Just an idea, but I think it's a good one.

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chadsxe

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So I am sitting hear at work reading through CloneBoy’s recent post in “Having Trouble Getting the Mix Just Right” (Great post by the way), and thought of something. A lot of use on this board are using software for are eq-ing purposes, but a lot of us really don’t know how to take advantage of the advice given hear. For example: comments like “should get a HP cutoff around 70 to 200hz”, “I've had pads start rolling off at 400hz”, and “Use the narrowest and smallest cuts you can get away with to bury the offending freq's in the *mix*” might be common knowledge to some but taboo to others.
With this said I was wondering if those who knew how to use the knowledge given hear can be a little be more detailed in the description. I myself think I know what you’re talking about but are never 100% sure. I think visual pictures would help a lot of us. When I get home I am going to take snaps ( printScrn ) of my desktop and try to physically show what hi pass-filter roll offs look, and different cuts look like on a software eq.
I guess what I am asking is a call for desktop pictures showing different types of eq’ing with software. Ehh, sounds like a good idea to me, and I think it would help a lot of people. If not, thanks for your time.
 
Excellent idea!

Probably should make sure folks resize the images to 600-800 pix wide max and save as medium quality JPEG. That will keep the thread smaller. Of course, you guys could probably just link to examples as well (better yet).

Great idea - Because I for one don't understand the whole thing completely yet! :eek:
~A~
 
great idea :D , time consuming though :eek: .

I'm gonna try and have some up by the end of the weekend.
 
chadsxe said:
So I am sitting hear at work reading through CloneBoy’s recent post in “Having Trouble Getting the Mix Just Right” (Great post by the way), and thought of something. A lot of use on this board are using software for are eq-ing purposes, but a lot of us really don’t know how to take advantage of the advice given hear. For example: comments like “should get a HP cutoff around 70 to 200hz”, “I've had pads start rolling off at 400hz”, and “Use the narrowest and smallest cuts you can get away with to bury the offending freq's in the *mix*” might be common knowledge to some but taboo to others.
Yes, I agree that was an excellent and stimulating post by Clone Boy. Other folks have very interesting articles in their taglines also. I think what these do is give folks of all levels something to either think about or discuss. For the less experienced it opens up a whole new world by supplying keywords and ideas that can be further researched on this forum or on the internet. It's kind of impossible (not to mention time consuming) for a single post to place itself in full context but over time everybodys' engineering notebooks will have the complete picture (everybody has their notebook library of relavent articles - right ? I've got at least a half dozen on various topics). Researching the internet gives us all possiblities that just didn't exist 5 years ago - what a great time we live in! :)
When I get home I am going to take snaps ( printScrn ) of my desktop and try to physically show what hi pass-filter roll offs look, and different cuts look like on a software eq.
Concerning hi-pass filters there are various plugins I use for this, some show various details of graphic content so you can see the type of curve you've set. For example Eqium has a HPF that allows me to adjust the frequency at which the high pass filter is set along with a 'Q' adjustment to set the slope of the filter. Other filters may allow seting of an octave width directly that affects slope - GlissEQ does it this way for both peaking and HP/LP type filters. If I set the Q low I can get a gradual slope - like 6dB/octave - if I set the Q higher than I can get a steeper slope like 12dB/octave - setting it steeper I can get a 'resonant peak' just at the knee. All this stuff affects the sound of course and is important in setting up the filter. Some filters have graphic representation showing the slopes and shape of the EQ curve you've set up. If you want to see it in real time (to learn your EQ capability and settings a bit better - besides listening) you can insert an instance of Voxengo SPAN (free VST) after your EQ to see how it looks in the spectrum and to make sure the controls operate as you might think (I use pink noise for this 'calibration' sometimes - don't listen to it though!). You can download it at:
http://voxengo.com/freevst/

I agree - this is a great forum to share ideas, ask questions and to kick in further research. :cool:
 
I do agree that each topic should be looked at as a small part of the puzzle, but if there was one thing I have always missed was a visual aid. I know we are never supposed to use visuals to shape sound, but they can give a sense of reassurance to people. For example: Let’s say someone gave a newbie the advice to use a HP-filter and role everything off at 40 Hz on the kick drum. If he is a newbie and has no idea what is meant by this he is going to run in to trouble when opening up the software EQ of choice. With a visual aid, not even one to the exact parameters as mentioned above, but just one that shows what a HP-filter role off looks like, I think it would help many people. Like I said there are no magic settings but there are starting points.


When I get home I am going tonight I am going to attempt to capture some screens and post them. I know my description might end up being wrong, but that’s why I am hear, to learn. I hope others join in.
 
chadsxe said:
...With a visual aid, not even one to the exact parameters as mentioned above, but just one that shows what a HP-filter role off looks like, I think it would help many people...
Make sure you try out the free SPAN - it's a spectrum analyzer - I use it all the time to see what the knobs on my eqs & compressors do especially when I'm trying to learn a new one. Sometimes it gives me a clue about what to listen for too!
 
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