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-- How should I EQ my sounds?
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further to the info provided elsewhere in this thread, there should never be any situation in which you should always cut over boosting. cutting (subtractive EQing) is for general purposes recommended wherever possible and sometimes preferable to boosting (additive EQing) because you get headroom by doing this. headroom is the difference between the peak level in your track and 0 dB. you always want a little bit of headroom to ensure no element of your track cuts off by getting any louder than 0 dB. also, the more headroom you have at the end of your mixdown, the louder you can make it by raising the master level to just below 0 dB.

the trick isnt to subtractive EQ all the time. at the end of the day you just gotta go with your ears. however, you should be careful using additive EQ when you are working close to 0 dB because you can make bits of sound clip by boosting too much and going over 0 dB.

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about EQing. there is no fix it all solution to EQing each part of your track. if you run various kick drums through a spectrum analyser you will see that all of them occupy different frequencies. some more than others. for this reason you cannot take the following information as completely PER SE for every situation. it is just a fairly rough guide.

Frequency Range: Too much of this.

10hz to 60hz: gives a blunt, muddy quality.

60hz to 250hz: gives a boomy, indistinct quality.

250hz to 2,000hz: gives a telephone like quality and above
1,000hz a tinny, hollow sound to bass
instruments + bassy percussion.

2,000hz to 4,000hz: gives a blunt, ear hurting kind of quality.
most vocals reside here cuz this is the
range where speech recognition occurs.

4,000hz to 6,000hz: gives a hissing quality to vocals and lead
instruments.

6,000hz to 16,000hz: gives even more hissing and a harshness to
vocals, leads and high hats.

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Instrument:

kick drum - slap around 2,500hz. thud around 200 to 500hz.
bottom end around 60 to 80hz.

snare - thickness around 250hz. definition around 1,000hz.
crispness around 1,500 to 2,500hz.

hihats - clang around 200 to 500hz. sizzle around 7,000
8,000hz. hiss around 8,000 to 10,000hz

piano - bass around 80 to 150hz. definition around 3,000
5,000hz. sibilance at 8,000 to 10,000hz.

vox - punch around 250hz, definition around 5,000hz.
hiss around 7,000 to 8,000hz. airy quality past
12,000hz

bass - boom and deepness around 60 to 80hz. prominance
around 700 to 1,000hz.


if you EQ various bits of your song efficiently, shelving off frequencies you dont want or use then you will have more headroom at the end of your mix (which is always good). your songs should sound cleaner and louder in the long run. lets say you have a pattern of hihats at 1/16th intervals and you dont want the clanginess or the bottom end, just the click and hiss. make a deep cut below 1,000hz. it'll get rid of the hihat clanginess so if you ever decide for example (and for whatever reason) to add cowbells at 1/4 intervals it'll sound cleaner and more defined in the mix.

also, get something like waves PAZ analyser or a spectrum analyser. run the instruments you want to use through them and they will show you which frequencies that instrument occupies on a graph. you can then EQ each one based on that information. this is more accurate than the stuff provided above. to check on headroom use a dB meter. try to use parametric EQs rather than band EQs. parametric EQs are just much more controllable. i rarely ever use fruity 7 band EQ for example. i suppose its good for making broad changes to the dynamic of a sound by you can do that with a parametric EQ aswell as make very fine adjustments between small freq ranges.

also, if 2 instruments share alot of the same frequencies and are playing at the time time, they will 'stack up.' e.g. you got a kick drum (most of it around 60 to 500hz) and a bassline that occupies roughly the same frequencies and you are working close to 0dB. when both hit at the same time you get double the presence between 60 and 500hz and it will go over 0dB and clip. one solution here is make a notch around 250hz on the bassline to cut away some of the frequency which is occupied by the kick. if you do that you will get less of the bassline in that frequency (the bassline may sound a bit thinner as a result) and you may hear more of the kick drum thud. you gain a little headroom too. you need to play around though to see what works best and where. sometimes its a good idea to remove a little bit of the bottom end of a bass to get a thicker fuller presence on the kicks. you can compensate for this later when you accumulate headroom so you can thicken up the bass end of your track once you've got 1 or 2 dB to play around with.

Thanks Derivative!!! Your post is so informative!

I think too much is made of the cutting versus boosting debate. I find that sometimes, the only way to make a lead or bass cut through is with heavy EQ. Granted, with the filter and resonance you could probably do something similar, but why would you with a quality EQ.

