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  • Essay / Tonal Balance and EQs in Audio Production

    Equalizers are a very familiar aspect of any engineer's life. Even the average person who has no real knowledge of audio engineering knows what an equalizer is and, essentially, how it works in a simple world. Equalizers have undergone many major changes over the years, but they have retained their primary purpose and functions. In the early years of equalizers, they were used for audio receivers and phonographs to solve clarity problems. They were fixed and integrated into the actual circuits of the systems and could not be modified afterwards. Thanks to the film industry, with the inclusion of sound, came the emergence of external equalizers that could be varied. Most notably, the external equalizer designed by John Volkman in the 1930s featured a set of selectable frequencies with boosts and cuts and is sometimes considered the first operator-variable equalizer. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay After 1950, equalizer began to develop even further for use in post-production for audio recordings and was used for speech enhancement. Graphic equalizers provided additional assistance by allowing necessary frequencies to be added and removed to a certain extent, but due to their design of being locked to a certain frequency, there was still a limit to what could be done . The evolution of audio equalizers has progressed, which eliminates the problems discussed. With the advent of parametric equalizers, it has become a more precise method of filtering frequencies that was not previously possible. Parametric equalizers were capable of sweeping frequencies and could then be reduced or boosted to the necessary levels. This would greatly help reduce unwanted noise that can come from boosting frequencies in a graphic equalizer, allowing the exact frequencies to be controlled only on a specific band. Over the years, different brands of equalizers have appeared on the market and each has its own characteristics that make them unique. One such EQ is the Massive Passive EQ from Manley Labs. Its name reflects its design based on passive electronic components. Passive components do not require an electrical signal to power them, but transmit their characteristics when a signal passes through them. It also uses a booster amplifier that operates from six valve tubes that neutralize electrical losses caused by passive components (2013). . Emulations of this specific equalizer became available from the Universal Audio company with the advent of the UAD2 Massive Passive plugin. Universal Audio took various steps to emulate this hardware and turn it into a software replica capable of reproducing the distinct characteristics of the Massive Passive. To add even more authenticity, the plug-in affects the sound even when the EQ sections are disengaged, simulating the coloration created by simply passing audio through transformers and tube circuits. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a custom essayAs the years go by, equalizers will continue to play a vital role in audio production. With new inventions creating new and innovative ways to shape frequencies, equalizers will always play a role in how we interact with..