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47 EQ Tips from the Experts
We surveyed 55 mixing experts to get their very best mixing tips… and the result
was awesome!
The experts gave us over 300 tips and techniques… so many that we couldn’t fit all
the equalization tips into the original article. So we’re publishing them here!
Here are 47 EQ tips from the experts… including little known DAW shortcuts…
common mistakes to avoid… and several highly effective techniques that may
surprise you!
Cheers!
Scott Hawksworth
Founder, AudioSkills
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EQ Philosophies
1. If you’re working the EQ too hard… there’s probably something else wrong.
— Matt Salazar, IndieRockInc
2. Remember Ying-Yang effect: a low dip can amplify the highs and vice versa.
— Soops, MixedBySoops
3. EQ in solo only to find any problem areas. Perform the rest of the EQing in
context of the mix. What may sound horrible in solo could be just what the
track needs to cut through the mix. — Scott Horton, Virtual Mix Engineer
4. Know why you’re EQing and do it on purpose! — Hubi Hofmann, Slash Zero
Records
5. Filter. I prefer to use EQ subtractively during the mix process. — Catharine
Wood, Planetwood Studios LLC
6. Subtractive EQ is majority of your mix. At the end of the day, mixing is
balancing frequencies and giving every element/instrument its own space
across the stereo image. — Dacota Fresilli, Parhelion Recording Studios
7. Not every source needs to be EQ’d. Similar to using a compressor, don’t just
put an EQ on everything. — Stephen Michael Babula, SMB Recordings
8. Follow Alpha Pup’s @daddykev on Twitter. Every once in a while he’ll drop
some amazing mixdown knowledge. Screen shot that and keep them in a
folder for whenever you’re stuck on a mix — Them Jeans, Tall Tales Podcast
9. Attenuating frequencies is just as important and amplifying frequencies. —
James Alire, 5J Media LLC
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Boosting & Cutting
10. If you are applying small amounts of EQ cut and boost consider turning the
EQ off as you might be wasting energy and time on something totally trivial.
— Larry Crane, Tape Op Magazine
11. Try subtracting frequencies before adding them. — Jared Kvitka, Jared K
Recording
12. The EQ gain knob works both ways! Often cutting frequencies is better
than boosting. Also, your ears are easily fooled by anything louder sounding
better, and boosting frequencies with EQ is also making it louder, so it’s easy
to get carried away with lots of unnecessary EQ boosts on everything. —
Stephen Sherrard, Stephen Sherrard Mixing
13. If you find yourself boosting a lot… first see if the track’s volume just doesn’t
need to be raised or identify what other tracks have competing frequencies
that aren’t as important. Possibly cut out a few decibels on those tracks to
create more space for the track lacking enough spot light. — Cole Mize, Cole
Mize Studios
14. Cut before you boost. Simple as that! — Scott Hawksworth, AudioSkills
15. Instead of boosting the high end using a shelf, use a peaking band with the
peak set high (above 16k) and add a little more than you might otherwise. It
means the “air” frequencies are boosted more than the sibilant frequencies,
and can make things brighter without getting harsh. — Adrian Breakspear
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16. Start with cutting out problems. Then boost with a “analog” type EQ. — Joe
Vegna
17. See what you can cut before you do too many boosts — AJ
18. In general “cut narrow, boost wide” is a great rule of thumb to follow for
EQ’ing.— Scott Hawksworth, AudioSkills
19. Don’t always approach the EQ with the intention of boosting frequencies.
You may have to just reduce some frequencies to get the sound you want. —
John Myers
20. EQ is your best friend. It can be used to bring out the good and pull out the
bad. A good trick for finding harsh or muddy frequencies is to create a
narrow EQ and sweep around to find the what you like to boost and what
you don’t like to pull back. — Jeremiah, Undergunned Productions
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21. In general, cut frequencies rather than adding them. Normally, I cut the
lows off of almost every track except for kick and bass. This makes sure that
the low end of my mix stays clean. Sometimes I’ll cut the extreme highs of
some instruments too. Then in the middle I’ll often use gentler curves in
order to subtly shape the sound. — David Das, Academy of Scoring Arts
22. Start with frequency reduction instead of addition. — Aaron Ahmad
23. Do EQ boost sweeps (say 18 dB of boost, narrow Q) around 120–130 Hz on
your master. More often than not, you’ll find resonances there that you’ll
want to cut out. Good for drums and vox, too. — Fanu, Fanu Music
High-Pass Filters
24. High pass is your friend. Use it whenever possible to carve out space for the
elements in a mix. — Danny Ozment, Emerald City Productions
25. Create space for all the frequencies to ring. To quote pureMix, “High pass
everything!” — Mike Glaser, pureMix
26. Use a high pass filter to roll off the low range frequencies on all tracks
except the kick and bass. At least around 50-80 Hz. Cleans up muddiness and
allows the kick and bass to shine through. — Anthony Clint Jr., Clint
Productions
27. High pass filters. Use them EVERYWHERE. There is no need for 50 Hz on a
vocal or a distorted guitar or a snare. I high pass just about everything to
varying degrees. A quick and painless way to cut some of the mud from your
mixes. — Jeffro Lackscheide, Make Your Mixes Not Suck
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28. Use a high-pass filter on instruments that don’t have low frequency
information that benefits the mix. This will help clean up mud and unwanted
low end rumble. — Stephen Freeman, Stephen Freeman Audio
29. Use a high pass filter at 4 kHz on the input to a reverb. Adds a splash or
sparkle to vocals or acoustic instruments and drums. Sparkleverb technique.
