C Using the Mixer’s EQ
Equalisation is useful for making both corrective and
creative changes to a sound, but it needs to be used with
care. Corrective applications include making tonal changes
to compensate for imperfect room acoustics, budget
microphones or inaccurate loudspeaker systems. While
every effort should be made to get the sound right at
source, this is less easily achieved live than in the more
controlled conditions of the recording studio. Indeed, the
use of equalisation is often the only way to reach a
workable compromise in live situations.
Creative applications, on the other hand, are equally as
valid in the recording studio as they are live, and an
equaliser with a swept midrange control is infinitely more
versatile than one that has simple high and low
controls. The only rule of creative equalisation
is - ‘If it sounds good, it is good!’
Fixed EQ
Most people will be familiar with the operation
of high and low frequency controls; they work
in a similar manner to the tone controls on a
domestic stereo system.
In the centre position the controls have no
effect, but rotate them clockwise and they will
provide boost, or rotate them anticlockwise
and they provide cut. Despite their apparent
simplicity, however, high and low controls should be used
with caution as overuse can make things worse. Adding a
small amount of high or low boost should be enough to
add a touch of brightness or warmth to a sound, but a
quarter of a turn should be sufficient, especially where the
low control is concerned.
The drawback with fixed controls often lies in the fact
that you may want to boost just a particular sound such as
the punch of a bass drum or the ring of a cymbal, whereas
a fixed control influences a relatively large section of the
audio spectrum. Apply too much bass boost and you could
find the bass guitar, bass drum and any other bass sounds
take on a flabby, uncontrolled characteristic which makes
the mix sound muddy and badly defined. This is because
sounds occupying the lower mid part of the spectrum are
also affected. Similarly, use too much top boost and the
sound becomes edgy with any noise or tape hiss being
emphasised quite considerably.
In a PA situation, excessive EQ boost in any part of the
audio spectrum will increase the risk of acoustic feedback
via the vocal microphones.
SECTION 3: Mixing T
echniques
12
LF
MID
HF
6kHz
240
1.2k
6kHz
240
1.2k
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
15
15
12
12
9
9
6
6
3
3
0
– +
FIG. 3.9
THE FREQUENCY RANGE OF DIFFERENT
INSTRUMENTS AND WHICH EQ BANDS AFFECT THEM
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