Smiley face curve

Smiley face curves have been popular with some car audio enthusiasts, disc jockeys, electric bass players, home stereo owners and sound reinforcement operators.

[2][3] Though the graphic equalizer was intended to tailor a system's response to compensate for venue and performance conditions, the smiley face curve is sometimes applied as a purely stylistic effect.

[6] The origin of the smiley face curve has been attributed to the search for more bass and treble response from loudspeakers that did not extend as low or as high as desired, especially in the 1970s and 1980s.

dbx, Inc. offers several smiley face curve presets in their digital graphic equalizer product line called DriveRack.

[19] Jim Dunlop offers a direct box intended for bass players that includes a preset labeled "color" which engages a smiley face curve.

[20] Neither of these products prevent the user from adjusting the equalizer based on the sound that is actually heard rather than relying on a predetermined visual image.