The Art of EQ and Instrument Effects

[HarleyQuinn]

Feel free to post examples that you guys like as well (and why if possible).

A great instrument chart: Instrument Frequency Chart

Fun With EQ - The most popular EQ is the 32 graphic band type. Higher end systems offer far more ability to zero in on certain frequencies, etc. but this is a rough guideline. They'll vary between songs but these are the "main" areas. A lot of this works in Audacity if you want to EQ a song that doesn't feature X instrument prominently or overfeatures Y instrument.

General Rule of Thumb: Cut (-1 to -3 dB) instead of Boost. If you want to feature an instrument, cutting out another instrument within that same frequency range is usually more desirable. I rarely cut or boost more than 3 dB unless it's an incredibly harsh/bad sound to the mix or incredibly buried.

20H - 31H = Sub Bass Level. Rarely heard or used, sometimes in Club Dance tracks.
40H = Kick Drum
50H = Toms
63H = Low End Bass Guitar/Toms
80H = Bass Guitar
100H = Thick Bass Guitar/Low End Guitar
125H = Upper End Bass Guitar
160H = Low End Guitar/Distortion
200H = Guitar/Vocals Power ....... Low End Strumming of Acoustic Guitar
250H = Upper End Guitar/Vocals Power ............. Midrange Strumming of Acoustic Guitar
315H = Vocal Clarity ............. Upper End Strumming of Acoustic Guitar
400H = Low End Midrange of Guitars/Vocals/Kick/Toms
500H = Midrange of Guitars/Vocals/Kick/Toms
630H = Upper End Midrange of Guitars/Vocals/Kick/Toms
800H = Force/Sheen of Guitars/Vocals
1000K = Force/Sheen of Guitars/Toms
1250K = Low End Attack on Guitar
1600K = Low End Attack on Guitar/Vocals Presence
2000K = Midrange Attack on Guitar
2500K = Midrange Attack on Guitar
3150K = Upper End Attack on Guitar/Vocals Clarity
4000K = Attack on Bass Guitar/Clean Kick Drum
5000K = Crash on Cymbals & Hi-Hats. [Be Careful Here: This tends to "push" everything closer to the listener]
6300K = Cleaner Toms
8000K = Cleaner Toms (Boxy Sound)
10000K = Pick of Bass Guitar/Presence of Toms
12500K = Pick of Bass Guitar/Presence of Kick Drum
16000K = Pick and Presence of Guitar
20000K = Air/Breathy Sound in Vocals

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Breaking this off into its own thread after re-going through the EQ spectrum. For anybody who's ever thought, "I wish this track had more bass/snare (aka kick) drum" or "These vocals are really shrill/harsh, the guitar sounds awful" this should definitely help you out as you experiment in Audacity or whatever. I've broken these down by instruments to make it easier.

These aren't hard and fast for every single song but it's a great way to zero in roughly on where they should be. Also they are far, far more detailed than general EQ notes you'd find elsewhere on other websites.

One thing I like doing is taking favorite songs and experimenting with different frequencies. If I raise 400 by 5 dB, how does it effect X Instruments? What about if I cut by 4 dB at 2,500? How's the balance? Which instrument(s) got nullified and which got boosted?

The Golden Rule: If you want to balance mixes and take out/lower instruments, try cutting -1 to -4 dB in certain frequencies. If you boost, you'll likely need to cut elsewhere e.g. If I boost at 160 by 2 dB to get more low mid on my Acoustic Guitar, I may need to cut 0.5 a dB at 200 to keep the Toms in focus and -1 dB at 1,600 to keep the Mid Attack/Up Attack in there.

General Notes
Low = Bass/Bottom of an Instrument. This can be the thump/deep boom
Mid = Center of an Instrument. Usually this is a focal point/clarity
Up = Highs on an Instrument. This can be the shrill/feedback

Attack = Tends to be shine/sheen. Can also feature "plucking" of guitars

Acoustic Guitar
100 = Low
125 = Low
160 = Low Mid
200 = Low Mid
250 = Mid
315 = Mid
400 = Up Mid
500 = Up Mid
1,600 = Low Attack
2,000 = Mid Attack
2,500 = Up Attack
10,000 = Low Sheen
12,500 = Mid Sheen
16,000 = Up Sheen

Bass Guitar
<31 = Sub/Woofer Thump
40 = Low
50 = Low Mid
63 = Low Mid
80 = Mid
100 = Mid
125 = Up Mid
160 = Up Mid
200 = Up
800 = Sheen
3,200 = Low Attack
4,000 = Mid Attack
5,000 = Up Attack
16,000 = Low Sheen
20,000 = Mid Sheen
>25,000 = Up Sheen

Cymbals/Hi-Hats
5,000
6,300

Lead Guitar
100 = Low
125 = Low
160 = Low Mid
200 = Low Mid
250 = Mid
315 = Mid
400 = Up Mid
500 = Up Mid
630 = Low Sheen
800 = Low Sheen
1,000 = Mid Sheen, Guitar Can Sound Shrill
1,250 = Mid Sheen
1,600 = Up Sheen
2,000 = Up Sheen/Low Attack
2,500 = Mid Attack
3,150 = Up Attack
8,000 = Low Shine
10,000 = Mid Shine
12,500 = Up Shine
>25,000 = Ringing Sheen

Piano
125 = Low
160 = Low
200 = Low Mid
250 = Low Mid
315 = Mid
400 = Mid
500 = Up Mid
630 = Up Mid
800 = Up
1,000 = Up
2,000 = Low Attack
2,500 = Mid Attack
3,150 = Up Attack

Snare/Kick Drum
<31 = Low
40 = Low
50 = Mid
63 = Mid
80 = Up
100 = Up
500 = Snare Sheen
4,000 = Attack
16,000 = Low Attack
20,000 = Mid Attack
>25,000 = Up Attack

Toms Drums
125 = Low
160 = Low
200 = Mid
250 = Mid
315 = Up
400 = Up
630 = Sheen
1,250 = Sheen
1,600 = Clacky Sticks/Boxy Toms
8,000 = Low Attack
10,000 = Mid Attack
12,500 = Up Attack

Vocals Male
200 = Low
250 = Low
315 = Mid - Enunciation/Clarity of Speech Here
400 = Mid
500 = Up
630 = Up, Background
800 = Low Sheen, Background, Echoey Sound
1,000 = Mid Sheen, Telephone Sound
1,250 = Mid Sheen
1,600 = Up Sheen
2,000 = Up Sheen
20,000 = Breathy
>25,000 = Breathy

Vocals Female
80 = Low
100 = Low
125 = Low
160 = Mid - Enunciation/Clarity of Speech Here
200 = Mid
250 = Up
315 = Up, Background
400 = Low Sheen, Background
500 = Low Sheen
630 = Mid Sheen
800 = Mid Sheen
1,000 = Up Sheen
1,250 = Up Sheen
20,000 = Breathy
>25,000 = Breathy