User Manual
4. Applications & Techniques (contd.)
technique is quite common in recording or production studios to tailor a sound for its eventual reproduction medium.
c) Elimination of "sibilance"
Sibilance is the noise which occurs when someone is speaking who either has a "hissy" voice or who is using words with the letter ‘s’ in them, e.g. ‘sibilance’. This can become annoying to a listener and the graphic equaliser can be used to overcome this problem by either removing or reducing the offending frequency.
Graphic equalisers can also be used in conjunction with compressors to create a ‘de- esser’, which can respond to ‘s’ sounds in a signal and reduce the level accordingly. To create this effect, insert the graphic EQ into the compressor’s sidechain and boost the frequencies in which the sibilance occurs. While this seems counterintuitive, boosting increases the compressor’s sensitivity to these frequencies, meaning that when they are most present, the compressor will reduce the signal level, thereby stopping the sibilance from reaching its full volume. Because the EQ is inserted into the compressor’s sidechain and not the signal path, the EQ boost will be inaudible at the compressor’s output.
d) Elimination of "proximity effect"
Cardioid microphones usually have a low frequency emphasis, which in certain situations can present problems. For example, speech over a public address system can sound muffled and lose intelligibility if the microphone’s response is particularly bassy. The graphic equaliser can eliminate this by reducing or removing the unwanted frequency.
e) Sound effects
By using the graphic equaliser creatively a sound may be completely changed and effects obtained. The most common sound effect created in this way is the "telephone voice" which can make even an expensive studio microphone sound like a telephone handset. To create this effect, first set the
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