hamstank
New member
Hi guys! I've been taking a ton of music classes and I thought, hey, why not share some of my notes with you fine people at FP?. Let me know if this is helpful; if it is, I have dozens of these on reverb, compression, automation, delay, reverb, mastering, etc. Please let me know if you have any questions/corrections! Also, any shortcuts mentioned are for Pro Tools 11.
EQ Types
Shaping Sounds with EQ
Using EQ Effectively
EQ Guideline
EQ Types
- EQ, short for "equalization," involves changing the balance of frequencies in a signal. We use EQ to enhance certain features in a sound, and to help tracks blend together better.
- Parametric EQ
- 3 parameters: frequency, gain control, and bandwidth (Q)
- Q: distance around the center frequency where the boosting or cutting is 3 dB less (the "3dB downpoints") than it is at the center frequency
- Inverse of the bandwidth expressed in octaves. So for example, a parametric band with Q=2 is roughly half an octave wide at the 3 dB downpoints, while a parametric EQ with Q=4 is roughly one quarter of an octave wide (or a minor third, in musical intervals). A bandwidth of Q=12 would be even more narrow, roughly one half-step wide, which is about the musical distance of one piano key to the next, or one guitar fret to the next.
- Q: distance around the center frequency where the boosting or cutting is 3 dB less (the "3dB downpoints") than it is at the center frequency
- 3 parameters: frequency, gain control, and bandwidth (Q)
- Parametric EQ
[*=1]Most flexible EQ, things you can do:
[*=1]You can hone in on a particular "ringing" in a snare drum, and reduce it with a parametric band set to a narrow bandwidth cutting at that particular frequency.
[*=1]You can find the exact fundamental pitch of a kick drum or tom tom, and boost or cut it depending on what you want for your mix
[*=1]With wider bandwidths, you can lift up a section of midrange frequencies, say 3 k to 4 k, on a vocal track for better intelligibility
[*=1]You can gently reduce the midrange "honk" in a synthesizer track with a moderately wide dip around 1kHz
[*=1]Typically, boosts are wider, not narrow
[*=1]Hold CMD and then change knobs for finer tuning
[*=1]Drums:
- Clean up muddiness, roughly around 100-200 Hz
- Raise up higher frequencies (5k+)
- Look for unnatural ringing (most likely snare)
- Boost 50-70 Hz (fundamental) for more thump to the kick (BUT DO NOT BOOST UNDER 50!!!)
- Clean up muddiness, roughly around 100-200 Hz
- Shelving EQ
- A high- or low-shelving EQ usually has two basic parameters. You choose a shelving frequency, from which you want to boost or cut. A low shelf boosts or cuts all frequencies below the shelving frequency, while a high shelf does the same above the shelving frequency.
- You can use shelves for tasks such as reducing the overall energy in the low frequencies of a guitar track, or adding some "air" to a drum track by boosting the top end with a high shelf.
- Filters
- The high-pass filter passes high frequencies, cutting low frequencies, while the low-pass filter does the opposite
- The cutoff frequency for a filter is usually defined as the frequency where the filter is attenuating by -3dB
- Filters cut everything above or below the cutoff frequency in a gradually increasing amount of attenuation. The character of the gradual increase is determined by the slope of the filter.
- 6 dB: first-order filter (gradual slope)
- 12 dB: second-order filter
- 18 dB: third-order filter
- 24 dB: fourth-order filter (steep slope)
- 6 dB: first-order filter (gradual slope)
- Useful for removing rumble in a track such as room noise, AC, or reduce other kinds of unwanted highs or lows from a track.
- Example: Tambourine track has no useful low frequencies so you would set a HPF to remove room rumble and reduce low frequencies transients caused by the way the player hit the tambourine.
- Start with shelves; if shelves cannot get what you want them to do, then go to the filters
- The high-pass filter passes high frequencies, cutting low frequencies, while the low-pass filter does the opposite
Shaping Sounds with EQ
- Begin by setting a parametric band with an aggressive boost and narrow bandwidth. Sweep across the frequencies until you find a frequency you’d like to cut or boost
- It's important to not spend too much time fussing with the any one track's EQ. Set it so that it's an improvement, and then move on. As you work on the rest of your mix, be sure to keep returning to it.
