Recording - December 2015 - 42
measured in Hz, divided by its bandwidth, also in Hz. So if a peak at 1000 Hz had a bandwidth of 200 Hz, it would have a Q of 1000 / 200, or 5.
Why is a Q control preferable to a bandwidth control? Because a peak or dip with a Q
of 5 sounds more or less equivalent whatever the center frequency; this is part of the general rule that we perceive sensory information in terms of multiplying and dividing rather than
adding and subtracting. Just keep in mind that a higher Q means a sharper, narrower peak
or dip, while a lower Q means a broader peak or dip.
Engineers could now adjust the three important characteristics, or parameters, of a
peak-and-dip equalizer: center frequency, amount of boost or cut, and Q. On the newer
designs, all three could be adjusted in continuous sweeps, rather than by switches (see
Figure 3). For this reason, they were called parametric equalizers... and now you know
how that word wormed its way into the discussion. I used the parametric equalizers built
Figure 4
into each input channel of the console as I was recording Ottoman Underground. See
below for more about that.
Getting graphic
If you combine a bunch of fixed-frequency peak/dip equalizers that use sliders to control
boost and cut, you get a box (or plug-in) where the position of the sliders shows a crude version of the EQ curve you've dialed in. These are called graphic equalizers; they're not often
in recording studios, but hardware versions are ubiquitous in the live-sound industry, and a
few DAWs incorporate software versions.
I don't use graphic EQs much in recording, since a parametric offers much more exact
control-and if it's a software EQ, most DAWs provide graphic displays of the EQ curve.
Nifty tricks
What can an engineer do with EQs to change the atmosphere of a recording? Here are
a couple of common tricks:
Human ears are very sensitive to the middle frequencies between 1 kHz and 3 kHz. By
putting a peak or dip in that range, you can make a mic's signal sound closer and more
"present" (peak) or farther away (dip). Because our ears are so sensitive to this band, a little
goes a long way. Avoid the temptation of over-boosting these frequencies on all the mics (or
the total mix); the result sounds really close and "present", but ultimately becomes fatiguing
and an annoyance. In fact, sometimes engineers will pull this frequency band down a dB or
two, just to add a slightly more distant perspective, and to help the various sounds blend.
Frequencies above 10 kHz control how much "air" a recording has; watch out for the
temptation to boost that band too high, as it once again can get annoying. A signal with
over-hot highs sometimes creates intermodulation distortion, which is the "hashy" sound
heard on cymbals and vocal sibilants when an analog radio is slightly mistuned. You don't
want that unless it's for a very specialized effect. Many times, vocal sibilance can be tamed
by adding a fairly narrow dip (Q = 8 or so) around 7.5 kHz.
Here's a useful technique for determining exactly which frequencies need to be pulled back
in order to correct, say, a midrange honk in a saxophone: Set a parametric equalizer for
about 6 dB of boost, with a Q of about 8,
then sweep the frequency through the region
where the problem lies until you find the spot
that makes the problem much worse. That's
your problem frequency; turn the boost/cut
control down to tame it, adjusting the Q as
needed-usually a fairly narrow dip (higher
Q) works. I've found that the frequency
sweeping is easier to do in hardware equalizers than software.
There's another useful maneuver that engineers in pop or rock recording use to make a
vocalist clearly audible over a dense instrumental background, and it's shown in Figure
4. The engineers would dial a dip into the
midrange of the instrument tracks (just a dB or
two) and put a peak (same amount, same frequency, same Q) into the vocal track-an
audio equivalent of the old baseball adage
"Hit 'em where they ain't." Without having to
turn the vocal up louder across most of the
band, they made it "pop out" of the instruments. This was an incredibly useful trick used
on many of the great rock and pop records of
the 1950s and after, made possible by the
existence of peak-and-dip equalizers.
