ABSTRACT
Equalizers (EQ) were first developed for use with telephone systems to help counter high-frequency losses due to the inherent capacitance of very long wires. A graphic EQ divides the audible spectrum into five or more frequency bands and allows adjusting each band independently via a boost/cut control. The instinctive way to use a parametric EQ is to set it for some amount of boost, then twiddle the frequency until the instrument or mix sounds better. Useful frequency processor is the formant filter, which emulates the human vocal tract to add a vocal quality to synthesizers and other instrument. Vocal tuning, or pitch correction, is common in pop music, and sophisticated formant filtering has improved the effect considerably compared to early plug-ins. The chapter covers common frequency processors, mostly EQ, but also several methods for imparting a human voice quality onto musical instruments.
