Equalisation, a signal processing technique commonly used to shape the sound of music, is defined as the adjustment of the energy in specific frequency components of a signal. (Beveridge et al., 2021). While originally introduced to restore inadvertent changes to frequency response, (Nisbett, 2003) its versatility today is vastly wider than it once was, through both a greater understanding of its function and through an ever growing selection of software and hardware that is readily accessible to the public.
Equalisation has become just as much of a creative tool as it is fixative, as have a lot of techniques in the mixing process. An example of creative equalisation is on the track ‘Gets Colder’ by FINLAND. The track is intentionally mixed to be quite narrow, with a lot of low end removed. This allows for the phased guitar which would usually dominate the upper mid range to completely fill the track. The creative use of eq allows the track to sound warmer and creates a unique sound that is found throughout the whole album ‘still life’.
Equalisation can now be done in many ways, an example is dynamic equalisation. While equalisation normally works with fixed values that can be cut or boosted depending on how you want to shape the incoming signal, dynamic eq automates the intensity of those boosts and cuts depending on the characteristics of the incoming signal, including frequency content distribution and loudness. (Connaghan, 2023)
It works similarly to a compressor wherein you apply thresholds to certain frequency ranges and the dynamic compressor will only cut these signals one the threshold is breached. Dynamic eq can be utilised well in mastering in uses such as cutting the frequencies of harsh snare hits but leaving the frequencies uncut when these do not play. This allows for a more subtle change in the mix than using a standard EQ and permanently cutting these frequencies.
I would like to incorporate the use of dynamic eq in my mixes more from now on as I enjoy the subtlety compared to a regular EQ. I do feel that regular equalisation is just as important and both have a unique place in the mixing process. A balance of the two and knowing when each will be more appropriate is a skill that I would like to work on moving forwards.
Beveridge, S., Cano, E. and Herff, S.A. (2021) The effect of low-frequency equalisation on preference and …, Sage Journals. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/17470218211037145 (Accessed: 19 April 2024).
Connaghan, T. (2023) What is dynamic EQ, Online Audio Mastering by Grammy Winning Engineers. Available at: https://emastered.com/blog/what-is-dynamic-eq (Accessed: 19 April 2024).
Stewart, I. (2021) How to use dynamic EQ in mastering, iZotope. Available at: https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/how-to-use-dynamic-eq-in-mastering.html (Accessed: 19 April 2024).
Nisbett, Alec. Sound Studio : Audio Techniques for Radio, Television, Film and Recording, Taylor & Francis Group, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=296689.