Understanding and using EQ is essential for any audio engineer. Going beyond treble and bass and learning what frequencies sound like when they are too loud or missing from an input will allow you to shape the sounds into full, smooth, natural pieces of your mix. This post is going to focus on how to get some practice listening to different frequencies, shaping the sounds into the best they can be, and some common traps some fall into that you should try to avoid.

Not long ago I wrote a post about EQ and what the numbers mean. It’s one thing to be told that humans can hear 20Hz to 20kHz and that we consider 1,000Hz (1k) the mid-way point, but it’s another thing to  know what a kick drum actually sounds like with a bump at 2k and some low mids cut out at 400Hz. In this post, I’m going to talk a little about some of the basic concepts I use when applying EQ. I’m also going to give you some tools to help you along the way… if you haven’t found them already. The first concept I’m going to mention though, has nothing to do with EQ!

A common technique I see in churches, especially ones on a tight budget, is the use of a compressor on a subgroup. The thinking is that rather than having to purchase 4, 6, or 8 channels of compression, the user will just get a 2-channel unit, insert it into a subgroup, and then whenever something needs compressed, they will route it through that subgroup instead of straight to the master output of the console.

Ideally, if something needs compressed, you should insert your compressor into that input’s channel directly. By routing everything through a subgroup, the compressor can have some ill affects on your mix, and you may be adding more frustrations than your solving.

To start, I’m writing this blog for Steve W., who posted a question on the Facebook page for A Sound Church. If you have questions, ideas, suggestions or just want to stay in touch, I invite you to that page, and also my Twitter. Being relevant to what you want to know is my #1 goal, so bring on the interactiveness.

A channel EQ will typically be either a 3-band (Highs, Mids, and Lows) or a 4-band (Highs, Hi-Mids, Lo-Mids, and Lows) EQ. The confusion starts when your board has 4 bands, yet there are 6, 8, 12+ knobs. Look at the photo in this post. This is a 4-band EQ. There are 2 knobs each for the highs and lows (red and black knobs respectively). There are also 3 knobs each for the high- and low- mids (green and blue knobs respectively).

My guess is, if you’re reading this, that you are the type that always readjusts the treble and bass in your car, trying to find that ideal setting. If you understand treble and bass and how it affects the sound, you can start to build on that and adjust the mids, or high and low mids as well.

Last Saturday, I was again running sound for The Elms. Side note- they released a new record recently, and I highly recommend it. Funny enough, they have a song titled, “County Fair.” The show last Saturday was at the Dekalb County Fair, just north of Fort Wayne, IN. I’ll get to the audio production portion, but let me show you what it’s like to be on the road. Our Friday night show ended and we rolled out at about 1:00am and instead of getting a hotel, we drove 4 hours across the state in a van and trailer, which goes slower than in your car. When we arrived at the hotel at 5:00am, they of course couldn’t find our reservation! Don’t worry. Happens all the time. We’re used to it.