EQ should make things sound better. With EQ plugins we have better EQ available than ever before, but we sometimes still make a mess of our EQ. Here are our top five EQ mistakes.

The EQ facilities available to an engineer used to be limited by the particular hardware available in the pre DAW days and most EQ was done using channel EQ on whichever mixing console was in use. Early consoles had rudimentary EQ with perhaps a high and low shelf, the classic Neve consoles of the 70s gained more bands and frequencies through the revered 1073, 1081 and 1084 iterations and the SSL boards of the 1980s benefitted from fully sweepable EQ with continuously adjustable Q.

With the advent of plugin EQ, notably the Waves Q10, the constraints on the sheer number of bands and channels which could benefit from levels of control would have been unimaginable to the user of a 60s console. Today the equaliser continues to develop. Effectively infinite numbers of bands, impossibly steep filter curves, phase linear filters, dynamic EQ bands, super-detailed spectrum analysers and inter-plugin communication which identifies potential clashes and masking between elements of a mix. Our mixes should sound amazing! However, often they don’t. In this article we identify five common mistakes made by people using equalisers.

Not Level Matching

This is the biggest one for me. If I were to reduce this list from five to one, this is the one which would still be on the list. We are hardwired to favour louder, brighter sounds over quieter, duller sounds. We might think we’re not but we are. Quality checks are of course essential and it’s very important to check that the change you have made to your audio actually improves it. It should, but part of being an experienced mixer is being able to appraise your own work and if it’s better without what you just did, don’t do it!

This isn’t easy if you have, by dialling a couple of boosts on your EQ, made the processed signal louder than the unprocessed. It will sound better because of that. If it’s also brighter then it’s even harder. The only way you can compare like with like is to trim the EQ’d version to be the same level as the unprocessed audio. Meters don’t help much here. This is best done by ear. There are a few EQs which provide automatic level matching and some aren’t bad. If it’s there, try it.

Using Your Eyes Instead Of Your Ears

Most EQ plugins which don’t have a UI which reproduces the front panel of a piece of hardware have a spectrum analyser. These used to be the exception but are now de rigeur. The visual feedback these provide can be useful but can also be a distraction. Many plugins which feature analysers offer the option to turn them off but I suspect that not that many people do so. The information they display is useful if you are trying to identify a specific issue that you can hear. However, being used to guide your decisions rather than confirm them is largely missing their point. It doesn’t matter how it looks on a spectrum analyser, all that matters is how it sounds.

Another visual distraction is the EQ curve, If you have ever backed off an EQ move because it looked too much then you have been influenced by how your EQ looks rather than how it sounds. I know I’ve done it. One of my favourite features of the venerable Sonnox EQ is Ears Only mode, which hides the EQ curve. This ‘feature’ is built in to Pultec and Neve EQ plugins by default because you just have a bunch of knobs with no curves or analysers. That’s not the only reason they are cool but it’s certainly one of them!

Boosting Frequencies Which Aren’t There

I’ve watched someone try to boost the top end of a sine wave bass. It’s an extreme example but it did happen. You can only boost and cut frequencies which are present in the audio you are EQing and when people try to boost (it’s never cut) frequencies which aren’t there it’s almost always at the bottom end. This is a case where an appropriately set up spectrum analyser is useful. If your kick drum has no useful energy below 60Hz, then an optimistic boost and 40Hz isn’t going to do much. The exception to this is using high pass filters where often you are specifically looking to filter out areas where there is no significant energy present.

Using High Q Boosts To Find Issues

Listening is everything and the best decision you can make with an EQ is often to do nothing. However if you do notice something you’re not keen on, how do you locate it to know where to make a cut? Many people dial in a narrow Q boost and move it up and down. I’m not a fan of this technique as if you do a big narrow Q boost it will make everything sound like its a problem!

These resonant boosts are unnatural and while they can be used successfully to track down a sound you’ve already clearly heard, don’t be distracted by other awful sounding things you hear while dragging the boost around. If there is a ring on your snare drum, focus on it’s pitch and locate than pitch. The best way to do this is to ball-park it using experience and intuition. If you’re lucky enough to have good pitch then you’ll probably get close and be able to cut straight away. I sometimes find I’m an octave out on first guess. I’m OK with that. It shows my pitch is good but harmonics can get confusing!

An excellent alternative to high Q boosts, if your EQ of choice offers it, is Band Pass Mode, where holding a modifier momentarily solos the band you’re adjusting.

EQing and Filtering In Solo

The last on this list is a big one. EQ sounds in context with each other. Don’t solo up each instrument, EQ them to sound as big and attention-grabbing as possible and then assume that you can combine all of these sounds together without your mix becoming a big mess. It might work out but it’s pretty unlikely. Also don’t assume that neatly bracketing your sounds with high-pass filters is necessarily a good thing. It might be but your mix could easily turn out thin as a result. ‘High Pass Everything” is a slogan you’ll find on T shirts (look online) but that is a mantra which is more applicable to live sound.

When it comes to EQ, it’s one of those processes which exists for two purposes. Either to fix or to flatter. Both are important but be aware of which you are doing while using equalisers.

One Final Thing…

A really easy mistake to make, we’ve all done it at some point with plugins, make sure the plugin isn’t in bypass when you’re making the changes… It happens to the best of us.

Are there any tips that you would have like to see on this list? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash