M-Audio EQMan [23/31] Some general thoughts about eq

Some General Thoughts About EQ

A lot of beginning audio engineers tend to misuse or overuse

equalization. While it is one of the most important tools in an audio

engineer’s bag of tricks, like any other tool, there are some basic ground

rules (like never put your hand in front of a buzz saw).

1. Signal-to-Noise is improved drastically when the input signal to the

EQMan is a bit “hot”. If your audio input signal is too weak, your

output audio will have increased noise because of the reduced signal-

to-noise ratio. Increase the volume going into the EQMan, but do

not increase it to the point where distortion occurs.

2. Don't try to "fix" a sound with EQ when tracking. Always try other

options first. When you're recording a track, try variations in mic

placement, mic type, and room environment before resorting to EQ.

You want the bare track to sound good without any effects or EQ. If

you're recording at home, that acoustic guitar track might sound great

recorded in the bathroom and the vocal track might work best in the

kitchen. If you're recording synthesizers directly, don't be afraid to go

into the synth’s edit mode and tweak that sound a little to make it

exactly what you want instead of "good enough". "We'll fix it in the

mix" usually takes longer than getting it right in the first place. Not

only that, it usually doesn't sound as good.

3. It is always better to cut than boost a frequency band. Every time

you boost a frequency, you're also increasing the level of that track.

By the time you finish boosting bands on all your tracks, you might

be close enough to clipping that you've removed all the headroom.

The gains of each band are relevant and interrelated -- if you want

more highs in a track, try cutting the lows and mids instead of

pushing that 15kHz fader up.

4. Don't use the same frequencies all the time. Sure a little 1.2kHz

peaking makes that guitar cut thru, but don't do it on every song.

You don't want everything to sound the same, do you?

5. Use the stereo mix field. A lot of instruments have fundamental

frequencies in the same range. If they're all panned to the same

position, you won't hear each instrument distinctly. What you might

hear is a lot of mud. Small changes in stereo placement can pop

something right out of the mix. If you absolutely have to have those

two (or more) tracks in the same position (guitar and vocals are a

great example, since they have almost identical fundamentals) you

can cut between 800k and 2k a few dB on one to make the other

clearer. With the EQMan, you can even use the automation features

to undo the change to put the punch back for that killer solo.

6. EQ can be a great effect. Making a track sound like it was recorded

over the phone or off an old 78 can make the difference between a

OK track and an imaginative, compelling one. Just don't overuse it.