EQing the band

[CaptainTuna]

Talking about gear, I guess my zoom b2 won't be enough for fine tuning frequencies (it has a 6-band equalizer). Do you guys use more bands, pedals, rack mounts? I haven't got much money to spend so I guess I'll probably just make my own, custom EQ with the frequencies I need.

 

[obsidianbass]

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. On your own rig, you must have some EQ options on your amp. That combined with your Zoom pedal and your bass (if it's active and has onboard EQ) should be enough. Remember, try easing off your lows and boosting your mids a bit. If you guys don't have a PA, then everyone will have to adjust their own EQ's at their amps in order to "fit" well together (see previous posts). If you DO have a PA, even a small one, a little mixer should give you quite a bit of flexibility in EQ everyone's channels. Remember to have fun with it!

Edit: I should mention that I play an active jazz into a GK 1001rb-ii and run through a VT bass deluxe, and between those I have more than enough options to EQ IMO.

 

[Munjibunga]

Magic Frequencies
Excerpted from The Mixing Engineer's Handbook
by Bobby Owsinski

Before we examine some methods of equalizing, it’s important to note the areas of the audio band and what effect they have on what we hear. The audio band can effectively be broken down into six distinct ranges, each one having enormous impact on the total sound.

• Sub-Bass — The very low bass between 16Hz and 60Hz that encompasses sounds that are often felt more than heard, such as thunder in the distance. These frequencies give the music a sense of power even if they occur infrequently. Too much emphasis on this range makes the music sound muddy.

• Bass — The bass between 60Hz and 250Hz contains the fundamental notes of the rhythm section, so EQing this range can change the musical balance, making it fat or thin. Too much boost in this range can make the music sound boomy.

• Low Mids — The midrange between 250Hz and 2000Hz contains the low order harmonics of most musical instruments and can introduce a telephone-like quality to the music if boosted too much. Boosting the 500Hz to 1000Hz octave makes the instruments sound horn-like, while boosting the 1kHz to 2kHz octave makes them sound tinny. Excess output in this range can cause listening fatigue.

• High Mids — The upper midrange between 2kHz and 4kHz can mask the important speech recognition sounds if boosted, introducing a lisping quality into a voice and making sounds formed with the lips such as “m,” “b” and “v” indistinguishable. Too much boost in this range — especially at 3kHz — can also cause listening fatigue. Dipping the 3kHz range on instrument backgrounds and slightly peaking 3kHz on vocals can make the vocals audible without having to decrease the instrumental level in mixes where the voice would otherwise seem buried.

• Presence — The presence range between 4kHz and 6kHz is responsible for the clarity and definition of voices and instruments. Boosting this range can make the music seem closer to the listener. Reducing the 5kHz content of a mix makes the sound more distant and transparent.

• Brilliance — The 6kHz to 16kHz range controls the brilliance and clarity of sounds. Too much emphasis in this range, however, can produce sibilance on the vocals.

For those of you who have an easier time visualizing the audio spectrum in one-octave increments (like those found on a graphic equalizer), here’s an octave look at the same chart.

Easy-To-Remember Golden Rules Of EQ

1. If it sounds muddy, cut some at 250Hz.

2. If it sounds honky, cut some at 500Hz.

3. Cut if you’re trying to make things sound
better.

4. Boost if you’re trying to make things sound
different.

5. You can’t boost something that’s not there
in the first place.

31Hz Rumble, "chest"
63 Hz Bottom
125Hz Boom, thump, warmth
250Hz Fullness or mud
500Hz Honk
1KHz Whack
2KHz Crunch
4KHz Edge
8KHz Sibilance, definition, "ouch!"
16 KHz Air

 

[obsidianbass]

Great post Munjibunga!

 

[Munjibunga]

Great post Munjibunga!

I had that lying around from a long time ago. I strongly recommend the Yamaha Sound Reinforcement Handbook. While it's a bit dated because it doesn't cover current digital technology, the fundamentals are all there in easy-to-understand terminology.

 

[jaywa]

60 to about 250 is where the money is made in terms of tight punchy bottom... Which happens by getting the kick and bass sounding great *as a unit*. There are several ways you can split that sonic space out between kick drum and bass, but the important thing is that not all those frequencies are boosted for both instruments.

 

[CaptainTuna]

Lots of cool posts, thanks!

This is what I found on the net:

LINK 1 : gives a basic rock EQ for the band, I found it interesting.

LINK 2 : list of "what frequencies do" by instrument.

LINK 3 : EQ frequencies for the whole mix.

Many articles talk about cutting at 200Hz, both for muddiness and for giving some range to the kick drum, and boosting from 250Hz to 400Hz and cutting those ranges for other instruments. I guess this is the first thing I'm gonna try.

 

[jaywa]

A lot of times what happens is, the soundman and/or band spend so much time and EQ trying to get this massive kick drum sound that they leave no room for the bass guitar. In fact, when my band is soundchecking on our own P.A. (which we run from the stage), I don't even let the BL touch the EQ on either the kick drum or my bass channel until the drummer and I have played a pattern together. Then we tweak from there, keeping in mind how boost or cut to a frequency of one will necessitate a complementary change to the other. We have gotten compliments from other musicians specifically on our kick/bass blend so we must have hit on the winning formula.

Kick drum and bass -- properly EQ'd and blended vis-a-vis each other -- create something that's more than the sum of its parts. Led Zeppelin pretty much set the standard in that regard. Unfortunately a lot of bands (and even some "pro" soundmen) don't get this.

 

[CaptainTuna]

Out of curiosity, what equipment do you use to tweak it that way? I guess the standard 3 knobs for bass-mid-lows just aren't enough (that's all our mixer has).

 

[Unrepresented]

Out of curiosity, what equipment do you use to tweak it that way? I guess the standard 3 knobs for bass-mid-lows just aren't enough (that's all our mixer has).

With the frequencies that Munji listed, it's most likely going to be a dedicated mixing board, either in the studio or controlling the PA.

In terms of band practice, there's no "right" way to eq things. There are ways to balance things better, ways that are tried and true, but "right" is an objective thing, and music is art....

That said, if both your guitarist and your keyboardist are cutting into your frequency range, it's going to be easier (and hopefully longer lasting) to have a discussion with them regarding respective roles in the band than it is to try and adjust respective three band eq's on amps to try and solve the problem.

Realistically, both probably spend the majority of their time shaping their tone as "solo" instruments, alone, in their bedrooms. That sounds fine, if they're solo, but as you've noted the transition to a full band requires adjustment and compromise.

 

[Munjibunga]

Out of curiosity, what equipment do you use to tweak it that way? I guess the standard 3 knobs for bass-mid-lows just aren't enough (that's all our mixer has).

New digital mixers like the PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2 have robust on-board semi-parametric EQ for each channel. Many analog boards have 4-band EQ, with semi-para on two mids.

 

[Ubersheist]

your lowest frequencies in the band should be the kick. (Unless you guys are going for something avant garde) Again generally speaking, midrange is where the bass best resides, then guitars above that.

Actually, the foundation frequency on nearly all kick drums is between 60-80hz. This is about your D string. This is the problem... Kicks are dead on top of a bass guitar for frequencies. Bass guitars go down to ~41 hz and the low B is at ~30 hz.

There's alot to look at, as kicks will typically have pop at 1kz to 2kz (I think, can't remember). I used to work with a guy who was so anal in the studio, that he'd eq guitars, basses, keys or whatever else he thought had conflicting frequencies just so the pop on the kick would come through better.