Or was it? About forty years ago Scientific
American published an article by an acoustician who had studied opera singers. She
found that they learned, in the conservatory,
to shape the sounds of their voices to generate a resonant peak in the audio spectrum
that corresponded exactly to a dip in the spectrum of a typical pit orchestra. In effect, they
were using physiological means to duplicate
the "peak-and-dip" trick of recording engineers. I've often suspected that the "high lonesome sound" of bluegrass vocals represents a
similar tactic to make singers audible over
accompanying fiddles and banjos.
EQ on the sample session
In the Ottoman Underground recording session, I didn't use much EQ-I mostly shaped
the sound and atmosphere by choosing and
positioning mics. I didn't need to remove low
and infrasonic frequencies, because the studio has exceptionally quiet air-handling
equipment and good isolation from the outside world, including a nearby Interstate.
I did use a 100 Hz, 6 dB/octave filter, built
into the console, to compensate for the proximity effect in Will's vocal mic. (We'll touch on
filters next time.) I didn't need to filter the mic
on his tenor banjo, though it was the same
model, because the instrument's lowest note is
an octave below middle C, or 130.8 Hz, and
most of the time Will was playing the higher
strings anyway.
I didn't need to do anything to the signal
from Dana's clarinet; the Neumann KM 84's
response fits it perfectly. Earlier generations of
this mic had a slight midrange "honk" which
became obnoxious on stringed instruments,
and I actually designed a dip control into a
mixer I once built for the express purpose of
turning this honk down a dB or so. I was
ready to do the same on Dana's mic, but this
generation of KM 84s didn't honk, and they
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2015
Contents
Recording - December 2015 - Intro
Recording - December 2015 - Cover1
Recording - December 2015 - Cover2
Recording - December 2015 - 1
Recording - December 2015 - 2
Recording - December 2015 - 3
Recording - December 2015 - 4
Recording - December 2015 - 5
Recording - December 2015 - Contents
Recording - December 2015 - 7
Recording - December 2015 - 8
Recording - December 2015 - 9
Recording - December 2015 - 10
Recording - December 2015 - 11
Recording - December 2015 - 12
Recording - December 2015 - 13
Recording - December 2015 - 14
Recording - December 2015 - 15
Recording - December 2015 - 16
Recording - December 2015 - 17
Recording - December 2015 - 18
Recording - December 2015 - 19
Recording - December 2015 - 20
Recording - December 2015 - 21
Recording - December 2015 - 22
Recording - December 2015 - 23
Recording - December 2015 - 24
Recording - December 2015 - 25
Recording - December 2015 - 26
Recording - December 2015 - 27
Recording - December 2015 - 28
Recording - December 2015 - 29
Recording - December 2015 - 30
Recording - December 2015 - 31
Recording - December 2015 - 32
Recording - December 2015 - 33
Recording - December 2015 - 34
Recording - December 2015 - 35
Recording - December 2015 - 36
Recording - December 2015 - 37
Recording - December 2015 - 38
Recording - December 2015 - 39
Recording - December 2015 - 40
Recording - December 2015 - 41
Recording - December 2015 - 42
Recording - December 2015 - 43
Recording - December 2015 - 44
Recording - December 2015 - 45
Recording - December 2015 - 46
Recording - December 2015 - 47
Recording - December 2015 - 48
Recording - December 2015 - 49
Recording - December 2015 - 50
Recording - December 2015 - 51
Recording - December 2015 - 52
Recording - December 2015 - 53
Recording - December 2015 - 54
Recording - December 2015 - 55
Recording - December 2015 - 56
Recording - December 2015 - 57
Recording - December 2015 - 58
Recording - December 2015 - 59
Recording - December 2015 - 60
Recording - December 2015 - 61
Recording - December 2015 - 62
Recording - December 2015 - 63
Recording - December 2015 - 64
Recording - December 2015 - 65
Recording - December 2015 - 66
Recording - December 2015 - 67
Recording - December 2015 - 68
Recording - December 2015 - 69
Recording - December 2015 - 70
Recording - December 2015 - 71
Recording - December 2015 - 72
Recording - December 2015 - Cover3
Recording - December 2015 - Cover4
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