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Music production > Equalisation > Flashcards

Equalisation Flashcards

1
Q

What is an equaliser?

A

Something that adjusts the tone of your instrument

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2
Q

What are frequencies?

A

the thousnds of unique sound waves that each instrument creates

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3
Q

What is the frequency spectrum?

A
  • All of an instruments unique vibrations / sound waves are laid out in a chart from 20Hz-20KHz
  • we use the frequency spectrum to use our EQ’s, and to better understand what EQ moves are going to do the sound of the tone of that instrument
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4
Q

What are Hertz?

A

The unit of measurement for sound waves, how fast a particular sound wave can be is measured with a higher number of Hertz

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5
Q

What pitch will higher Hertz produce?

A

a higher pitch

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6
Q

what pitch will lower Hertz produce?

A

a lower pitch

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7
Q

What is the human pitch scale?

A

20Hz-20KHz

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8
Q

Describe the sub bass of the frequency spectrum

A
  • 20-60Hz
  • a difficult region to hear, its more “felt”
  • an area with lots of “boom” and energy
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9
Q

describe the bass of the frequency spectrum

A
  • (60-200Hz)
  • The part of the frequency spectrum where most of the thickness comes from
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10
Q

describe the low mids of the frequency spectrum

A
  • 200-600Hz
  • the “meat” of your entire song
  • where most instruments are located e.g. guitar, strings producing the bulk of their sonic energy in the low mids
  • if this section is balanced well, then the whole mix will sound easy to hear/full
  • you will experience lots of “muddy” sound in this area as instruments compete for space as they all have so much sonic energy in the low mids
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11
Q

describe the mids of the frequency spectrum

A
  • 600Hz-3KHz
  • Where a lot of human listening has been attuned to listening for
  • important for this area to have a good mix as there is a lot of “good” and “bad” stuff located in this area
  • top end of the mids can sound a lot more aggressive and harsh since those frequencies are located between 1-3KHz which as humans we hear best creating extra presence
  • the mids section is the part that sounds the most varied across its frequency range
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12
Q

describe the upper mids of the frequency spectrum

A
  • 3-8KHz
  • most of presence and character of sound lives in this area
  • boosting something hear could make it sound more aggressive / present / exciting and in your face
  • a lot of pain sounds live here with brittleness and harshness
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13
Q

describe the highs of the frequency spectrum

A
  • 8-20KHz
  • alot of “air” is present within this area
  • ‘air’ is the idea that something without much in the high frequency range tends to sound more controlled/muffled where’s something with a lot of energy in the high frequency range tends to sound a lot breathier and a lot more open
  • difficult to hear any pitches at this level, its almost all just rhythmical sound, almost like the atmosphere of the sound
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14
Q

What are the six components of the frequency spectrum?

A
  • Sub bass: 20-60Hz
  • Bass: 60-200Hz
  • Low mids: 200-600Hz
  • Mids: 600-3KHz
  • Upper mids: 3-8KHz
  • Highs: 8-20KHz
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15
Q

What are the different EQ filters?

A
  • bell filter
  • high pass filter / low cut filter
  • low pass filter / high cut filter
  • shelving filters
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16
Q

what is a decibel?

A
  • a unit to measure the loudness of sounds
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17
Q

what is “Q”?

A
  • how wide your EQ filter is, filter becomes thinner the higher the “Q” and thicker the lower the “Q”
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18
Q

what are room resonances?

A
  • rogue frequencies that get pushed extra loud because of the shape of your room / instrument
  • room resonances are usually 1 frequency (e.g. 230Hz)
  • room resonances aren’t natural to your recording
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19
Q

What is surgical EQ?

A
  • anytime there is a spike with the filter where there’s an extremely thin “Q” and a very deep cut
  • surgical EQ takes out room resonances caused by your room
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20
Q

What is a spectrum analyser?

A
  • where you can view all the spikes and grooves of the frequency spectrum
  • it shows you the frequency content of that moment
  • they give you a mathematical idea of what your ears are hearing
  • analog EQ’s most likely won’t have a spectrum analyser as its mostly a digital feature
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21
Q

what is masking?

A
  • something that occurs in acoustical physics
  • occurs whenever two sounds that create similar frequencies / similar sonic energy are both played at the same time
  • you can lose clarity as both of those instruments are fighting for the same space in the frequency spectrum
  • an example of masking is where you can hear a section or instrument that sounds very full, but when you put it into the context of the whole mix, it suddenly vanishes
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22
Q

how can you treat masking?

A
  • masking is treated by lots of EQ cuts and making space for different instruments in the different parts of the frequency spectrum
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23
Q

What are the four goals of using an EQ?

