Topic: Using Graphic EQ

[Mr.Fantasy]

I like to use graphic EQ on my old cassette tapes before I burn them to cd's...

...but I have never really known if what/how I am using my EQ is proper...

.....like the actual curve on my 31 band Behringer....

.....I awlays just try and do what sounds good, and I understand that the device controls the Bass Mid and Treble....but there are some recordings that I am not able to make sound "finished".

Any EQ advice?

[dmccabe]

Here is the best advice for any audio editing.

What is your listening environment?

If you can't really hear the real audio, then how do you know the changes you are making are the right ones?
You can't try to edit audio with your iPod headphones. You need to know what the limitations of your listening/monitoring device really has -- do you use speakers or headphones?

You can get some really good Sennheiser headphones for about $175. If you are using shitty $400 speakers, you will probably do more harm to your audio than good.

When it comes to EQ before you transfer... think very small steps. The biggest mistake is over EQ'ing. A 1-2 db move on any of the 31 bands is huge!

Another good tip it to think of EQ as subtracting, not adding the sound. If the bass is weak... don't add bass, take down the treble. When you add in EQ, you are adding distortion. Make up for all the "subtractions" in EQ with overall gain after the EQ.

Also look at a sprectral analyzer when making edits, but don't get fooled by what you see. Always trust your ears over what some curve looks like on the screen.

[Church-Audio]

Here is the best advice for any audio editing.

What is your listening environment?

If you can't really hear the real audio, then how do you know the changes you are making are the right ones?
You can't try to edit audio with your iPod headphones. You need to know what the limitations of your listening/monitoring device really has -- do you use speakers or headphones?

You can get some really good Sennheiser headphones for about $175. If you are using shitty $400 speakers, you will probably do more harm to your audio than good.

When it comes to EQ before you transfer... think very small steps. The biggest mistake is over EQ'ing. A 1-2 db move on any of the 31 bands is huge!

Another good tip it to think of EQ as subtracting, not adding the sound. If the bass is weak... don't add bass, take down the treble. When you add in EQ, you are adding distortion. Make up for all the "subtractions" in EQ with overall gain after the EQ.

Also look at a sprectral analyzer when making edits, but don't get fooled by what you see. Always trust your ears over what some curve looks like on the screen.

Good advice less is always more

Chris

[Mr.Fantasy]

Here is what I am doing....

I take my pops old Grateful Dead TDK 110 (Usually). (And all of these masters were made with Nak CM300's)
I put it into my cassette deck (I am using a new Sony deck while my pops old Nakamichi deck is in the shop.)

After I have got my tape into the deck I go to my TEAC CD Recorder and put it on Monitor mode so I can hear what my tape sounds like.

The setup for playback goes like this... Cassette deck -> Behringer Ultragraph pro 3102 (set to bypass if I am listening to the original recording) I/O of the Behringer is XLR only so I use XLR to RCA patch's -> TEAC CD Recorder -> to Yamaha receiver -> to my dads JBL L100's from the seventies (Original condition but about to be updated/looked at)

After I listen to most of the tape (normally to check and make sure there aren't any crazy occurrences in the middle of the tape....)...or I listen to the entire tape (if I have my vaporizer on).....

...I then start my adjustments. I had heard that subtracting is one way to do it, but I have only tried it a few times and I thought it was not as effective.

If anyone sees any flaws in my system please point them out. ....My dad was the taper back in the day...I am only 20 and I am trying to get the Treat family back on the road and taping everything possible!

[jrbungeetroll]

If you are transferring Grateful Dead shows...
check out sites like
etree.org
www.speedingarrow.net
www.deadbase.com
www.archive.org

If you have uncirculated, upgrades or rare shows you could make a lot of deadheads happy.....

[live2496]

What I've been using lately is the parametric EQ that Audition provides.  For a recent show with rather soft, boomy bass... I cut a notch at -45hz 1-2hz wide and lowered by 7db.  That "seemed" to cut the cotton out of the boom and left a bit more clarity.  My question is, was that a reasonable frequency to focus on or should it have been elswhere?  I've tried spots in the 60-70hz range as well.

Download and try HarBal. http://www.har-bal.com
It will show you a frequency trace of where the energy is in each frequency band. Dominant frequencies will show as mountains in the graph. Typically if there are mountains in the low-freq range you can do some parametric cuts to lower them without affecting the overall balance a whole lot.

[KLowe]

On the subject of EQing.  What computer program do you guys use that will let you EQ on the fly?

I use SF 8.0 and it does not seem to have that capability.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

What are you guys using for active EQ?

KLowe


Plus T live2496.  I'm gonna use that one tonight.

[danlynch]

I'm not sure what you mean by "on the fly", but I use Soundforge 8.0, 20-band Graphic EQ.  There is a feature that let's you monitor "real time preview", and then bypass the preview (to A/B the difference).

[KLowe]

I'm not sure what you mean by "on the fly", but I use Soundforge 8.0, 20-band Graphic EQ.  There is a feature that let's you monitor "real time preview", and then bypass the preview (to A/B the difference).

by on the fly i mean the music is playing in real time while making adjustments.
from your answer it looks like i need to learn more about soundforge.
if you have time.  what is your eq workflow for SF8?

thanks for the info.

KLowe

[danlynch]

Yes, the preview feature allows you to make adjustments as you listen.

Generally speaking, I'm using a slight bit of EQ to bump the highs for recordings I make while the DPAs are in the stealth Kanga hat.  The mesh cuts too much high end for my tastes.  I don't do much EQ (if any) for recordings made with the Neumanns.

[rowjimmytour]

I'm not sure what you mean by "on the fly", but I use Soundforge 8.0, 20-band Graphic EQ.  There is a feature that let's you monitor "real time preview", and then bypass the preview (to A/B the difference).

by on the fly i mean the music is playing in real time while making adjustments.
from your answer it looks like i need to learn more about soundforge.
if you have time.  what is your eq workflow for SF8?

thanks for the info.

KLowe

I was fooling around w/ eq on SF8 w/ my matrix and ended up not liking what I heard and used other methods because when I got done my wav file was totally compressed and looked liked it lost all its juice. Like said above a little goes a long ways but I still haven't found eq method I like.
Peace

[live2496]

Har-bal will allow you to preview the audio realtime. You can always revert back to the original (no filter) by pressing one of the buttons on top. However, you need to buy it to render a new file.

The programmer of Har-Bal (Paavo) doesn't recommend making drastic adjustments to eq in the area above 5k. I think the idea there is that parametric eq adjustments will begin to get higher frequencies out of phase.

You should be able to adjust the tonal balance by carefully eq'ing the lows. When using harbal you are really designing a filter. When reducing any frequency, har-bal applies an equal increase to all other frequencies to compensate for the overall level. 4096 sample points in the frequency domain are used, so it is like having a graphic eq with 4096 sliders (I suppose).

Some mastering engineers ridicule this type of tool. But those guys have very expensive analog eq's to work with. This is a very good tool to use when processing is done "in the box". Craig Anderton who writes for EQ likes it, as does Bruce Bartlett a well known engineer and writer.

Here's a thought provoking article on mastering and equalization...
http://www.eqmag.com/story.asp?storyCode=14193

[yug du nord]

...or I listen to the entire tape (if I have my vaporizer on).....  ...I then start my adjustments.

+T