Quick Tips for Vocal EQ and Tonal Balancing (EQ 4 U)
EQ 4 U - Audio post production is an enormously complicated subject, and involves a nearly unlimited number of tools and techniques. One of the most basic of these is, of course, EQ. EQ is an incredibly powerful tool for a wide range of purposes, but one of the most important is touching up your audio in subtle ways to make it sound richer, clearer, and overall more polished. Here is a simple process that I frequently start with when working on spoken word audio.
STEP 1 - First, for almost all recordings of human voices, the lowest frequencies never fall under 100 Hz. Because of this, you can safely cut out anything below that threshold without affecting the quality of the audio, while simultaneously removing a ton of pesky low end rumble. Be warned: some people do have very deep voices that may be affected by this change, so try toggling it on and off to make sure you’re not removing any important frequencies.
STEP 2 - The next step is to boost the low end of their voice, just above our 100 Hz cutoff. I usually gently increase the frequencies around 150 Hz. This will make their voice sound richer and more full. Remember, a little bit goes a long way in this context. The difference between before and after should be very subtle, and just barely audible to your own ear when comparing the two.
STEP 3 - Next, I usually like to walk back a narrow band of frequencies around 400-500 Hz. Reducing these frequencies slightly can eliminate a “boxy” or “honky” quality to your audio. I like to use a narrow band boost and sweep from 400-800 Hz, looking for where the “boxiness” is most pronounced, and then reduce it slightly. This change can help a lot in many contexts, but for some audio it will likely be unnecessary. Use your ears and make a decision as to whether or not this adjustment is necessary.
STEP 4 - Finally, you can give your subject’s voice a little more power and presence by boosting the frequencies around 5000 Hz. Once again, this kind of adjustment should be made very subtle, since too much intensity around these frequencies can make your subject’s voice sound harsh and abrasive. If your original audio sounds “muffled”, this adjustment will likely help to dramatically improve the overall quality of your sound.
OPTIONAL - Sometimes cutting off most of the frequencies above 10,000-12,000 Hz can help reduce certain types of high frequency noise. Be careful with this however, since taking too many of these frequencies out of your speaker’s voice can make their audio sound dull and muted.
SUMMARY - This guide will help you find a good starting point for your audio, but make sure you’re customizing this procedure as needed. Everyone’s voice is different and the conditions that they recorded under can vary dramatically. What works for one recording might make another sound awful. For this reason, be sure to listen critically and make adjustments to get the best possible sound.