EQ, old school vs. new school.

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martygras
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EQ, old school vs. new school.

Post by martygras » Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:17 pm

I just saw the Dave Grohl movie about Sound City and how he bought the Neve console after they closed their doors. The movie itself is a must see for audio geeks because they show all the behind the scenes stuff and all the amps and rooms and even get the musicians who had recorded their to come and record with Dave and friends. He's even got a new album out with several really cool musicians.

Okay, so this got me thinking about eq, like we have with the Auria's channel strip. Very old school but very useful. Now we have these newer eq's that we just draw the frequencies we wish to boost/cut/pass/notch.
Yes it's just a tool, but I feel that if I were to work extensively with these newer eq's I would not be getting the experience as I would on the older style controls. Sure the frequencies are labelled and gui style should be analogous to each other, but I don't think I could use my experience on a newer eq if I were to work in another studio on another console.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't know if I should get any/most of the in app offerings even though they all look very cool and make certain audio tasks easier, quicker etc.
Marty Schulte [I'm a drummer. So, there's that.]
iPad AIR(128), Akai EIE, Akai EWI USB, illudium q-36 explosive space modulator
Head First Audio (live sound for Southern Oregon, USA)

Matt W
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Re: EQ, old school vs. new school.

Post by Matt W » Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:56 pm

I've always thought of EQ in two different functions, "musical" EQ vs "surgical" EQ, and each has its place.

A musical EQ tends to have pre-set frequency ranges, a la the API 550A or Trident A-Range EQ section. Here the manufacturers have pre-selected certain frequency bands for their EQs using common trouble areas, like adding definition to a vocal, or crack to a snare, or sizzle to a cymbal. The great thing about these is it's hard to get in trouble using them like you could with a fully parametric EQ.

A surgical EQ is completely parametric, meaning you can choose precisely what frequencies to boost/cut, at what Q, and for how much gain. If there is a specific buzzing sound in the guitar track then this EQ will let you zero right in on just that frequency and kill it. The downside is the capability to do way more than is needed on a track and making it much worse than a little buzz.

The built-in ChannelStrip is a great example of a musical EQ, with PSP's own frequency bands that they find most useful.

An add-on EQ like Pro-Q is a surgical EQ, capable of doing absolutely any EQ task.
Matthew Werner
WaveMachine Labs, Inc.

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martygras
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Re: EQ, old school vs. new school.

Post by martygras » Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:27 am

I agree Matt, but the channel strip also has parametric with selectable Q so really it's both... or maybe neither since it's kind of a hybrid eq. The only locked frequencies are the shelving types.
Marty Schulte [I'm a drummer. So, there's that.]
iPad AIR(128), Akai EIE, Akai EWI USB, illudium q-36 explosive space modulator
Head First Audio (live sound for Southern Oregon, USA)

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