Quote from k6fej on November 5, 2022, 12:41 am

Well you just bought that nice shiny piece of rack gear and you sit in front of all those EQ settings and ask yourself... now what?  There's no single setting of one size fits all because everyone's voice is different and if you are into this ESSB Rabbit Hole you probably have a particular sound your after. I can tell you that most of the ESSB stations that have a WOW factor most likely spent many hours monitoring the audio and tweaking everything just right for that sound. The settings and technique I'm going to offer up were recommended from the Voodoo master himself WZ5Q and are only a starting point and will probably sound like Hammered Crap at first. It's up to you to fine tune the settings and frequencies for your particular voice, radio, mic and equipment as you start your ESSB  journey down the Rabbit Hole.

Before you do any EQ adjustments make sure all the equipment levels are set correctly and the ALC on the radio is not being over driven. Put on a good set of headphones that are close to a flat frequency response as possible and use the monitor circuit in your radio to start with into a dummy load. Most monitor circuits built into the radios are not accurate however this method will get you started. Once you get the audio sounding OK in the monitor circuit try listening on one of the many online SDR receivers to make the next on air adjustments. A word of caution about the online SDR's... the audio you hear is not accurate however it will get you in the ballpark. An even better method is a second receiver in the shack that you know has a fairly flat audio response and wide bandwidth, the Kenwood TS 870 would be a good example. And finally getting a recording of what you sound like from one of the SDR's or locally in the shack or done from another ESSB station will defiantly help put the final polish on your new sound and provide a more accurate representation of what you sound like.

These settings are for a Behringer DEQ 2496 Parametric EQ however can also be done with a graphic EQ by using several sliders to mimic the bandwidth. In addition making only cuts in the gains when possible works best because removing the bad stuff will sound better then artificially adding sound that's not there in the first place. Unfortunately making all cuts in gain doesn't always work depending on the Mic, EQ, your voice and radio. It's OK to break the rules and get the sound you like.

First things first... Balance that audio!

While taking the following settings into consideration before you start adjusting for that special sound your looking for balance that audio first. Get the audio somewhat flat across the bandwidth your using. Why is that important you ask? Well you want to be understood and not have Vowels, Consonants and Sibilants disappear making the spoken word difficult to understand especially under difficult receiving conditions. Ever see that station on the Bandscope with a big chunk of signal missing across the bandwidth? He's strong however constantly has to repeat his call, don't be that guy balance your audio. Using an audio analyzer program adjust the EQ to be flat across the spectrum watching the average audio being produced. Boost where needed on the valleys and cut on the high peaks until it starts looking balanced. The audio will probably sound like crap however this is where we start.

Now we can start adjusting for sound. Use your ears and slowly adjust for the sound your looking for without getting the audio too far out of balance.

Your mileage may vary and void where prohibited... Have fun.

(This is the Voodoo low end range don't go crazy but be adventurous and maybe rattle a desk or two. Best to find the fundamental low end frequency of your voice by using a program like  Spectrum Lab and look for the large low end peak several octaves wide. Set your low end frequency slightly below that peak just as it starts to rolls off)

Frequency - 90 cps
.5 octave
Gain +4

(Here is where most of the Mud and Boominess comes from so get rid of it. We'll return and make a few fine tune adjustments to the octave and frequency)

Frequency - 160cps
.5 octave
Gain -15

(You will have to play with the octave, gain and slight frequency adjustments on 160, 320 and 520 to match your voice and to allow the low end fundamental to resonate through and leave the Mud and Boominess behind. Start with the octave and frequency on 160 first then 320 starting with the octave then the gain and slight frequency adjustments listening carefully for that low end resonance without the mud. Now do the same thing on 520.  Once you get the low end to resonate and start to hear "the sound" you like go back to 160 and adjust the octave and frequency for improvements then revisit 320 and 520 and adjust octave, gain and frequency listening for the low end resonance and "the sound". The trick here is 160, 320 and 520 are the key frequencies to getting "the sound" and also responsible for the low end resonance extension without the mud)

Frequency  320 cps
.75 octave
Gain  - 3

Frequency 520 cps
.75 octave
Gain  - 3

(This frequency is used to cut brittleness and the tin can sound. If it sounds too brittle then increase the cut or octave or both)

Frequency 1600 cps
.75 octave
Gain -1

(Be careful with the high's and try not to get any tearing or sound like a screaming Banshee yet still add slight brightness and clarity. Watch those S sounds and try saying Sizzling Sausage a few times until you like what you hear. )

Frequency  3 kc
.5 octave
Gain  + 4

Frequency = 4.5 kc
.5 octave
Gain + 2

Frequency  6  kc
.5 octave
Gain + 4