PART 8

E Q U A L I Z AT I O N , PA RT 2 B Y A LE X C AS E

To EQ, or Not to EQ, That Is the Question

“I hear they used a Spasmatron 2000 equalizer on that kazoo track.”
“No waaaay.”
“Yup, and that album went triple platinum.”
“No waaaay.”
“And I saw on a web site that they raised it 4 dB in the lower highs.”
“Wait a second. Get me a pencil...What was that killer EQ move again?”
Last month we discussed the operation and theory of
eq. Now let’s roll up our sleeves and look at the nuts and
bolts of using it.
The technique
The number one approach to dialing in an eq setting is
quite intuitive: boost, search, and then set the equalizer.
Boost by a clearly audible amount, maybe 12 dB or more.
Search by sweeping for the frequency select knob until
you find the sound you are looking for. And finally set
the eq to the desired sound—either cutting the frequen-
cy if you don’t like it or finding just the right amount of
boost (and bandwidth) if you do.
It’s that simple. Over time, through experience and
eartraining, you can skip the boost and search steps and
instead reach immediately for the frequency range you wish
to manipulate. But until then there’s nothing wrong with
this approach. And even the famous, expensive engineers
resort to the boost, search and set approach on occasion.
So when do we boost, search, and set? What are we lis-
tening for? Why and when do we equalize? Eq is simple
in concept but not necessarily in application.
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2000
 But before giving in to despair,
realize that all engineers have a lot
to learn about eq. Apprentices, hob-
byists, veterans, and Grammy win-
ners... all are still exploring the sonic
variety and musical capability of
equalization. Eq offers a huge range
of possibilities and options. Critical
listening skills are developed over a
lifetime and require careful concen-
tration, good equipment, and a good
monitoring environment. No one
learned the difference between 1
kHz and 1.2 kHz overnight.
Interfering with this challenging
learning process is the temptation to
imitate others or repeat equalization
moves that worked for us on the last
song.“Magic” settings that make
every mix sound great simply don’t
exist. If you got the chance to write
down the equalizer settings used on,
say, Jimi Hendrix’s guitar track on
‘The Wind Cries Mary,’ it might be
tempting to apply it to some other
guitar track, thinking that the equal-
izer goes a long way toward improv-
ing the tone.

Beware the urge

to imitate others
or repeat eq
moves that
worked on the
last song...

But the fact is, the tone of Jimi’s

guitar is a result of countless factors:
the playing, the tuning, the type of
strings, the kind of guitar, the amp,
the amp settings, the placement of
the amp within the room, the room,
the microphones used, the micro-
phone placement chosen, et cetera et
cetera. The equalizer alone doesn’t
create the tone. In fact, it plays a rela-
tively minor role in the development
of the tone in the scheme of things.
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2000
 The way to get ahead of this infi-
nitely variable, difficult to hear
thing called eq is to develop a
process that helps you strategize on
when and how to equalize a sound.
Armed with this organized approach,
you can pursue a more complete
understanding of eq.
The audio needs and desires that
motivate an engineer to reach for
some equalization fall into four cate-
gories: The Fix, The Feature, The Fit,
and The Special Effect.

...the fact is,

“Magic” settings
that make every
mix sound great
simply don’t
exist.

