Real Rad Magazine : Spring Quarterly 2015

APPLYING EQ BEFORE COMPRESSION
We covered the utilization of the high pass filter in our
Winter Quarterly. For the spring we continue this natural
progression and offer tips on using the EQ on a recorded
vocal.
Now, assuming that you read our vocal chain tip from
volume one and proceeded to record a solid vocal, what
is the next step in making that vocal sound better. Well,
even amateur engineers know that at some point they
want to EQ and Compress the vocal but which one comes
first. This is a decision that a lot of engineers debate on in
the early morning hours when the sun is still down. But,
here are a few reasons why we believe EQ is a better choice
to apply before compression in the vocal chain. There is
a school of thought that dictates a set of ordered steps
to the createion of art. It goes, collect, clean, and then
prepare. In cooking a meal, a person would collect the
food they were going to eat, clean the food, then prepare
the food for consumption. This applies to all art forms in
general. For instance a guitar player would collect his
thoughts and after many years of practice, he would
clean it up by organizing his skills into a song, and then
the guitar player would prepare to perform. Engineering
records is no different. First a recording engineer would
collect the music and the vocals, then the engineer will
clean up the music and the vocals by taking out anything
that is not suppose to be there, and then the engineer must
prepare the tracks. After recording a vocal for instance,
it is time to prepare it. This is like a cook adding salt and
pepper then cooking the meal that was collected. Putting
EQ on the vocal is like adding spices or ingredients to a
recipe. Alright, why do we want to put the EQ on before
the compressor. The first reason is:
COMPRESSION MAGNIFIES FLAWS
Compression evens out the loud and the quiet parts
in a recording. It literally makes the sound wave more
even throughout the take by making the quietness of
a recording become more loud and the loudness of a
recording become more quiet. Harsh or problematic
frequencies that are not cut will be amplified by the
compressor. This can reveal nasty segments of the
recording that can be distracting to the listening
experience.
unnecessary processing for the computer as well as the
DAW that is running your session. The low frequencies
that are moving through the compressor use a lot of
energy that can affect the compressor in such a way that
pushes the compressor to excessive compressing. When
an EQ is applied before a compressor, harsh frequencies
and unnecessary low end are cut before they have the
opportunity to go through the compressor and cause
mixing issues later down the line
USING EQ ON VOCALS
Once the EQ is applied we must prepare it to go through
the compressor. Considering that the compressor boost
frequencies it is important to cut unnecessary frequencies
from the recording take before the compressor is applied.
Here is a quick overview of where you might want to
make cuts, relative to where your recording needs them.
HIGH PASS FILTER TO ABOUT 100HZ
If you are still hearing to much boom in the vocal, try
sweeping a bell curve between 200 and 400 Hz, then
cut accordingly. Vocals from 400 to around 550 Hz can
cause a “boxy” sound to the recording. If this is the case
with your vocal, sweep a bell curve and cut accordingly.
Sometimes a vocal can be “nasal” or even “honky”
sounding. Try sweeping a bell curve between 700 Hz
and 4.5 kHz then cut accordingly Cutting frequencies is
the most effective way to shape a vocal to sound better.
Boosting frequencies shouldn’t be considered unless the
vocal is dull or could use a little
brightness. In today’s digital era of producing music
sometimes vocals can be lost in the mix. There are few
times to boost a vocal’s frequency to stand out in the mix.
This technique is called “adding air.” In the recording try
sweeping a bell curve around 12 kHz and boosting around
there to create a sense of air to the recording.
LOW FREQUENCIES ARE
UNNECESSARILY LET THROUGH
If an EQ is applied after the compressor it creates a
scenario in which all the low end that will be rolled off
with a high pass EQ will first run through the compressor
even though it will be cut out later. This causes
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