a small band (small Q), and then sweep the frequency around, you will hear a swooshing should. Let the filter rest on a sertain poin, and listen to the sound as a whole. It will sound unnaturally boosted at the point of the frequency ofcourse, but now sweep the filter to another point, listen again, and decide wheither this sound even more unnatural, or less, or about even etc. Lets say, I have a guitar sound that doesn't sound quite right. I start boosting at 200hz. Oooomphff all over the place. Anoying. I sweep it up to 1000hz. The track start grawling and screetching at me. I sweep it up to 7000hz. Now it's just really really screetchy. So from doing this I've learned what boosting these areas do. When doing the same thing, but with only a small boost or cut, you can increase these characteristics of the sound, without making anything overly anoying. And always remember that "better" can be worse on another project, there's no set fix for anything.

 

[chessrock]

I tend to think that people are just lazy, and don't want to put the hours in, and think that some "magic" chart of frequencies cut/boost per instrument is somehow going to make their productions all of a sudden sound golden.

It just doesn't work that way.

Thank you.

That needed to be said.

.