Regarding equalization what does "Q" mean?

When I hear people talk about equalization it seems I always run in to the term "Q". I have no idea what that means maybe ya'll can help me out!

"Q" stands for "Quality", just a bit of trivia. Mathematically, it is the ratio of bandwidth to center frequency, with bandwidth being defined as the difference between the lower and upper frequencies where the level is 3db down from the center frequency.

For example, if the -3db points are 100Hz and 200Hz with a center frequency of 150Hz, the Q would be 150 divided by 100, or 1.5.

The higher the ratio, the steeper the filter. If you were to narrow the band in the previous example, so that the -3db points were at 145Hz and 155Hz, the Q would be 15 (150 / 10), a very narrow notch or bandpass.

So for practical purposes, just think of Q as a synonym for the narrowness of a filter. The higher the Q, the narrower the filter and the steeper the slope.

Thanks gentlemen for your response! That clears it up for me guys...it makes sense now thanks
!

makes sense to me now too, thanks

ditto