Note, when you do boost, don't use to narrow a Q.

It is all between your ears..

pretty much yea. was just listening to lucid's i cant help myself and that track is really loud and crisp. very tight bass end. thats efficient EQing. i mean, they got so much headroom!

Here, Check this out- EQ Tutorial Ta-da!

That computer music tutorial is top, is there any more on the net ?

its defenitely better to cut than to boost... if you boost, dont boost more than 1-3 db.. but cutting of is never a problem. mainly cut sounds (hihats, ride, cymbal, leads, pads, sequences, percussion, addon-drumloops) in the low and low-mid range so theres enough room left for the kick drum and the basslines..

dont do too much equing.. if you add sequence by sequence in your Midi-Audio sequencer always check the sound of the new tracks after recording.. if it sounds well go ahead to the next track.. if not, check the eq settings and apply changes... this way you keep control over the sound..

my power tipp: dont eq the kick ! high quality kick samples from commercial sampling cds are already eq'ed and compressed enough... never cut the high frequencies from the kick, only if you want to lower the punch of the kick.. same with the basslines...

quote:

Originally posted by BassAttack_22 its defenitely better to cut than to boost... if you boost, dont boost more than 1-3 db.. but cutting of is never a problem. mainly cut sounds (hihats, ride, cymbal, leads, pads, sequences, percussion, addon-drumloops) in the low and low-mid range so theres enough room left for the kick drum and the basslines..

True in general - most common use of EQ for me is to cut the bass frequencies from all non-bass channels - but there's nothing *wrong* with boosting if you've given yourself headroom. Use a fairly low Q on it and it won't sound strange. The best strategy for me seems to get a really beefy bass going and then EQ the other sounds up in the mid-high frequencies to fill the track. But of course that may not be the best strategy for everyone.

quote:

dont do too much equing.. if you add sequence by sequence in your Midi-Audio sequencer always check the sound of the new tracks after recording.. if it sounds well go ahead to the next track.. if not, check the eq settings and apply changes... this way you keep control over the sound..

Again, true in general but it depends on the source material. Good samples should not need much EQ, but if you're mixing many channels then it may be necessary in order for it not to get muddy.

quote:

my power tipp: dont eq the kick ! high quality kick samples from commercial sampling cds are already eq'ed and compressed enough... never cut the high frequencies from the kick, only if you want to lower the punch of the kick.. same with the basslines...

Definitely don't agree here. First of all, punch is in the low-mid frequencies (250 - 500 Hz). The high frequencies are referred to as "click", which you don't hear much of in many genres (house, breaks, d'n'b, etc.). Also, the primary use of EQ is not to remove click or improve punchiness or click, but to fit it with the bassline(s). The ideal thing to do (for me) is start with a kick and bass that are "full" in terms of the spectrum - then cut away frequencies on one and boost them on the other (using a medium Q) so they become more distinct and less muddy.

But as I always say, this isn't an exact science. That's why whenever I answer these questions I qualify my answer with a "what I do is..." - it's never a good idea to pass off production tips as cold hard facts because production isn't a cold or hard science.

You can't really apply a universal rule. No two kicks will sound the same, no two leads will sound the same... You just have to go by ear and pick whatever sounds good. As for kicks, I usually end up EQing them. Sometimes I'll even boost the higher frequencies a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut quote: my power tipp: dont eq the kick ! high quality kick samples from commercial sampling cds are already eq'ed and compressed enough... never cut the high frequencies from the kick, only if you want to lower the punch of the kick.. same with the basslines... Definitely don't agree here. First of all, punch is in the low-mid frequencies (250 - 500 Hz). The high frequencies are referred to as "click", which you don't hear much of in many genres (house, breaks, d'n'b, etc.). Also, the primary use of EQ is not to remove click or improve punchiness or click, but to fit it with the bassline(s). The ideal thing to do (for me) is start with a kick and bass that are "full" in terms of the spectrum - then cut away frequencies on one and boost them on the other (using a medium Q) so they become more distinct and less muddy.

true... just let me add something, forget the bassline, because the sample was eq-ed already by a pro it means that you shouldnt touch it? of course you can cuz the "pro" did it with his standards.

and i hear this alot: "dont compress your kicks cuz they are already compressed"

as far as i know, you compress your kick ALONE when you want to change the dynamics to fit YOUR needs, you are not using the comp as limiter or w/e. the kick is a sample and it will hit the same every time you play it solo. you compress the kick with the bass if you want a limiter fx from the compressor.

