Recommended EQ Frequencies (tipsheet)

[ghost]

Hi, picked this up off the net a few years ago - it's VERY useful. Print it off and stick it on the wall next to your mixer or PC. Anyone got any extra tips to add?

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Recommended Equalisation Frequencies

By Robert Dennis

Administrator, Recording Institute Of Detroit

As published in Recording Engineers Quarterly at http://www.recordingeq.com

Original document: http://www.pcmusic.co.za/archive/2002/august/eq/index4.php

50Hz

1. Increase to add more fullness to lowest frequency instruments like foot, floor tom, and the bass.

2. Reduce to decrease to "boom" of the bass and will increase overtones and the recognition of bass line in the mix. This is most often used on loud bass lines like rock.

100Hz

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

2. Increase to add fullness to guitars, snare.

3. Increase to add warmth to piano and horns.

4. 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 (especially rock 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.

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[Frosty Jack]

You, Sir, are a veritable gem...

[ghost]

Glad to pass this on - just in time for your recording eh so you can confuse Capt. Tom with technical jargon....

[soundian]

Originally posted by ghost:

7kHz

3. Increase on dull singer.

I may have a use for that.

One thing to note though is that increasing frequencies is much more noticeable to the ear than decreasing them. Increase with caution.

Also sustained monitoring will 'dull' your ears and you may make the mix brighter than you intended. Always check mixes with a fairly fresh set of ears.

Shit-in, shit-out. If it's not been recorded well no amount of EQing will make it good.

[ghost]

Good tip - think I'm definitely guilty of making a few CA tracks too bright. When I'm mixing with Cool Edit I usually max out the frequency range so I can hear where it is making the difference and then take it back to 0.5db. Surely you're a fountain of good EQ tips Mr Christie, or do you intend to keep it a dark art?

[spellchecker]

blame the young local bands... i heard he no longer answers any questions above 550Hz.

[soundian]

Not really. I don't really look at what I'm doing too specifically. I know roughly where the problem is and fiddle about there til it sounds better.

Live sound is different to recording anyway. With all the limiting factors it's much more a case of 'engineering' than 'sound'.

Some things I find myself doing again and again though.

Drums. The 'click' is very important. adding some top end, normally a bit on a 12 kHz shelving filter and a little on about 5 kHz will give drums a bit more 'bite' and enable them to define themselves in the mix, sortof drawing your ears to them with the initial attack.

Snares if they aren't bottom miked can usually benefit from a little lift about 3 kHz. This normally increases the 'snare' sound and helps it cut. I've tried putting on a bit at 250 Hz on some snares and it does tend to 'beef them up' nicely but I find that generally gets swamped in the mix, that's a busy frequency range.

Bass. One of the hardest to get right. It relies so much on the actual bass itself. This is normally a trial and error job. Make it toppier than you think it should be when you PFL it so it can cut. Slightly off topic but a 6-10 dB compression normally works for me.

Guitars. Depends so much on the set-up.

Acoustics. See bass but with less compression.

Vocals. I'd need a whole chapter for them.

A lot of it is down to keeping the top end clear for the definition. eg Loud fizzy guitars and incessant cymbal bashing makes this impossible meaning other things have to be lifted out of the mix or made 'harsh' to cut. Keep this in mind in your songwriting and recording and you should come up with recordings which have more 'space' in them.

[ghost]

Duly added to my EQ sheet - thanks!