What is EQ? Easy explanation of frequency, gain, and Q for beginners

EQ is an effect that adjusts the balance between bass, midrange, and treble in the sound. Raise or lower only specific frequency bands, rather than the entire volume.

What is frequency?

The pitch of the sound is expressed in Hz. Generally speaking, the low range is related to thickness and weight, the midrange is related to pitch and presence, and the high range is related to brightness and airiness. However, the role of the same frequency changes depending on the instrument.

What is gain?

Indicates how many dB to raise or lower the selected frequency band. At first, try small changes of about 1 to 3 dB. Before making any major movements, check the volume balance and recording status.

What is Q?

The width of the processing band. If Q is small, the change will be wide and smooth, and if Q is large, only a narrow range will be moved. When creating a tone, try widening it, and when suppressing a specific resonance, try narrowing it down.

High pass and low pass

High-pass reduces sounds below the set position, and low-pass reduces sounds above. This is useful for eliminating unnecessary noise, but if you mechanically insert it into every track, the sound will become thinner.

Shelf EQ

Raises the upper or lower band widely from the specified position. Use this when you want to smoothly adjust the airiness of the vocal, the overall brightness, and the amount of low range.

Order in which beginners are less likely to fail

First, adjust the volume and pan, verbalize the cause of your concern, move only the necessary frequency band, and compare at the same perceived volume as when bypassing.

Searching by raising the frequency greatly may cause your ears to get used to the stimulation and cause you to misjudge. Rather than adjusting the shape of the screen, it's based on how the sounds you want in the song sound naturally.