E to The Q - What Where When and Why

[This is originally written by Streets of Neon in a forum post. I've edited the text slightly for display purposes. - NFX]

Before you start reading this, you should familiarize yourself with the Fletcher Munson Curve, what Parametric Equalizers do and also what fundamental frequencies and overtones are.

The Fletcher Munson curve is more about knowing where your music will be played. For instance, if your song is going to be played on the PA system at a grocery store, the people there probably aren't going to hear much low end because of the crappy speakers, low volume, and distance from the speakers.

If you're going to do any mixing at all, you'll want to know what an EQ does. A parametric EQ, in particular is called Parametric because, well, it has parameters, 3 to be exact: Frequency Selection, Gains (Boosts and Cuts), and Bandwidth (measured in bandwidth but more commonly in Q which is Q=(sqrt of 2^n)/(2^(n-1)) where n is the type of bandwidth. 1 is one octave while .5 is half an octave. Since the frequency spectrum is a logarithm, each octave is a different amount of frequencies. This creates an inverse relationship between Q and bandwidth. More Q equals less bandwidth and vise versa).

Overtones, along with the rest of a sound's timbre, are basically what makes you able to tell the difference between a guitar and piano that are playing the same note. If you want to read more (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtone) and (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbre).

This list is just how I view EQ. I use 8 groups of frequencies that are by no means considered to be standardized in our field. One book could teach you about 24 bands of frequency while another will just say that there are two: bass and treble. I, personally, am more picky than 2 bands and I'm also not an effing genius and refuse to memorize 24 groups and what each do. BY ALL MEANS, add replies to this post with what you use certain EQs for. I'm going to give benefits of cutting (reducing) and boosting (raising) certain frequencies but feel free to reply in a different way.

Low Bass / Sub Bass (20Hz and below -60Hz)

• This is bass that is more felt than heard. The actual notes in this range are harder to discern so they can be more out of tune and fewer people would notice.
• Boosting: Will give your sound more of a feeling of power.
• Cutting: At non-bass sounds will help eliminate muddiness. Will also remove rumble and ground hum caused by electronics and noise recorded from the ground. I usually cut out all of this for most of my non-bass samples and instruments.
  
  

Bass (60Hz-250Hz)

• This is where many of the fundamental frequencies of average instruments and notes are.
• Boosting: Can enhance warmth, fullness, phatness, and thickness.
• Cutting: Will reduce proximity effects from recording. Proximity effect is when something is recorded too close to the mic and has extra low end that IS NOT wanted, especially in vocals. Will reduce plossives which are the poof of air that comes out of the vocalists mouth when they say "p"s and "b"s. More on this in my other post: (http://www.warbeats.com/Forums/tabid/59/aff/13/aft/136566/Default.aspx) Cutting this range can also reduce muddiness and increase clarity. If you reduce this range, you will hear less fundamental frequency and more overtones. Say you have an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar playing at once, reducing this section on the acoustic and boosting or leaving it the same on the electric will help you hear both without damaging the sounds of each. Basically, cutting this range on instruments which have a rich set of overtones will help clear-up the mix and leave room for those which don't or which have a nice sound in this range.
  
  

Lower Mid-Range (250Hz-500Hz)

• This range is more often cut than boosted.
• Boosting: Will help increase fullness of high-pitch instruments like piccolos and some flutes.
• Cutting: Will help correct throatiness, murkiness and boxiness. Ever hear a kick drum that sounds boxy? Like, not crisp and bumpin'? Cutting this range helps almost all kicks. More on drum EQ in my other post: (http://www.warbeats.com/Forums/tabid/59/aff/13/aft/136437/Default.aspx)
  
  

Mid-Range (500Hz-2kHz)

• BE GENTLE on this range. If you looked at that Fletcher-Munson curve and have watched NFX's decibel tutorial, you'd know that a cut or boost of this range of more than 6dB is a lot because this is the most sensitive range to the human ear. Boosting this range too much can actually physically hurt to listen to. You'll want mostly small bandwidth (high Q) cuts in this area or else your instrument will loose clarity and realness.
• Boosting: Will improve clarity and distinction. Boosting this on vocals will help you make out the words that the vocalist is saying (rappers *cough*). Boosting this range also raises the apparent loudness of an instrument with out wasting too much space in the mix. So, if something sounds too quiet in your mix, this is a good place to start trying to make it sound louder without throwing things out of whack in your levels.
• Cutting: Will help sounds that sound fake or too horn like. If your vocalist is nasaly, AKA sounds like he has a cold or something, cutting this range can help make him sound more healthy and like he's a better singer than he is. Cutting this range will also make things seem to loose life.
• Effects: If you want to make it sound like something is being heard through the telephone or on a crappy radio, you can use this technique. It's used a lot in the intros of 1990s rock songs and people still use it today. Madina Lake uses it in like all their songs. Boost 1kHz, cut all the low end and add some distortion.
• Also, cutting this range and then maybe automating it back up to regular level will help things sound like they are coming from the back of the mix to the front. For instance, if you're trying to make it sound like a car is driving by, automate this from low, then up to normal level and back down quickly and you pan from left to right, also quickly in the middle.
  
  

Upper Mid-Range (2-4kHz)

• This range is more often boosted than cut.
• Boosting: Can improve bite, edge, attack and percussiveness. Boost this area on drums will really help it hit harder. Not so much on 808s because they're litterally just a click and then a low frequency pure sine wave. But, on real kick drums, boosting this will help you hear the stick hitting the drum membrane. Boosting this range will also help you hear the actual pick-to-string strum pluck sound.
• Cutting: Will help you soften something that is too edgy and pronounced.
  
  

Presence (4kHz-7kHz)

• This is another range where you really need to be gentle about boosts and cuts.
• Boosting: Will help make sounds brighter.
• Cutting: Will do the opposite.
• Effects: It's easy to make things sound to the left or right, right? Well it's A LOT harder to make them sound in front of or behind the listener. To make something sound more in front, boost this range and decrease the reverb. To make something sound behind the listener, cut this range and increase the relative reverb level. So if you want to make something sound like it's going in a circle around the listener, have your sound move from left to right and back. As your sound reaches center, automate the reverb down and this range level up and as it goes further away from center in the other direction, make them both go back to normal levels. Then as the sound comes back from the other side toward the middle, automate the reverb up and this range down. Then back to normal as it goes back to the other side.
  
  

Lower Treble (7kHz-12kHz)

• Boosting: Can increase shimmer and sizzle like in a lot of pop symbols and synths. This can fix recordings where the mic was placed too far from the sound source and restore some of the lost detail. Increasing this on real kick drum recordings will let you hear the actual air passing through the drum.
• Cutting: Helps to reduce sibilants in vocals. More on this in the link to my other post above. This can also reduce shrillness and the audible hissing that comes from some electronics during recording.
  
  

Upper Treble (12kHz-20kHz and above)

• Boosting: Will increase breathiness and airiness.
• Cutting: Much the same as Lower Treble besides the sibilants part.
  
  

Like I said, please reply to this post with EQ effects and boosts/cuts in certain areas that will really change the way something sounds.
Hope this helps.

-S.O.N

[Check out Streets Of Neon at Youtube]