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anonymous 22 October 2006

hello, i have a noob question about eq.. perhaps maybe noob?..lol.. anyways, when eqing guitar where are some good spots to cut/boost hz wise? if that makes any sense, please if anyone can help? thank you :)

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anonymous Sun, 10/22/2006 - 17:22

xxdjskulzxx wrote: hello, i have a noob question about eq.. perhaps maybe noob?..lol.. anyways, when eqing guitar where are some good spots to cut/boost hz wise? if that makes any sense, please if anyone can help? thank you :)

I'm doing a tonne of guitar right now and although I'm figuring it out as I go, here's what I've found:

1) High pass at ~120-180 hz to free up low end
2) A few db cut at ~250 hz to remove mud
3) Boost around ~ 500-1000 Hz a few db if you want to brighten
4) Low pass at 8-10 khz gets rid of excess upper end

Voxengo GlissEQ is my favorite plug-in for this.

hueseph Wed, 10/25/2006 - 15:37

audiovisceral wrote:
1) High pass at ~120-180 hz to free up low end
2) A few db cut at ~250 hz to remove mud
3) Boost around ~ 500-1000 Hz a few db if you want to brighten
4) Low pass at 8-10 khz gets rid of excess upper end

Voxengo GlissEQ is my favorite plug-in for this.

Am I missing something here? Wouldn't the use of a High Pass filter make using a Low Pass filter kind of pointless? It just seems like a bit of a convoluted eq scheme to me. Not accusing. Just asking.

anonymous Wed, 10/25/2006 - 17:14

some distorted guitars have a pretty harsh high end in certain mixes. I've found myself using a hi pass and a lo pass filter on the same guitar track sometimes. I almost always hi-pass, but in certain mixes, the highs are too shrill in the guitars (especially fender guitars through fender amps) and you can tame that with the lo pass filter. not too much mind you, but enough so that it doesn't detract from the rest of your mix....

k

hueseph Wed, 10/25/2006 - 17:47

I have a good idea what high and low pass filters do and how to use them. That's why I ask if it is reasonable to use them both at the same time. Wouldn't it be more reasonable to just turn down the mids on the amp? Does a high pass filter even work when you have a low pass filter on and vice versa? What I believe band pass filters do is limit levels below and or above a certain frequency or range. So, if I limit the level of frequencies below 1kHz let's say, what good does it do to do the exact opposite by limiting the levels of all frequencies above 200Hz? I realize that these filters are not necessarily linear but they are in essence shelving aren't they? Rather than like a parametric eq.

anonymous Wed, 10/25/2006 - 18:13

>>Does a high pass filter even work when you have a low pass filter on and vice versa?<<

Of course it does.

If you seek a slope at 120hz and 10K, for example, you can set your filters accordingly. You would then, have a signal that slopes at 120hz and 10k. The steepness of the slope will be dependend upon the filter characteristics (24db oct, etc...). So, you would end up with a track where the freq below 120hz and above 10k would be cut off (again, the amount of cut off would be dependend upon the filter db/oct specs.).

AS far as using EQ on a specific guitar track it all depends on what mic you use, how you place it, the sound of the amp/cabinet/guitar combination and, most importantly YOUR TASTE.

anonymous Wed, 10/25/2006 - 22:10

xxdjskulzxx wrote: hello, i have a noob question about eq.. perhaps maybe noob?..lol.. anyways, when eqing guitar where are some good spots to cut/boost hz wise? if that makes any sense, please if anyone can help? thank you :)

AS far as using EQ on a specific guitar track it all depends on what mic you use, how you place it, the sound of the amp/cabinet/guitar combination and, most importantly YOUR TASTE.
Roger that!!

anonymous Wed, 10/25/2006 - 23:43

Using a low-pass and a high-pass together is common. Frequently makes sense to use them together. When they're combined into one unit, it's called a bandpass. ;)

For some people, especially those new to recording and coming to grips with terms, it helps to know that "low-cut" and "high-pass" are synonyms. "High-cut" and "low-pass" are synonyms.

So, using the alternate terminology, is it possible to cut highs and also cut lows? Mais oui! Just leave a bit in the middle somewhere, or you have no audio left. :)

Greg

anonymous Thu, 11/02/2006 - 18:39

Generally speaking, with only a few exceptions, the first step is to high-pass the guitars. There's energy down there that competes with your bass and kick, and doesn't leave much space for vocals either.

People are often very surprised to hear how thin some guitars actually sound when solo'd.
If there is part of the arrangement where the guitar is out by itself, without the other instruments, I will sometimes automate an EQ to pull up around 80-100Hz a few dB until the mix kicks in again, and it's automated back down.

Don't be afraid to get aggressive when cutting the real-lows out.

Mixes sound so much better when everything has it's sonic space.

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