Could someone please explain this to me...(low/highcut, low/highpass)

[Emdprodukt]

I had a long talk to someone who is a bit into recording. We were talking about high and lowpass filters. I said I always lowpass my guitars around 11khz. he said: That's a highcut, not a lowpass.

When I was thinking about it, it made absolutely sense but I've read it the other way around here.

Whats the difference (if there's any) between high/lowpass and high/lowcut and give me an example?

I thought it's like that: cutting a guitars sizzle is a lowpass (usually around 11khz), cutting the lows (up to 120hz) would be a highpass. this definition never made sense to me but that's the way I'm reading it here all the time.

SO could someone just please clear this up for me without making me feel too stupid? ah and by the way: I know how to use those filters, it's just about the definition.

thanks!

 

[Ermz]

There's no difference. Just the same bullshit semantics people get caught up in.

 

[006]

tomato, tomato.

 

[Emdprodukt]

so no difference between cut and pass. how about the high/lowpass thing. is it a lowpass when I cut high end and a highpass when I cut lowend?

 

[AudioPhile777]

Highpass = Letting everything above a certain frequency through

lowpass = letting everything below a certain frequency through

highcut = cutting your highs at whatever freq

low cut... you get the idea by now, i'm sure...

and I'm sure people mean different things when using the term high/lowcut... that term never made sense to me in the way most people use it.

 

[BLUElightCory]

Traditionally, highpass/lowcut and lowpass/highcut filters are the same thing.

There are some consoles/EQs/pres that have their highpass filters labeled as "low cut" and so on, which contributes to the confusion. The terms mean exactly the same thing though.

 

[Dalinkwent48@aim.com]

you sir, are correct

 

[Emdprodukt]

okay, thanks guys! this was really helpfull!

 

[Trevoire520]

Yes, although in my book I would say that "cutting" is more of a term used for general eq'ing. Whereas a high/low pass filter is a very specific form of eq.

 

[slashvanyoung]

high-pass = low cut,
low-pass = high cut

and both are just a band filter.

It's exactly the same thing. It's just that the terms HPF (high-pass filter) and LPF (low-pass filter) are more common in use with electrical engineering/information technology when you deal with actual electronic elements (in your schematics).

But audio engineering lingo has adopted "high cut" and "low cut" to give those elements/functions a more specific name when they're in practical use because for some people it's easier to imagine having something cut away than letting something through above or under a certain frequency.

 

[Norris-wf]

high-pass = low cut,
low-pass = high cut

and both are just a band filter.

It's exactly the same thing. It's just that the terms HPF (high-pass filter) and LPF (low-pass filter) are more common in use with electrical engineering/information technology when you deal with actual electronic elements (in your schematics).

But audio engineering lingo has adopted "high cut" and "low cut" to give those elements/functions a more specific name when they're in practical use because for some people it's easier to imagine having something cut away than letting something through above or under a certain frequency.

Yup, got to agree with this. In the domain of signal processing the terms used would be low pass and high pass, and in rf electronics, or filter design in electrical system thats what is used. Its essentially two words for the same thing.

 

[mick thompson]

how i always understood it was

low pass - allowing low freq's to pass through the mixer
high pass - allowing high freq's to pass through the mixer
low cut - not allowing low freq's through the mixer
high cut - not allowing the high freq's through the mixer

by saying pass your giving access to something to continue on its path/journey - by cutting something your not allowing it to continue its path/journey

journey being the next bus,master channel, audio interface or speakers etc

 

[Emdprodukt]

how i always understood it was

low pass - allowing low freq's to pass through the mixer
high pass - allowing high freq's to pass through the mixer
low cut - not allowing low freq's through the mixer
high cut - not allowing the high freq's through the mixer

by saying pass your giving access to something to continue on its path/journey - by cutting something your not allowing it to continue its path/journey

journey being the next bus,master channel, audio interface or speakers etc

that's how my friend explained it to me! would make sense to me.

 

[BLUElightCory]

how i always understood it was

low pass - allowing low freq's to pass through the mixer
high pass - allowing high freq's to pass through the mixer
low cut - not allowing low freq's through the mixer
high cut - not allowing the high freq's through the mixer

by saying pass your giving access to something to continue on its path/journey - by cutting something your not allowing it to continue its path/journey

journey being the next bus,master channel, audio interface or speakers etc

that's how my friend explained it to me! would make sense to me.

You guys are saying the same thing two different ways.

For example, if a high pass filter, by definition, allows high frequencies to pass, then that means that it inherently wouldn't allow low frequencies to pass (which was your definition of a low cut filter).

So you see, they are exactly the same thing.

 

[TheWinterSnow]

As many have said they are just different names for the same thing, though I prefer to use the term "pass" because it just seems more logical from an electronics engineering point of view.

I do think your friend might have confused the terms pass and shelf, which are indeed different. A pass has a fixed steep db per octave slope that is causally 3 or greater which virtually cuts everything at the set cutoff, where a shelf has the ability to adjust the quality factor (Q) to just about any db per octave slope which can allow you to either do a very mild roll off or use it as a high/low pass. You probably already knew that, but i figured I would try to clear it up if you didn't.

in terms of operation:

High Pass = Low Cut
Low Pass = High Cut

in terms of frequencies removed:

Low Cut = Low Shelf
High Cut = High Shelf

(both remove the same frequencies however the Q is adjustable with a shelf)

 

[Dalinkwent48@aim.com]

how i always understood it was

low pass - allowing low freq's to pass through the mixer
high pass - allowing high freq's to pass through the mixer
low cut - not allowing low freq's through the mixer
high cut - not allowing the high freq's through the mixer

by saying pass your giving access to something to continue on its path/journey - by cutting something your not allowing it to continue its path/journey

journey being the next bus,master channel, audio interface or speakers etc

low cut- not allowing the lows through but instead allowing the highs to pass
high cut- not allowing the highs but instead allowing the lows to pass

high pass=lowcut
lowpass=high cut

thats it theres nothing else to it except for saying it differently...
"draw,drawer" same thing but just said differently
"pop,soda" Same shit, again, said differently

 

[Force666]

Jeez, only took 10 people 15 posts to say the same exact thing.

 

[Line Level Recordings]

WHAT THE FUCK IS A LOW PASS FILTER !!!! :O



.... just kidding XD ( joke from another thread )

 

[JBroll]

Jeez, only took 10 people 15 posts to say the same exact thing.

The same exact thing was said in fifteen differnet posts by ten people!

Jeff

 

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

D-Verb has a "Hi Freq Cut" and a "LP Filter"... what's the difference there? I've always just used the filter because I've been confused