How to place a root by ear (using the analyzer without worshipping it)

RootEQ’s graph is a log-frequency magnitude display from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with a real-time analyzer behind the curve. Hovering the plot holds spectral peaks so you can see what jumped. That is useful. It is also how people start mixing with their eyes.

The actual gesture

Double-click empty space on the graph to plant a root at that frequency and gain. Drag to move it. Right-click the root to add grid bands, remove them, change the prime, bypass, or delete. Double-click a grid handle (or use the menu) to promote it into a new root. Double-click an existing root to drop its gain back to 0 dB. Output and Shape live in the top bar. Presets save to disk as named files — not magic cloud patches.

That is the manual. If a feature is not in that paragraph, RootEQ does not have it.

A method that stays honest

1. Bypass RootEQ. Listen. Name the problem in non-Hz words: boom, buzz, dull, whistle, “the note disappeared in the chorus.”
2. Put the plugin on. Watch the analyzer only long enough to guess a region. Look away.
3. Plant a root where you think the note is. Sweep it in solo just enough to confirm, then stop sweeping. Sweeping is how every band becomes a wah.
4. Add one or two grid bands. Boost or cut the family, not twelve handles.
5. Check in the mix at the level you will actually ship. If you cannot hear the move, it was not a mix move.

Moving notes: the analyzer will smear. A bass riff will not be a single spike. Plant the center of gravity of the part, not every ghost of a slide. If the part is a chromatic run, RootEQ may be the wrong tool for that section; automate bypass, or use a broader conventional EQ.

Q starts at 2. That is medium. Surgical notches want higher Q; tone wants lower. Do not copy a YouTube Q of 8 on a 40 Hz boost unless you enjoy ringing.