Parametric vs Graphic EQ: Bands, Q and Gain Explained

The difference between a parametric vs graphic EQ is control. A graphic EQ has a row of sliders, each boosting or cutting a fixed frequency band with a fixed width, while a parametric EQ lets you set each band's frequency, width (Q) and gain yourself.

That makes a graphic EQ quick and visual, and a parametric EQ precise. Most EQ plugins you'll use for mixing are parametric. Graphic EQs still rule live sound, and both show up in DAWs and hardware, so it's worth knowing what each one is good at.

What is a graphic EQ?

A graphic EQ splits the audio spectrum into a set number of bands at fixed frequencies. Each band gets one slider that boosts or cuts it. You can't move a band or change how wide it is; you only choose how much.

The common layouts are a 10-band EQ with bands one octave apart (31 Hz, 63 Hz, 125 Hz and so on up to 16 kHz) and a 31-band EQ with bands a third of an octave apart, from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. More bands means narrower bands and finer control, but you're still limited to the frequencies printed on the faceplate.

Graphic EQs are standard in live sound, where an engineer uses a 31-band unit to tune PA speakers to a room and to cut the exact frequencies that start feeding back through stage monitors. They're also handy for broad tonal moves on a full mix or a playback system.

What is a parametric EQ?

A parametric EQ gives every band three controls, the parameters it's named after: frequency, gain and Q. You can put a band anywhere from the sub-bass to the top of the hearing range, make it as wide or as narrow as you like, and boost or cut it.

Parametric EQs also offer different band shapes. A bell (or peak) boosts or cuts around a center frequency. A shelf raises or lowers everything above or below a point. A high-pass or low-pass filter removes everything below or above a point. A notch is a very narrow cut for a single ringing frequency.

One common mix-up: a plugin with a big draggable frequency graph is not a graphic EQ. If you can drag a band to any frequency and change its width, it's a parametric EQ with a graphical display. Nearly every parametric EQ plugin works this way now.

Bands, Q and gain explained

Bands

A band is one filter working on one region of the spectrum. On a graphic EQ there's one band per slider. On a parametric EQ you usually get somewhere between four and eight, each with its own controls. Ableton's EQ Eight, as the name says, has eight; Pro Tools ships EQ3 7-Band; FL Studio's Fruity Parametric EQ 2 has seven.

Q (bandwidth)

Q sets how wide a band is. Technically it's the center frequency divided by the bandwidth, so the higher the number, the narrower the band. A few reference points help:

• Q around 0.7: roughly two octaves wide. Gentle, musical tone shaping.
• Q around 1.4: about one octave wide. A good default for most boosts and cuts.
• Q around 4.3: about a third of an octave, the same width as one band on a 31-band graphic EQ.
• Q of 8 and up: narrow enough to pull out a single resonance without touching the notes around it.

A rule of thumb from mixing: boost wide, cut narrow. Wide boosts sound natural. Narrow boosts tend to sound like a ringing tone, while narrow cuts can remove a problem without anyone noticing it was there.

Gain

Gain is how much a band is boosted or cut, in decibels. Most EQs give you a range of plus or minus 12 to 18 dB per band. In practice, mixing moves are usually small: a couple of dB can change the character of a vocal, and a boost of 10 dB or more is usually a sign that something else is wrong, like the mic choice or the arrangement.

Parametric vs graphic EQ: side by side

When to use a graphic EQ

• Live sound: tuning a PA to a room and notching feedback in monitors.
• Broad tone shaping: using a graphic EQ plugin to make a whole mix or bus a little darker, brighter or fuller without thinking about Q.
• Learning to hear frequencies: boosting one slider at a time is a quick way to train your ears to the octave bands.

Looking for graphic EQ settings to copy? Start flat and make small cuts before you boost anything. The popular smile curve (lows and highs up, mids down) can sound impressive for a minute on playback, but on a mix it scoops out the range where vocals, guitars and snares live.

When to use a parametric EQ

• Cleaning up recordings: a high-pass filter to remove rumble, a narrow cut to take out a room resonance.
• Carving space: cutting a little of the guitar exactly where the vocal's presence sits, so both are clear.
• Vocals: finding mud, boxiness and harshness at the exact frequency they occur in this singer's voice. Our guide to EQing vocals walks through it with a frequency chart.
• Mastering: small, wide, precise moves on the full mix.

Whatever EQ you use, decide where it sits relative to compression. EQ before a compressor changes what the compressor reacts to; EQ after it shapes the final tone. Both are valid, and our compressor vs limiter guide explains what the compressor is doing in either case.

A middle ground: fixed-frequency tone knobs

Some tools sit between the two approaches, with one knob per job and the frequency chosen for you. Velvet, our vocal chain plugin, works this way: a sweepable Low Cut, then Presence and Air knobs that each control a single, pre-set tone region. You decide how much; the plugin decides where. For most vocals that's all the EQ you need, and when it isn't, you put a parametric EQ in front of it for the surgical cuts.