Hi Mid And Freq - Mackie SR40.8 Owner's Manual

EQ
Point Before: Channel mic/line preamp,
Channel INSERT SEND and RETURN
Point After: MUTE , PFL feed to Channel
and SOLO
Meter
The SR40•8 has a 4-band, dual-mid-sweep
equalization: HI shelving at 12kHz; HI-MID
bandpass, swept from 500Hz to 15kHz; LOW-
MID bandpass, swept from 45Hz to 3kHz; and
LOW shelving at 80Hz. Chances are, it's all
the equalization you'll ever need. Shelving
means that the circuitry boosts or cuts all
frequencies past the specified frequency. For
example, the SR40•8's LOW shelving EQ
boosts (or cuts) bass frequencies starting at
80Hz, and all frequencies below. Bandpass
means that gain levels form a "hill" around
the center frequency.
With too much equalization, you can screw
things up royally. We've designed a lot of boost
and cut into each equalizer circuit because we
know everyone will occasionally need that. But
if you max the EQ on every Channel, you'll get
mix mush. Equalize subtly and use the left sides
of the knobs (cut), as well as the right (boost).
If you find yourself repeatedly using full boost or
cut, consider altering the sound source, such as
placing a mic differently, trying a different kind
of mic, changing the strings, or gargling.
Be aware: The HI-MID and LOW-MID fre-
quencies can be set to the same frequencies as
the HI and LOW shelving EQs. This is usually
not a problem, but it is unnecessary by virtue
of being redundant, and can sometimes cause
clipping. For instance, if you fully boost the
LOW-MID, with the FREQ set at 80Hz, and
fully boost the LOW shelving, preset at 80Hz,
you'll be asking for 30dB of gain at 80Hz! If you
started out with signal with a 0dB level at that
frequency, you'd be clipping for sure.
.
.
HI 12K
The HI EQ provides up to 15dB boost or cut
at 12kHz, and is flat (no boost or cut) at the de-
tent. Use it to add sizzle to cymbals, an overall
sense of transparency, or an edge to keyboards,
vocals, guitar, and bacon frying. Turn it down a
little to reduce sibilance, minimize high fre-
quency leakage, or to mask hiss caused by a
frugal client's fifty-cent cassette tape.
+15
+10
+5
0
–5
–10
–15
20 100
Hz Hz
HI MID and FREQ
The HI-MID EQ has a fixed bandwidth of 1.5
octaves. The HI-MID knob sets the amount of
boost or cut up to 15dB, and is flat at the center
detent. The FREQ knob sets the center fre-
quency, sweepable from 500Hz to 15kHz.
+15
+10
+5
0
–5
–10
–15
20 100
Hz Hz
+15
+10
+5
0
–5
–10
–15
20 100
Hz Hz
Most of the root and lower harmonics that
define a sound are located in the 100Hz–
10kHz frequency range, and you can create
drastic changes with these four midrange
knobs. Many engineers use mid EQ to cut mid-
range frequencies, not boost them. One
popular trick is to set mid gain fully up, turn
the associated FREQ knob until you find a
point where it sounds just terrible, then back
the mid down into the cut range, causing those
terrible frequencies to disappear. Sounds silly,
but it works. Sometimes.
1k 10k 20k
Hz Hz Hz
1k 10k 20k
Hz Hz Hz
1k 10k 20k
Hz Hz Hz
21
U
EQ
HI
12k
-15 +15
U
HI
MID
-15 +15
2.5k
700 6k FREQ
500 15k
U
LOW
MID
-15 +15
250
70 700 FREQ
45 3k
U
LOW
80Hz
-15 +15
HPF
150
EQ IN
75 220
FREQ
45 350
30 800
L R
PAN
40
MUTE
dB
5 1-2
3-4
U
5-6
5
7-8
CENTER
L-R
50
60
O O
SOLO