Best Way to EQ Ear Piercing Frequency?

dannyp64

dannyp64

Member
Can anyone provide suggestions on cutting out ear piercing frequencies on Fractal amp tones? I notice that most of the amps I choose have an ear piercing frequency happening around 4k. I notice it very much on my Audeze headphones (notoriously bright headphones) vs my studio monitors. But because I hear it on my headphones I know it’s there and want to cut it out. On my headphones I have to use the PEQ and dip it at 4k but my Q needs to be pretty wide and more than -10db in order to tame it. But because the q is wide and -10, it’s taking away some of the dynamics in the 3-4k range.

Any suggestions? I want a narrow q and a -3DB cut but it’s just not enough of a cut to tame the pierce…

Edit - I originally posted about hearing the pierce in my headphones but I can also hear it on my KRK studio monitors. In fact, the below video has the piercing I’m talking about. At the 1:21-1:22 minute mark, you can hear the piercing frequency sneak in for a minuscule second. This is the piercing I’m trying to get rid of without killing the high end tone that isn’t the piercing frequency…

 
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Using the block library for a specific peq for the headphones makes sense, as does simply replacing them.
 
dannyp64 said:
Good suggestion but I have been testing different IRs and it’s always there in the same spot. 4k.
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This is quite suspicious. Are you saying this is the issue with Fractal tones only or in general?
If Fractal only - are you choosing those amps and IRs for a specific preset you've created or factory presets have this issue also?
Are you running Fractal direct to your monitors or it goes to a mixer/interface of some kind first which might have this freq elevated?
 
Chromatizm said:
This is quite suspicious. Are you saying this is the issue with Fractal tones only or in general?
If Fractal only - are you choosing those amps and IRs for a specific preset you've created or factory presets have this issue also?
Are you running Fractal direct to your monitors or it goes to a mixer/interface of some kind first which might have this freq elevated?
Click to expand...
TRS out of the Fractal to an SSL mixer. Then I use York Audio IRs.

I’m pretty sure my ToneX did the same thing in the 3-4k range. But I’m really noticing it now with my Fractal because I’m paying more attention to it as I get better at listening and hearing unwanted frequencies. This isn’t a knock of Fractal. I love the unit and think the worlds of what it does. I’m just trying to dial it in.
 
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Parametric EQ - put the Q as high as you can (so as tight as possible) , turn the gain up...sweep until you find an annoying frequency, then duck that freq by 4-6db. Do it with a few bands, and you can tame your headphones.
I do it when tuning a PA.

That said - your headphones (or something else in your chain) is the issue. The only annoying frequencies coming out of my fractal are due to my playing.
 
Change the irs, maybe it’s your guitar that has a nasty peak, like have one at 3.5k. I just cut this a little in the amp input block.

If it’s just for headphone use you and as you are on the axe 3 you can add room mics
 
Which Audeze do you have? I have two of them and both require a lot of EQ, but sound amazing once I got that dialed in.

PEQ block on Output 1. Find frequency response graphs or EQ settings that headphone enthusiasts have made for your specific headphones as a starting point. Run some music through the Axe as a reference to make final tweaks to your ears.
 
PEQ notches work great but may be overkill when switching between amp channels. Multi-band compression affords more selective ducking of offending frequencies... I use one or the other depending on context and goal.
 
giantslayer said:
Which Audeze do you have? I have two of them and both require a lot of EQ, but sound amazing once I got that dialed in.

PEQ block on Output 1. Find frequency response graphs or EQ settings that headphone enthusiasts have made for your specific headphones as a starting point. Run some music through the Axe as a reference to make final tweaks to your ears.
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LCD-2 Closed Back, probably built in 2022 or early 2023. They are not my taste because they have a thinner bass and low mid feel with a haunky mid and bright treble.

I don’t use them to mix but had to use them for a minute to stay quiet in the house. That when I started was playing around with the PEQ and sweeping to find bad frequencies and came across 4k on a guitar track and there was a huge resonance that makes you want to throw the headphones off the head. I tried a bunch of things to get rid of it hence my original post.

I’m thinking it is the headphones but was also thinking that if the headphones were picking it up, then subtly, monitors and or PA systems have it in there too. Just subdue compared to the LCDs…
 
dannyp64 said:
Can anyone provide suggestions on cutting out ear piercing frequencies on Fractal amp tones? I notice that most of the amps I choose have an ear piercing frequency happening around 4k. I notice it very much on my Audeze headphones (notoriously bright headphones) vs my studio monitors. But because I hear it on my headphones I know it’s there and want to cut it out. On my headphones I have to use the PEQ and dip it at 4k but my Q needs to be pretty wide and more than -10db in order to tame it. But because the q is wide and -10, it’s taking away some of the dynamics in the 3-4k range.

Any suggestions? I want a narrow q and a -3DB cut but it’s just not enough of a cut to tame the pierce…
Click to expand...
PEQ, high-Q boost, swept throughout the mids and trebles until the offensive frequency gets worse, then drop the gain in that EQ band until it sounds good....
 
Yesterday I tested everything, every option in amp settings and Input/Compressor/Cab/IR/PEQ/GEQ/Delay/Reverb/Enhance/ with FW25b. There is only a nice, clear crunch sound or a musty overall sound. As soon as I try to take out the peak frequencies, something is missing and it doesn't really work with the peaks, still there. I tested with B+E string in second fret. Of course you can get used to it, but then I'm missing something. If necessary, it might just help to swap the pickups. That's how I see it with my 57 Classics. Some of my cheap non-name pickups are different here. Previously on the real Plexis this would have been nothing with cheap PUs. But I really like it! Thats perfect for the Plexis crunch sound.

P.S. I use my rig, refer signature. No, it's not my Global EQ setup. Fletcher Munson. The same with my monitors.
 
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weird guitar person said:
PEQ notches work great but may be overkill when switching between amp channels. Multi-band compression affords more selective ducking of offending frequencies... I use one or the other depending on context and goal.
Click to expand...
Multi-band compression is interesting. Speaker compression change did not help. I will give it a try later. Thank you.
 
Probably the headphones but since you wrote that you think your ToneX had the same issue I think it is something in the chain from the SSL to the IRs. Any PEQ adjustments from the Fractal chain probably won’t help.

How does it sound direct from the III?
 
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