The Fix
A big motivation for engaging an
equalizer is to clean things up and
get rid of problems that lie within
specific frequency ranges. For exam-
ple, outboard equalizers, consoles,
microphone preamplifiers, and even
microphones themselves often have
low frequency roll-off filters. Why is
this kind of eq on all these devices
and what is it used for?
These devices remove low frequen-
cy energy less for creative “this’ll
sound awesome” reasons and more
to fix the common problems of rum-
ble, hum, buzz, pops, and excessive
proximity effect.
In many recording situations, we
find the microphone picks up a very
low frequency (40 Hz and below)
rumble. This low-end energy comes
from such culprits as the building’s
temperature control system or the
vibration of the traffic on nearby
highways and train tracks (note to
self: don’t build studio next door to
Amtrak and Interstate 10).
This is really low stuff that singers
and most musical instruments are
incapable of creating. Since very lit-
tle music happens at such low fre-
quencies, it is often appropriate to
insert a highpass (i.e. low cut) filter
that removes all the super low lows
entirely.
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2000
 ny often leaks into our audio through frequency just above 60 Hertz or
damaged,poorly designed, or failing perhaps an octave above, 120 Hertz.
power supplies. It can also be This is high enough in frequency
induced into our audio through prox- that it can audibly affect the musical
imity to electromagnetic radiation of quality of the sound. Exercise care
other power lines, transformers, elec- and listen carefully when filtering
tric motors, light dimmers, and such. out hum. Many instruments (e.g.
As more harmonics appear—120 some vocals, most saxophones, a lot
That’s rumble. A slightly different Hz, 180 Hz, and 240 Hz—the hum of percussion, to name a few) aren’t
problem is hum. Hum is the interfer- blossoms into a full-grown buzz. Buzz changed much sonically by such a fil-
ence from our power lines and power finds its way into almost every old ter. But low frequency-based instru-
supplies that is based on 60 Hertz guitar amp, helped out a fair amount ments (e.g. kick drum, bass guitar)
AC power (50 Hertz for many of our by florescent lighting and single coil aren’t gonna tolerate this kind of
friends in other countries). guitar pickups. equalization.
The alternating current in the Again, a low pass filter helps. To Fortunately, the hum might be less
power provided by the utility compa- remove hum, we need to roll-off at a noticeable on these instruments any-
way as their music can mask a low
level hum. Buzz is more challenging.
The additional harmonics of buzz
make removing it only more musical-
ly destructive. Drive carefully.
Other low frequency problems
fixed by a highpass filter are the
woofer-straining pops of a breath of
air hitting the mic whenever the
singer hits a “P” or a “B” in a word.
Or if you are working outside (doing
live sound or collecting natural
sounds in the field), you’ve no doubt
discovered that any breeze across
the mic leads to low-end garbage. If
you can’t keep the wind off the
microphone, then filter the low fre-
quencies out.
When the instrument you are
recording is very close to a direction-
al microphone, proximity effect
appears. Sometimes this bassy effect
that increases with proximity to a
directional mic is good. Radio DJs
love it—makes them sound larger
than life. Sometimes proximity effect
is bad. Poorly miked acoustic guitars
have a pulsing low frequency sound
that masks the rest of the tone of the
instrument with each strum of the
guitar. Roll off the low end to lose it.
Equalizers are employed to fix
other sounds. Ever had a snare with
an annoying ring? Find the frequen-
cy range (boost, search....) most
responsible for the ring and try
attenuating it at a narrow band-
width. Often, turning down that ring
reveals an exciting snare sound
underneath.
Ever track a singer with a cold?
It’s difficult to get a great sounding
performance out of a congested
crooner, but such a problem might be
fixable. Find the dominant muddying
frequency (probably somewhere
between 200 and 500 Hertz) and cut
it a bit. Compensate with some help-
ful midrange boost and you might
find a vocal sound that you and the
singer didn’t think was there.
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2000
 Ever track a guitar with old instead for the ugliest, muddiest Want a richer tone to the voice?
strings? Dull and lifeless. This is component of the drum sound Manipulate the vowel range. Having
unlikely to be fixable (because eq (between about 180 and maybe 400 trouble understanding the words?
can’t generate missing frequencies), Hertz) and cut it. As you cut this Manipulate the consonant range.
but don’t rule it out until you’ve problematic frequency, listen to the Watch out for overly sizzling “S”
tried a bit of a boost somewhere up low end. Often this approach reveals sounds, but don’t be afraid to empha-
between 6 kHz and 12 kHz. plenty of low end punchiness that size some of the human expressive-
Sometimes a gorgeous spectral ele- just wasn’t audible before the well- ness of the singer taking a big breath
ment of a sound is hidden by anoth- placed cut was applied. right before a screaming chorus.

Realize that all engineers have a lot to learn about eq.

Apprentices, hobbyists, veterans, and Grammy winners...
all are still exploring the musical capability of equalization.

