Purpose of EQ ?

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Bojidar

New member
Hey guys im new to this forum been producing for 6 months now and it may sound stupid but what is the purpose of EQ when i pick a sound it sounds okay to me but i know that most of the stuff needs EQ so i am really confused.
 
Bojidar said:
Hey guys im new to this forum been producing for 6 months now and it may sound stupid but what is the purpose of EQ when i pick a sound it sounds okay to me but i know that most of the stuff needs EQ so i am really confused.
Click to expand...

Most people use their EQ badly and too often. I like the phrase 'Carve out' as it's a very good way of explaining its best use; as IME - EQ is best used subtractively.
But not every sound 'needs' EQ... Sometimes we just use the wrong sounds.

It's good to have tools and to know how to use them - it's better to not need them.
 
An equalizer is just a very advanced filter that gives you [depends on eq] DIRECT AND FULL control over 5-10 bands of the entire frequency spectrum for whatever is connected to one of those and can be stacked for more bands.

Resonance is just the eq knob going upwards to get that nasally texture at whatever frequency the knob's at.
 
EQ is one of the most difficult aspects of producing/mixing/mastering because it's very important but it's effect is often very subtle

It is used in lots of different ways for lots of different reasons
EQ can be used to boost different frequencies of a particular sound e.g. if you have a bass guitar and you boost the bass, it sounds more bassy (duh). Or you could boost the highs to emphasise the plucking and and finger slides the bassist has made. Or you could boost the mids and hear what effect that has- it's hard to describe in words but if you do it yourself you'll hear what I mean.

If you are a preset user who does no live recording and no sound design, then you won't need eq as often because your sounds will sound good anyway- but you might still need it when combining the sounds together as some frequencies can get very 'busy'.
Like if you have a male singer and a guitar and a piano and a snare, then they're all going to have quite a lot of low-mid range frequencies and you might decide that there are too many when you put them all together- so you could use EQ to take some away.

That's just one example of when someone might use eq, but there are loads more

Best way to understand it is to get out a spectrum analyser with your eq (most of them have one built in) and just try messing about so you can see and hear what eq does
Beware of boosting things because boosting=louder and louder almost always sounds better.
 
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Bojidar said:
Hey guys im new to this forum been producing for 6 months now and it may sound stupid but what is the purpose of EQ when i pick a sound it sounds okay to me but i know that most of the stuff needs EQ so i am really confused.
Click to expand...

First, that is a really good Question. When i first got started i asked the same thing. IF something already sounds good leave it alone, but EQ Has many purposes ! When you dive deep into producing, you will find that frequencies will start to fight against each other. With eq, you are able to shape the sound. For example you find a kick drum and you find a bass sound. Your Bass might be in the same frequency as your Kick. Eq allows you to manipulate frequencies so that both sounds work well with one another. Hope my explanation helps

Best wishes,

YOung Fizz | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 
I use subtractive eq to remove the stuff I don't want to hear and additive eq to bring out the best qualities of stuff I want to hear.
 
I'mNoGuru said:
Most people use their EQ badly and too often. I like the phrase 'Carve out' as it's a very good way of explaining its best use; as IME - EQ is best used subtractively.
But not every sound 'needs' EQ... Sometimes we just use the wrong sounds.

It's good to have tools and to know how to use them - it's better to not need them.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Use eq to remove unwanted frequencies from a sound. Never use EQ to boost your sound. that's what volume is for. EQ is reserved only for frequency "carving".
 
EQ to me is one of the most important aspect of a song. Its hard to understand at first but once you get it your songs are gonna sound so much better. EQ lets you place every element in its place. A good comparaison I heard once was to compare a song to a box. You can only fit so much in it. Without proper EQ your box will be too full or just empty. EQ lets you take some frequencies off where an element doesnt need them. For example, your bass will need less high frequencies than your hats. So you will cut off the highs on your bass with an EQ. And you will cut of the lows on your hats with EQ. You can also use it to boost some frequencies but I would start by only removing those you dont want. As a general rule of thumb you want your bass and kicks to have lower frequencies (50-150), then comes the snares (200-300) then the hats and claps. Respectively called lows, mids and highs. EQ is what will make your song ''smooth''. Everything will fit just right togheter.

Another comparaison I came with myself is like if you cook a dish. The EQ is how you use your seasoning (frequencies). You dont want too much, nor too little. The flavors need to come togheter just right.

Hope I wasn't too confusing. Experiment away, only with time you'll understand this amazing tool.
 
EQ can be the difference between weak and heavy sounding drums ... even EQiing synths can make a massive difference to the sound ... keep tweaking and you will find the results impressive..
 
When I make my tracks, I generally EQ my kicks, to give them more of a punch kick feel, If i have a kick thats to powerful I use eq to get it to the right levels
 
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