The fine art of EQ

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Jack Hammer

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Though, in my opinion, EQ tends to be somewhat self-explanatory, I think some theorectical discussions on the ultimate goals of EQ could help some of us when we approach EQ. In going to the EQ, I often find myself tweaking in a hit or miss fashion. Certainly, some ideas on approach would be helpful. should I be seeking to alter the sound, emphasize the sound, get more punch, less punch, sparkle, bottom, mid, fullness, spaciousness. Why choose one goal over the other, what forms, styles of music dictate what approach and how are these paradigms of sound acheived?

I know some of you out there have vast amounts of knowledge byond brand names, price and dealers and deals. Please share your hard earned knowledge, you will be honoring your profession (or hobby) and increasing the overall quality of sound everywhere.
 
Jack Hammer said:
should I be seeking to alter the sound, emphasize the sound, get more punch, less punch, sparkle, bottom, mid, fullness, spaciousness?
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Yes.........!

paraphrasing Jack Hammer
Where/when???
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It all depends on the track and the context....

Bruce
 
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Hey there Jack--

While the answer to all EQ questions does tend to be "it depends... use your ears," some neat introductory rule-of-thumb type things can be helpful in learning just how to use those ears! :) (Not that I would claim to have pro ones myself...)

Bop over to http://www.prorec.com and do a search for the articles "All Things BEing EQ-ual" and "Why Your Mixes Suck." Good stuff, these.

Also, here's a post stolen from Shackrock who got it from Ausrock who got it from....? (The Rock? Is this The People's EQ Chart?)

(begin theft)
FREQUENCY: USES:
50Hz
1. Increase to add more fullness to lowest frequency instruments like foot, floor tom, and the bass.
2. Reduce to decrease the "boom" of the bass and will increase overtones and the recognition of bass line in the mix. This is most often used on loud bass lines like rock.

100Hz
1. Increase to add a harder bass sound to lowest frequency instruments.
2. Increase to add fullness to guitars, snare.
3. Increase to add warmth to piano and horns.
4. Reduce to remove boom on guitars & increase clarity.

200Hz
1. Increase to add fullness to vocals.
2. Increase to add fullness to snare and guitar ( harder sound ).
3. Reduce to decrease muddiness of vocals or mid-range instruments.
4. Reduce to decrease gong sound of cymbals.

400Hz
1. Increase to add clarity to bass lines especially when speakers are at low volume.
2. Reduce to decrease "cardboard" sound of lower drums (foot and toms).
3. Reduce to decrease ambiance on cymbals.

800Hz
1. Increase for clarity and "punch" of bass.
2. Reduce to remove "cheap" sound of guitars.

1.5KHz
1. Increase for "clarity" and "pluck" of bass.
2. Reduce to remove dullness of guitars.

3KHz
1. Increase for more "pluck" of bass.
2. Increase for more attack of electric / acoustic guitar.
3. Increase for more attack on low piano parts.
4. Increase for more clarity / hardness on voice.
5. Reduce to increase breathy, soft sound on background vocals.
6. Reduce to disguise out-of-tune vocals / guitars.

5KHz
1. Increase for vocal presence.
2. Increase low frequency drum attack ( foot / toms).
3. Increase for more "finger sound" on bass.
4. Increase attack of piano, acoustic guitar and brightness on guitars (especially rock guitars).
5. Reduce to make background parts more distant.
6. Reduce to soften "thin" guitar.

7KHz
1. Increase to add attack on low frequency drums ( more metallic sound ).
2. Increase to add attack to percussion instruments.
3. Increase on dull singer.
4. Increase for more "finger sound" on acoustic bass.
5. Reduce to decrease "s" sound on singers.
6. Increase to add sharpness to synthesizers, rock guitars, acoustic guitar and piano.

10KHz
1. Increase to brighten vocals.
2. Increase for "light brightness" in acoustic guitar and piano.
3. Increase for hardness on cymbals.
4. Reduce to decrease "s" sound on singers.

