Manual

3
2. Operation
2.1 Equaliser Design
Programme equalisers have expanded beyond their original use as distance correction devices
for film and vision, into highly creative tools that represent a leading part of the sound
engineer’s artistic palette. A great many EQ designs have been developed over the years that
have been attributed with qualities that lend themselves to particular uses and sounds. The
Oxford EQ plug-in is designed to be flexible enough to address as many of these generic
types as possible from a single application, by presenting a variety of types to the user. The
following pages are presented as a general explanation of many of the factors that affect EQ
performance, and to illustrate how we have addressed these issues with the Oxford EQ
plug-in.
Many types of EQ exist with many differences. One of the most important areas is the issue
of control ranges and interaction. Whilst it is true that with a parametric unit with continuous
controls (ie. not quantised) any response could be obtained by matching their curves, many of
the popular EQs have control dependencies that err towards specific application. One of the
main areas where EQs differ is Gain / Q dependency. Most analogue EQs have Gain / Q
dependency as a result of the circuits used. This factor can greatly affect the artistic style that
an EQ presents by facilitating certain parameter settings and encouraging particular uses
when the unit is operated.
In the Oxford EQ plug-in we have covered this situation by providing three different styles of
EQ that take account of Gain / Q dependency as well as overall control ranges.