^ Yeah, pretty much. Well, saying that something's been "professionally EQed" just demonstrates a lack of understanding of what EQ is really for. It's not usually done to make an instrument or sample sound better, it's done to make it sit better or stand out more in a mix. If your mix doesn't sound muddy with no EQ, great!

As for compressing the kicks, most "professional" kick samples are NOT already compressed. In fact, most knowledgeable people will tell you never to use pre-processed kicks. If a kick has already been compressed to shit, then when you compress it again with the bass it's going to sound clipped and stupid.

Personally, I compress my kick and bass separately and then put a compressor + limiter on the group channel. If you're able to do that without causing any pumping, it can give some really chunky bass. But you still sometimes need to EQ them to make sure that the kick is distinct from the bass, otherwise it just sounds like chunky mud.

quote:

Originally posted by moth Thy will most likely follow this all up with a huge post making anything I say pointless, but oh well:

No I won't

I've written a long enough guide for the tranceproduction site already.

Cutting vs boosting is mostly right for corrective EQ (as that's the cleanest way to do it, boosting will generally bring up unwanted stuff too, especially with shelves). For "creative EQ, it's part of the sound you're creating, so do whatever you want.

But one thing about the "don't eq because pro's already eq'ed it". There's one thing you should take in account, and it doesn't apply for EQ only, but for all the other effetcs or processes you do.

There is a big difference between making sound something good in isolation and making something glue with the rest. If you buy sample cd's, the treatment done on the samples is usually done to make them sound good alone, so you'll go "wow" and buy them.
Eq'ing to make something fit in the mix depends on the mix itself. If you make ten songs with the same sampled kick, you'll probably end up eq'ing the kick ten different ways.

It's all good to know some basic frequencies to work faster, but as Subtle already mentioned, your ears are the most important tools. The best advice I can give you isn't about frequencies and db's and whatnot. It's just that : listen to what you are doing in relation to your complete mix, dont't try to make it sound great in isolation.

When I do mixes for clients, most of the time I'm eq'ing while listening to the rest of the instruments, not in solo.

See, moth, my post wasn't soooo big

It would be great if someone could make two .flp files. One with a muddy kick + bass and the other with eq used to fit both in the mix. I want to see how you 'pro's' do that. Such an example would really help me (and i think many others) in understanding how to eq

From what I have learned it's best to EQ as little as possible. It's important to get samples that sound good in the first place. And tweak your synths to sound good without effects, dynamics or EQ. After that you could EQ slightly, but I wouldn't use EQ to completely remoddel a sound becouse the quality will no be as good.

If you do accentuate a certain frequency too much than you drown out other frequencies of the sound. This is especialy harmfull to the harmonics of a sample.

Also when mastering you would often add a compressor, maybe a multiband-compressor. These tools react to the amplitude of the sound. If one sound is extremely loud in a very small freqency range then the compressor will react to that level. Giving you a very unnatural sounding master.

hope this helps you.

kind regards,

Charlie Darwin

good point, charles

as Subtle said, it's all about your ears and what is between them. if you think your track sounds good, then it probably does sound good no matter how many articles you've read or not about eqing.

It's actually pretty funny to read the interplay between the EQ advocates, the Compression advocates and the musical purists. Everyone either thinks that EQ is everything, or EQ is worthless. Compression is everything, or compressors are garbage.

Guys, for pete's sake, please listen: EQ and compression are tools to be used when needed in a mix. You do not need a compressor on every track, and you do not need EQ on every track! I fear that the phrase "use your ears" is falling on deaf ears, on people who think that if they can just find and apply the right formula then they will suddenly and magically be able to hear the fine details. Or, on people with mediocre production skills who believe they have found this magic formula and want to feel important by imparting it.

EQ should be used for the specific and SOLE purpose of changing the balance of instruments in a mix. Some tracks may never need a single EQ - great! Most tracks will need at least a handful, though, because there will be instruments which are similar in pitch and tonal quality and need to be made more distinct. Or perhaps in some cases, less distinct! Sometimes we want to create musical "textures" which means creating a little bit of blur/muddiness. In any event, it is an absolute waste of time to apply EQ to a sound without context (i.e. the rest of the mix), and it is pure ignorance to believe that a sound will need no EQ simply because it was "professionally" made.

