From the course: Audio Foundations: EQ and Filters

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EQ or compression first?

EQ or compression first?

From the course: Audio Foundations: EQ and Filters

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EQ or compression first?

One of the most common questions I get from my students is whether they should EQ their tracks before or after compression. And the answer I always give them is, that depends. I like to consider an addition- subtraction approach when deciding whether I want to EQ or compress first. What am I going to get rid of, and what do I want to play up or add? In the case of subtraction, I think about what part of the signal's frequency response do I not like or what I want to remove before the signal goes through a compressor or limiter. Why? Because I don't want the compressor's threshold to be triggered by material that I want to get rid of anyway. For example, if I have a loop with a ton of low end that I don't need, I might use an EQ to filter out all the bass frequencies before hitting the compressor. Since those bass frequencies will likely make up most of that signal's amplitude, they would likely influence the compressor's threshold in an undesirable way. Sometimes what happens when you…

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