er, much less appealing frequency The snare:It’s a burst of noise. This
component. A good example of this The Feature one is tough to eq, as it reacts to
can be found in drums. A natural application of equaliza- almost any spectral change. One
Does it never sound right when tion is to enhance a particular part approach is to divide the sound into
you go searching for the right fre- of a sound, to bring out components two parts. One is the low frequency
quency to boost for that punchy big of the sound you like. Here are a few energy coming from the drum itself.
budget drum sound? The low fre- ideas and starting points. Second is the mid-to-high frequency
quency stuff that makes a drum The voice:It might be fair to think energy up to 10 kHz and beyond due
sound punchy often lives just a few of voice as sustained vowels and tran- to the rattling snares underneath.
Hertz lower than some rather muddy sient consonants. The vowels happen Narrow the possibilities; look for
junk. And boosting the lows invari- at lower mid frequencies (200 to 1000 power in the drum-based lows, and
ably boosts some of the mud. Hz) and the consonants happen at exciting raucous emotion in the
Search at narrow bandwidth the upper mids (2 kHz on up). noisy snares.
 The trick is to find a spectral range that highlights the
good qualities of the guitar without doing significant
damage to the tone of the synth patch. It’ll take some
trial and error to get it just right, but you’ll find this
approach allows you to layer in several details into a mix.
Expect to apply this thinking in a few critical areas of
the mix. Around the bass guitar, we encounter low fre-
The kick drum:Like the snare, consider reducing this quency competition that needs addressing. If you play
instrument to two components. There is the click of the guitar or piano and do solo gigs as well as band sessions,
beater hitting the drum followed by the low frequency you’ve perhaps discovered this already.
pulse of the ringing drum. The attack lives up in the Solo, you’ve got low frequency responsibilities as you
3 kHz range and beyond. The tone is down around 50 cover the bass line and pin down the harmony. In the
Hertz and below. These are two good targets for tailoring band setting, on the other hand, you are free to pursue
a kick sound. other chord voicings. You don’t want to compete with the
The acoustic guitar:Try separating it into its musical bass player musically, and the same is true spectrally.
tone and its mechanical sounds. Listen carefully to the
tone as you seek frequencies to highlight. Frustratingly,
this covers quite a range from lows (100 Hertz) to highs The needs and desires that
(10 kHz).
In parallel, consider the guitar’s more peculiar noises motivate an engineer to
that may need emphasis or suppression: finger squeaks,
fret buzz, pick noise, and the percussive sound of the box
reach for equalization fall
of the instrument itself, which resonates with every into four categories: The
aggressive strum. Look for these frequency landmarks in
every acoustic guitar you record and mix. Eq is a power- Fix, The Feature, The Fit,
ful way to gain control of the various elements of this
challenging instrument. and The Special Effect.
For the instruments you play and often record, you owe
it to yourself to spend some time examining their sounds
with an equalizer. Look for defining characteristics of the As an engineer, this means that you might be able to
instrument and their frequency range. Also look for the pull out a fair amount of low end from an acoustic guitar
less desirable noises some instruments make and file sound. Alone, it might sound too thin, but with the bass
those away on a ‘watch-out’ list. guitar playing all is well. There is spectral room for the
These mental summaries of the spectral qualities of low frequencies of the bass because the acoustic guitar
some key instruments will save you time in the heat of a no longer competes here. But the acoustic guitar still has
session when you want more punch in the snare (aim the illusion of being a full and rich sound because the
low) and more breathiness in the vocal (aim high). bass guitar is playing along, providing uncluttered, full
bass for the song—and for the mix.
In the highs, competition appears among the obvious
high frequency culprits like the cymbals and hand per-
There are often technical cussion as well as the not-so-obvious: distorted sounds. It
is always tempting in rock music to add distortion to gui-
considerations behind eq tars, vocals, and anything that moves.
decisions, it’s true. Spectrally speaking, this kind of distortion occurs
through the addition of some upper harmonic energy.
But music wouldn’t be music And this distortion will overlap with the cymbals and
any other distorted tracks. Make them fit with the same
if we didn’t selectively complementary eq moves. Maybe the cymbals get the
highs above 10 kHz, the lead guitar has emphasized dis-
abandon those approaches. tortion around 8 kHz, and the rhythm guitar hangs out
at 6 kHz. Mirror image cuts on the other tracks will help
ensure all these high frequency instruments are clearly
The Fit audible in the mix.
A key reason to equalize tracks in multitrack produc- The mid frequencies are definitely the most difficult
tion is to help us fit all these different tracks together. region to equalize. It is very competitive space spectrally,
One of the simplest ways to bring clarity to a component as almost all instruments have something to say in the
of a crowded mix is to get everything else out of the mids. And it is the most difficult place to hear accurate-
way—spectrally. ly. We tend to gravitate toward the more obvious low and
That is, if you want to hear the acoustic guitar while high frequencies areas when we reach for the equalizer.
the string pad is sustaining, find a satisfyingly present On the road to earning golden ears, plan to focus on
midrange boost for the guitar and perform a complemen- the middle frequencies as a key challenge and learn to
tary cut in the mids of the pad. This eq cut on the string hear the subtle differences that live between 500 and
pad keeps the sound from competing with or drowning 6,000 Hz.
out the acoustic guitar.
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2000
The Special Effect
If you have the sense from the dis-
cussion above that there are techni-
cal considerations behind equaliza-
tion decisions, that’s true. But music
wouldn’t be music if we didn’t selec-
tively abandon those approaches. A
final reason to eq is to create special
effects. This is where we are least
analytical and most creative. Your
imagination is the limit, but here
are some starting points.
“Wah-wah” is nothing more than
variable eq. If you’ve a parametric
equalizer handy, patch it in to a gui-
tar track already recorded. Dial in a
pretty sharp midrange boost (high-Q,
1 kHz, +12 dB). As the track plays,
sweep the frequency knob for fun
and profit.
On automated equalizers you can
program this sort of eq craziness.
Without automation, you just print
the wah-wah version to a spare track.
Your creative challenge: explore not
just middle frequencies, but low and
high frequency versions; try cuts as
well as boosts; and apply it to any
track (acoustic guitar, piano, tam-
bourine, anything).
Another special effect is actually
used to improve realism. As sound
waves travel through space, the
first thing to go are the high fre-
quencies. The farther a sound has
traveled, the less high frequency
content it has.
Consider the addition of a repeat-
ing echo on a vocal line. For exam-
ple, the lead singer sings, “My baby’s
gonna get some Gouda Cheese.” And
the background singers sing,
“Gouda!” Naturally the mix engineer
feeds the background line into a dig-
ital delay that repeats at the rate of
a quarter note triplet: “Gouda...
Gouda... Gouda.”
For maximum effect, it is tradition-
al to equalize the signal as it is fed
back to the delay for each repetition.
The first “GOUDA!” is simply a
delay. It then goes through a lowpass
filter for some removal of high fre-
quency energy and is fed back
through the delay.
It is delayed again: “Gouda!” Once
more through the same lowpass filter
for still more high frequency attenu-
ation and back through the same
delay: “gouda.” The result is (with a
triplet feel): “GOUDA!...Gouda!
...gouda.” The echoes seem to grow
more distant, creating a more engag-
ing effect.
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2000
 Obviously, this eq approach applies ferent channels on your mixer and
to signals other than echoes, and it eq them differently. If the signal on
even works on non-dairy products. In the left is made brighter than the
composing the stereo or surround same signal sent right, then the
image of your mix, you not only pan image will seem to come from the
things into their horizontal position, left, brighter side (remember dis-
but you push them back, away from tance removes high frequencies).
the listener by adding a touch more Consider eq differences between
reverb (obvious) and removing a bit left and right that are more elabo-
of high end (not so obvious). This eq rate and involve several different
move is the sort of subtle detail that sets of cuts and boosts so that nei-
helps make the stereo/surround ther side is exactly brighter than the
image that much more compelling. other, just different. Then the image
Speaking of stereo, a boring old will widen without shifting one way
monophonic track can be made more or the other. The piano becomes
interesting and more stereo-like more unusual (remember, this sec-
through the use of equalization. What tion of the article is called Special
is a stereo signal after all? It is diffi- Effects, so anything goes....); its
cult to answer such an interesting image is more liquid, less precise.

