Parametric Equalizer is one of the most useful mixing tools available to any audio/recording/mixing engineer. Yet, beginners do not fully understand the concept and operation of these parametric equalizers. As a result, they misunderstood the usefulness of this tool and does not able to attain the sound quality they need.
To get started with the very basic and uses of parametric equalization, I recommend you will read this tutorial on Parametric Equalization Theory.
It discusses the 3 main elements of a parametric equalizer namely the:
1.) Center frequency
2.) Bandwidth
3.) Gain
Parametric equalizer is a perfect tool to shape the sound of your mix or any of the tracks. Beginners in recording and mixing are often acquainted with only one equalizer which is called “Graphics Equalizer”.
While this is still an equalizer, it provides almost no use to mixing audio recording sessions. It is because of the following aspects:
a. Graphic equalizer does not provide Q control(more about this later).
b. Some graphic equalizers are NOT designed for serious audio mixing and just for hi-fi equipment monitoring purposes.
So it means that the accuracy of the graphics equalizer would not be very reliable if you want in-dept audio frequency adjustments.
Using the Parametric Equalizer
Now how to use the parametric equalizer? Shaping the sound is the general objective of using this tool. In details it is an audio frequency filtering tool that can be used by the engineer to alter the frequency response of the audio material.
Below is a picture of the Waves Q3 Paragraphic parametric equalizer:
As you can see there are 3 important adjustments- center frequency, gain and Q. Center frequency is where the adjustments would be most felt. The gain would be used to set the amount of cut or boost. The Q would tell how wide or narrow are the EQ adjustments.
In addition, there are two important parameters:
a.) Input gain- controls how much would be the input level to the parametric equalizer.
b.) Output gain- controls how much would be the output level.
In schematic diagram, this would be:
Input — Parametric Equalizer — Output
If there are two sliders, it means it accepts stereo inputs otherwise if you only see one slider; that’s for mono. If you are using parametric equalizer for a mono track, use the mono version of the parametric equalizer.
2 Responses
Hi Ranie,
For your inquiry: “Can I apply these to guitars/bass tracks only?”
Answer:
Yes, you can use parametric equalizer for your bass and guitar tracks. You need one track for bass and another track for guitars. Then apply parametric equalizer to each one of them (using Adobe Audition 1.5 effects parametric equalizer).
You can use these settings for bass parametric EQ: https://www.audiorecording.me/tips-in-mixing-bass-guitar-like-a-pro.html
And for the guitars: https://www.audiorecording.me/tips-in-mixing-electric-guitars-using-double-tracking-technique.html
For drums, the crucial part is the kick where it conflicts with either the bass and guitar. So refer to this guide for mixing kick drums: https://www.audiorecording.me/kick-drum-eq-settings-and-compression.html
For snare also: https://www.audiorecording.me/snare-drum-eq-compression-and-panning-mixing-tips.html
For second inquiry: Do I need to do mastering even though i had all the tracks trimmed, equalized, compressed, before mixing all the guitars/bass/drums down to one track??
Answer: Yes,but please do not compress the mixdown in an attempt to make it loud. This will ruin your mix which makes it difficult for mastering engineers to master your track.Please read this guide carefully as it relates to your inquiry: https://www.audiorecording.me/correct-audio-mixing-levels-and-headroom-in-preparation-for-mastering.html
Your mixing objective is NOT to make all tracks sound as loud as possible, but to increase clarity, balance and tone/EQ of the mix. After mixdown, give it some headroom for mastering engineers to do the work.
Thanks for dropping by.
Hi. Can I apply these to guitars/bass tracks only? Im using Adobe Audition 1.5 to record/mix songs and i think i already have a good sounding drums using Fruity Loops but the problem is when I’m about to mix down the guitar/bass tracks, it doesnt go along well with the drums so I’m thinking maybe I should try to to parametric equalizer first to the guitars/bass tracks then mix it down to drum tracks.. and also, if i do that – do i need to do mastering even though i had all the tracks trimmed, equalized, compressed, before mixing all the guitars/bass/drums down to one track??
you can reply at my email and thanks so much for this wonderful tips.
.Ranie