A
  • Getting rid of unwanted stuff
  • enhancing good stuff
  • blend the recordings together
  • balance the tone of the mix
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24
Q

What is the goal of getting rid of unwanted stuff with EQ?

A
  • cutting out room resonances
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25
Q

what is the goal of enhancing the good stuff With EQ?

A
  • creating a tonal balance with 1 specific instrument
  • EQ can solve warmth, muddiness, harshness for the timbres of instruments
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26
Q

What is the goal of blending all of the instruments together with EQ?

A
  • creating space in the frequency spectrum for every instrument to sit nicely
  • solves the issue of instruments fighting for attention
  • EQ shapes all of these sounds so that it sounds like a mix rather than a collection of random recordings
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27
Q

What is the goal of balancing the tone of the entire mix with EQ?

A
  • you want to make the tone of the whole mix as consistent throughout the song as possible and also sound good in any speaker that you play it in
  • if your mix sounds different on different speakers, then your mixes tone isn’t balanced
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28
Q

why can’t EQ fix a bad recording?

A
  • EQ’s can only change what is already there; its boosting parts of the frequency spectrum, boosting the sonic energy or cutting some of the sonic energy; its not adding anything
  • all of the present sound is determined in the recording stage
  • a bad quality recording can’t be fixed in the mix
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29
Q

What are the issues effecting a bad recording?

A
  • the room
  • the microphone placement
  • the gear for recording
  • the gear for playing
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30
Q

Why can’t EQ fix a bad arrangement?

A
  • EQ can’t fix your choice of arrangement leading to a muddy sound with lots of competing sonic energy
  • a good way to solve this is to spread your parts out musically
  • pick instruments with different tonal qualities will fit together because they have sonic energy in different parts of the frequency spectrum
  • the less build up of sonic energy that you have in one spot, the easier it is going to be to balance your mix
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31
Q

why can’t EQ fix a bad performance?

A
  • EQ cannot create emotion, EQ can make it brighter, or even less distracting, but, if its a boring / out of time performance, then that’s not going to matter anyway
  • links back to getting recordings right at the source
32
Q

why can’t EQ fix bad volume balance?

A
  • volume balance lays the foundation for the rest of the mix
  • volume balance is almost like its own form of EQ, if a bright instrument is pushed up too loud, that whole mix may sound really bright even if other instruments have more warmer sounds
33
Q

Why can EQ fix a bad listening environment?

A
  • the room you’re mixing in is affecting the sound coming out of your speakers
  • your EQ moves may only sound good in this one space that you are mixing in contrast to anywhere you play it after
  • can be fixed with acoustic treatment
34
Q

What are all the issues EQ can’t fix?

A
  • a bad recording
  • a bad arrangement
  • a bad performance
  • a bad volume balance
  • a bad listening environment
35
Q

what is a balance chart?

A
  • the balance chart shows you both where the tones you want and don’t want exist on the frequency spectrum
36
Q

what is sweep EQ?

A
  • this technique is something you can use to find specific areas to change the tone
  • for example, if you want something to be brighter but you aren’t sure where to boost
37
Q

what are the instruments that cause the most room resonances?

A
  • drum sets
  • acoustic guitars
  • upright basses
  • pianos
  • vocals
38
Q

what is the best technique to find a room resonance?

A
  • sweep EQ
39
Q

what is gain staging?

A
  • gain staging makes sure that your instrument is the same loudness before you EQ it, as it is after you EQ it
40
Q

how do you gain stage?

A
  • use a VU meter to compare the tracks volume before and after dynamics in order to balance them after using EQ cuts or boosts
41
Q

what is the A/B test?

A
  • a technique that allows you to listen to the before and after versions of the track without knowing which is which
  • this is useful because usually you know you put a lot of work into that EQ move meaning you’re going to have a natural bias towards the processed version even if it sounds worse
42
Q

what are things to consider if you prefer the dry track after carrying out the A/B method?

A
  • leave the track alone
  • reset the EQ and start over
  • find another solution
43
Q

what is the philosophy behind a good EQ mix?

A
  • EQ with purpose and intention
  • tiny moves matter
  • nothing is a rule, everything is a guideline
44
Q

What are analog EQ’s?

A
  • analog is hardware and actually physical outboard gear that you route your sound through
  • analogs are imperfect and are not completely accurate as its physical wires, tubes, instead of being detrimental to the sound, it adds colour and frequencies to the sound which we call saturation
45
Q

What are digital EQ’s`?

A
  • provides more accuracy than analog EQ’s but is colourless contrasting it the the analog sound
  • Digital EQ’s won’t effect the tone of the mix with any added saturation
46
Q

What are parametric EQ’s?

