HEVYDEVY FORUMS

I've been using the equalizers on itunes lately. For those who dont know what those are, you can right click a song, go to options, and put on equalizer presets like rock, dance, R&B, etc. So I've really only been applying the rock ones to metal songs, and surprisingly have been enjoying it a whole lot. So this got me curious as to wether I should try it on any Devin songs, but I wouldn't know which one to use since so many of his songs are different. I guess I could use the rock one, but never before have I thought "this Devin songs pretty good, but it could sure be a lot heavier". So if anyones ever experimented with this before, what have you used, or do you think Dev's producing is so good on it's own that to even consider doing anything to change it is blasphemous?

Can't you just turn the preset on, see if you like it, and if you don't then turn it back off? It's not like you're changing the song forever

Yeah I use mine but only slightly.

Its basically a curved line with more bass, a bit less mids, and then more highs. But its very slight because anything extreme and it sounds bad / changes the sound of how the music was intended to be listened to.

Rip the CD at the highest quality mp3, make sure you have some good speakers or headphones, then practically you don't have to touch the EQ, no matter which record you listen to

I think this mostly depends on how the albums you're listening to fit your specify soundsystem. Most of Devy's albums have great, even fantastic production, so if you have good speakers you should have to change anything.

yeah I have some pretty good headphones, so nothing really sounds that cool. However, SYL sounds pretty cool with the rock one

I've always found boosting treble to be the best setting for an EQ. Not sure if there's a preset for that (though there is on my ipod).

I use the equalizer on my iPod to let my rock/metal songs sound heavier. But to be honest, I'm pretty sure that Devin Townsend has already done the best for the sound of his songs (you all know he is a perfectionist) and therefore you won't need any equalizer.

It could just be my system, but I almost always use the iTunes EQ to tame the high frequencies a bit. A lot of heavy music is mixed and mastered by people who have noise induced hearing loss from being around heavy music a lot. Combine all of that high frequency information with the flaws of mp3 format, and you've got a combo that can be pretty fatiguing to after a while.

Most of his albums have a pronounced "scoopy" sound to them anyway (meaning the midrange is mixed/mastered in quieter than the treble & bass), so I wouldn't go overboard listening to them with EQ, as increasing the high-end will actually induce ear fatigue and detract from your enjoyment. In truth, every commercial album played back with no added EQ should sound best, and if it doesn't, your system sucks.

Having said all that though, Terria is currently my favorite for tuning live PAs (most of which are equipped with stereo 31-band equalizers), especially the first two tracks (Olives and Mountain) for bass response. Knowing that the album has a "bombastic" sound due to its "scoopiness" means that I won't over-EQ the midrange.