Recording - August 2013 - 63

and high frequencies of the organ. The bright
strings then sit on top, layered above the foundation of the thicker organ. This type of eq use allows
sonic spaces to be carved out for various instruments within a mix.
Question thy needs
Three parameters quantify eq, and engineers
should consider all three before employing equalization. If new to equalizing, begin by asking yourself the following questions:
1. What frequency do I primarily want to change?
2. How much positive or negative level change do
I want to apply at the primary frequency?
3. How wide of an area around the primary frequency do I want affected by the change?

Figure 1. Low and high shelving examples,
–6 dB @ 100 Hz and +6 dB @ 6 kHz

Figure 2. Peaking examples,
+6 @ 100 Hz and –6 @ 5 kHz
Let’s use drum overheads as an example, as they
commonly receive judicious high-frequency boosts
in pop music production. What primary frequency
should be changed to achieve the shimmery cymbal
sound common on commercial recordings? Since
boosting treble on overheads is a creative task,
there is no need to be specific, and an arbitrary
high frequency, perhaps 10 kHz, is a good start.
How much gain change do we want to apply?
Obviously, we are going to perform a boost, but the
degree of change is up to personal preference and
the needs of the overall mix. +3 dB, +6 dB, +12 dB?
It’s your choice, and if it sounds good, it is good!

Figure 5. A typical 30-band graphic eq
Now, how wide an area around 10 kHz should we affect with the change?
Again, we do not need to be specific, as we probably want to affect all high
frequencies above 10 kHz to achieve the desired results. Any boost at 10 kHz,
covering a large number of frequencies, will brighten overhead mics.
Shelving eq
By asking ourselves the three eq questions, we can determine the type of
equalizer best suited to meet our needs. In the case of cymbal brightening,
all frequencies above 10 kHz are to be affected and thus a shelving filter
would make the most sense. To understand a shelf eq, glance at Figure 1,
in which low and high shelf eqs cut and boost all energy below and above
determined cutoff frequencies by 6 dB. Called shelving because of their
response appearance, shelf filters are a quick way to affect a wide swath of
frequencies.
In their simplest form, shelving filters have only one parameter, a gain control that varies the amount of boost or cut at a fixed cutoff frequency. (Side
note: the cutoff frequency may also be called the corner frequency, turnover
frequency, or break frequency.) On fancier processors, the cutoff frequency
might be variable, greatly increasing flexibility. On consumer devices, however, easy-to-use one-knob shelf eq continues to reign supreme. The venerable
Bass and Treble knobs on simple car stereos, guitar amps, and boom boxes
are usually just low and high shelf filters like those pictured in Figure 1.
Peaking eq
If bass and treble knobs are shelf eqs, how exactly do the midrange knobs
on a simple 3-band eq function? Midrange controls are from the peaking
family of filters. Figure 2 demonstrates two peaking eqs, one a boost and
the other a cut at different center frequencies. In their simplest application,
peaking filters are fixed in center frequency and offer only a gain adjustment
to vary boost and cut. Slightly more advanced peaking eqs offer a several
choices per band for the center frequency. Sweeping eq are even hipper,
allowing an engineer to sweep the eq across the frequency spectrum until
the desired center frequency is found and then gain is adjusted to choice.
The most flexible of all peaking filters is the parametric, which in addition
to gain and frequency parameters offers control over the bandwidth. Figures
3 and 4 demonstrate two boosts with identical gain and frequency settings,
yet with very different bandwidths. Bandwidth control is extremely powerful,
as it allows a parametric to vary in task from a narrow notch filter to a
broad, shelf-like eq. Due to their flexibility, all three of the principal eq questions can be answered when using a parametric: what frequency, how much
change, and how wide an area of change?
Quality
While most eq-ing can be done with the ears, not eyes, occasionally filter
parameters must be adjusted numerically. Gain is always noted in dB and
frequency controls are usually labeled in Hertz. Bandwidth numerics, however, can get confusing. When presented in octaves, bandwidth is fairly
easy to comprehend, as a larger number refers to a wider area of frequencies affected by the filter. Octave is a musical term, and each doubling in
octave corresponds to a doubling in frequency. Thus octave-labeled eqs double in filter width whenever the parameter doubles in number.