Critical listening skills are

developed over a lifetime. No one
learned the difference between
1 kHz and 1.2 kHz overnight.
question without writing a book, or Add some delays, reverbs, and
least an entire article dedicated to other processing (topics of future
the topic. But the one sentence Nuts & Bolts pieces) and a one-mic
answer is: a stereo sound is the result monophonic image takes on a rich,
of sending different but related sig- stereophonic life.
nals to each loudspeaker.
Placing two microphones on a The End
piano and sending one mic left and The challenging and subtle art of
the other right is a clear example of equalization needn’t be surrounded
stereo. The sounds coming out of the in mystery. Whenever you have a
loudspeakers are similar in that they track with a problem to be removed
are each recordings of the same per- or a feature to be emphasized, try to
formance on the same piano happen- grab it with eq. If a mix is getting
ing at the same time. crowded with too many instruments
But there are subtle (and sometimes fighting for too little space, carve out
radical) differences between the different spectral regions for the
sounds at each mic due to their partic- competing instruments using eq.
ular location, orientation, and type of And sometimes we just want to
microphone. The result is an audio take a sound out and make it more
image of a piano that is more interest- interesting.Again, just boost, search,
ing, and hopefully more musical,than and set the equalizer so that you like
the monophonic single microphone what you hear.
approach would have been.
If you begin with a single mic Alex Case has cornered the market
recording of a piano and wish to cre- on murky, dull sounding mixes.What’s
Excerpted from the February edition of RECORDING magazine. ate a wider, more realistic, or just your eq specialty gonna be? Suggest
©2000 Music Maker Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission. plain weird piano sound in you mix, Nuts & Bolts topics via case@r
ecord-
5412 Idylwild Trail, Suite 100, Boulder, CO80301 one tool at you disposal is equaliza- ingmag.com.
Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119
For Subscription Information, call: 1-800-582-8326 tion. Send the single track to two dif-
RECORDING FEBRUARY 2000