The graphic equalizer in monitor mixing

In a live sound situation, the graphic equalizer can be one of your favorite friends, helping you crank as much volume as you can out of your monitors.

This is what it looks like:

What does it do?

A graphic equalizer has certain frequencies that you can either cut or boost. Hi-Fi stereos sometimes have these, as do some music amplifiers. These usually have around 10 frequency bands to work with but the professional models used in live sound have 31 frequencies to work with.

So as you can guess, 31 sliders allows you a certain degree of control over which frequencies get through.

And when working as a monitor mixer, these 31 sliders can be a life-saver. 

Make your monitor mixing shine

You see, certain frequencies are generally more susceptible to feedback than others. And some monitors, or speakers have a certain frequency curve that accent certain frequencies more than others.

Imagine the frequency response of a dynamic microphone. Monitor speakers react the same way. 

How to use the equalizer.

Above is the frequency response of a Shure SM58 dynamic microphone. Notice how some frequencies peak more than others? If this were a monitor graph, those frequencies would generate feedback first.

So what can you accomplish knowing which frequencies are more prominent than others?

By cutting or lowering only certain frequencies you can effectively raise the overall volume of the monitor.

So if you know the frequency specifications of a speaker this comes very easy as you can just pinpoint the frequencies that have more power and cut them. 

By carefully cutting these frequencies and then raising the volume you get what we call a flat frequency response. But usually, in a live situation, you don't get the brochure with the specifications when you're setting up so you have to figure it out the hard way.

The hard way is searching for feedback by generating feedback.

First order of business in increasing the volume of the speaker and making the feedback frequencies pop out. By that I mean turning the volume up until it starts making a little feedback noise. After a while you get to recognize the frequencies and you instinctively cut the ones you know are going to be problematic.

Be careful with the volume knob because you don't want screeching feedback on stage, just a little noticeable sound that tells you it's almost going to scream at you.

When it starts to hum, fiddle around with the sliders on the graphic equalizer. Try boosting certain frequencies and see if they add to the feedback.

If the monitor starts screeching then you can cut that frequency a little and raise the volume a little more.

Repeat this exercise, raising the volume until feedback and then finding the offending frequencies and cutting them. Some frequencies may generate feedback more than others, and usually the high-mids are the most problematic regions.

When you end up with a monitor that can't be raised any higher unless all the frequencies feed back then you know you have a fairly flat frequency response.

Conclusion

Now you know how you can use the graphic equalizer to it's full potential. By carefully finding frequencies that generate feedback easily you can get way more power out of your monitors, making it easier for the band to hear themselves.

Having a happy band is crucial to a good show so you should do whatever you can to make their stage sound good. Being a monitor mixer is a demanding job and there are some techniques that are different to those of a live mixer(FOH) or a studio mixer.

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For more tips in the live sound department click here.

5 Tips on Effective Monitor Mixing!

For another article on the graphic equalizer and monitor mixing, check out my article on Audiotuts

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