So during my school time I tried and take some good notes on EQ! Why? Because everyone always talked about EQ and I never really understood it. Producers engineers are always explaining EQ but never really giving theral explanations of what it is, so I hope this clarifies some of the answers you might! As thus an aspiring producer engineer DJ I always refer to my notes and practices to become better each day!

We use EQ to correct or enhance a tone of an instrument or vocal.

Tone- Is the sound quality that helps us determine differences between sounds & is related to instrument timbre.
Fundamental- Root pitch the instrument or vocal is performing
Harmonic (Overtones)- Extra pitches generated by the instrument or vocal at a lesser volume.

EQ allow us to change the balance between the fundamental & the various harmonics.
This is why the tone changes

EQs use frequency as a measurement instead of pitch.(numbers instead of letters.)
Frequency= how many cycles occur in 1 second, measured as Hertz (Hz). We use kiloHertz at & above 1000Hz (1kHz)

**Left Low- Mid Mid- Right High**

How loud a sound is the amplitude.
Amplitude is usually expressed in decibels, abbreviated dB.
EQ allows us to change the volume of a range of frequencies to our liking. (Change the tone)

Types of EQ curves
Bell Curve
Used to increase or decrease a wide range of frequencies. (more overall mid range, less overall mid range etc.)
Peak
Used to increase or decrease a targeted range of frequencies (More punch in a kick, More bite in a snare).
Notch
Used to decrease a specific problem frequency (A resonance in a single bass note or synth, a ring in a snare drum). 449hz -12.8 db Q 8.57
High Shelf
Used to decrease or increase the overall brightness (adds air to a vocalist, add sizzle to a synth or snare). 3.54hz 7.56db Q 0.71
Low Shelf
Used to increase or decrease the overall bass (reduce rumble in a sound, increase low end power in a bass). 255z -6.32db Q 0.71
High Pass Filter
Used to eliminate bass frequencies (clean up unwanted bass from a hi hat or vocalist, sweep for effect).
Low Pass Filter
Used to eliminate high frequency (clean up unwanted high frequencies on a bass or synth, sweep for effect) 2.37 kHz 0.00db Q 0.72
Band Stop Filter
Used to eliminate a group of frequencies (seep for effect). 790hz 0.00db Q 0.61

This is a good reference for beginners. I hope to see more stuff like this posted in the forums, as well as more advanced concepts explained too!

Good writeup.

I think that it might be a good idea to begin compiling sticky threads that relate to general topics like these, just to make it easier for beginners to get started.

I agree, very helpful thread for beginners.

@OP, I've sticky'd this so that more people can read it.

feel free to add this into the OP if you want... just a useful tip for beginners on EQ sweeping to find those pesky frequencies.

Set a bell curve with a high Q and headphones on (so you can hear the frequencies while you sweep) then, when you find the annoying one just flip the gain from really high to really low.

this is what i call "eqing with your ear" and has helped me alot in the last year of production

feel free to add this into the OP if you want... just a useful tip for beginners on EQ sweeping to find those pesky frequencies.

Set a bell curve with a high Q and headphones on (so you can hear the frequencies while you sweep) then, when you find the annoying one just flip the gain from really high to really low.

i agree this is a good technique but i think it's important to mention that completely removing that frequency isn't always the perfect solution - sometimes that really harsh frequency still holds important harmonic content. if you completely remove that frequency sometimes you end up going down the path of repeatedly finding resonances across the spectrum and you can end up with so many notches that the sound is completely ruined in the end - sometimes it's better to find that pesky frequency and simply lower it a few db

edit: also to be noted that sometimes the resonance can come from your playback medium / room - always a good idea to quickly reference on another pair of speakers or headphones before cutting the frequency out just in case you're addressing the wrong issue lol

i agree this is a good technique but i think it's important to mention that completely removing that frequency isn't always the perfect solution - sometimes that really harsh frequency still holds important harmonic content. if you completely remove that frequency sometimes you end up going down the path of repeatedly finding resonances across the spectrum and you can end up with so many notches that the sound is completely ruined in the end - sometimes it's better to find that pesky frequency and simply lower it a few db

edit: also to be noted that sometimes the resonance can come from your playback medium / room - always a good idea to quickly reference on another pair of speakers or headphones before cutting the frequency out just in case you're addressing the wrong issue lol

yeaa i used to pull it so far that you can't hear it anymore. my lead sounded like shit suddenly hahaha
<3 this

I'll add another tip. When doing subtractive EQ, I toggle between solo/non-solo modes on the instrument I'm EQing to make sure I like the change with everything added back in. If you do a lot of surgical EQ only in solo mode, you could run into the issue of your track sounding dry and not "glued" together.

I'm posting this from another thread but I feel that it's definitely useful here. Thanks aspenfox for posting this.