Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/199172
doug.knecht - Posted - 02/09/2011: 21:15:14
Disclaimer: I am not an expert at carving out EQ's... 
But this is the art of finding the "obnoxious" frequencies (also the loudest or harshest) and bringing them down on a parametric EQ. Tip: look up
phy.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html
This is a most valuable list of notes and frequencies related to those notes. For instance, if the D string of a bass is too loud, you would look up D2 (the actual note for a D string on a bass) and it corresponds to 73Hz. So, you do a frequency sweep until you get to 73Hz, and use an average bandwidth Q=1 and bring the frequency gain down just enough to sound right.
This is about all I know about carving eq's out for an instrument. It's not much, but it's powerful.
Pepper Laing - Posted - 02/10/2011: 07:15:05
that`s something I would like to get better at, I`m lost when it comes to EQ, carving EQ can make recordings night and day.
banjerman - Posted - 02/14/2011: 14:20:45
I found some real interesting stuff on EQ's and acoustic signatures at Protools I think it was. It gave the frequencies for Bass with a caveat. It said bass is omnidirectional in character. It travels in all directions equally and is generally your WORST freq's when doing a sound check on a room. Their advice was to lower all your freq boost below 80hz on the eq. right away. The bass sounded no different in the house after I did this. Im new at this sound stuff and have had to learn by doing for the most part. Our band decided to go with one AT4050 for our setup and it has made our sound a lot better and we do look more professional than just standing there like a broom handle. They also gave ballpark freq's for the different voice ranges. I marked em on my eq and it makes life easier.
Wally
hartfordman - Posted - 02/14/2011: 15:37:25
Quoting my recording engineer, "If I have to really EQ something, I used the wrong microphone-with the correct mic, little to no EQ is necessary."
bournio - Posted - 02/14/2011: 15:39:43
Banjerman, you might want to look up weighted dB curves with a graphical EQ. You programme the EQ to match the Fletcher-Munson equal loudness curve.
It's basically a bass roll-off from about 100-200 Hz, a lift around 2-4kHz and a roll off above that.
It does make for a better live sound environment (in rock music at least)
Edited by - bournio on 02/14/2011 15:44:10
banjerman - Posted - 02/14/2011: 15:45:44
[quote]Originally posted by hartfordman
Quoting my recording engineer, "If I have to really EQ something, I used the wrong microphone-with the correct mic, little to no EQ is necessary."
A recording enginner and a live formatted show are totally different animals. You get rooms that have to be eq'ed at certain freq or you will feedback all night long.
banjerman - Posted - 02/14/2011: 15:49:27
[quote]Originally posted by bournio
Banjerman, you might want to look up weighted dB curves with a graphical EQ. You programme the EQ to match the Fletcher-Munson equal loudness curve.
It's basically a bass roll-off from about 100-200 Hz, a lift around 2-4kHz and a roll off above that.
It does make for a better live sound environment (in rock music at least)
Thanks..thats what the eq settings look like right now in my basement. Im hoping that it wont be hugely different when we get into a live room show somewhere else.
Wally
bournio - Posted - 02/14/2011: 15:58:46
It should still be pretty clear! If you get 2 graphic EQs you can also "ring out" the room, which I won't go into but google should help.
And Hartfordman, live sound and recording are different beasts. In live sound it's not too rare to get 15dB of gain reduction on a compressor or a huge change in EQ. It's a strange situation!
hartfordman - Posted - 02/14/2011: 17:07:26
Sorry everyone-I didn't know we were talking about live sound, I know that is different.
doug.knecht - Posted - 02/15/2011: 02:26:40
I started talking about studio frequencies. And hartfordman, you're right - the right mic requires little or no frequency changing. My mics are $400 and below, and plus my room is very bad for recording. So, I guess I figure I better eq the harsh ones out. Usually for guitar, I cut below 80Hz for guitar and cut below 40Hz for bass. Then for my room, mics, and equipment, I have mud. So I work in the 250-400Hz range. Sometimes 1.5kHz needs attention, and finally 11kHz needs a small boost.
But upright basses are bad in particular for having a loud D string and a quiet E string and A string. So I usually work at 73Hz and bring it down with a narrow band a hair.
bournio - Posted - 02/15/2011: 03:01:05
quote:
Originally posted by doug.knecht
But upright basses are bad in particular for having a loud D string and a quiet E string and A string. So I usually work at 73Hz and bring it down with a narrow band a hair.
That's interesting, is that the body frequency of an upright bass?
It would be pretty impractical to increase the volume of the body to allow the body frequency to reach that low E though!
'Good Saturday Morning' 5 hrs
'New Style AZTEC Bridge' 6 hrs
'Three Banjos-You Choose' 10 hrs
