Ableton EQ Eight, EQ Three, and Channel EQ – what’s the difference?

If you are looking at Ableton EQs, you will see three options – EQ Eight, EQ Three, and Channel EQ – each with their own character and function.

The question is, what are the Ableton EQs for and why did they create three different types of what is essentially the same effect?

Once you know the different ways to EQ, and which one you need for each scenario, then you will have a much better time while mixing and performing.

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The low-down

Channel EQ – Replication of a console EQ
EQ Eight – Highly detailed EQ for studio work
EQ Three – Great three-channel EQ resembling a DJ mixer EQ

Read more for the full details…

What is Ableton’s Channel EQ

Starting with one of the lesser-discussed EQ, we have Channel EQ. This simple three-band effect is inspired by the EQs on classic mixing desks.

Because of its lower precision than EQ Eight, it is good for later-stage EQing, for example adding small tweaks on a drum bus or the master channel.

In addition to its three main controls, it also has an 80Hz high-pass filter to roll off the low-end rumble, and a Mid frequency control.

The Low control is tuned to 100Hz and is a low-shelf filter with an adaptive gain (+/-15dB) which changes the curve depending on how hard you push or cut the bass.

The Mid control is a +/-12dB bell filter which can be swept across frequencies from 120 Hz to 7.5 kHz using the Mid frequency control.

The High control actually combines two filters. When boosting, it controls the gain of a high shelf filter, up to 15 dB and the shelving filter is combined with a low-pass filter (20 kHz to 8 kHz) when the highs are turned down.

If you are building your own custom MIDI controller, this is perhaps the best of the Ableton EQs for mapping.

What is Ableton’s EQ Eight

EQ Eight can be seen as the main EQ for Ableton. It allows for the most control out of the three types and should be your go-to effect when mixing.

 It features up to eight parametric filters per input channel, with four enabled by default.

Each filter can be selected by checking the box next to the number, and the filter type can be selected via the dropdown.

Clicking the headphone button is a great way to solo a band and hear only the frequencies in that range. It is great for finding the nasty resonances and harsh frequencies so you know exactly where to cut.

The input signal can be processed using one of three modes: Stereo, L/R (left/right) and M/S (mid-side).

Stereo – The main setting, which applies the same curve on both channels.

L/R – Allows independent EQing on each of the left and right channels. The Edit switch indicates the active channel, and is used to toggle between the two curves.

M/S – Allows for Mid/Side processing allowing the EQ to modify the frequencies in the centre and stereo spread independently. The Edit switch indicates the active channel, and is used to toggle between the two curves.

The filter types for each band are:

• 48 or 12 dB/octave Low cut (best when applied to band 1)
• Low shelf
• Bell curve
• Notch
• High shelf
• 12 or 48 dB/octave High cut (best when applied to the last enabled band)

EQ Eight has a Q control for each of the bands which can be controlled via the dedicated knob or by holding Alt while dragging on the EQ curve.

The Adaptive Q control is a great tool to have enabled, it means that the Q increases proportionally to the boosting or cutting of a band meaning it mimics tradition console EQs and allows for a smoother frequency response.

Leave this enabled unless you know what you are doing.

The little arrow button at the top can be clicked to open up a larger version of the EQ view.

What is Ableton’s EQ Three

EQ Three is probably the simplest EQ to use and will be familliar to anyone that has used a DJ mixer.

It splits the sound into Lows, Mids, and Highs, and allows you to turn each band down to -infinity, meaning that it is entirely silent.

This is useful for DJs who may want to entirely remove the bass from a track being mixed in to stop two basslines clashing.

Each band can be turned off completely with the On/Off buttons.

The frequencies can be modified with the Freq Low and Freq High controls. The Low EQ control will cover all frequencies below FreqLow, while the High EQ control will cover all frequencies above the FreqHigh.

The Mid control therefore covers all frequencies in between.

One thing to note is that EQ Three uses crossovers that are not transparent, even when the knobs are at default. It is especially true when the EQ Three effect is set to 48dB Mode. This makes it OK for DJing, but not necessarily for studio work, use one of the other Ableton EQs for working on production.

Learn More

One of the best resources for learning more about Ableton is its manual. Definitely check it out for full details on all the effects.