15KHz
1. Increase to brighten vocals (breath sound).
2. Increase to brighten cymbals, string instruments and flutes.
3. Increase to make sampled synthesizer sound more real.
(end theft)

Now, some of these ideas will be EXACTLY WRONG for what you may be trying to do... others will get you "in the ballpark" to make educated EQ guesses... others may be dead-on. "It depends... use your ears!" ;)
 
Bighand said:

Is the 3 band EQ on a Mackie enough for these adjustments or should I really get a stand alone unit?

http://www.carvin.com/cgi-bin/Isearch.exe?CFG=2&P2=EQ2015&P1=PROC

http://www.carvin.com/cgi-bin/Isearch.exe?CFG=2&P2=EQ2030&P1=PROC

Bighand[:D]
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The Mackie won't let you focus on specific frequency ranges because the EQ is fixed. IMO, you need a board with 3 or 4 bands of parametric EQ to really use EQ successfully in mixing. Or, have a DAW that has parametric EQ for each channel.

A stand alone unit may have its uses, but what good is one when you go to mixdown 16 channels? You really need a mixer unless you are working in a program like Pro Tools, Cubase, Emagic, etc--that has mixing and EQ onboard.
 
I have NO friggin' clue (ok, a little -- very little) as to how to work EQs, Compression, Noise Gate, etc. (check out my songs and you'll hear for yourself!):(

Any suggestions on a comprehensive, but easy to understand (if that's possible!) book on how all this works?

- Clueless in NY
 
I have a book called "Home Recording for Musicians" by Craig Anderson. Can't say that I love it, but it's definitely been useful for me.
-B
 
barryh said:
I have a book called "Home Recording for Musicians" by Craig Anderson. Can't say that I love it, but it's definitely been useful for me.
-B
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In case you are doing a search, you'll need the correct spelling: Craig Anderton :p
 
Mixing Engineer's Handbook - Bobby Owinski - wonderful piece.

I've also heard good things about "The Art of Mixing" (don't know the author) - good stuff for beginners.
 
Charts and books can be extremely educational and help to build a good foundation, but like anything else, the best thing you can do is to spend some time just working (playing) with eq. Whether it's an outboard graphic or parametric, or the eq on your board. Run some tracks or even mixes though it and listen while you twist those knobs/slide those faders.

Example: Run a bass track through a parametric set with a fairly narrow q and a pretty strong boost, say 8-10dB. Slowly sweep the frequency up and down and you'll clearly hear how it affects the various portions of the bass sound. Note: Don't do this at extreme volumes, you can blow up monitors.

Like any instrument, you've just got to practice to get good.

Mark
 
I think a lot of newbies are under the impression that an engineer records a track and then EQ's it get the sound they want. That is completely false.

The trick is to get a good signal to tape and only when you absolutely have to fix something then use the EQ. That is a bit of an extremist view but more often than not EQ abuse is the reason home recordings sound so flat and lifeless.

Think of EQ as a tool to take away what you dont want and to accent what is already there. I do apply a healthy amount of bass cut to a lot of my material but usually the EQ on the mixer or DAW is sufficient for that. I rarely ever boost the highs. If anything I will cut the highs on effects returns.

In 10yrs of recording for film and music projects I have never fealt the need for an outboard EQ. The danger of spending money on one is that you will feel like you need to use it to get your money's worth. Your money is probably better spent on nicer mics, preamps or instruments so you can get a signal that doesnt need to be EQ'd to sound good.
 
In the last few days, I've been reading a lot of articles online about EQ, mixing, etc... some are too technical for me to grasp, while others are very helpful and written in plainer language. This is from an article at prorec.com ("All Things Being EQ-ual, pt.1" -- thanks for the tip, esactun !!!!)

Having good EQ capabilities at your disposal is not an excuse to get lazy! Getting good sound on the rust is, first and foremost, a matter of choosing the right mic, placing it in just the right spot, and, of course, having a quality instrument, properly tuned, in front of that mic. Trying to EQ a kick drum at mixdown that is tuned looser than your Aunt Gertrude's knickers can be a nightmare. Go ahead and boost 3k on that kick track all you want to -- but you'll soon learn that you can't effectively boost what isn't there in the first place. Good mics, proper technique, and great instruments are the ideal, and often make EQ adjustments unnecessary. If you've done everything right, you may very well find that the best EQ is none at all!

Sorry for the long quote, but this especially rang true for this newbie.

I have read quite a bit, but also messed around with a mix recently and mostly, I find everything that everyone has said (here and elsewhere) to be true. Though some of it, I still don't understand!!! :rolleyes:

So, as Mark has stated, success certainly seems to be a mixture of knowledge and experience.

For example, as Tex says,
I rarely ever boost the highs.
Click to expand...
In my very limited experience, I have found the same thing.

It's one thing to read it, but to truly understand it, you need to HEAR it for yourself.

g
 
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