Do I need to do an EQ thing to my Audiobook??

[Rob Neidig]

Camille,

EQ is shorthand for “equalization”. That means adding or subtracting various frequencies to get your audio to sound its best. The simplest form of EQ is what you may have seen (or heard) on your home stereo (not many of those around anymore) or your car stereo system. They usually have a “Bass” and “Treble” control. Adobe Audition, and pretty much any audio editing software, just expands on that and allows you to not just choose a generic bass or treble, but gives the choice of multiple bands of frequencies to raise or lower to change the sound of your audio.

OK, with all of that said, how does your audio currently sound? For someone to say “…that one has to do an EQ to an audiobook” is ridiculous. It might need it, it might not. Only your ears can tell you that. In Audition, EQ is under “Effects”, then “Filter and EQ”, then choose “Graphic Equalizer”. There are choices for 10, 20, or 30 bands. Small changes (no more than maybe 3db in any band) are best. If you really need to make larger changes than that, then there is something seriously wrong with how it’s being recorded in the first place. Since you can always “Undo”, or just not save your results, I suggest applying a 30-band EQ to your file, then playing it back while moving each band of the equalizer up and down to hear how it affects your audio. That’s the best way to get familiar with it.

Have fun!

Rob

Rob Neidig
R&R Media Productions
Eugene, Oregon

[Chris Wright]

play some reference tones at different freqs, you’ll actually be able to match up 99%. It’s been done for 50 years this way.

[Camille Kleinman]

Hi Rob, Thank you for your reply! I’m sorry I didn’t answer you sooner, I was expecting to see an email when someone posts a reply but I didn’t get any from creativecow.

Thank you for explaining it so simply, I understand it better now.
I’m relieved it doesn’t sound too complex! I’ll try it out right away.

Thank you again
Camille