📊EQ Basics

When working with live recordings or samples, EQ (short for equalizer) is a good way to modify and cut out or parts of sounds, such as ambient noise and clicks, or make a sound sit better in the mix by changing the volume of certain frequencies. To add EQ, select the track you want it on and then open the Inspector by pressing “ I “. Click in the “Audio FX” section, mouse over “EQ”, and select “Channel EQ” (there are other EQs but Channel EQ is the one I use the most). You may know what frequencies you want to change or just go by ear, in which case you can change them by dragging the dots in the equalizer window or entering numbers in the frequency, amplitude, and resonance fields along the bottom of the window. However, Channel EQ has an “Analyzer” feature that will give a visual representation of the amplitude of audible frequencies, as shown below:

A.

Using this visualization, you can identify which frequencies might be too loud, or you can visually find certain frequencies you want to modify (for instance, to highlight a certain pitch, or cut out an undesired, noisy frequency). To do this, click one of the colored dots, and then drag the window to make it narrow, like below.

B.

This increases the resonance at that frequency, effectively functioning as a band-pass filter. Then drag the dot up or down to increase or decrease the volume at that frequency, and move the dot left and right until you find the frequency you want to change. If desired, once you’ve found the frequency you want, you can change the resonance back by making the box wider to do more subtle changes.