by Devin Devore
Equalization can be the most misused tool in the recording world. It is easy to make a good recording sound like trash if the engineer doesn’t know what they’re doing with this wonderful tool. On the flipside
by Devin Devore
Equalization can be the most misused tool in the recording world. It is easy to make a good recording sound like trash if the engineer doesn’t know what they’re doing with this wonderful tool. On the flipside – EQ, if properly utilized, can transform a good recording into a great one. Notice I said you have to START with a good recording first. Basic miking and other techniques should be learned first in order to make this possible, but that’s a whole other subject.
The major purpose of equalization is to make each instrument and vocal in your musical creation have it’s place in your mix by cutting and boosting certain frequencies. The following will teach you that.
Roughly speaking, the speech spectrum may be divided into three main frequency bands corresponding to the speech components known as fundamentals, vowels, and consonants. Speech fundamentals occur over a fairly limited range between about 125Hz and 250Hz. The fundamental region is important in that it allows us to tell who is speaking, and its clear transmission is therefore essential as far as voice quality is concerned.
Vowels essentially contain the maximum energy and power of the voice, occurring over the range of 350Hz to 2000Hz. Consonants occurring over the range of 1500Hz to 4000Hz contain little energy but are essential to intelligibility. For example, the frequency range from 63 to 500Hz carries 60% of the power of the voice and yet contributes only 5% to the intelligibility. The 500Hz to 1KHz region produces 35% of the intelligibility, while the range from 1 to 8KHz produces just 5% of the power but 60% of the intelligibility. By rolling off the low frequencies and accentuating the range from 1 to 5KHz, the intelligibility and clarity can be improved. Here are some of the effect EQ can have in regards to intelligibility. Boosting the low frequencies from 100 to 250Hz makes a vocal boomy or chesty. A cut in the 150 to 500Hz area will make it boxy, hollow, or tube like. Dips around 500 to 1Khz produce hardness, while peaks about 1 and 3Khz produce a hard metallic nasal quality. Dips around 2 to 5KHz reduce intelligibility and make vocals woolly and lifeless. Peaks in the 4 to 10KHz produce sibilance and a gritty quality.
Effects of Equalization on Vocals
For the best control over any audio signal, fully parametric EQ’s are the best way to go.
- 80 to 125 – Sense of power in some outstanding bass singers
- 160 to 250 – Voice fundamentals
- 315 to 500 – Important to voice quality
- 630 to 1K - Important for a natural sound. Too much boost in the 315 to 1K range produces a honky, telephone-like quality.
- 1.25 to 4K / 5 to 8K – Accentuation of vocals
Important to vocal intelligibility. Too much boost between 2 and 4KHz can mask certain vocal