Hey everybody! If you're interested in getting better at EQ'ing, this is for you.

I'm putting up a really cool new set of EQ lessons for people who might have missed out on this essential production technique.

Here's the good news - EQ'ing gets a lot easier when you understand the background info.

So let's learn that first.

And if you don't know me... I went to audio engineering school in NYC, spent 20 years working as a live sound engineer, as well as performing and DJ'ing internationally with Ableton Live.

This info is legit and I'm sure it will help you.

Here are the first three concepts you need to know.

ONE: THE TOOLS

What are the tools we use for EQ'ing?

ok. There are only 7 types of EQ's and Filters you need to know.

Low Shelf EQ
High Pass Filter
Parametric EQ
Notch Filter
Low Pass Filter
High Shelf EQ
Band Pass Filter

All the audio effects and EQ plugins in the whole world are built on them, and they all basically do the same thing.

Learn these basic tools first and your whole EQ world opens up, from DJ mixers to DAWs to Ableton devices.

(yes brains, we are ignoring graphic EQ for the moment. You can live your whole entire life without using it. Except for sound design with vocoders)

TWO: THE FREQUENCIES

Which type of EQ do you use on all the sounds in the mix?

Answer: First learn the range of human hearing.

That's our playground.

It goes from 20Hz to 20kHz.

It doesn't matter how music changes in the future, or how the production tools change.

This range will always stay the same.

For terminology, you need the word Hertz.

It means "cycles per second" as in, cycles of vibration.

The range of human hearing is from 20 cycles per second to 20,000 cycles per second.

1 cycle per second is 1 Hertz.

1000 Herts is 1 kiloHertz or 1kHz.

EQ's operate from 20hz to 20kHz.

Now that you know this, you can begin to feel out how the frequency range works.

sub bass
low-mids
midrange
high-mids
highs

That's where our sounds fit, in electronic music.

And the way we FIND those sounds is with the frequency sweep technique.

It's the basic audio engineer's process for using EQs -- so you don't waste time guessing and wondering if you're doing it right.

THREE: THE TECHNIQUES

How do you know what frequencies to cut and boost in your tracks?

Answer: this takes time but you can make it easier.

In the first lesson you learn the EQ tools so you know which one to use in each part of the frequency range.

In lesson two you learn the frequency sweep technique, so you have a process to find "good" and "bad" spots in each sound.

The next step is what we call the Golden Rule of EQ.

The rule says, "Cut before you boost."

It means do your EQ cuts first, remove nasty resonance first, before you try to boost up frequencies you like.

ANALOGY: FRUIT SALAD

It's more important to peel the banana than it is to add perfect strawberries on top.

Nobody wants to eat banana peels. A fruit salad with banana peels in it is gross, no matter how perfect the strawberries are.

Cut before you boost.

Pro Tip: if you do your EQ cuts properly, you don't need to do any EQ boost at all. Just turn up the sound louder in the mix, and get more of the frequencies you like.

Again, this takes practice.

Fortunately... the practice is really, really fun!

Let's stop here and review.

Remember these concepts and you'll find EQ'ing becomes more fun and less stressful.

There are only 7 types of EQ's you need to know. Those are your tools.
The range of human hearing is 20hz to 20kHz. That's our playground.
We use the frequency sweep technique to explore it.
Cut before you boost. Peel the bananas before you worry about adding the strawberries. (the golden rule of EQ)

GET THE HANDS-ON LESSONS

To find out more, and to really have some fun, check out the new hands-on tutorials.

They're super fun because you explore these EQ concepts inside Live, by playing with actual music.

Here are the first two.

EQ and Filter Toolbox Lesson

The Frequency Sweep Technique

The "Basic Cuts" golden rule lesson is on the way very soon.

Drop a comment if you have any questions.

Otherwise, click in and grab a hands-on lesson.

They are absolutely the best way to have fun learning essential Ableton production techniques.

Have a great day.

Steve

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