A
  • Where you have full control on where you put a band, what frequency you set a band at, how wide and narrow you get a band at and how loud a band is set at (most EQ’s allow for volume changes)
47
Q

what are semi-parametric EQ’s?

A
  • gives you control of the frequency, but does not give you control of the width (Q)
  • a lot of these units have a very specific width that actually lends a very pleasing tone
48
Q

What are graphic EQ’s?

A
  • gives you no control of the frequency and no control of the width, but you get lots of frequency bands that you can choose from to boost or cut
  • graphic EQ’s have their own tone that’s different from parametric and semi parametric EQ’d
  • Graphic EQ’s are often sed by live sound engineers and loved for how well they deal with top end material
49
Q

What is a minimum phase EQ?

A
  • All EQ’s are minimum phase EQ with the exception of linear EQ
50
Q

what is a linear EQ?

A
  • anytime you use an EQ there is some phase manipulation that happens, as well as boosting and cutting certain frequencies, you are also adding a little bit of warblyness to the sound
  • Linear EQ’s add none of that phase manipulation, they are completely clean as far as phasing goes
  • they add a tone of latency into your session and also add “pre-ringing” which is a delay that happens before a sound
  • its really easy to mess up your sound with a linear EQ if you don’t know what you’re doing with one
51
Q

what is a mid/side EQ?

A
  • mid/side means that its processing the mono signal and the sides
  • mid/side EQ allows you to clean up certain sounds perhaps in the middle with the mono sounds like your kick/snare/bass and vocals
  • mid/side EQ is more of an advanced tool
52
Q

What is a static EQ?

A
  • 99% of EQ’s
  • any band that you boost or cut that stays in that position is known as static EQ
53
Q

what is a dynamic EQ?

A
  • dynamic EQ’s work similar with compression where you set the threshold and the band will move itself accordingly if frequencies become too loud and move about the threshold
54
Q

what are smart EQ’s?

A
  • smart EQ’s are based on a new technology coming onto the scene
  • the way a smart EQ works really depends on which smart EQ you’re using
  • you would put a smart EQ plugin on a particular sound and it would analyse it in some way and then would spit out a new EQ curve for it automatically - so essentially artificial intelligence for EQ rather than doing the cuts and boosts manually
  • smart EQ’s can be based on different things such as “industry trends”
55
Q

what is the chef method to EQ an entire mix?

A
  • clean your tracks
  • enhance your tracks
  • balance your tracks
  • balance your mix’s tone
  • blend your tracks
  • make your final tweaks
56
Q

How would you EQ the low end of your mix?

A
  • use high pass filters: may seem counter productive, high pass filters help bring out frequencies we want to focus on; usually for most styles and a standard kick and bass, anything below 30-40Hz will most likely make the mix a lot more muddy, therefore you can cut these frequencies out with a high pass filter
  • using pocket EQ: pocket EQ allows the bass and kick to mesh better together in the frequency spectrum. instruments in the low end fight a lot more for space in contrast to the rest of the mix
  • cutting problem areas: a very common problem area in kick drums is between 250-600Hz which can create a very boxy sound in some kick drums.
  • Enhancing the instrument: you can make your low end instruments stand out by boosting the mids and upper mids. those are the frequencies that allow the human ears to perceive a sound as more present/forward
  • Tweak and check your volume balance: bring the kick and bass into the context of the mix by changing the tones / timbres as well as adjusting the volume to be suitable to the mix
57
Q

What is pocket EQ?

A
  • making the complimentary cuts and boosts, and then doing the exact opposite to another instrument
  • this is the technique used for “un-masking”
58
Q

How can you EQ a snare?

A
  • check for ring in the snare in the cleanup phase
  • check for a ‘boxy’ sound at around 250-600Hz and see if you need to make any cuts
  • snares often get buried in the mix so you may want to make a boost in the upper mids as its where the presence of the snare lives
  • the “punch” of the snare lives within the lower mids
59
Q

How can you EQ the overheads?

A
  • they capture the general tone of the kit but they focus mainly on the symbols
  • where a lot of the harsh drum sounds live as well as the microphone picking up most of the room resonances
  • potentially cut some of the bass out to make room for the kit
60
Q

How can you EQ room mics?

A
  • room mics pick up general sounds of an entire drum kit with a lot of symbol noise
  • these mics tend to be even harsher than the overheads and that only gets worse when you add compression to them
  • when looking for room resonances in the room mics, be aware of the low and upper mids
  • just like the overheads, make a cut in the bass to make some space for the mix, in particular, the kick
61
Q

how can you EQ the toms?

