What’s That? Equalisation Pt.2

Part 2 of my equalisation post! Part 1 covered the two most common types of EQ (see here), however in this post I will delve into some fancier and complex EQs. Although these may be fancy, never forget that parametric EQs will be the foundation for your mixes, not these boujee ones!

Mid-Side EQ

Mid-side EQ is a technique where the middle and side images of a stereo audio source can be separated and EQed individually. This works by separating the “side” into a stereo channel (L-R) in addition to a mono “mid” channel (L+R). When these two are summed back together, they make up the original audio source again. The two separate “mid” and “side” channels can be further proceed before they summed back together.

This is particularly useful on the master bus, where we can make technical decisions like mono-izing the low frequencies (high passing the sides) to create more headroom with little sacrifice to the overall mix. In addition to this, some mastering engineers like to provide an extra sense of stereo width by boosting the high frequencies on the sides. Mastering engineers also have to opportunity to remove any resonances or boost frequencies without doing harm to the overall mix.

Within the context of a mix, stereo audio tracks (such as synths) can be processed further to fit within the context of a mix.

Even though mid-side EQ is a very powerful tool, it is easy to cause phase issues within the mix if the engineer is not paying attention. Mid-side EQ may cause mono compatibility issues, or even reduce the separation of instruments within a mix (since once the mid and sides are summed back together, small bits of audio information will remain within all parts of the stereo field).

Check out this amazing tutorial about how to use mid-side for mastering:

Dynamic EQ

This is a very exciting EQ for me - it is like a multi-band compressor but also different. Compression is a topic for another post however!

Dynamic EQs are basically parametric EQs which adjust the gain/attenuation of a frequency depending on whether the specified frequency hits a certain volume threshold. These usually sound very transparent and surgical, so are a very powerful tool for eliminating resonances without having to dull the audio signal with permanent cuts. Although the FabFilter Pro Q-3 is my favourite overall parametric EQ plugin, my preferred one for surgical dynamic EQ is the Waves F6. This is because I feel most comfortable with controlling the dynamics of the signal attenuation with this plugin, and the Q can be really narrow!

However here’s a video of a free plugin doing the same job … so even better!

Another, more ingenious way to using dynamic EQ is to create space within a mix, using sidechaining to remove frequencies when something clashing is playing at the same time. This can be a super useful tool for trying to create low end power for both the bass and the kick drum! Another great way to use this technique is to dynamically control the instrumental mid-high frequencies to make more room for the vocal tracks, it really helps add to the clarity!

Another one of my favourite plugins (Wavesfactory Trackspacer) is doing that here, please check out this video:

A little more spicy than part 1 for sure ! I hope you enjoyed the read, there will be a part 3 soon going over linear phase EQs and other interesting tidbits. Thanks for reading !