Quick Tips: EQing Monitors

Now we’ve all been there… Ringing out monitors and you can’t quite get hold of a frequency that is feeding back, or when you do, the monitor just sounds dull and dead….

Here are a few quick tips to help you out…

To Start

Two people makes things EASY
- One person on the mic/wedge and one at the console/EQ makes the whole process go much faster.
Graphic Equalizers are a must. Or in Digital World, a 5+ Band Parametric EQ
Make any corrections to the tone of the Microphone on the channel, the rest on the Graphic EQ
- Example: High Pass Filters, The Annoying 200-250 Hz “Woof” of a SM58 or the 400-500 Hz Bump on a Sennheiser Vocal Mic
Bring up the Vocal Slowly, to Avoid Hurting Your Ears. No one Likes the Sound of Feedback

Prepare for the Evening

Working with one artist you know always remember
- EQ to their Mic Handling, and their Taste (IE, liking it Crispy or with a little Extra “oomph” in the low mids)
Working with multiple Arists, IE a House Gig
- Prepare for the Genre (Singer Songwriters are quiet, Rock Acts are Loud and Cup the Mic, Ect)
Always attempt to Emulate what the artist will be doing (IE Cupping the Mic when ringing if thats most likely, take off your hat/glasses if the artist doesn’t wear them)

Ringing Out

Get to know your Frequencies (download test tones to practice, get your 1k 2k whistle down)
Don’t cut too much (start with 3dB cuts, and cut more as needed to avoid dull-ness)
Always remember, feedback can be between Frequencies
- Try cutting a little of two frequencies next to eachother, rather than gouging one frequency
Know your Limits
- When you’ve made some decent cuts, and the Volume gets to 11, you’ll have 3-5 different frequencies take off at once. That’s the point of no return. You COULD cut these frequencies and continue, but at the cost any clarity in the wedge.
Most Importantly, 90% of the time the rule is…
- QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
- A performer will be able to hear a wedge much better over their band/amp if the high mid range (1k-6.3k) is fairly present. You can add all the volume in the world if these are lacking, the monitors still won’t cut through.

Final Touches

Get your Vocal Stable (No Feedback) at a max volume, then bring back the send some to give you some headroom if the artist needs more (some artists ask for more vocals my default, no matter how loud it is)
Always use a Cue wedge without an EQ on it to listen to your Lead vocal during the show. It’ll allow you to hear feedback that is about to go off before the artist, hopefully letting you solve the problem before it manifests.