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Table Of Contents
Chapter 5 EQ 59
Using the Channel EQ
How you use the Channel EQ depends on your audio and what you intend to do, but a
useful workflow for many situations is as follows: with the Channel EQ set to a flat
response (no frequencies boosted or cut), turn on the Analyzer and play the audio,
observing the graphic display to see which parts of the frequency spectrum have
frequent peaks and which parts stay at a low level. Notice particular places where the
signal distorts or clips. Then, using the graphic display or the Parameter controls, adjust
the frequency bands as desired to obtain the sound you want.
You can attenuate the frequencies that clip to reduce or eliminate the distortion, and
raise the quiet areas to make them more pronounced. You can adjust the center
frequency for bands 2 through 7 to affect a specific frequency (either one you want to
emphasize, such as the root note of the music, or one you want to eliminate, such as
hum or other noise), and narrow the Q so that only a narrow range of frequencies are
affected, or widen it to alter a broad area.
In the graphic display, each EQ band appears as a different color. You can graphically
adjust the frequency of a band by dragging horizontally in the area of the band. Drag
vertically to adjust the amount of gain for the band (For bands 1 and 8, the slope
values can only be changed in the parameter area below the graphic display). Each
band has a pivot point, which appears as a small circle on the curve (at the location of
the band’s frequency); you can adjust the Q or width of the band by dragging the pivot
point vertically.
You can also adjust the decibel scale of the graphic display by vertically dragging either
the left or right edge of the display (where the dB numbers appear) when the Analyzer
is not active. When the Analyzer is active, dragging the left edge adjusts the linear dB
scale, and dragging the right edge adjusts the Analyzer dB scale.
To increase the resolution of the EQ curve display in the most interesting area around
the zero line, drag the dB scale on the left side of the graphic display upward. Drag
downward to decrease the resolution. The overall range is always ±30, but small values
are easier to recognize.
When you work with the Channel EQ, you can turn off any bands you are not using to
shape the sound. Inactive bands do not use any computer resources.