Antares TA-1VP Shelving Filters, Peaking Filter, Band Pass and Notch Filters

2 – Introducing the TASCAM TA-1VP Vocal Producer

Shelving Filters

Shelving filters are used primarily as “tone controls,” cutting or boosting whole regions of the spectrum. (You can think of them as fancy versions of the traditional “Bass” and “Treble” controls you’d find on home stereos or boom boxes.) A high shelf filter, for instance, acts by raising

or lowering the part of the spectrum above the cut-off frequency.

The graphs below show the response of the high shelf and low shelf filters at +12 dB gain. Notice that the slope of the roll-off is 6 dB per octave. The TA-1VP’s shelf filters provide a slope control that let’s you vary the filter’s slope between 2 dB and 12 dB per octave.

18						HS
LOG
MAGNITUDE
(dB)12							HIGH SHELF FILTER
6
							Frequency: 1,000 Hz
							Gain: +12 dB
0							Bandwidth: N/A
-6
50	100	300	1000	3000	10000	22050
			FREQUENCY

18 LS

LOG MAGNITUDE

(dB)12

6							LOW SHELF FILTER
							Frequency: 1,000 Hz
							Gain: +12 dB
0							Bandwidth: N/A
-6
50	100	300	1000	3000	10000	22050
			FREQUENCY

Peaking Filter

The peaking filter is the traditional fully parametric EQ. It can be used to subtly accentuate or attenuate a frequency or for much more radical effects.

In the TA-1VP, the peaking filter works over a range of

20 Hz to 20 kHz and can boost or cut the signal at the selected frequency by ± 18 dB. Additionally, you can vary the bandwidth from 0.1 to 4.0 octaves.

The graphs below show the effect of changing the bandwidth control of the peaking filter.

18						BP1
12							PEAKING FILTER
6
							Frequency: 1,000 Hz
LOG							Gain: +12 dB
MAGNITUDE							Bandwidth: 1.0 octave
(dB) 0
-6
50	100	300	1000	3000	10000	22050
			FREQUENCY

18						BP1
12							PEAKING FILTER
6
							Frequency: 1,000 Hz
LOG							Gain: +12 dB
MAGNITUDE							Bandwidth: 0.1 octave
(dB) 0
-6
50	100	300	1000	3000	10000	22050
			FREQUENCY

Band Pass and Notch Filters

Band pass and notch filters can be thought of as extreme examples of the peaking filter.

The Band Pass filter sharply attenuates all frequencies except for a band centered around the cutoff frequency. The width of the pass band is set by the bandwidth or “Q” control. The band pass filter is typically used to isolate a particular frequency range in a track or mix.

The Notch Filter passes all frequencies except for a band centered around the cutoff frequency, which is sharply attenuated. The width of the notch is also set by the “Q” control. The notch filter is used to eliminate unwanted sounds appearing at a specific frequency in a track or mix.

14 TASCAM TA-1VP