Is there any specific way of adjusting an equalizer?

Question

I have no idea what any of these switches do!

Answer 1

How many slide rule controls do you have? Normally, there are as few as three up to as many as 31 per channel.

Look at an EQ (i.e. equalizer). It does the same job as a bass and treble controls on a receiver or amplifier, with just more specific frequency control. Wtih a simple bass and a treble knob, if you want to turn up or down the bass or treble, you simply adjust the knob accordingly. Likewise, the treble to the bass controls start from left to right. The further left the control, the lower the frequency is.

Now, experiment. Start with all controls set in the middle or at "0". Then lift the middle frequencies in a pyramid form with the centermost frequency set at the highest point. The vocals should be emphasised.

Now, try the treble, by moving the rightmost control at the highest level and taper the controls down as you move towards the left. This should brighten the sound.

Now, try the bass, by moving the leftmost control at the highest level and taper the controls down as you move towards the right. This should make the bass louder and seemingly deeper.

Keep experimenting. Eventually, you will be able to adjust the EQ to get the best sound quality for your ear and your room's acoustics.

TIP: DO NOT adjust the EQ while playing your system at high volumes. This may cause damage to your speakers. If you want to play at high volumes, make the necessary adjusments first, then resume to the desired volume. If the speakers start to distort or sound unclear, your volume may be too high for the EQ setting that you have selected.

Have fun and happy listening!

Answer 2

Let us consider for the moment a simple EQ with only 6 sliders.
They are set at the neutral or "flat" point, all sliders set along the center line. What ever music you pass through it then is not effected one way or the other. Now, if you move the left most slider half way to the top and the (going left to right) next one 1/4 of the way up, you will increase the base of the music only. Leaving them there and moving the right most slider up half way and the one to it's left up 1/4 way (same setting as the "base" sliders) and then move the center two down a bit below the center line, you get the "V" effect of the other answer. This enhances the base and the highs and lowers the effect of the mid tones. In other words, as you move a slider above the line you enhance that frequency group and as you move one down you attenuate that group. This lets you "tweak" the music to your choice. Music with a lot of drums would be boosted at the low frequencies and the cymbals tweaked at the highs. The mid rang settings can then be used to boost or attenuate other frequencies, boost, for example for the mid range for a singer but maybe cut for horns so they don't blare over the singer. Some sound cards come with built in EQs and even have some pre-set settings for different types of music. It realy becomes a personal choice. In pro. recording, EQing is done to compensate for many things, system frequency limmitations, hall or room effects, and all sorts of things.

Answer 3

Most of the time, you'll find the best sound when the lower and upper range are slightly higher than the mid-range (if your equalizer is comprised of several slide switches, this would form a shallow "V" shape). You may wish to play around with the positions, as the best sound is affected by several factors including the type of music you are listening to, and even the size and shape of the room.