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 of science and a master’s degree, and I still hate reading overly technical descriptions. So, in that spirit, let’s talk about something disconcertingly 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 raising or lowering the volume. That’s pretty much it. Too wide? Ok, let me add one more thing. The equalizer raises or lowers the volume on the bass and/or treble knobs. I happily use those last two terms because you’ve seen them on your car stereos all your life, so I’m assuming you’ve played with them and know the difference between bass and treble.
Wasn’t that 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 equalization controls are bass and treble. If you’re listening to hip-hop, you might enjoy turning up the bass knob (or slider) because it will make the kick drum and bass synth or guitar much more boomer. 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, your voice can sound muddy and hard 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 equalizer control is that the equalizer adjusts ONLY the bass or treble independently, while the volume raises or lowers EVERYTHING (bass and treble). .
Now I feel like you can handle a new term…”frequency.” when we say underwe refer to the sounds in the low frequencies of a song. Triple means the highest frequencies. More sophisticated equalizers allow you to control more than just the bass and treble, by adding a few more frequencies in between the two, like “means, medium” Prayed “medium low“Y”medium high“. Obviously, this 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 helpful lesson: If you want to impress your friends with how audio-savvy you are, never turn all the EQ knobs or sliders up or down at the same time, or all you’ve done is turn the EQ up or down. main volume. Try turning one up and one down to see how it sounds. Or try moving only one control up or down and leaving the other alone. That will make you look much cooler ;). In the meantime, you can learn more about audio at Home Brew Audio. Come visit us!