EQ, or 'equalization' is the process of boosting and cutting frequencies throughout the audible sonic spectrum. Below is a cheat sheet of various frequency ranges that you can adjust to get a little more 'sparkle' out of your mix!

EQ shizzle:

General

* 60Hz with a Q of 1.4 -- Add fullness to kicks.
* 100Hz with a Q of 1.0 -- Add fullness to snare
* 200Hz - 250Hz with a Q of 1.4 -- Adds wood to snares
* 3Khz with a Q of 1.4 -- Adds attack to snare.
* 5Khz with a Q of 2.8 -- Adds attack to Kicks
* 7Khz with a Q of 2.8 -- Adds Sharpness to snares and percussion
* 10Khz with a Q of 1.0 -- Adds brightness to hats and cymbals
* Voice: presence (5 kHz), sibilance (7.5 - 10 kHz), boominess (200 - 240 kHz), fullness (120 Hz)
* Electric Guitar: fullness (240 Hz), bite (2.5 kHz), air / sizzle (8 kHz)
* Bass Guitar: bottom (60 - 80 Hz), attack (700 - 1000 Hz), string noise (2.5 kHz)
* Snare Drum: fatness (240 Hz), crispness (5 kHz)
* Kick Drum: bottom (60 - 80 Hz), slap (4 kHz)
* Hi Hat & Cymbals: sizzle (7.5 - 10 kHz), clank (200 Hz)
* Toms: attack (5 kHz), fullness (120 - 240 Hz)
* Acoustic Guitar: harshness / bite (2 kHz), boominess (120 - 200 Hz), cut (7 - 10 kHz)


Instrument Specific

Bass drum:

* EQ>Cut below 80Hz to remove rumble
* Boost between 80 -125 Hz for bass
* Boost between 3 - 5kHz to get the slap
* PROCESSING> Compression 4:1/6:1 slow attack med release.
* Reverb: Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)



Snare drum:

* EQ> Boost above 2kHz for that crisp edge
* Cut at 1kHz to get rid of the sharp peak
* Boost at 125Hz for a full snare sound
* Cut at 80Hz to remove rumble
* PROCESSING> Compression 4:1 slow attack med release.
* Reverb: Tight room reverb (0.1-0.2ms)


Hi-Hatz:

* EQ> Boost above 5kHz for sharp sparkle
* Cut at 1kHz to remove jangling
* PROCESSING> Compression use high ratio for high energy feel
* Reverb: Looser than Bass n Snare allow the hats and especially
the Rides to ring a little


Frequency Specific

50Hz

* Boost: To thicken up bass drums and sub-bass parts.
* Cut: Below this frequency on all vocal tracks. This should
reduce the effect of any microphone 'pops'.


70-100Hz

* Boost: For bass lines and bass drums.
* Cut: For vocals.
* General: Be wary of boosting the bass of too many tracks. Low
frequency sounds are particularly vulnerable to phase
cancellation between sounds of similar frequency. This can
result in a net 'cut of the bass frequencies.


200-400Hz

* Boost: To add warmth to vocals or to thicken a guitar sound.
* Cut: To bring more clarity to vocals or to thin cymbals and
higher frequency percussion.
* Boost or Cut: to control the 'woody' sound of a snare.


400-800Hz

* Boost: To add warmth to toms.
* Boost or Cut: To control bass clarity, or to thicken or thin
guitar sounds.
* General: In can be worthwhile applying cut to some of the
instruments in the mix to bring more clarity to the bass within
the overall mix.


800Hz-1KHz

* Boost: To thicken vocal tracks. At 1 KHz apply boost to add a
knock to a bass drum.


1-3KHz

* Boost: To make a piano more aggressive. Applying boost between 1KHz and 5KHz will also make guitars and bass lines more cutting.
* Cut: Apply cut between 2 KHz and 3KHz to smooth a harsh sounding vocal part.
* General: This frequency range is often used to make instruments
stand out in a mix.


3-6KHz

* Boost: For a more 'plucked' sounding bass part. Apply boost at
around 6KHz to add some definition to vocal parts and distorted
guitars.
* Cut: Apply cut at about 3KHz to remove the hard edge of piercing
vocals. Apply cut between 5KHZ and 6KHz to dull down some parts
in a mix.


6-10KHz

* Boost: To sweeten vocals. The higher the frequency you boost the
more 'airy/breathy' the result will be. Also boost to add
definition to the sound of acoustic guitars or to add edge to
synth sounds or strings or to enhance the sound of a variety of
percussion sounds. For example boost this range to:

*
o Bring out cymbals.
o Add ring to a snare.
o Add edge to a bass drum.


10-16KHz

* Boost: To make vocals more 'airy' or for crisp cymbals and
percussion. Also boost this frequency to add sparkle to pads,
but only if the frequency is present in the original sound,
otherwise you will
just be adding hiss to the recording.


More instrument specific info

Vocals

General:

* Roll off below 60Hz using a High Pass Filter. This range is
unlikely to contain anything useful, so you may as well reduce
the noise the track contributes to the mix.


Treat Harsh Vocals:

* To soften vocals apply cut in a narrow bandwidth somewhere in
the 2.5KHz to 4KHz range.


Get An Open Sound:

* Apply a gentle boost above 6KHz using a shelving filter.


Get Brightness, Not Harshness:

* Apply a gentle boost using a wide-band Bandpass Filter above
6KHz. Use the Sweep control to sweep the frequencies to get it
right.


Get Smoothness:

* Apply some cut in a narrow band in the 1KHz to 2KHz range.


Bring Out The Bass:

* Apply some boost in a reasonably narrow band somewhere in the
200Hz to 600Hz range.

Radio Vocal Effect:

* Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about
1.5KHz and lots of cut below 700Hz.


Telephone Effect:

* Apply lots of compression pre EQ, and a little analogue
distortion by turning up the input gain. Apply some cut at the
High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5KHz and lots of cut
below 700Hz.

Hi-Hats

Get Definition:

* Roll off everything below 600Hz using a High Pass Filter.


Get Sizzle:

* Apply boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter. Adjust the
bandwidth to get the sound right.


Treat Clangy Hats:

* Apply some cut between 1KHz and 4KHz.


Bass Drum

General:

* Apply a little cut at 300Hz and some boost between 40Hz and
80Hz.


Control The Attack:

* Apply boost or cut around 4KHz to 6KHz.


Treat Muddiness:

* Apply cut somewhere in the 100Hz to 500Hz range.



Guitar

General:

* Apply a little boost between 100Hz and 250Hz and again between
10KHz and 12KHz.


Treat Unclear Vocals:

* Apply some cut to the guitar between 1KHz and 5KHz to bring the
vocals to the front of the mix.


Acoustic Guitar

General:

* Try applying some mid-range cut to the rhythm section to make
vocals and other instruments more clearly heard.

Add Sparkle:

* Try some gentle boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter with a
medium bandwidth.


Miscellaneous

On a bass track, typically, rolling off the track below 50 Hz is a good start. Then boost the EQ in the 300 Hz to 1.5kHz range to add clarity. Pulling this range out will round out the low end. Then start work on the kick drum to support the bass by accenting the mid frequencies (1 kHz) and boosting a little around 80 Hz (3 to 6 dB with a narrow band width). If you are doing an urban mix, then start with the kick as the primary instrument. If working with premixed loops, you probably want to boost the track by about 3 dB in the 120 Hz range for a little more punch. Roll off the top end a little and maybe boost the mid-range a little if needed. Miscellaneous