Recording - September 2013 - 63

Another trick to more effective blend equalizing is to
avoid the solo button. Many inexperienced engineers tend
to eq when listening to an instrument by itself, called soloing. This lets you hear clearly what’s blatantly wrong with
a source, and it usually directs the engineer to use purely
creative and/or corrective eq to pretty up a signal so it
sounds as perfect as possible. Unfortunately, moves made
in solo do not always help a mix. With every instrument in
a track equalized to be full-range and beautiful by itself,
sources tend to overlap and compete. A better solution is
often to apply eq while listening to the entire mix, and
then boost and cut frequencies on particular sources for
better blending.
Workflows
Different engineers have different workflows; many
subscribe to a “boost the frequencies you like, cut the frequencies don’t like” philosophy. This approach can work
great, but it requires that the mixer successfully identify
target frequencies. This is why ear training is an important element to becoming a successful audio engineer.
Can you recognize a resonance in vocal recording as centered at 400 Hz? How quickly can you find and implement
a 2.5 kHz dip on an electric guitar track? If these questions are foreign or intimidating, you probably should
search out an ear-training regimen to enhance your frequency recognition skills. Regular ear training practice

also probably want to readjust the filter’s bandwidth back
to a more musical width. Narrow filters are easier to hear
and are more likely to produce ugly sonic side effects.
Just remember, whatever workflow you prefer, moderation
is the best policy, especially when monitoring in solo. Too
much eq can quickly give a recording an unpleasant sheen
and make instruments work against each other in a mix.
Pass the salt
When discussing equalization with an experienced engineer, the conversation often includes the statement “I
avoid eq whenever possible.” Where does this philosophy
come from and how does it coexist with the conflicting
reality that eq is used every day to make things sound better? Are these engineers being uppity, or is there validity
in the avoidance of equalization?
To address this complex issue, let me restate the old
engineering adage “if it sounds good, it is good.” Music
and audio are subjective arts, and one man’s garbage is
another man’s gold. If you think the eq sounds good, then
by all means use it. Ignore the guy in the magazine—he’s
just old, rich, and famous.
That said, eq introduces various undesirable side effects
into an audio signal. Smearing of the time domain, called
phase shift or group delay, is caused by all filter circuits,
and can audibly smudge transients and cause rippled frequency response when steep slopes, sharp Qs, or extreme

Eq boosts raise overall level, and the
following stage in the signal chain can overdrive
and distort if level boosts are significant.
quickly increases an engineer’s proficiency at identifying
frequencies, level changes, distortion, and effects, that’s
why it is a crucial curriculum element in many audio education programs.
Not in audio school? A few commercial ear-training
options exist. Dave Moulton’s Golden Ears is a time-honored CD-based product available at kiqproductions.com.
For an interactive solution (Mac only, sorry), check out
Auricula software at auriculaonline.com. Inexpensive and
powerful, Auricula offers a variety of Audio Units ear
training plug-ins that can make eq-ing a much more efficient process. There are also useful products for iOS that
let you ear-train on the go, like Audiofile Engineering’s
Quiztones (quiztones.com).
Formal ear training aside, many engineers employ the
“boost, sweep, and tweak” method for finding and manipulating target frequencies. Have you ever heard a troublesome resonance but were not sure what Hertz to cut?
“Boost, sweep, and tweak” makes problems easy to find.
Grab a parametric filter, make an outrageous boost (+12
dB, for example), narrow the bandwidth so only a small
area of frequencies is affected, and then sweep the filter
across the spectrum until you find the exact frequency
that you are looking for. Trust me, it will stick out! Having
now identified the problem frequency, disable the boost
and instead cut the frequency to taste. Afterwards you will

boosts and cuts are employed. Eq circuits can also add
noise, distortion, and can affect stereo imaging.
Considering these potential downsides, many engineers
take the purist path and try to avoid eq, preferring to
instead achieve desired tonality through instrument selection, microphone choice, mic positioning, and so on.
In this way, eq can be thought of as salt. A little salt goes
a long way and can really enhance the flavor of a dish.
Many foods, however, are rich in sodium to begin with, and
the direct application of salt is completely unnecessary if
ideal raw materials are chosen. Thus eq can be avoided,
provided you have access to good musicians, instruments,
mics, and recording spaces. Of course, compromise is a
fact of life in this business, and therefore a little eq is
often needed as a flavor enhancement.
To boost or cut, that is the question
Another eq “rule” you may have heard is that boosting
frequencies with an equalizer should be avoided. Cutting,
many people say, is better. This belief is a bit of an old
audio wives’ tale, possibly having its roots several decades
ago when poorly performing equalizers tended to noticeably raise the noise floor when boosting. There is nothing
inherently wrong with raising the gain of a particular
range of frequencies. Bad equipment aside, boosting does
not inherently add more noise, distortion, or phase shift
RECORDING September 2013

