A QUESTION ABOUT PROCESSING ORDER.

When approaching the production of a podcast episode, it’s always worth thinking about processing order.  Do you place dynamics before EQ, or should one EQ first, and then apply dynamics?  Here’s a brief look at what happens in both circumstances.

Dynamics, then EQ:  Use of dynamics changes the tone of the signal being processed.  By placing dynamics first in the chain one can EQ the signal plus the changes in tone that dynamics processing contributes to the overall sound of the signal.  That way, EQ can be used to mitigate, or enhance any coloration dynamics contributes to the signal.  The issue here though is that by using EQ after dynamics, changes in frequency ranges may reduce or exceed headroom. This can be accounted for by using dynamics to increase headroom, allowing more space for EQ-ing to take place.  In general, any changes to EQ may require changes to dynamic settings to compensate so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on metering within your plugins.

EQ, then dynamics:  Use of EQ first in the chain means that once you get your EQ set it is then filtered through dynamics processing which changes the tone of the signal post-EQ, and may change the character of a carefully set EQ.  If this happens, you may need to go back and re-adjust EQ, but this will affect dynamics processing, and may cause you to have to go back to readjust EQ again…  On the other hand, having dynamics after the EQ can help smooth out any peak excursions caused by raising the level of the frequencies that are being EQ-ed.  Any changes to dynamics may require changes to EQ settings to compensate.

The idea of using two EQs, one before processing and one after processing has appeal, with the first EQ acting as a corrective EQ before dynamics, and the EQ after dynamics being used as an enhancement, or to adjust changes the dynamics have added to the sound.  When beginning a project, it is important to understand what the goal for each processing module is, and how each processing module affects, and is affected by other modules in the processing chain.  That way there will be a clear reason to use one or two EQs in the processing chain, and a clear reason to use or not use dynamics or other processing.

In sum, it’s important to keep in mind that the order in which signal passes through processing affects and alters how that signal sounds.

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