After you’ve produced that great beat or song and you want to shop it or get it mastered,

you need to mix it somewhat using tools such as EQ to make it sound better or more
professional. EQ helps to give each instrument and the vocals its own space in the mix
and prevent them from clashing or masking with each other. If you are new to mixing,
sometimes it might just be better to leave the beat as is if you used high quality sounds in
the production because when you start EQing and you don’t know what you are doing,
many times you will make the song sound worse than it did without a mix. I combined a
few EQ references from different sources into one post for you to refer to when mixing.
You may want to bookmark this page so that you can come back to it easily when mixing.

EQing Instruments

Guitar EQ Guide

Electric Guitar

For bottom Boost 100 Hz

For warmth Boost 250 Hz

For body Boost 500 HzFor pick or percussion Boost 1-2 KFor “Cut” (solos,
lines, etc.) Boost 3-4 KFor “presence” Boost 5 KFor “buzz” (distortion, etc.)
Boost 7 KFor clarity and string decay Boost 10 K and upTo remove muddiness
Cut 200 HzTo remove harshness Cut 1-3 K

Acoustic Guitar

For warmth Boost 250 HzFor body Boost 500-700 HzFor pick Boost 1 KFor lines
Boost 3 KFor brilliance Boost 5 KFor sparkle Boost 10 K and upTo remove
rumble Cut 100 Hz and downTo remove finger noise Cut 7 K

Bass EQ Guide

For lows Boost 80-100 HzFor tonality Boost 800 HzFor rhythmic attack Boost 1 K
For string sound Boost 3 KFor clarity Boost 6 KTo reduce muddiness Cut 200
HzSynth EQ Guide

Bass sound Power 100 HzMuddiness Cut 200 HzWarmth Bottom for pads, strings
250 HzTone Horns, reeds, organ 500 HzTransient Percussive or plucked sounds 1 K
Upper midrange Leads 2-3 KSibilance Distortion, buzz, string bow, esses 5-7 KTop
end Phasing, flanging; cut for noise 10 K

Drum EQ Guide
Kick Drum

For bottom Boost 80-100 HzFor transient Boost 3 KFor top Boost 6 K

Snare Drum

For boom (tone) Boost 125-250 HzFor bang (transient) Boost 1-2 KFor buzz
(snares) Boost 5 K

Tom-toms

For tone Boost 250-500 HzFor attack Boost 7 K

Cymbals

For top Boost 10 KIf muddy Cut 200 Hz

High-hat

For heavy rock Boost 500 HzLight Boost 5 KFor top Boost 10 K

Source: Paul’s Stuff

Here is another EQ Guide posted on the IDM Forum:

*Please Note – The values below are merely guides, each mix is unique and individual so
experimentation is advised.

Low Bass: anything less than 50Hz

This range is often known as the sub bass and is most commonly taken up by the lowest
part of the kick drum and bass guitar, although at these frequencies it’s almost
impossible to determine any pitch. Sub bass is one of the reasons why 12″ vinyl became
available: low frequencies require wider grooves than high frequencies – without rolling
off everything below 50Hz you couldn’t fit a full track onto a 7″ vinyl record. However we
do NOT recommend applying any form of boost around this area without the use of very
high quality studio monitors (not home monitors – there is a vast difference between
home nearfield and studio farfield monitors costing anywhere between £5,000 and
£20,000). Boosting blindly in this area without a valid reference point can and will
permanently damage most speakers, even PA systems. You have been warned!

Bass: 50-250Hz
This is the range you’re adjusting when applying the bass boost on most home stereos,
although most bass signals in modern music tracks lie around the 90-200Hz area with a
small boost in the upper ranges to add some presence or clarity.

Muddiness/irritational area: 200-800Hz

The main culprit area for muddy sounding mixes, hence the term ‘irritational area’. Most
frequencies around here can cause psycho-acoustic problems: if too many sounds in a
mix are dominating this area, a track can quickly become annoying, resulting in a rush to
finish mixing it as you get bored or irritated by the sound of it.

Mid-range: 800-6kHz

Human hearing is extremely sensitive at these frequencies, and even a minute boost
around here will result in a huge change in the sound – almost the same as if you boosted
around 10db at any other range. This is because our voices are centred in this area, so it’s
the frequency range we hear more than any other. Most telephones work at 3kHz,
because at this frequency speech is most intelligible. This frequency also covers TV
stations, radio, and electric power tools. If you have to apply any boosting in this area, be
very cautious, especially on vocals. We’re particularly sensitive to how the human voice
sounds and its frequency coverage.

High Range: 6-8kHz

This is the range you adjust when applying the treble boost on your home stereo. This
area is slightly boosted to make sounds artificially brighter (although this artificial boost
is what we now call ‘lifelike’) when mastering a track before burning it to CD.

Hi-High Range: 8-20kHz

This area is taken up by the higher frequencies of cymbals and hi-hats, but boosting
around this range, particularly around 12kHz can make a recording sound more high
quality than it actually is, and it’s a technique commonly used by the recording industry
to fool people into thinking that certain CDs are more hi-fidelity than they’d otherwise
sound. However, boosting in this area also requires a lot of care – it can easily pronounce
any background hiss, and using too much will result in a mix becoming irritating.
———————-Kick Drum

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300Hz. Try a small boost around 5-
7kHz to add some high end.

50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom to the sound100-250Hz ~ Adds roundness250-800Hz ~

Muddiness Area5-8kHz ~ Adds high end prescence8-12kHz ~ Adds Hiss

Snare
Try a small boost around 60-120Hz if the sound is a little too wimpy. Try boosting
around 6kHz for that ‘snappy’ sound.

