Understanding EQ and applications

[Anonymous]

Hi
Been messing about with recording for a while now but my two main demons are EQ and Compression.. I find that I use the standard presets more often than trying to work it out myself.

Mainly i trip over the terminologies and Hz bands and what they impact.

Does anyone have a guide or a quick reference for the frequency bands etc, I've been binging on PLAP vids which are helping immensely but I'm always unsure I've got it right.

Cheers, brothers and sisters in arms!

A

[Arthur LabusModerator]

Check that out, seems to be really useful.
http://www.audio-issues.com/music-mixing/all-the-eq-information-youll-ever-need/

Good point Archie ! I need it too 😉

[Maurice BeekmanParticipant]

I use this one a lot. It's the SOS SAE institute image. The link is a hi-res image you can print A3 size.

https://www.google.nl/search?q=sos+frequency+chart&biw=1280&bih=616&tbm=isch&imgil=9p5wLtGBGilMGM%253A%253B1rEeadLEvF-nQM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fsmithliam79.wordpress.com%25252Fmic-case-study%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=9p5wLtGBGilMGM%253A%252C1rEeadLEvF-nQM%252C_&usg=__0f7-E6abyfL0JhXgXb3VAajXkc8%3D&ved=0ahUKEwiZuNK7_KDRAhVMSRoKHQpgCukQyjcIJw&ei=ZPloWJn2OcySaYrAqcgO#imgrc=LTzz0JlLwLqGHM%3A

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by Maurice Beekman.

[Arthur LabusModerator]

Thank you Maurice - it looks so good, it must be good sounding too 🙂

[Mark WarnerParticipant]

I found this series of videos on compressors very useful.

https://youtu.be/ghhHWOOkx2Q

[Anonymous]

Awesome Peeps, thank you all.

[Jonathan ParkerParticipant]

Warrens tip about doing less with more plugins has helped me. It's a little bothersome at first, or at least, it might feel wrong to eq, comp, eq, comp, eq, etc... but in the end, I believe it does sound less processed. Which is ironic considering you're placing more processors in line.

Another thing that can ease the need for compression and EQ is automation.

And getting a little more advanced is using something like Waves C6, where you're combining EQ and Compression, as needed. But I would wait till you feel like you have somewhat of a grip on EQ and Compression before you dive into dynamic EQ plugins.

[Stephen KorstParticipant]

[quote quote=19997]Another thing that can ease the need for compression and EQ is automation.[/quote]

This is something I've just recently discovered (By "recently", I mean today!). Always tried to control using just compression, but ended up having the track sound "too compressed". Found out that by using automation first, the compressor doesn't have to work so hard and sounds more natural.

[Stephen KorstParticipant]

Here's a question I've wanted to ask the forum, and hope it makes sense.

When using an EQ that has four areas to adjust (Low, Low-Mid, Mid-High, High), is it necessary to keep the EQ increase/decrease in the general area of where the standard frequency defaults to? Or, when sweeping for a bad frequency using a Mid-High adjuster, you find a bad frequency outside this area, into the Low-Mid area, for example...Would it be better to reset the Mid-High, and use the Low-Mid adjustment for the ideal use of the EQ?

[Pedro Pitta GrozParticipant]

I would say it's ok skorst. As long as you´re using the type of curve you want. Some Eqs have fixed curve types for diferente bands as it is common for example a low shelf in the lows and a hi shelf on highs.

[Len BairdParticipant]

I'd say use whatever band you want if it has the frequency you need, until you want to use both of them. Then the higher frequency probably is going to need the higher band.

[Author]

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