SM Pro Audio
Page 6 of 11
PEQ505 manual
4
Parametric eq
What is a parametric EQ?
Parametric EQ’s are widely used by audio engineers and can be used to shape the sound to a
higher degree then a standard shelving EQ. It is a form of audio equalization that allows continuous
control over three parameters: level, frequency and bandwidth.
Level
(also known as amplitude) is simply the amount of boost or cut. It determines the magnitude
of the adjustment.
Frequency
determines where in the tonal spectrum an adjustment occurs. Low frequencies
correspond to bass sounds, high frequencies to treble.
Bandwidth
(also known as Q) determines how wide or narrow the EQ band is.
5
Channel controls
The picture on the right shows 1 of the 5 channels on your parametric equalizer. The controls are:
5.1
Level
The rotary knob at the top of the channel (labelled -15 to 12 represents attenuation of dB). It controls the
amount of boost or cut. The Level determines how much of a certain frequency is added or removed
.
5.2
On/Off switch
The on/off switch on each channel simply turns that particular EQ channel on
or off. If you equalize a frequency and then decide you don’t want to keep the
change, you can just turn off that EQ band (turn the switch to off) until you
need it, instead of having to zero out the settings.
5.3
Frequency knob
The rotary control knob (labelled 100Hz to 2K), is used in conjunction with
the frequency switch to adjust the centre frequency of the area affected by
the filter band
5.4
Frequency switch
This switch acts as a frequency knob multiplier.
The X0.1 position moves the frequency range downwards (10 Hz to 200 Hz),
for fine resolution in the low frequency area.
When the switch is in the X1 position, the range of the Frequency control
corresponds to the numbers printed around the knob, 100 Hz to 2kHz. Use
this position when you want to work in the midrange.
The X10 position shifts the Frequency knob’s range upward by a factor of 10.
The range becomes 1kHz to 20 kHz for high-frequency adjustments.
5.5
Bandwidth
This knob determines how wide an area the band will affect, (hence the term
bandwidth). The knob is calibrated in terms of octaves. The range is 0.03 to
2 octaves. Using the .03 setting provides a squashed or very narrow range
tone control and as you increase up to 2.0, the width of the range increases.
