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Chapter 5 Equalizers 106
Note: The Q parameter of band 1 and band 8 has no eect when the slope is set to 6 dB/Oct.
When the Q parameter is set to an extremely high value, such as 100, these lters aect only a
very narrow frequency band and can be used as notch lters.
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Link button: Turns on Gain-Q coupling, which automatically adjusts the Q (bandwidth) when
you raise or lower the gain on any EQ band, to preserve the perceived bandwidth of the bell
curve.
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Analyzer Mode buttons (Extended Parameters area): Click to choose Peak or RMS.
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Analyzer Decay slider and eld (Extended Parameters area): Drag to set the decay rate (in dB per
second) of the Analyzer curve (peak decay in Peak mode or an averaged decay in RMS mode).
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Gain-Q Couple Strength pop-up menu (Extended Parameters area): Choose the amount of Gain-Q
coupling.
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Strong: Preserves most of the perceived bandwidth.
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Light or medium: Allows some change as you raise or lower the gain.
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Asymmetric: These settings feature a stronger coupling for negative gain values than for
positive values, so the perceived bandwidth is more closely preserved when you cut, rather
than boost, gain.
Note: If you play back automation of the Q parameter with a dierent Gain-Q Couple Strength
setting, the actual Q values will be dierent than when the automation was recorded.
Channel EQ use tips
The way you use Channel EQ depends on the audio material and your intended outcome. A
useful workow for many situations is as follows: Set the Channel EQ to a at response (no
frequencies boosted or cut), turn on the Analyzer, and play the audio signal. Watch the graphic
display to see which parts of the frequency spectrum have frequent peaks and which parts of
the spectrum stay at a low level. Pay attention to sections where the signal distorts or clips. Use
the graphic display or parameter controls to adjust the frequency bands.
You can reduce or eliminate unwanted frequencies, and you can raise quieter frequencies to
make them more pronounced. You can adjust the center frequencies of bands 2 through 7 to
aect a specic 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. While doing so, change the
Q parameter or parameters so that only a narrow range of frequencies is aected, or widen it to
alter a broader frequency area.
Each EQ band has a dierent color in the graphic display. You can graphically adjust the
frequency of a band by dragging horizontally. Drag vertically to adjust the amount of gain for
the band. For bands 1 and 8, the slope values can be changed only in the parameter area below
the graphic display. Each band has a pivot point (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 scale is shown, 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 area around the zero line, drag the dB
scale, on the left side of the graphic display upward. Drag downward to decrease the resolution.