How to sort out my band's EQ.

So Glad

Hey guys. Just a quick question. My band and me were jamming yesterday and it went very well and was enjoyable, but sometimes the songs would sound awful, when before they sounded great. Too indistinguishable and noisey. How do we go about sorting out a decent EQ before playing? Like a sound check or something?

Thanks,

Dav.

Doctor J

Avoid mid scooping (ie- taking the mid frequencies out of your sound) or boosting low frequencies. The definition in your sound comes from mid frequencies. You only need to be as loud as the drums, no louder, so watch your respective volumes and tweak EQs rather than continually turning up.

So Glad

Doctor J wrote:

Avoid mid scooping (ie- taking the mid frequencies out of your sound) or boosting low frequencies. The definition in your sound comes from mid frequencies. You only need to be as loud as the drums, no louder, so watch your respective volumes and tweak EQs rather than continually turning up.

Yes, I was thinking that. Thanks for the advise, I'll give it a whirl next jam.

Savman

So Glad wrote:

How do we go about sorting out a decent EQ before playing? .

Are you talking about PA EQ or the EQ on yer amps? Two different beasts altogether.

Doctor J wrote:

Avoid mid scooping (ie- taking the mid frequencies out of your sound)

That's fine if your talking amplifiers, but on a PA or mixing desk eq this is where you need to do a fair bit of tweaking. In fact, in a live situation I've found myself having to aggressively cut High Mids more than anything else.

So Glad

Savman wrote:

Are you talking about PA EQ or the EQ on yer amps? Two different beasts altogether.

Well, both to be honest. We are having trouble keeping on top of everything. Sometimes the amps will be fine but then I can't hear anything on the mic PA and I try turning that up and I only get feedback. How do I get the mics to be fairly loud?

Doctor J

Savman wrote:

That's fine if your talking amplifiers, but on a PA or mixing desk eq this is where you need to do a fair bit of tweaking. In fact, in a live situation I've found myself having to aggressively cut High Mids more than anything else.

Given that he said it's a band jam, it would be fair to assume only the vocals are going through the PA.

david

Dont scoop your guitar.. Turn the gain down and mids up. For vocals you want basically a flatish eq with maybe a slight mid boost and put a LCF on it too to avoid it sounding to boomy.

Yakult

So Glad wrote:

Well, both to be honest. We are having trouble keeping on top of everything. Sometimes the amps will be fine but then I can't hear anything on the mic PA and I try turning that up and I only get feedback. How do I get the mics to be fairly loud?

on the pa turn up the mids so they cut thru the mix!

So Glad

Aha, thanks for tips. Will try 'em all out this week.

david

Dont underestimate the wonders an LCF and mid control can work!

So Glad

freakonaleashx wrote:

Dont underestimate the wonders an LCF and mid control can work!

What does LCF stand for?

crosstownk

So Glad wrote:

What does LCF stand for?

Low Cut Filter - most desks have one of these close to the gain control. Depending on the brand of the desk the cut-off frequency could be anywhere form 25Hz to 100Hz

david

crosstownk wrote:

Low Cut Filter - most desks have one of these close to the gain control. Depending on the brand of the desk the cut-off frequency could be anywhere form 25Hz to 100Hz

Yeah it filters out low frequencies to avoid boomy vocal sounds, pops etc.