Filters

Before we had EQs, we had filters. At their core, they are essentially the same tool, but as producers we will usually reach for one or the other depending on what we are trying to accomplish.

Reach for an EQ when you are mixing or trying to clean up a recording.

Reach for a filter when you want to add color, or warmth (two words often used instead of “saturation”) or movement.

Most EQ effects will only raise or lower specific frequencies within a sound. Filters on the other hand, will also raise or lower specific frequencies within a sound, but often with some form of saturation, resonance, or all-out distortion.

Filter effects are often modeled after real-world, analog filter effects.