63


http://www.kiqproductions.com http://www.auriculaonline.com http://www.quiztones.com

Recording - September 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - September 2013

Recording - September 2013
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
The History And Mystery Of Monitoring: A Chat With JBL’s Peter Chaikin
Better Sounds From Tight Spots
Do It Yourself: Fix Your Cables—Save Your Money!
Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 Monitors
MOTU Track16
Ashman Acoustics SOM50 Microphone
Sontronics Sonora 2
Stop Sound Leakage!
Drawmer MC2.1 Monitor Controller
Do It Yourself: Build Acoustic Treatment Right Into Your Walls!
From Shed To Studio
Sneak Previews: Apple Logic Pro X and Avid Pro Tools 11
Readers’ Tapes
Plug-In Outlet: FXpansion Bloom
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 21: Equalization—Part 2
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - September 2013 - Intro
Recording - September 2013 - Recording - September 2013
Recording - September 2013 - Cover2
Recording - September 2013 - 1
Recording - September 2013 - 2
Recording - September 2013 - 3
Recording - September 2013 - Fade In
Recording - September 2013 - 5
Recording - September 2013 - Contents
Recording - September 2013 - 7
Recording - September 2013 - Talkback
Recording - September 2013 - 9
Recording - September 2013 - Fast Forward
Recording - September 2013 - 11
Recording - September 2013 - 12
Recording - September 2013 - 13
Recording - September 2013 - The History And Mystery Of Monitoring: A Chat With JBL’s Peter Chaikin
Recording - September 2013 - 15
Recording - September 2013 - 16
Recording - September 2013 - 17
Recording - September 2013 - 18
Recording - September 2013 - 19
Recording - September 2013 - 20
Recording - September 2013 - 21
Recording - September 2013 - Better Sounds From Tight Spots
Recording - September 2013 - 23
Recording - September 2013 - 24
Recording - September 2013 - 25
Recording - September 2013 - Do It Yourself: Fix Your Cables—Save Your Money!
Recording - September 2013 - 27
Recording - September 2013 - 28
Recording - September 2013 - 29
Recording - September 2013 - Emotiva Pro Stealth 8 Monitors
Recording - September 2013 - 31
Recording - September 2013 - 32
Recording - September 2013 - 33
Recording - September 2013 - MOTU Track16
Recording - September 2013 - 35
Recording - September 2013 - Ashman Acoustics SOM50 Microphone
Recording - September 2013 - 37
Recording - September 2013 - Sontronics Sonora 2
Recording - September 2013 - 39
Recording - September 2013 - Stop Sound Leakage!
Recording - September 2013 - 41
Recording - September 2013 - 42
Recording - September 2013 - 43
Recording - September 2013 - 44
Recording - September 2013 - 45
Recording - September 2013 - Drawmer MC2.1 Monitor Controller
Recording - September 2013 - 47
Recording - September 2013 - Do It Yourself: Build Acoustic Treatment Right Into Your Walls!
Recording - September 2013 - 49
Recording - September 2013 - From Shed To Studio
Recording - September 2013 - 51
Recording - September 2013 - Sneak Previews: Apple Logic Pro X and Avid Pro Tools 11
Recording - September 2013 - 53
Recording - September 2013 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - September 2013 - 55
Recording - September 2013 - 56
Recording - September 2013 - 57
Recording - September 2013 - 58
Recording - September 2013 - 59
Recording - September 2013 - Plug-In Outlet: FXpansion Bloom
Recording - September 2013 - 61
Recording - September 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 21: Equalization—Part 2
Recording - September 2013 - 63
Recording - September 2013 - 64
Recording - September 2013 - Advertiser Index
Recording - September 2013 - 66
Recording - September 2013 - 67
Recording - September 2013 - 68
Recording - September 2013 - 69
Recording - September 2013 - 70
Recording - September 2013 - 71
Recording - September 2013 - Cover3
Recording - September 2013 - Cover4
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