I know how a lot of people feel about EQ, and it took me a while to get my head around this as well: no matter how kick-ass something sounds on its own, it's not always perfect for a mix. An arp or a pad may sound like absolute *shit* on its own after we've tacked on a highpass filter at 250 Hz, but you'd be amazed at how inaudible the change is when you have your kick and bassline playing. And even though it's inaudible to your ears, it's absolutely ESSENTIAL to remove that "bass mud" from your track in order to bring your master level up and get yourself a nice chunky low end.

Also remember that EQ can be automated. If you've got lush pads that need to have their bass cut in order to sit back in a mix, you can always EQ the bass up again during a breakdown sequence when your kick and bassline are not playing.

Finally, what many people believe to be amazing compression is actually EQ or other mix tricks. Professional tracks may *appear* squashed in a spectrum analyzer or other benchmarks, but they do not usually *sound* squashed. Many producers (including myself in some earlier tracks) will brutally overcompress their work in order to emulate the professional tracks. Guess what - EQ is also a wonderful tool for making tracks sound loud! If you take a very bass- or mid-heavy sound and boost its higher frequencies, you'll find that it barely increases the *actual* volume at all, but may still SOUND much louder. But don't go thinking that you can just throw this kind of curve on your master track; remember that EQ changes the balance of instruments, and boosting the mid/high on the master may sound like crap compared to boosting it on 3 or 4 individual tracks in the mix.

I am by no means perfect in my production skill, but any success I've had I owe to discovering these things *by myself* and not relying on silly formulas or overused "tricks".

/rant

excellent read diginut, as always

I absolutely agree DigiNut. but assuming you're referring to me as a "musical purist" - when I said use your ears, I meant when you're eqing and/or compressing (of course there're elements that don't need either). I've never said and never will that these tools are worthless (or everything).

I had a 80 % improvement in my dynamics when i started cutting everthing in the frequency range 80 Hz to 150Hz,i just boost the subbass like +/-4 db @ 40Hz and set the gain to about 2.0 db gives me very good results indeed but it all depends on the synth u using cause i cant get the same dynamics using a Subtractor oooh it sound very muddy !I need to work on that one.

Yeah i use cubase sx eq it sound clean and is CPU friendly!

DigiNut u are so right man !
DigiNut rules cause he know what hes talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by ronk I absolutely agree DigiNut. but assuming you're referring to me as a "musical purist" - when I said use your ears, I meant when you're eqing and/or compressing (of course there're elements that don't need either). I've never said and never will that these tools are worthless (or everything).

LOL, no, not at all actually. The people who say "use your ears" are right - it's just that the people who are asking the questions don't really understand that answer.

There is a certain cross-section of people here who believe that it's somehow wrong to artificially edit any sound and that things like EQ and compression only wreck the musical purity of a track - hence my referring to them as musical purists.

I believe that those silly ideas come from listening to tracks which have been overcompressed or EQed really badly and assuming that it's the norm. Or maybe they just fear what they don't understand. Regardless, you don't want to listen to those people.

quote:

Originally posted by DigiNut I believe that those silly ideas come from listening to tracks which have been overcompressed or EQed really badly and assuming that it's the norm. Or maybe they just fear what they don't understand. Regardless, you don't want to listen to those people.

hehe you got that right

sidechaining EQ's

Just wanted to add a tip on EQ kick/bass...

This kinda stems from what another member posted earlier about making a notch in the bass to allow the kick thru. Now often in trance bass notes are played on the off beat so to keep the separation between the kick and bass. ie. both can utilize the headroom fully. However, there are many killer bass patterns that have the bass on the downbeat.

Using a sidechained EQ set to cut the bass instruments freqs below say 200hz will allow the kick to cut thru nicely on the downbeat. The bass will still be heard in the the upper freqs above 200hz well. This technique allows both to co-exist happily. There are other creative variations off of this. For example, you could side chain EQ to the bass instead. The kick will have a cut below 200hz now when the bass plays on the down beat. Just the opposite. This is unconventional ofcourse as the kick usually should be strong on the downbeat but it's just an idea to open minds.

Big thick pads can be EQ sidechained to the kick/bass track to say roll off pad freqs below 800hz. This allows big thick pads to play in full range during breaks and then thin out when the kick or bass comes back in. This avoids the need to use an EQ automation track.

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