Cutting Frequencies?

J

Jimmy Hardin

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Jan 29, 2013
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I have this video that is on you tube about cutting frequencies on the mid sweep on the board.

My question is this , on the board that he is using it has the little grey knob that you can turn and then a blue knob that is inside the grey one. my mixer isn't like that so how do you turn "the mid gain" all the way up to cut the frequency like he is doing in the video? What knob on the other mixers would take the place of it? here is the video.

AV Genius "How to Mix" series - The "Cut" Method - YouTube
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Most mid level mixers for live sound have a separate knob for mid EQ gain and one for mid EQ frequency rather than the concentric knobs he is using. Which mixer do you have?
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Turning the mid gain all the way up isn't what cuts the frequency, turning it down cuts it.

Keep in mind that a lot of things will sound bad if you boost them all the way up, max EQ boost is 15dB on a lot of boards. It might be better to just play music through your mixer and play around with the EQ to get used to what it does, what different frequency ranges sound like when cut and when boosted.

When you hear a sound you don't like you'll then be able to say "hey, that's what is sounds like when there's too much 800hz, lets cut that a bit".

Chris
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Oh , I forgot to tell yall the mixer i have , sorry for that. I have the Behringer sx2442fx mixer. sorry for my absent mindedness. lol
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Jimmy Hardin said:
I have the Behringer sx2442fx mixer.
Click to expand...

It has fixed frequency high and low shevles and one sweepable mid range control than can centre the EQ band anywhere from 100 Hz to 8 kHz.

I'm only going from the pictures on their website, but of the 4 blue knobs that make up the channel EQ section the top one is the gain (make it louder or quieter) control for the high shelf, the bottom knob is the gain for the low shelf and the middle two knobs are the mid range control. The top one of these two is the same colour as the others so it's probably a gain knob too, this would be the mid range gain control. The knob below this is a lighter colour than the rest, so it's does something different, namely mid range sweep control. The gain control changes how much louder or how much quieter you are making the frequency range that is selected by the sweep control.

Note that you are affecting a band or frequencies not just one individual frequency. The gain applied to the centre frequency will be as shown on the gain knob with the applied gain change moving closer to zero the further a frequency is away from the centre frequency.

As your middle two EQ knobs relate to the console in the video the grey ring in the video is like your light blue knob and the blue knob in the video is like your darker blue knob.

Chris
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Chris Nixon said:
It has fixed frequency high and low shevles and one sweepable mid range control than can centre the EQ band anywhere from 100 Hz to 8 kHz.

I'm only going from the pictures on their website, but of the 4 blue knobs that make up the channel EQ section the top one is the gain (make it louder or quieter) control for the high shelf, the bottom knob is the gain for the low shelf and the middle two knobs are the mid range control. The top one of these two is the same colour as the others so it's probably a gain knob too, this would be the mid range gain control. The knob below this is a lighter colour than the rest, so it's does something different, namely mid range sweep control. The gain control changes how much louder or how much quieter you are making the frequency range that is selected by the sweep control.

Note that you are affecting a band or frequencies not just one individual frequency. The gain applied to the centre frequency will be as shown on the gain knob with the applied gain change moving closer to zero the further a frequency is away from the centre frequency.

As your middle two EQ knobs relate to the console in the video the grey ring in the video is like your light blue knob and the blue knob in the video is like your darker blue knob.

Chris
Click to expand...

Thats what i had in mind that it was like. when i setup i always keep them at 12 o clock.sometimes i cut and sometimes i dont , but i really havent gotten into it enough to make the drastic changes that can be made within my mix. i am going to start looking at that and learning to cut what i need.
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

+1 to what Chris said. The method in the video is a really good way to start learning about subtractive EQ. I could almost write a book on the subject but the bottom line is the more unwanted stuff you can pull out of your mix before you send it to be amplified the better. I will give you a couple of easy things you can do with your EQ to try out that method. On drums I like to just do a full all the way to the left cut and sweep the center frequency until it sounds the best. Try these frequencies to start with and see what sounds best: Kik drum 240hz, Toms 450hz, snare 400hz (although I usually only cut 3-5db). It is always going to depend on the system, room, and tuning of the kit but this will give you an idea.
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Eric Cagle said:
+1 to what Chris said. The method in the video is a really good way to start learning about subtractive EQ. I could almost write a book on the subject but the bottom line is the more unwanted stuff you can pull out of your mix before you send it to be amplified the better. I will give you a couple of easy things you can do with your EQ to try out that method. On drums I like to just do a full all the way to the left cut and sweep the center frequency until it sounds the best. Try these frequencies to start with and see what sounds best: Kik drum 240hz, Toms 450hz, snare 400hz (although I usually only cut 3-5db). It is always going to depend on the system, room, and tuning of the kit but this will give you an idea.
Click to expand...

ok i will try that eric. one question i want to ask,now that you mentioned drums, My kick is usually a pretty hot signal right from the get go, could me not cutting it some be the reason it's so hot to the point of clipping?
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Jimmy;
One thing to remember also. Some boards have the Aux sends or Monitor sends POST EQ or the send is after the eq section. Be carefull doing this live. You may want to have your monitor system off when doing this. That much gain might just send your monitor system into full feedback.
Douglas R. Allen
 
Re: Cutting Frequencies?

Douglas R. Allen said:
Jimmy;
One thing to remember also. Some boards have the Aux sends or Monitor sends POST EQ or the send is after the eq section. Be carefull doing this live. You may want to have your monitor system off when doing this. That much gain might just send your monitor system into full feedback.
Douglas R. Allen
Click to expand...


If i am not mistaken the EQ on mine doesn't even effect the monitors, Just the house. I will keep that in mind though. Thanks.
 
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