a parametric any selected cut/boost is always
happening. With dynamic EQ just remember
that if a selected frequency is strong (and pokes
up above the set threshold), it’ll make the
related cut/boost — if it isn’t strong, it won’t.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
“This all sounds great! We can slice our pizza
up or we can get very selective and remove
just one specific topping. Woot! I think I’ll use
a multiband compressor and a dynamic EQ on
every channel and group and output from now
on!” Just as with pizza toppings, you do hit a
point fairly quickly in which things can get really
strange. A supreme combination pizza has a lot
of toppings, but they rarely have every topping
possible. Anchovies along with pineapples and
mushrooms, grilled peppers, corn, salami, tofu
and broccoli? Have you lost your mind?
If you happened to check out my article from
last month, Increasing Your Live Sound EQ
IQ, Part 2, you’ll recall how we discussed the
connected nature of tracks and groups. Let’s
never forget that “making a cut or a boost of
a particular frequency on an individual source
can impact and change the balance and sonic
relationship across an entire mix.” Stacking too
many multiband compressors (or compressors
in general) can make the mix seem dull or
artificial if you aren’t careful. Similarly, layering
over multiple dynamic EQs can begin to cause
you to chase your tail a bit as you work to deal
with possible band interaction and general
lifelessness in a mix if you get a bit too heavyhanded
in your approach. They are a wonderful
part of an audio ingredient list, but best to ease
into your mix and take it slowly as you get
comfortable with how to apply them judiciously.
Kinda like garlic. Or ghost peppers.
Is anyone else really hungry now, or is it
just me?
Jeff Hawley
A 20-year music industry veteran—equally at ease
behind the console, playing bass guitar, leading
marketing teams or designing award-winning audio
products. He currently heads up the marketing for
Allen & Heath in the US.
Multiband compression in action on the Allen & Heath
dLive. The biggest difference between multiband
compression and dynamic EQ is the width of the frequency
range impacted by the processing. Multiband compression
is usually much wider than dynamic EQ.
The popular Multipressor plugin in Logic Pro X.
In this instance low frequencies are being tamed
on the main output.
128 July 2020
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