Audio EQ Feature Reference for Common Instrument Types
[Home Theater Network HDAV.com.cn] Many readers ask various questions about EQ. I will not directly tell them "Attenuation 9dB here, 3dB increase there" because things are far from simple. When someone asks me" Aaron, I have attenuated some of the 250Hz of the snare drum, but it sounds very awkward. What is going on?" When I want to say, each instrument and its sound environment cannot be exactly the same, in a frequency band. Pointing to talk about and solving things is just a meaningless talk.
Therefore, most people think that the EQ setting parameter strategy can not solve the actual problem in a targeted manner. Once it is specific to the instance, various factors will affect the sound. It requires experience and technical support to be solved perfectly. You must know that sometimes Even a guitar cable will have subtle differences in sound quality in a short period of time, not to mention the differences between instruments and arpeggios. These constant changes do not apply to specific parameter strategies. The only thing that is trustworthy is that you are well trained. The ear, and what? It is familiar with the typical characteristics of each spectrum range in different instruments or equipment. Therefore, this article brings relevant knowledge. For the beginner EQ engineers, this is not the only creed, but it can As a good starting point for learning EQ knowledge:
About the "subtraction principle" of EQ
Every engineer has his own tuning concept. I have never seen anyone who has the same method and concept. Just like my player from the "subduction camp", except most of the time, the attenuation is better than the promotion. In addition to EQ, the promotion method will also be used when needed.
Also, here is a quick talk about high-pass filters: remember to use them, they can help a lot. But note that this is also a double-edged sword. The high-pass filter can quickly remove the turbidity in the mix, but excessive use will make the sound thin and weak. So when using high-pass filters, I tend to go from high to low, that is, usually others will find the low frequencies that I want to remove, and I will start by filtering out the "too much" low frequencies and slowly find the right one. Point, low frequency is enough, not turbid. I found this way to better understand the effect of the filter, let me control the low frequency more accurately and effectively.
Ok, now I will introduce the EQ characteristics of different types of instruments.
Drum
Bottom drum
Although the snare drum is undoubtedly considered to be the most sound plasticity in the drum kit, the kick drum can also play a surprising role. This depends largely on the selection of the kick drum and the personal ability of the engineer.
40~60 Hz - Ultra low: The tone of this band mainly comes from the reverberation of the drum frame. What does it sound like? It is usually described as "rumbling" but it depends on the microphone of the pickup.
60~100 Hz - "Heavy": Gives people a sense of impact and strength, like a heavy fist in the chest.
100~200 Hz - Main body: The main part of the bottom drum sound.
200~2,000 Hz - "murmur" / "depression": The problem of murmur and kick drum turbidity is generally solved here.
2,000~4,000 Hz - "Hammer": You can find the sound of the stick hit by tapping the frequency band of the sound, which is the key frequency of the bottom drum sound of "basketball bounce".
Snare
200~400 Hz - Main/Low Frequency: This frequency range is the most active central point of the snare drum sound.
400~800 Hz - Ring/Mute: The area of ​​the drum murmur and the whistle of the whistle. Excessive attenuation will make the snare drum lose its vitality and three-dimensionality.
2,000~4,000 Hz - Head: The popping sound of the drum stick hitting the drum is in this band.
8,000 Hz: The overtone at this point is difficult to emphasize or eliminate.
Drum
100~300 Hz - Main body: This range is not absolute, depending on the type and tone of the gongs and drums. In short, the position of the sound of "boom". If the "boom" sound is too loud, it will bang, too weak, sound. It sounds like knocking a paper box.
3,000~4,000 Hz - Tone: The sound of the drum stick hitting the drumhead.
Bract
200~300 Hz - Clinking sound: This is the sound frequency band that gives the characteristics of the cymbal, especially for hi-hats. As I always said, adjust according to your own judgment and taste.
6,000 Hz and above - Beep: The part that brightens the tone, a little lift can bring energy and air. But if it is too much, the ear can't stand it anymore.
Bass
Although the kick drum and the bass are good partners, they are absolutely enemies in the mixing work: the distribution of the characteristics of the two bands is very similar, so it is easy to grab the limelight from each other. Before the EQ is adjusted, the frequency bands are given first. Assign the "protagonist".
40~80 Hz - Low frequency: The most bass source with low bass.
80~200 Hz - Foundation: The main part of the bass sound. If the tone is turbid, consider discretion at 180~200 Hz.
200~600 Hz - Overtone: The strongest part of the bass melody. If the bass is difficult to distinguish in the mix, you can debug it in this part.
300~500 Hz - "wood sound": especially for double bass, double bass, wooden bass.
800~1,600k Hz - Contour: Clear bass solo and the most easily recognized frequency band of the Faz effect.
2,000~5,000 Hz - String murmur: The literal meaning is obvious.
guitar
Acoustic guitar
120~200 Hz - "Boom" and subject: The most prone to low-frequency buzz, the band that adds warmth to the solo, is easily covered in the band ensemble.
200~400 Hz - Thickness and wood sound: The sound of the acoustic guitar is too much. If you cut too much, you will lose the characteristics and vitality of the acoustic guitar.
2,000 Hz - Clarity/Howling: This band has two sides. The advantage is that it makes the guitar sound clear and easy to recognize, but it is easy to whistle.
