EQ does do wonders!

[zenguan88]

have you ever tried EQing, and feel hmm that it does not improve the tonality you are looking for, or you feel you are just EQing to increase a volume of a certain frequency and you realise that it does not help after all and you gave up on it altogether?

i felt that way once. and thats when we are doing it the wrong way.

READ THIS!
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Aug01/articles/usingeq.asp

sometimes its better to lower frequency then increasing them, knowing each instrument frequency spectrum helps!

 

[fuxingqiang]

eq is very important, it can change the color of the sound, to make it very warm or cold.
an instrument frequency range is between 100-4000hz, if you gain the range of an instrument's major frequency, the instrument will sounds warmer. if you gain 6000hz-10000hz of vocal, will make it more air, what i introduce are very basic skills. to adjust eq well, must train your ears. when you hear a sound, you must be able to tell what frequencies contribute to the sound.

eq adjusting can even adjust how far your sound comes from. the basic principle is: low frequency has lower Penetrating power than high. so when you want to make sound coming far from you, you just gain the higher frequency range and lower the low frequency range.

 

[Colarndo]

It's important to know the fundamental frequencies as well as the harmonics of each instrument. Than it's easier to work from there.
It's always been recommended to do subtractive EQing.
Ear training is important as well.

 

[Cheez]

I, however, feel that EQ should be used with great care and not to over-use it.

One thing I realised - people always EQ when playing back - be it CD players, mp3 players, on their PCs etc. I've yet to see somebody listening flat when listening to music.

Now imagine - if the bass is boosted in the mix-down, and that gets boosted further by the end-listeners.

One thing I need to learn is to listen to flat frequencies - how it should sound naturally without EQ. I remember my very first recording I did. It sounded great in my final mix. But when it was played and performed in the concert hall during a play, it sounded terrible. It was only then I realised that they were EQ'ing as well, and my EQ frequencies were boosted further.

Still learning.

 

[atee]

Cheez: I feel the same way. I've always wondered why, when sound engineers have taken pains to get the right balance for the song (in their opinions anyway), people still insist on tweaking the EQ when they listen in to it, instead of getting the real thing.

But I guess the 'perfect sound' is all subjective.

 

[unsane]

there aren't any concrete rules..for years i used to limit myself to subtractive EQ since many people were perpetuating the myth that it was the "right" way to do it, until i read some tips given by colin richardson on how he treats guitar tracks with severe additional EQ. worked like a charm, never looked back since.

some bass boost on mp3 players and such can work well if you're using tiny earbuds or crappy computer speakers. what really shits me is people turning up their crappy computer/home theatre subwoofers to ridiculous levels...

when you want to make sound coming far from you, you just gain the higher frequency range and lower the low frequency range.

correct me if im wrong but i always thought you lose more highs with distance, in addition to bass frequencies travelling further?

 

[exin]

I've yet to see somebody listening flat when listening to music.

I listen flat. I hate to turn on the EQ on players, seriously and i've found that the songs convey their intended emotion when i listen flat.

Now you have a club going on there ... =P

 

[Colarndo]

I listen to music flat too
But sound reinforcement EQ is everywhere(subject to good/bad settings). How to solve this problem?
fuxingqiang: What is a "cold" sound? Is it a new term? I've never seen this term before.
eq adjusting can even adjust how far your sound comes from? Are you saying I can change the distance of a sound source by EQing? So a set of speakers a fixed distance away from me can be changed by EQing?

 

[rawn]

eq is very important, it can change the color of the sound, to make it very warm or cold.
an instrument frequency range is between 100-4000hz, if you gain the range of an instrument's major frequency, the instrument will sounds warmer. if you gain 6000hz-10000hz of vocal, will make it more air, what i introduce are very basic skills. to adjust eq well, must train your ears. when you hear a sound, you must be able to tell what frequencies contribute to the sound.

eq adjusting can even adjust how far your sound comes from. the basic principle is: low frequency has lower Penetrating power than high. so when you want to make sound coming far from you, you just gain the higher frequency range and lower the low frequency range.

I'm sorry but i got to say this. High frequencies provide directionality. Eg, it tells you where the sound is coming from. Increasing the frequencies at 2- 4 k will only add more presence. 8 k and above gives you the sense of clarity. To make instruments sound "further away" in your sound stage, removing a little presence and adding a compressor to reduce the attack would make the instruments sound "further away". I think diffrent engineers would do it diffrently. If it works for you then it works for you. just my keropok worth of opinions.

by the way, our ears are very susceptible to the 2-4khz region of frequencies. Boosting these frequencies will make things seem "louder". "loudness" is another subjective topic.

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

I listen to my music flat through earphones. I believe in getting a good set of speakers/earphones to reproduce pieces as acurately as possible.. On my desktop, i use creative 24-bit cristalisation thing which makes percussive sounds more percussive. So i guess that's not really eqing cuz its not tweaking with frequencies but rather, waveforms. making sharp impulses sharper.

In studios, i'd be stricken with headache over the EQ of vocals mics and my guitar because of the various room sizes and equipments different studio provides... One EQ setting doesn't work for all applications/places and its a chore remembering: "Oh Fourtones big room, trebles 10 o'clock, mids 10 o'clock bass 12 o'clock. Oh L cube mid room, etc etc..."

Basic knowledge + try and error reduces 1 hour of jamming time to 30 mins...