Dear Elektronauts,
I‘ve been reading a bit about synthesis lately (Synth secrets by SOS Magazine) and wondered, what the actual difference between an EQ and a Filter is?
Obviously a filter can be modulated by Envelopes, LFO‘s etc, but the same is possible with EQ‘s if they offer this function or in most DAWs. I also know that each Filter changes the Phase of a sound, which is one of the key reason why each filter has a signature sound. Tho i find that different EQ‘s also sound different, so isn‘t it just one and the same thing or am i missing something?
filters should color the sound, and are loved for that characteristic sound.
if we imagine characterless filter, it would be boring AF.
EQs should be neutral.
Bitwig can modulate just about any parameter on any plugin. But as @chaocrator said, most EQs tend to be more neutral. But then you get others like WaveFactory Spectre which combines EQ and saturation and process.audio Sugar which combines EQ and compression etc. The EQs on analog mixing desks are said to have character EQs – this is probably to do with the curves used combined with pushing things into light saturation. As for why EQ and filters are different on a technical level, I don’t know. But try Bitwig if you want to modulate everything. It’s great.
Theoretically speaking, filters and EQs work on the exact same principles. EQs are pretty much just an array of filters, and they both affect the phase similarly. However because they’re intended for different purposes, they tend to be implemented differently to one another.
…filters try to colour…eq’s try to be accurate…so, yes, ur assumption is correct…
same same but different…an “eq” is always a filter, while a “filter” is nothing but an eq with some sort of personal “charme”…
Thank you for the replies. I agree that most Eq‘s sound more natural than filters but i wouldn’t underestimate the sound-shaping abilities of an EQ. My favorite EQ for example is the one on my old Tascam M06 mixing desk. It just sounds gorgeous and i put the high shelf on almost everything
…oooook…on the nitpicking side, we have to say, with the equalizer u want to accuratly as possible shape and tame the whole possible frequency bands…while with the filter u want to emphasize and or drown certain areas of the whole possible frequency bands…
happy now?
…“people” are obsessed with many things…
most “people” just don’t know all the dry physics behind the tools and toys the got in use and love to fool themselves or get fooled by marketing/propaganda speak and spell…
while in the real world, with a full fledged 8 band eq u can “replicate” any kind of filter “signature”, end of the day…it’s simply way more comforting and instrumental like fun to twiddle one “frequency” knob and one “resonance” knob on top of a certain kind of prefab cirquit constallation…
all the difference we tend to like or dislike are various saturation settings and how this treats the harmonic and disharmonic ratios of the partials in relation to a certain frequency band and how steep it’s individual curve might behave…
I agree but i personally think it‘s worth it to dig a bit deeper into the physics and theory behind it, than just scratching the surface. Because if you‘re able to understand it better the knowledge can translate into new creative ideas:) also with the right tools you can then start to recreate stuff and experiment on the go, as for example with a modular system, like i do.
…yup, took me ages to realize what i can actually do with “nothing” but white or pink noise and an automated eq with just the right frequency bands emphasized…
compression and eq are serious music instruments all on their own…
and in case anybody wonders, just go and download a bitwig demo and see and learn for urself about the endless wonders of simple but also not so simple physics and math behind it all, when it comes to all sorts of music and sound creation…
demystify the whole sonic game of urs to free ur skills and minds and those of others…
…yeah…for full circle and back to the beginning, we can totally agree that the famous individual “soundsignatures” of a pultec or a neve EQ pretty much act like FILTERS again…
To mention this again: i can highly recommend the Synth Secrets series on the Sound on Sound website. For me it‘s a brilliant explanation, walking on the edge between musical output and physics/maths
