Why do I always lose headroom when I'm EQ'ing snares?

[Genevieve]

Hi-passing below 200 hz, etc. Removing content. Always with snares, even more after I layer + process them. At this point, I just leave the EQ off my snare bus

[m8son666]

god works in mysterious ways

[Genevieve]

god works in mysterious ways

If God could mysteriously make my tunes sound dope, that would be great

[cyclopian]

http://ethanwiner.com/EQPhase.html

[kaili]

jah works in mysterious ways

ftfy

[bennyfroobs]

weird that it would only happen to snares and no other sounds u use......

[elyhess]

maybe its the way your eqing it?

[_ronzlo_]

Or the gain floor setting in whatever you're using to EQ?

[bennyfroobs]

^ ye thats what i thought

those shitty non-transparent plugins that sneakily add a few dbs for no apparent reason

but that would be on everything and not just snares

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

Maybe ur high pass is too steep. It can cause a boost around the point of cutting that won't be displayed

[mromgwtf]

Today is your lucky today because you will learn something.
https://soundcloud.com/piotr-joniec/snare-eq/s-vEeNe

Basically to overcome that extra db boost you are getting after equalizing, you need to hard clip at the same level as your source signal. In that example the first snare is at -6db, later I add in a 150hz highpass, which makes it go up to +1.5db, and on the third one I add a hard clipper at -6db. That will not obviously work if you do like +12db 200hz boost because it'll just distort, it works for subtle changes, for dips mostly.

Edit: the three snares sound the same lol here's what it looks as a waveform:

[DrGatineau]

This happens to me when I put a 48 dB/oct lowCUT @ 30 hz on my master. really annoying. of course i limit after but the point is to remove content and add headroom goddamnit!

are you using ableton's EQ vieve?

[AxeD]

48dB is crazy steep, that'll cause a pretty bad ripple and phase issues. Not something
you want in sub. Maybe you have another plugin that has a separate function for cutting
subsonic content.

[DrGatineau]

i don't put any resonance on it though. 12 is better you reckon?

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

It will cause phase issues without any res. U can get those linear phase eq plugins?

[AxeD]

The steeper the more issues. That problem is not solved, it's the main issue with making
good converters as well, but that's a bit more complicated. Some linear phase plugins do a good job of keeping the output in phase, but the ripple is still there.

If you can get the same effect with a more gradual curve, I'd go with that. That obviously brings along it's own problems though.

[xtcvsmistycold]

Lowcutting at 30 hz

[DrGatineau]

Lowcutting at 30 hz

why is that ?

its a good practice imo

[AxeD]

It's often a good idea, that's why a lot of master EQ's have the function build in as an on/off switch.
The big EQ in Reason for example.

[Sexual_Chocolate]

is it common place to eq snares?

i don think ive ever really done it, maybe a little hi-lo pass depending on if its rather low end sound or has too many high end harmonics