A
  • they have a similar structure and stance to the snare mics as far as the frequency spectrum goes
  • they may have a few issues with too much crack which can be heard in the upper mids
  • carries out some boxy traits as the snare does
62
Q

how can you EQ electric guitars?

A
  • for electric guitar, there is a lot of activity happening in the upper mids and the high end that doesn’t need to be there
  • most electric guitar amps only really go from 100/150Hz to 6KHz
  • if you have a denser mix, you may consider taking a lot of high end frequencies out give a bit more head room
  • however, when it comes to these kinds of high end cuts, decide with intention or you’ll just end up dulling the instrument down
  • many variables to the tone of a guitar comes from the gear you use
  • for electric guitars, it is very important to get tone settings right at the source rather going to EQ to completely fix the tone
63
Q

How can you EQ a ‘honky’ guitar?

A
  • a common tone on a natural electric guitar sound
  • a common cut to make to make it less present is between 500Hz and 1KHz
  • making this cut can give the guitar a lot more definition
64
Q

How can you EQ a ‘harsh’ guitar?

A
  • if the guitar sounds too harsh, the problem is usually in the mids or the upper range
  • 2KHz is known as the pain frequency, can be the frequency that tires our ears out the most
65
Q

How can you EQ a ‘brittle’ guitar?

A
  • tends to live in the upper mids - highs
  • by making a cut where the guitar may sound brittle allows for a much more secure and warmer sound
  • a ‘brittle’ sound gives a fragile sound as if you could just snap it
66
Q

How can you EQ an acoustic guitar?

A
  • acoustic guitars are notorious for having a lot of resonant frequencies from the body of the instrument. so having a priority on cleaning the track on an acoustic guitar is imperative
  • don’t take out too many of the resonant frequencies as too many cuts can take away the feel of the audio track
67
Q

How can you EQ a piano?

A
  • piano is definitely an instrument where EQ can vary pretty wildly
  • this is due to the amount of genres that utilise piano
  • EQ choices depend on the actual piano that you are using e.g. grand, upright, electric
  • a common area to boost in a piano is in the upper mids to bring out some of the ambient noises that are within the piano
  • also use a high pass filter to take out a lot of the low end frequencies that are present that don’t to the sound
  • if you’re using a classical piano genre then you wont want to cut out low end frequencies as it adds to the attack
  • if your mix is dense, it might be worth cutting some high end out as there isn’t typically a lot of sonic energy there from the piano
  • many piano’s tend to have great sounds between 600-2KHz
68
Q

How can you EQ vocals?

A
  • vocals are the instrument that people pay attention to the most
  • they’re also the instrument that people are most use to hearing
  • everybody has an innate understanding of what a human vocal sounds like
  • because of this, we need to be much more careful with what EQ’ing we are doing to achieve what we want to achieve
  • if vocals are recorded really well, then subtle EQ may be more beneficial as you don’t want the humane soul to be natural
  • high pass filter to cut out all of the low end that only adds unwanted noise, a common feature of DIY vocals is a very ‘boxy’ side effect from home studios
  • a common side effect of live vocals is a ‘nasaly / honky’ sound between 500Hz-2KHz which you may consider to cut
  • to give the vocal a professional / airy sound, you can add a shelf filter to the high end
69
Q

How can you EQ vocal harmonies?

A
  • whenever mixing harmonies, you want to make sure that you’re using the same its (copy and paste from the main vocal to being with to help it blend and not stick out)
  • consider taking away any top end boosts as you don’t want harmonies to sound too present
  • a common thing to do is to make a shelf or low pass filter and cutting out some of the top end
70
Q

How can you EQ in pop?

A
  • a lot of top end boost
  • creates a professional sheen
  • alot of airiness
  • alot more brighter than other genres
  • perhaps use analog/semi parametric EQ’s as they may be less harsh on the top end than a parametric EQ
71
Q

How can you EQ hip-hop?

A
  • polished tone like pop
  • alot of aggression and energy in the upper mids
  • alot more general low end
72
Q

how can you EQ rock?

A
  • alot of aggression in the upper mids
  • doesn’t have many top end boosts
  • a lot of warmth and thickness
  • alot of energy in the lower mids
73
Q

how can you EQ metal music?

A
  • aggression in the upper mids
  • not a lot of warmth / thickness
  • very focuses on the upper mids
74
Q

how can you EQ folk/classical/jazz?

A
  • very subtle EQ
  • bands focus on the recording stage to get their sound right
  • mixing is generally sparse
75
Q

How can you EQ electronic music?

A
  • every style / subgenera of EDM have wilding different production styles
  • these genres are entirely based on synthesisers
  • for this genre you won’t to lean very heavily into reference tracks to work out what it is you want to achieve

Music production (2 decks)

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