To EQ Or Not To EQ

When we talk about EQing or Equalisation we are talking about adding or subtracting certain specific frequencies (or groups of frequencies to be more correct) from a sound to make it sound more pleasing to the ear. When done correctly this can be a great tool to enhance the overall sound of a patch, instrument or mix.

First of all the speakers or headphones used when EQing will drastically affect the outcome. For example if the speakers you are using have little or no low end, you will be tempted to boost lower frequencies to compensate for this. Or if the speakers/headphones accentuate the lows and highs of a sound, you will be tempted to either reduce lows and highs while EQing or add more mid range frequencies to compensate. So it’s a good idea to use speakers/headphones that have a relatively flat EQ response, or if you don’t have that option, just be mindful of those frequencies your speakers/headphones lack or are boosting when EQing and take that into consideration.

When looking at EQing from a Keyboardists perspective we use EQing for two main purposes.

1/ To enhance the overall sound of a patch.
2/ To create uniformity between multiple sounds or groups of sounds.

1/ By boosting or reducing certain frequencies within a patch we can affect the overall tone of a patch to make it sound more pleasing to the ear. When EQing, our ears actually pick up boosted frequencies better than reduced or cut frequencies. So a little trick when EQing, to find out the exact frequencies we want to boost or cut, is to start off by majorly boosting frequencies at the top of the frequency spectrum. From there slowly sweep it from high to low (or low to high if you want). That way your ear should pick out those frequencies that sound good or bad, and you can boost or reduce those frequencies accordingly. Once you’ve found the frequencies you want to boost or cut, adjust the bandwidth of the EQ to either take more or less of the frequencies on either side of the specific frequency you have just found and reduce or add level to the EQ to best suit what your ears are hearing. You can repeat this multiple times to add and cut groups of frequencies within a patch.

2/ As a keyboardist we can also use EQing to create uniformity between patches, groups of patches, or keyboards. This is extremely useful when using multiple keyboards of computer-based sounds. Most of the time sounds within a keyboard will sound pretty good across all patches because the manufacturers have done the hard work of making sure all their sounds sound similar EQ wise across the board. Trouble may arise when you use different keyboards or computer-based sounds. Especially when computers have software from multiple companies. By EQing we can balance the tone of various patches (or the whole keyboard if need be) to match all the other sounds we are using. For example if you are using a computer to produce your sounds and lets say as you are scrolling though your patches and you notice that your Rhodes sound has a lot more bottom end compared to your other sounds. By adding an EQ to this patch and taking out some of the bottom end you are insuring that all your patches sound constant across the board. Again, let’s say you are using two different keyboards and one of the keyboards sounds a lot brighter tonally than the other one across all of it’s sounds. You can simple reduce the highs using an EQ on the master output of that keyboard to match the other, or if you are using a mixer to mix the two keyboards, use the EQ on that.

Obviously EQing can be a bit of a difficult thing if you have never attempted or even thought about using it before. Like anything you get better with practice, but a great idea is to ask someone experienced in this area to help you out. This way you’ll be able to see physically what they do and learn directly off them.
Well hope that helps… Happy EQing!
 
// Pete James

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