EQ Explained in 4 Minutes: How to EQ For a Better Mix | LANDR Mix Tips #6
EQ is a massive subject for audio engineers. It’s so fundamental to the process that the majority of your mix time is probably spent tweaking EQ plugins.
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In this video I’ll go over everything you need to know to start using EQ like a pro—from the ground up.
Imagine two instruments playing the same unison melody
we notice the two sounds overlap, making it difficult to to hear them individually. This effect is called masking.
EQ is used in mixing to help reduce the effect of masking so that each instrument can be heard clearly.
To understand EQ, we need to talk about filters. Your EQ is essentially a specialized kind of filter. The characteristics of the filter determine a lot the sound of the EQ—and the best way to use it.
If you break down the settings of an individual band of EQ, they all refer to basic characteristics of filters: type, slope, Q, and gain and frequency.
I’ll explain each one and how they affect your sound.
HPF/LPF: These filters are named for the frequencies they leave unaffected, rather than the range they cut. A low cut is known as a high-pass filter and a high cut is known as low-pass filter.
Reach for these filter types when you need to clean up issues at the extreme ends of the spectrum.
The steep drop-off around the corner frequency can easily tame boomy low-end or piercing ultra-high resonance.
Bell: Bell filters are your standard tools boosting and cutting. Their shape can be manipulated using the Q parameter.
This is your go-to choice for sculpting and tone-shaping. Boost or cut at specific points and decide how broadly to affect neighboring frequencies with the Q control.
Shelf: Shelf or shelving filters boost or cut all frequencies above or below the corner frequency.
This type is effective for making broad tonal changes. Think of low and high shelves like the tone controls on your stereo system.
Q is short for quality factor. You can think of it as the “bandwidth” of an EQ band.
Q values of less than 1 will give you broader EQ curves, while values greater than 1 will give you tighter, more selective boosts or cuts
Gain determines the amount of boost or cut you apply with your EQ. It’s measured in dB. Positive gain values indicate a boost, while negative ones make it a cut.
The frequency is the center of your EQ band’s action. This control determines the range where boosts or cuts will occur.
It’s important to remember that there’s no such thing as a perfect filter. No matter how tightly you set your Q or how steep you make your slope, an EQ band will always affect a range of frequencies around the target.
The first rule of EQ is less is more. Extreme tonal shifts can have a negative impact on your sound.
The best way to use EQ is however you can get away with using the least.
With that in mind, there are two main ways to approach EQ.
Additive EQ means boosting frequencies to achieve the results you want, while Subtractive EQ means cutting offending frequencies out.
There’s plenty of debate about whether it’s better to do one or the other.
But if your goal is to use the least amount of EQ, you can simply choose whichever approach is the most direct route to your destination.
For example, if you only need to cut one narrow range, using 3-4 bands to boost every other region of the spectrum is less transparent that using a single band to cut the main offender.
On the other hand, if all you need to do to make a sound pop is boost one range, cutting everything else and applying makeup gain isn’t the quickest route.
In the course of the mix process, you’ll probably use EQ on every single track in your session.
With such an important tool, it’s important to have a solid foundation in how to use it.
Now that you have the fundamentals down, get back to your DAW and sculpt some sounds with EQ.
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Read more about the fundamentals of EQ: https://blog.landr.com/eq-basics-ever...
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