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7. High-shelving drum loops with parallel EQ

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Using a pair of high-shelving EQs can be a very useful way to shape the high and/or low end of drum loops. To demonstrate this, we’re going to use DDMF’s IIEQPro CM, which you can find in the CM Plugins folder at FileSilo. Create a new audio track in your DAW and drag Dub beat.wav onto it. 3

Now click the Band 1 button and select Band 2. Set this band to HighShelf as well, and this time move the node to -7dB at 100Hz. The white line displays the overall effect of the two bands, revealing that by using two high-shelf EQs we’ve created a curve that we couldn’t have made using just one. (Audio: Serial high-shelves.wav) 5

As well as using the Frequency and Gain parameters, we can also use Q to control the shape of the EQ – and IIEQPro CM’s Q can get pretty extreme. For example, by tuning Band 2’s Q up to 3.00 we can remove the low end of the reverb from the beat while simultaneously boosting the kick. (Audio: Boosted Q.wav) 2

Insert IIEQPro CM onto the audio track. Click the Off button on the bottom row to pick an EQ type. Select HighShelf and an orange node appears at the left-hand side of the graphical display above. Drag this to the +5dB position at 2000Hz. 4

Click the Serial button on the right to switch to IIEQPro CM’s unusual Parallel mode. In this mode, each band works on a dry version of the signal rather than one that’s already been processed. This affects the overall sound of the EQ, illustrated by the change in the shape of the white line. (Audio: Parallel high-shelves.wav) 6

Finally, let’s try out IIEQ Pro CM’s all-pass filter mode. In serial mode this doesn’t do a whole lot, but in parallel mode it has a quite dramatic effect. Select Band 3 and set it to APF. Now, when you sweep its frequency up and down, you’ll see that the overall EQ warps around its position – this is ideal for experimenting with different frequency responses.