Eq

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MattNZ

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Can anyone give me any tips on EQing? Links would be good. As a newbie there's a lot of info out there, so I just wondered what had worked for other people.
 
MattNZ said:
Can anyone give me any tips on EQing? Links would be good. As a newbie there's a lot of info out there, so I just wondered what had worked for other people.
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The #1 tip is that any other tips are extremely situation-specific, and that there are no general recipes that work in a majority of situations.

Think of it like this, Matt: Asking for tips on EQing is exactly like asking for tips on using spices in cooking. You'll wind up with an entire bookcase full of cook books and recipes, none of which will precisely apply to whatever your situation is at hand. All you can do is taste what's in the pan and figure out what it needs more of or less of by taste.

In audio, what that requires is learning what the various frequencies "taste" like; i.e. what they actually sound like. Only by being able to recognize the sounds of the different frequencies and their effect on the overall sound of your tracks can you taste what's in your mix and decide what EQ, if any, is needed to add to or subtract from what you have in front of you.

Grab a graphic EQ of at least 12-15 bands and several quality commercial CDs of varying music genres. Set the EQ to flat (all sliders in the middle). Sit down in front of your system and listen to this music played through the equalizer, moving one slider at a time up and down *slowly*. Return that slider to zero and move to the next one, and od the same thing all over. And so on down the line of EQ bands.

As you do this, listen *closely* to what each band sounds like, and how boosting it or cutting it affects each component of each instrument or vocal on the CD. What does this slider to to the clang of the cymbal vs. it's shimmering decay, which ones make the bass sound smoother vs. which ones make it punchier, how the different ones have different effects on the guitars or vocals, etc. I mean REALLY listen.

Do this for an hour or so a night for a week or two, memorizing both the effects of each EQ band and the frequency value each one controls, and at the end of that period you'll be ready to start making some useful sense out of the Interactive Frequency Chart located on the Independent Recording Network website.

G.
 
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Most excellent post Glen. And once again your analogy's with food made me hungry. :D

On another note eq wise...turn everything to 11 and let er rip.


(or listen to Glen...:p)
 
Thanks for the tips and the link, Glen.

As a musician, I've recorded a fair amount in other studios ever since my teens, and have often sat in on mixing sessions. I'm just getting into it a little more at home and have found that most of the time I EQ just by changing curves and moving sliders according to what I think sounds right. Generally this involves things like rolling off the bass for acoustic guitars to allow space for other bassier instruments etc.

I just wondered if there are any other techniques that I could use, like parametric sweeps etc, that could help.
 
MattNZ said:
I just wondered if there are any other techniques that I could use, like parametric sweeps etc, that could help.
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Awww, now you're just trying to suck up because you know that I love the ol' power sweep for cleaning the mud out of tracks.;) :)

If you want more on that, check out http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/columns/gstep/index.php?id=69
.

I could throw a few bunch of the old generic standards at you, (which I think I do in that article anyway) like:

- Use EQ boost to make something sound different/Use EQ cut to make something sound better.

- Make your cuts narrow and your boosts wide.

- Better sometimes to cut 3dB from track A and boost 3dB on track B than to boost 6dB on track B.

- Don't forget the harmonic frequencies when trying to adjust a fundamental.

If you are looking for more specific - but very generic - frequency information, that first link to the frequency chart has more than I could type here (and I have been known to type a LOT :rolleyes:)

G.
 
The main EQ "tip" that works for me is to "de-mud" a track. For example, I'm working on a song with two double tracked crunchy Les Pauls. When I solo the tracks, they sound big and fat. When I put them back into the mix, they compete with the bass and kick. My removing the lows and some of the low/mids from the guitars, they sound a little thin when soloed, but in the full mix, they sit perfectly.
 
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