How many times have you seen the term “EQ” on your car radio, CD player or home entertainment system? If you’re just learning audio production, you’ve no doubt been bombarded with references to different types of EQ (parametric, dynamic, etc.). But has anyone ever broken it down into terms anyone can understand? Let me see if I can do that for you in this article.
Some people absorb information better if it is explained in very few technical terms, regardless of education or intellect. Heck, I have a bachelor’s of science and a master’s, and I still hate reading overly technical descriptions. So, in that spirit, let’s talk about something that’s puzzlingly called “equalization” or “EQ” for short. Look, the name itself is not very descriptive, I don’t think so. This is what it really is. Ready for this?
EQ is turning the volume up or down. That is practically all. Too wide? Ok let me add one more thing. The equalizer increases or decreases the volume on the bass and/or treble knobs. I happily use those last two terms because you’ve seen them in your car stereos your whole life, so I’m assuming you’ve played with them and know the difference between bass and treble.
Wasn’t it an informative article? Oh, do you need a little more? Ah, you’d like to know why it’s useful, or at least why you should care. Ah OK; if you insist. Let’s take probably the easiest example I can think of…your car stereo. The most basic EQ controls are Bass and Treble. If you’re listening to hip-hop, you may enjoy turning up the Bass knob (or slider) because it will make the kick drum and bass synth or guitar much more boomers. actually you can feel that bass now. On the other hand, let’s say you just want to listen to a basketball game on the radio. If your bass is turned up, the voice may sound muddy and difficult to understand. Turn down the bass and maybe turn up the treble a bit. Bingo, now you can hear the voice much better. It will be clearer and easier to understand.
Are you getting the idea? Sometimes people turn the bass and treble knobs all the way up. Well, this didn’t actually accomplish anything except do exactly what it was to turn the “volumeThe knob up would have sufficed! Do you understand? The difference between the master volume control and the equalization control is that the equalizer adjusts ONLY the bass or treble independently, while the volume turns EVERYTHING (bass and treble) up or down. .
Now I feel like you can handle a new term…”frequency.” when we say basswe refer to the sounds in the low frequencies of a song. Triple means the highest frequencies. More sophisticated equalizers let you control more than just the bass and treble, adding a few more frequencies in between the two, like “medium” Prayed “medium low“Y”medium highThis obviously gives you more control over which parts of the sound you turn up or down.
There is a lot to learn about EQ and frequencies. But for now, take this useful lesson: If you want to impress your friends with how audio savvy you are, never turn all your equalizer knobs or sliders up or down at once, or all you’ve done is turn the equalizer up or down. main volume. Try turning one up and one down to see how it sounds. Or try moving just one control up or down and leaving the other one alone. That will make you look much cooler ;). In the meantime, you can learn more about audio at Home Brew Audio. Come visit us!