100-250Hz ~ Fills out the sound6-8kHz ~ Adds prescence

Hi hats or cymbals

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300Hz. To add some brightness try a
small boost around 3kHz.

250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area1-6kHz ~ Adds presence6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity8-12kHz ~

Adds brightness

Bass

Try boosting around 60Hz to add more body. Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off
around 300Hz.If more presence is needed, boost around 6kHz.

50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom end100-250Hz ~ Adds roundness250-800Hz ~ Muddiness

Area800-1kHz ~ Adds beef to small speakers1-6kHz ~ Adds presence6-8kHz ~ Adds
high-end presence8-12kHz ~ Adds hiss

Vocals

This is a difficult one, as it depends on the mic used to record the vocal. However…Apply
either cut or boost around 300hz, depending on the mic and song.Apply a very small
boost around 6kHz to add some clarity.

100-250Hz ~ Adds ‘up-frontness’250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area1-6kHz ~ Adds presence

6-8kHz ~ Adds sibilance and clarity8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness

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Piano

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off around 300Hz. Apply a very small boost
around 6kHz to add some clarity.

50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom100-250Hz ~ Adds roundness250-1kHz ~ Muddiness area1-

6kHz ~ Adds presence6-8Khz ~ Adds clarity8-12kHz ~ Adds hiss

Electric guitars
Again this depends on the mix and the recording. Apply either cut or boost around
300hz, depending on the song and sound. Try boosting around 3kHz to add some edge
to the sound, or cut to add some transparency. Try boosting around 6kHz to add
presence. Try boosting around 10kHz to add brightness.

100-250Hz ~ Adds body250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area1-6Khz ~ Cuts through the mix6-

8kHz ~ Adds clarity8=12kHz ~ Adds hiss

Acoustic guitar

Any apparent muddiness can be rolled off between 100-300Hz. Apply small amounts of
cut around 1-3kHz to push the image higher. Apply small amounts of boost around 5kHz
to add some presence.

100-250Hz ~ Adds body6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness

Strings

These depend entirely on the mix and the sound used.

50-100Hz ~ Adds bottom end100-250Hz ~ Adds body250-800Hz ~ Muddiness area1-

6hHz ~ Sounds crunchy6-8kHz ~ Adds clarity8-12kHz ~ Adds brightness

———–

50Hz

1. Increase to add more fullness to lowest frequency instruments like foot, toms, and the
bass.2. Reduce to decrease the “boom” of the bass and will increase overtones and the
recognition of bass line in the mix. This is most often used on bass lines in Rap and R&B.
__________

100Hz

Increase to add a harder bass sound to lowest frequency instruments.Increase to add

fullness to guitars, snare.Increase to add warmth to piano and horns.Reduce to remove
boom on guitars & increase clarity.__________

200Hz

1. Increase to add fullness to vocals.2. Increase to add fullness to snare and guitar
(harder sound).3. Reduce to decrease muddiness of vocals or mid-range instruments.4.
Reduce to decrease gong sound of cymbals.__________
400Hz

1. Increase to add clarity to bass lines especially when speakers are at low volume.2.
Reduce to decrease “cardboard” sound of lower drums (foot and toms).3. Reduce to
decrease ambiance on cymbals.__________

800Hz

1. Increase for clarity and “punch” of bass.2. Reduce to remove “cheap” sound of guitars
__________

1.5KHz

1. Increase for “clarity” and “pluck” of bass.2. Reduce to remove dullness of guitars.
__________

3KHz

1. Increase for more “pluck” of bass.

2. Increase for more attack of electric / acoustic guitar.

3. Increase for more attack on low piano parts.

4. Increase for more clarity / hardness on voice.

5. Reduce to increase breathy, soft sound on background vocals.

6. Reduce to disguise out-of-tune vocals / guitars__________

5KHz

1. Increase for vocal presence.2. Increase low frequency drum attack (foot/toms).3.
Increase for more “finger sound” on bass.4. Increase attack of piano, acoustic guitar and
brightness on guitars.5. Reduce to make background parts more distant.6. Reduce to
soften “thin” guitar.__________

7KHz

1. Increase to add attack on low frequency drums (more metallic sound).2. Increase to
add attack to percussion instruments.3. Increase on dull singer.4. Increase for more
“finger sound” on acoustic bass.5. Reduce to decrease “s” sound on singers.6. Increase to
add sharpness to synthesizers, rock guitars, acoustic guitar and piano.__________

10KHz

1. Increase to brighten vocals.2. Increase for “light brightness” in acoustic guitar and
piano.3. Increase for hardness on cymbals.4. Reduce to decrease “s” sound on singers.
__________

15KHz

1. Increase to brighten vocals (breath sound).2. Increase to brighten cymbals, string

instruments and flutes.3. Increase to make sampled synthesizer sound more real.

————————————–

80hz – rumble of the bass100hz – thump of the kick200hz – bottom of the guitar250hz
– warmth of the vocal350hz – bang of the snare400hz – body of the bass500hz – clang
of the high hat600hz – clang of the cymbals800hz – ping of ride cymbal1000hz – meat
of the guitar1200hz – body of the snare1400hz – meat of the vocal1600hz – snap of the
kick/plectrum on guitar (attack)2500hz – wires and snap of snare3000hz – presence of
the vocal4000hz – ring of ride cymbal/top end of bass guitar6000hz – sizzle of the high
hat7000hz – sizzle of the cymbals8000hz – top end of the kick9000hz – brightness on
snare and cymbals10000hz – brightness on vocal12000hz – air on vocal14000hz – air
on cymbals