Monitor EQ Settings?

A

autonickv

New member
My monitoring system consists of a stereo Amp,Graphic EQ, and JBL speakers. My question is: How should I have my EQ set during recording- should all bands be set to 0 in order to hear what is truly being recorded?

Other related ?s

* I go from my source into a channel in my Mackie 1202 which in turn goes in to my soundcard - should I keep the EQs on that channel (Hi, Lo) set to 0 also or should I start EQing at that point.

*When should I add effects to my tracks for example: should I add reverb to my snare as I record it or should I add it after the fact.

Thanks,
Nick
 
Is the graphic eq on the amp or a separate unit....if its on the amp, set it flat, no eq....if its separate, take it out of the chain completely, it will just add noise.....

As far as eq'ing during recording, its pure up to you...unless you know what you are doing, its best to record flat, giving yourself something to work with.....you never know what that track will sound like once other tracks are thrown in so you almost CANT know how to eq it while recording.....

Effects,like eq, should be added at mixdown...the only exception I find is recording some guitar parts, where the effect is a integral part of the sound, like dist and delay on a hot lead part....
 
If you are asking if you should use your eq to correct for the deficiencies of your monitors there seem to be two completely opposed schools of thought on this, some people say that you should try to eq your monitors till they are as flat as possible so that you get a more accurate representation of what's going on, others say that the act of eq-ing adds too many phase anomolies and believe that you should just learn the sound of your monitors and compensate mentally for their short comings.
 
Ive heard someone describe the preocess of eq'ing their sound to adjust their speakers flat and it involved stuff that I just couldnt understand...Id rather go flat and go from there....or since he already has an amp, sell the JBL's and pop for some Yorksville YSM-1's for about 200.00 a pair.....

Disclaimer : Gidge has never used the Yorksville Monitors, but based on input from BBS members and magazine reviews, it would be safe to say that they are well worth the money......
 
Here is a bit of a non-technical explanation, which I hope makes sence.

Studio monitors are designed to be flat - in other words, designed to give an accurate representation of recorded material, so that, if you get something to sound good on a set of monitors, it should, in theory, sound good on everything else as well.
Of cause, there are a lot of factors that come into play. 2 key factors are you listening environment and the kind / type of monitors you use.

The preferred, and logical, way is to have a direct path from console / DAW outputs to a monitor amp, or to bi-amped monitors. There are many reasons for this, one of them being like Gidge said, you'll add another piece of noisy gear, but the main reason is often overlooked.

An example relating to your proposed set-up:
You have used your graphic EQ to make your monitors sound as good as possible. In order to do so, you have cutlow and high midrange frequencies, boosted the low end, and boosted the very high end [very feasible - if you use older JBL's]. Now you start working on making one track sound good, and you apply some EQ on your console. This particular track needs some boost in the high-mids, so you boost the high-mids. The only problem is ..... you have made a cut in the high-mids on your graphic, so you'll find your console's EQ does not work all that well, you have to turn the know all the way to the right to hear any boost. By doing so, you'll add a huge amount of noise.
Now think of that, 2 different types of EQ working against each other, over multiple channels, and you will have created a big problem for yourself.

I'd suggest you use your monitors straight, mix a track, put it on CD or tape and play it on a lot of different systems. See what it sounds like. Use your ears and make adjustments if and where neccissary. There are hundreds of top engineers who use crappy monitors as a standard and produce brilliant work - because they know what their monitors sound like
If you are not happy with the results, look at some acoustic treatment for your working space, and save up for some better monitors.
Good ,luck!
 
Sjoko is perfectly correct, however there is no such thing as a perfectly flat speaker system and the less expensive the monitor the less likely that it will be anywhere near flat.
 
Right vox - despite it, look how many people have used / are using NS10's. Awful sounding little things! But get it to sound good on those, and it will sound good on anything.
 
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