7,000 Hz - air sensation: a feeling of erraticness that, if handled with shelf boost, highlights the acoustic characteristics of an acoustic guitar.
electric guitar
In general, the EQ characteristics of electric guitars are more complicated, and many factors such as pickups, effects, and speakers interact in them. The most common parameters are described below.
80~90 Hz and below - ambiguous: This is basically not needed, it will only add softness and noise to the sound, boldly remove it with high-pass filter.
150~200 Hz - Thickness: The source of the guitar spirit, but it is easy to make the mix turbid, please conservatively adjust - in the solo and other parts that need to highlight the guitar, this band can make the sound more attractive. Other parts are best suppressed .
300~1,000 Hz - Sound quality: I use this frequency range as the range that best expresses the sound quality of electric guitars. That is to make the electric guitar sound really smart. So if you do too much attenuation in this frequency range, it will make the guitar become dull. And false. If you improve too much, you will fight with the snare drum.
1,000~2,000 Hz - Howling: This is the frequency range of the electric guitar's sharp tone characteristics. It is also the place where the howling is generated. It is better to use a larger bandwidth to make it smoother.
3,000~8,000 Hz - Gloss and Aspect: Enhance this band, add luster to the guitar, make it stand out in the mix. If it decays somewhere, it can solve the conflict with the human voice. In this range When lifting, pay attention to the change of the noise, because the noise of the distortion-like effect is easy to become obvious.
Keyboard class
Acoustic Piano / Acoustic Pianos
Different types of pianos have different sounds. The vertical and triangular sounds are different. The hammer type, maintenance status, player, pickup microphone type and technology all have an effect. In any case, the piano is very conspicuous in the mix, which is Advantages are also disadvantages. Sometimes you need to "dig" out space on the piano band to place other instruments.
100~ 200 Hz - "Boom": Adds warmth to the piano sound in a solo or studio environment, but the first one is usually cut off during live performance, which reduces the piano's interference with other instruments and prevents feedback. .
3,000 Hz and above - Presence: Adds a sense of air and brightens the dark piano sound (the position of the microphone has a significant effect on the tone). Be careful to avoid the noise caused by the string damper during lifting (especially 3,000~) 5,000 bands).
Electric Piano / Electric Piano (Rhodes)
With a sampled electronic piano, the tone is largely determined by the speaker, microphone, and instrument itself.
100~200 Hz - "Boom": Like the original piano, this part is prone to turbidity, especially for Rhodes Piano with thick and dense overtones. Attenuation to reduce turbidity is a key to EQ adjustment. The first thing.
800~1,000 Hz - Pop: The chances of popping and murmur appearing here are high.
Ancient piano / Clavinet
To be honest, Clavinet's processing method is similar to that of an electric guitar, and it is also necessary to consider the entire equipment environment.
Organ (B3)
The position of the microphone and the player (the setting of the plug is very important) have a great influence, and the EQ is simple to debug from the whole. There is no need to do too much trimming. Usually 80~180 Hz is easy to conflict with low frequency instruments, if the intermediate frequency is too much Full of enthusiasm and guitar conflict, then also need to do some attenuation at 300 ~ 500 Hz.
Synthesizer
The sound of the synthesizer has unlimited possibilities, so it is difficult to form a unified concept here. Here are some of the most common situations:
400~600 Hz - Thickness: When using multiple synthesizers, this part is too full and makes the sound turbid and chaotic.
1,000~2,000 Hz - Contour: Defines the part of the position. If the synthesizer is a bottomed character, the attenuation here gives the guitar and the vocal a "channel".
3,000~4,000 Hz - Presence and clarity: Similar to vocals and guitars, this is the frequency band that makes the sound the most ear-catching, and the adjustment method is similar to that of a guitar.
Playing class
Saxphone
300~400 Hz - Low: This range is not absolute, depending on the type of saxophone. If it is a bass type, this range is even lower.
1,000~2,000 Hz - Personality: Range of sound characteristics.
6,000 Hz - Reed murmur: Resonance murmurs can be solved here.
Brass instruments (mainly for trumpet and trombone)
100~200 Hz - "Boom" and turbidity: For the trombone, it conflicts with bass and rhythm instruments in this band. It is best to cut it off, which can also improve the clarity of the mix.
4,000~10,000 Hz - Brightness: Brings brightness to dim sounds. However, the trumpet is enough in this range and should be considered and adjusted from the overall adapter.
Vocal
Vocal sound is a variable factor in the mix. The male voice line is different from the female voice line, and each person's tone is also different.
100 Hz and below - murmur: For most people, this band can only hear the noise of the microphone and the vibration of the stage floor, etc., without hesitation, cut it off.
200 Hz - Overweight nasal: The vocals in this band sound like the nasal of the cold. The range of female voices may be improved, but it is around 200Hz.
800~1,000 Hz - clear and normal nasal sound: just as literally.
3,000 Hz - Presence and excitement: a place that adds energy and magnetism to the human voice. If the promotion is insufficient, it will lead to venting, boring and dull; too much promotion will make the audience feel too aggressive.
4,000~8,000 Hz - Beep: If the annoying murmur of the fried steak appears after the pronunciation "s", make a proper attenuation in this part.
10,000 Hz and above - air sensation: makes the sound more ethereal, but it is not necessary, as it may produce howling and brittle murmurs.
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