Dan Worrall recently released a video slaying yet another audio head-scratcher; What EQ Should I Use? With so many tools vying for the engineer’s attention, which should they go for and when? We break down this excellent tutorial into its parts to aid eighteen minutes well-spent for any engineer.

These well-regarded videos make great viewing either for the casual engineer, the semi-pro, and right up to those at the top of their game who understand the importance of staying sharp. Following a previous video on how bass works, we break down wisdom covering EQ choice into nine chapters for easy reference. While each provides insight to fill any gaps in the engineer’s understanding of their tools in small packets, we have found each one in this video to be rather more-ish…

1 - 00:35: Topology Counts

Dan uses FabFilter ProQ 3 to demonstrate how using two filters (with this particular audio plugin) either in series or parallel, give same result. He then goes on to demonstrate how results vary depending on the design by doing the same parallel/series demonstration using Nova Parallel Dynamic Equaliser Gentleman’s Edition MKII to give a different response. This neatly demonstrates that while all EQs’ fundamental function is the same, delving a little deeper can better help the engineer anticipate the behaviour of a given design.

2 - 01:24: Why Measure?

The importance of using any EQ in the context of the music is reiterated, as Dan likens his bench tests to the musician who practices with a metronome; in both cases, the exercises exist to assist with fluency in use as opposed to pure technical comparison. That way, the engineer can get on with making good musical decisions as opposed to shoe-horning that latest new purchase into the mix without question. As always, the end result is all that matters, and fluency in their craft gets the engineer to where they want to be more quickly.

3 - 03:02: Things That Do Matter

One technical consideration that can limit the effectiveness of certain stock EQs is tackled as Dan points us towards his previous video that covers the subject of EQ cramping. As well as tackling this less-known digital problem, he contends that many stock EQs will outperform those analogue ones championed by some who weren’t around in the ‘Good Old Days’ of analogue to experience them for themselves…

4 - 03:51: Getting To The Crunch

Dan then talks about when to consider using a saturating EQ, or other ‘character’ tool for extra harmonic interest. Acknowledging how accuracy can sometimes give way to sterility, he goes on to highlight EQs featuring saturation. He then outlines some of his favoured tools for dialling in some extra edges to the sound. Further de-bunking the armchair engineer, he confirms that combinations of tools for both saturation and spectral control is just as valid as using a single audio plugin.

5 - 05:02: Against Nature?

Linear EQ is then covered as Dan takes us under the hood of this sometimes misunderstood digital EQ design. He highlights how linear phase designs can sound inherently unnatural, opposed to his often preferred choice of minimum phase EQ. This latter design differs owing to its natural phase shifts with frequency, as in sound through the air. Taking in its pros and cons, he also covers use cases for linear designs, firstly for sum and difference EQ techniques, followed by its usefulness when constructing crossovers in the box. Finally, he talks about the case for linear phase shelving boosts at HF that capitalise on the transient softening effects of the filters’ pre-ringing artefacts.

6 - 12:34: Simplicity Matters

Dan touches upon the classic Pultec ‘trick’ (in this case on bass drum) before reconstructing the same curves using a contemporary digital design to bolster missing frequencies. Using FabFilter’s ProQ3, he highlights how the ergonomics of a simple design trump any supposed technical superiority of others. He highlights the modern EQ tendency that presents the engineer with distracting response curves that might appear alarming at first glance. He then invites the listener to put their money where their mouth is by inviting them to discern between the results of rolling passive joy versus the result of long-winded deliberation.

7 - 14:17: Can Your EQ Do This?

Aside from considerations of ease or technical chops, the viewer is then reminded of when a go-to choice simply fails on features needed. Using the EQ matching chops of Nova Parallel Dynamic Equaliser Gentleman’s Edition MKII, Dan resolves the spectral personalities of two tracks that need to match in the mix. He then covers a feature unique to Nova’s Slick EQ Gentleman’s Edition that allows phase rotation in the LF band. It’s then suggested that the best way to deploy this hard-to-predict effect is simply just to try it and see whether it brings an improvement.

8 - 15:47: From The Horse’s Mouth

Dan points out how differing EQ topologies rarely interfere with what can be achieved, and demonstrates how different ones can be driven differently to achieve the same end result. He then highlights a highly insightful comment from the developer of the Nova Parallel Dynamic Equaliser. This points out how as a thoroughbred dynamic design, its intentionally parallel dynamic filters’ artefacts only sum as they are superimposed upon one another, contrasted with a ‘conventional’ series design where they are multiplied.

9 - 17:22: Conclusion: The Best Keep Learning

Wrapping up, the viewer is reminded how the engineer can be misled by their own preconceptions. Dan recalls an exchange where a developer highlights the actual function of a certain feature versus a preconceived one. In conclusion, Dan counters the hyperbole that can sometimes surround the tools in front of us and leaves us with a takeaway that will be a concurrence for some and a revelation for others…

Console photo by Steve Harvey on Unsplash