— Joe Arsenault
EQ Techniques & Tricks
30. EQ before you compress to remove unwanted frequencies so the
compressor can focus on a more natural sound that you’re going for. — Chris
Blaney (Inner Creative Sound)
31. Make your reverb transparent by adding EQ after the reverb and filter out
the low and high frequencies. You can even add your EQ before the reverb
for a different approach. — Chris Selim, Mixdown Online
32. Take out frequencies that are not needed within a single track. — Keshia
McArthur, Keshia Mc.
33. Adjust the output gain to offset gain added/removed by EQ changes if you
can. Does it really sound better? Or just louder? — Dave S-B, Creative Mixing
34. When mixing synth pads I tend to roll off some of the bass — Law Wood, LW
Music Services
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35. If you’re struggling to get two instruments occupying similar frequencies to
sound distinct from one another… Make EQ curves that are the exact
opposite of one another for each instrument (focused around key tonal
areas). This is called “EQ Flipping” or “EQ Swapping” and will help them stand
apart! — Scott Hawksworth, AudioSkills
36. Mix in mono while EQing! It will really force you to work to achieve
separation and clarity… which is a good thing! — Rick Elliott, Reiver Records
37. Using an EQ with a built-in analyzer makes it much easier to find problem
frequencies and resonances. — James Aparicio
38. ALWAYS try to match volume levels when comparing the sound of EQ
active versus bypassed. Most equalizers include both a volume control and a
bypass switch, making such comparisons easier. — Philip Dust, Philip Dust
Mixing and Mastering
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39. Pick a preset and stop to listen if it’s actually making something better or
worse. I usually start out with subtractive EQ and try to take away or
minimize any frequencies that are muddy or getting in the way of other
instruments that are in the same range. Any additive EQ I do is for more
subtle enhancements of trying to bring out what’s already there. — Stephen
Michael Babula, SMB Recordings
40. I like using the same, high quality EQ for nearly every track on my mixes. I’ll
reach for another one when it’s absolutely needed, but otherwise, using the
same one always keeps the whole mix sounding glued better than if I use a
lot of different ones — things just don’t sit together as well at the end. — Matt
Russell, Gain Structure
41. My #1 EQ tip is use notch filters to cut & clean up your sound sources and
vocals!!! — J-rum, J-rum Beats
EQ’ing Vocals, Drums, Guitar, & Bass
42. I use this EQ tip on the kick drum… Create a parallel track and send the kick
to it. Then use the Pultec Pro EQ from UAD or Waves and make a 6-7 dB
deep on 200 or 300 Hz, boost the 3k (3-4 dB and use your ears), 6-7 dB boost
at 60 Hz and 5 dB attenuation at 60 Hz. Then add some light compression,
2-3 dB with a medium attack and fast release, 4:1 ratio with the 1176, or also
tube compressor emulator (Fairchild or Manley Vari Mu is good. If you want
you can add some light tape saturation and blend the track to the mix. This
helps to get more focus and power on the kick without making it sound
boomy or muddy. You can use this trick only with the EQ, with less dB boost
and cut on the original track. — Mattia Magi, Blue House Studio
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43. Don’t cut too much out of the drums. You always hear, “Cut the low mids,”
or, “High pass the overheads/hi-hat,” but that can cause the drums to sound
really lifeless and artificial. Of course I do cut on occasion, but I usually do it
to fix a problem. Usually I will boost the frequencies that compliment the
drums. This helps keep the character of the drum set in tact, but it adds the
pleasing qualities of each drum to the mix. — Tyler Spratt, Thresh Mixing
44. High-pass filters are popular for clearing space for other instruments in a
mix in the low end. However, there can be some added timbre from each
track in those frequencies that make up one overall sound from a group of
tracks. Try using shelving EQ’s sometimes for lowering the volume of
portions of the low frequencies from sounds, sometimes in addition to less
aggressive high-pass filtering. One sound may have some added grit or
texture that a high-pass filter may remove altogether. Listen to see if the
overall sound is more interesting with those frequencies simply lowered in
volume using a dip from a shelving EQ. — McKay Garner, McKay Mixing
45. If you’re struggling with giving a vocal that pristine pop sheen, try a high
shelf boost around 14 to 16kHz. It can add a nice airy presence and help
your vocal sit more forward and in your face. — Bobby Phillipps,
HomeStudioMixTips
46. People often overlook “Complimentary EQ” techniques or they just do not
understand it. This technique is used widely by myself and every other
professional mixing engineer. In short, you need to have each instrument in
its own frequency field, as this will make each instrument sound clear and
have its own space in the mix. For example, there are many instruments that
take up the same frequency fields, like Kick Drum and Bass Guitar and
Vocals and Guitars do. So if you boost the bass guitar at 250 Hz on your EQ,
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then you should cut the kick drum at 250 Hz. this will make the mix less
muddy and you will be able to hear those 2 instruments more clearly in the
mix. — CJ Jacobson, Audio Mastering And Mixing
47. Be careful of boosting all instruments in the same range or EQ band. For
instance, if you have multiple guitar tracks, don’t boost exactly the same
frequencies on all the tracks. Maybe one needs a bump at 400 Hz and the
other track, cut a little at 400 Hz, but boost a little at 5 kHz. This will create
better separation and avoid too much buildup in any one frequency range. —
Stephen Michael Babula, SMB Recordings
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