[nsjong]

So my friend asks me what custom EQ is...

As in the 5 - 20 bars of custom EQ things you can change on your MP3 player or your media player.

Can anyone give me some help?

 

[saint.panda]

A custom EQ is a weird phrase because all EQs are custom. It probably appeared after the introduction of fixed eq presets like "rock", "pop", etc. on various portable players and compact stereo systems.

The 5-20 bars you described is a normal graphic equalizer where you have fixed frequencies and you just change the gain. The other type of eq is a parametric eq where you can change the center frequency, bandwidth and gain. A parametric eq gives you more flexibility and offers arguably better sound quality but is also more difficult to handle. A graphic eq on the other hand is 'what you see is what you get'. The eq on foobar, for instance, would be the graphic type where you can kind of "draw" the desired frequency response.

If you want to know more about Eqs, check the equalizer section on rane.com
http://www.rane.com/library.html

 

[nsjong]

Okay. Thanks.

 

[saint.panda]

Umm, just play with the sliders. There's nothing complicated about a graphic eq at all. Push up / down a slider and the designated frequency range gets louder / less loud. I'm not sure what else there is to know. What you see is what you get.

There are some basic rules and guidelines to more advanced EQ-ing but most of it with will come with experience and I doubt the eq your friends uses is very high quality if he doesn't know how to use it. One thing is that taking away is usually better than adding gain. For the full work-out, there's Steve Hoffman's "lesson on EQ": http://www.netassoc.net/dougspage/HoffLesson1.htm

But for a simple eq on a mp3 player or media player, just play a bit with the sliders.