Figure 3. Bandwidth example,
parametric filter boost (+10 @ 1
kHz), wide bandwidth, low Q (0.10)
Figure 4. Bandwidth example, parametric filter boost (+10 @ 1 kHz),
narrow bandwidth, high Q (5.61)
RECORDING August 2013

63



Recording - August 2013

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

Recording - August 2013
Fade In.
Contents
Talkback.
Fast Forward.
PreSonus ADL 700 Tube Channel Strip.
Recording The Gig.
Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Microphone.
Recording The Band.
Steinberg UR22 USB Audio/MIDI Interface.
Daking Audio Comp 500.
A Guitar Miking Primer. Part 2: Acoustic Guitars.
Piano Recording—A Private Affair.
Audiofile Engineering Triumph.
Cymatic Audio LR-16 Digital Recorder.
Readers’ Tapes.
RØDE iXY and RØDE Rec.
MIDI—Happy 30th Birthday!
Do It Yourself: Keepin’ My Beats Cool—Repairing an E-MU SP1200.
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 20: Equalization—Part 1.
Advertiser Index.
Special Report: AES Nashville Recording Workshop+Expo 2013.
Recording - August 2013 - Recording - August 2013
Recording - August 2013 - Cover2
Recording - August 2013 - 1
Recording - August 2013 - 2
Recording - August 2013 - 3
Recording - August 2013 - Fade In.
Recording - August 2013 - 5
Recording - August 2013 - Contents
Recording - August 2013 - 7
Recording - August 2013 - Talkback.
Recording - August 2013 - 9
Recording - August 2013 - Fast Forward.
Recording - August 2013 - 11
Recording - August 2013 - 12
Recording - August 2013 - 13
Recording - August 2013 - PreSonus ADL 700 Tube Channel Strip.
Recording - August 2013 - 15
Recording - August 2013 - 16
Recording - August 2013 - 17
Recording - August 2013 - Recording The Gig.
Recording - August 2013 - 19
Recording - August 2013 - Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Microphone.
Recording - August 2013 - 21
Recording - August 2013 - Recording The Band.
Recording - August 2013 - 23
Recording - August 2013 - 24
Recording - August 2013 - 25
Recording - August 2013 - 26
Recording - August 2013 - 27
Recording - August 2013 - Steinberg UR22 USB Audio/MIDI Interface.
Recording - August 2013 - 29
Recording - August 2013 - Daking Audio Comp 500.
Recording - August 2013 - 31
Recording - August 2013 - 32
Recording - August 2013 - 33
Recording - August 2013 - A Guitar Miking Primer. Part 2: Acoustic Guitars.
Recording - August 2013 - 35
Recording - August 2013 - 36
Recording - August 2013 - 37
Recording - August 2013 - 38
Recording - August 2013 - 39
Recording - August 2013 - 40
Recording - August 2013 - 41
Recording - August 2013 - Piano Recording—A Private Affair.
Recording - August 2013 - 43
Recording - August 2013 - Audiofile Engineering Triumph.
Recording - August 2013 - 45
Recording - August 2013 - 46
Recording - August 2013 - 47
Recording - August 2013 - Cymatic Audio LR-16 Digital Recorder.
Recording - August 2013 - 49
Recording - August 2013 - Readers’ Tapes.
Recording - August 2013 - 51
Recording - August 2013 - 52
Recording - August 2013 - 53
Recording - August 2013 - 54
Recording - August 2013 - 55
Recording - August 2013 - RØDE iXY and RØDE Rec.
Recording - August 2013 - 57
Recording - August 2013 - MIDI—Happy 30th Birthday!
Recording - August 2013 - 59
Recording - August 2013 - Do It Yourself: Keepin’ My Beats Cool—Repairing an E-MU SP1200.
Recording - August 2013 - 61
Recording - August 2013 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 20: Equalization—Part 1.
Recording - August 2013 - 63
Recording - August 2013 - 64
Recording - August 2013 - Advertiser Index.
Recording - August 2013 - 66
Recording - August 2013 - 67
Recording - August 2013 - 68
Recording - August 2013 - 69
Recording - August 2013 - 70
Recording - August 2013 - 71
Recording - August 2013 - Special Report: AES Nashville Recording Workshop+Expo 2013.
Recording - August 2013 - Cover3
Recording - August 2013 - Cover4
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