- Kick Drum
- May look like (at least initially):
[*=-2]Snare
[*=-2]Roughly 200 Hz for snare fundamental
[*=-2]Snap of drums is roughly at 4k-5k
[*=-2]Overheads
[*=-2]Bass
[*=-2]Listen to bass alongside the other tracks. May solo to see what’s happening but makes sense to listen in context. May sound very different alongside other sounds.
[*=-2]Bass body: between 500 Hz and 700 Hz
[*=-2]Vocals
[*=-2]Bring vocals into the mix early so that guitars and other tracks will be worked on against the vocals, the most important part of the song.
[*=-2]Vocal intelligibility: likes within 1-5kHz range
Using EQ Effectively
[*=-2]In any project you mix, each sound has its own timbre, and its own EQ needs. Even sounds that are well recorded, and sound really good when you solo them, often need EQ to help reshape them so that they fit into the mix.
[*=-2]Also think about audio frequencies in subjective terms, descriptive adjectives:
[*=-2]Training: All kinds of mobile apps and software for ear training, useful to take advantage of
EQ Guideline
- Boost first, cut second
[*=-1]In general, this is a good approach to EQ—first, think about the frequencies you can cut, then think about what still needs boosting.
[*=-1]Example: a recording of a "muddy" acoustic guitar. Maybe it sounds a little dark, a little dull, and the first instinct would be to go ahead and boost the upper frequencies to add some brightness. However, this might not be the best solution. Since lower frequencies can mask our ability to clearly perceive higher frequencies, your first step might be to first decide if there are unwanted frequencies you can cut to open up the sound.
- Carving holes and “EQ Mirroring”
[*=1]The idea of creating space in a mix by carving out "holes" in one sound to make room for another. You might boost a frequency area in one sound while similarly cutting that area in another sound.
[*=1]Example: In a pop music mix you might reduce some of the presence in a guitar in the 3kHz area, and this will help make a little more space for the vocals.
[*=1]Example: reducing some of the low-end end of the bass, to make a little more room for the kick
- Boosting Vs. Cutting
[*=1]More likely to use wider EQ bandwidths when you boost compared to what you might use with an EQ cut.
- Narrow boosts don’t really lift enough to make a difference until they start making things sound unnatural.
- For boosts, think about Q values of 4 or less unless there’s something specific you’re trying to bring out (examples: fundamental of kick)
- Narrow boosts don’t really lift enough to make a difference until they start making things sound unnatural.
- You would gravitate more towards cutting if you want to make something still sound natural and balanced, and maybe do a little more with boosting if you are trying to make it sound less natural, a little more enhanced or processed, or really explore giving it a different timbre.
- Controlling the Low End of the Mix
- One of the most effective ways to get the low-end "just right" is to try to limit the elements that actually contribute to the low end of the mix.
- If you start adding a high pass filter to everything but the kick and bass parts, it will really help clean up that lower area of your mix. However, high pass filter is a very aggressive EQ band, and might remove too much of the sound you are high passing. For this reason, it's a good idea to consider using low shelves either instead of or along with a high pass filter.
- Example: In the case of an acoustic guitar, where you might want to clean out some low-end, it might not be a great idea to insert a 200 Hz high pass filter. You might instead insert an 80 Hz high pass filter, followed by a low shelf that cuts just a few decibels up to 200 Hz. This will more gently clean out some of the low-end.
- Bracketing Sounds with Filters
[*=1]Think about reducing the frequency range that some elements occupy.
- Example: Consider an acoustic guitar in a rock mix, for example. Perhaps in the original recording, the acoustic guitar sounds big and full, with a robust low-end and a big bright top end. Soloed, it might sound great, but in the context of the mix it's potentially eating up too much frequency space. Between high Pass and low pass filters, plus high and low shelves, you could consider reducing the frequency spectrum it inhabits by shaving off some top end and bottom end.
[*=1]Good for sounds that don't have a "natural" baseline sound to them. Electric guitars, synths, electronic loops, etc.
- EQing in Solo Mode
[*=1]NOT a great idea to EQ in solo mode
- Track can sound great by itself, but it might now sound as good in the context of the mix.
i thought i know how to propeply eq my drums, or whichever element haha; good job man! waiting for new ones, if you are planning to make some! 