Frequencies to Boost or Cut for More Space

– Often 250Hz and 400Hz to 500Hz Contain a Lot Of Energy which also Prevents the Vocals from Cutting Through, i.e. Reduce the Energy on Some Instruments in Favor of the Vocals

– You can also Reduce the Mid Signal but Increase the Side on Concurrence Elements so the Vocals have More Space in the Mids, but be Careful to Not Thin Out Other Instruments

– a Melody will Likely also Fight with Vocals Around 1500Hz and Around 5000Hz 

– High Cut Side to Keep Sides with a Little Resonance at the Cutoff Point, Use Linear Phase

– Make 3-4 Dips in the Side Where Low Resonances and Boxiness Occur (Between 300Hz and 500Hz), use Dynamic EQ Option

– Make 2-3 Dips in the Side Where High Resonances and Boxiness Occur (Between 4000Hz and 7000Hz), use Dynamic EQ Option

– Low Cut Stuff Around 15kHz Except for the Elements that Really Live there Such as Hi Hats and Main Vocal 

– Make Broad Boosts in the Sides to Counter Dips

– 1000Hz to 3000Hz = Vocals Intelligibility but also a Lot of Other Instruments Fight Each Other (Especially Guitar against Vocals)

– 60Hz to 120Hz = Kick and Bass Fight Each Other

– 5000Hz to 6000Hz = Problem Zone for Presence in the Midrange, e.g. Cymbals vs Guitars vs Keyboards, Fix by Boost 5000Hz to 6000Hz Range of a Certain Instrument but Cut on the Other

4000Hz = Although it is the Half of 8000Hz (thus Even Harmonic Based), the 4000Hz is a Rather Aggressive Frequency for the Human Ear and Commonly Reduced therefore

– Remove Content from Any Track that Adds Nothing Meaningful

– 700Hz = Annoying Marine Sub Like Alarm Tone, e.g. Snare or Vocals can have Such Resonances

– 2400Hz = Our Ear is Especially Sensitive from 2000Hz to 4000Hz, 2400Hz is a Good Place to Start Checking if the Ear Gets Fatigue

– Ghost Frequencies = Frequencies that we can Not Hear but are Omnipresent, Rather in the Low End, e.g. Since you can Not Hear Try a Roll Off Cut and Check if the Image is Cleaner

– 300Hz to 400Hz = Mud, Sounds Like Stuff is Recorded in a Cardboard Box, e.g. Toms, Kicks, Drums in general but Especially Bass

– 10000Hz = Roll Off Highs on Rhythm Guitars

– 60Hz = Help Kick Cut Through a Mix, Boosts the Low End of the Entire Track

– 8000Hz = Spice Up the Live of the Mix

– Smiley Face = Dip Mid while “Boost” High and Low, i.e. You Do Not Really Boost Anything but since you Cut the Mid you Create More Room for Low and High

– 200Hz = Boost Body of Snare and Vocal

• Dip Mid Channel on the Stereo Buss Around 1.3kHz About 3dB but then Add the Same Spot Back In the Side Channel, i.e. Fill the Side Channel of Mostly Mono Placed Material with Harmonics

– often really Annoying Frequencies of Violins are from 2700Hz to 5000Hz, which can be Attenuated with a Compressor plus a Narrow EQ Cut at 3000Hz (some EQ Automation is always Nice to Balance a Violin additionally e.g. make it Fuller or Thinner where needed)

• the Bass Fundamental is Commonly Sitting Around 45-55 Hz

• Below 50Hz you can Easily Cut Most Non Low Sounds, but for Cuts Above 50Hz you Should Consider to Automate a Low Shelf Filter (Not HPF)

– as a Rule of Thumb, if you Only Need to Cut 1 Narrow Range it is Better to Use 1 Peak Filter Band and Dip that Range (Instead Boost Everything Else), on the Other Hand if you Want to Boost a Sound to Pop in 1 Range it is Better to Dip Everything Else but Boost that Range to Level Match the Loss of the Everything Else Dip (e.g. Low Shelf Up to 200 at -2.7dB/ High Shelf Down to 2kHz at -2.7dB / Boost Peak Filter at 1khz +2.9)

– Try Shelve the Snare / HiHat / Room Mics / Cymbals between 110Hz and 150Hz, i.e. a 12dB Shelf

• A Great Trick Instead Solo or Boost a Band is to Judge by the Absence of a Frequency, e.g. Reduce a Band by 10dB with a Bell and Q of Around 4, Start with 100Hz / 500Hz / 2kHz / 5kHz, then 50Hz / 200Hz / 1kHz / 3kHz, i.e. Listen if You Miss the Frequency or if it is Even Better (Again, Judge by the Absence of a Frequency)

• Take Away 4dB with Q of 4 at Around 4kHz on 808 / 909 Hats (or Rides), Generally from 3kHz to 4kHz, this Helps to Put Focus on Other Instruments by Removing the Constant Ringing Resonances from the 808 / 909 Character

• Remember that for Vinyl the Bass was Cut at 40Hz or 50Hz plus the Bass was Mono In Phase at the Lowest Region, the Sides are Cut between 150Hz to 300Hz (by Neumann Vinyl Cutting Machine Elliptical EQ)

– Majority of High Frequencies in the Kick and Bass Occur with Roughly the First 50ms

• Remember the Lowest 2 Octaves are Around 50Hz and Around 100Hz, this is a Very Narrow Range to Fix Things (i.e. if you Look at 1000Hz and 2000Hz those to Higher 2 Octaves have Much More Space in Between)

• To Test a EQ Plugin, Try 60Hz Boost / 200Hz Dip / 5kHz Boost / 8kHz or 9kHz Shelf Boost, as Those Spots are Often Used in Mastering

• There is No Musical Information Above 4kHz, i.e. Above 4kHz You have Overtones / Hi Hats / Noise / Sibilants etc. but No Fundamental Nor Harmonic Information, Even the Highest Note on a Violin is 4kHz, Similar Below 200Hz you have Thump of the Music but No Recognizable Musical Information, thus that is Why the Midrange is so Important and Records Live in the Midrange

• if you Pan Hard Left / Right and the Parts Still Do Not Stick Out as Desired, Use EQ on Both Sides and Do Different (Counter) Settings on Each, e.g. Boost High Shelf Left but Reduce High Shelf Right, or Peak Left at 1.6kHz and Peak Right at 3.2kHz, if Guitars then HP Both at 180Hz so Drum and Bass have All the Room to Breathe

– Modern Mixes (Especially EDM) are Not Doing a Hard Low Cut in the Sides (e.g. Mono Bass Below 120Hz), i.e. Mostly They Cut a Little More in the Sides than in the Mid Channel but the Side Curve Looks Quite Similar to the Mid Curve (Below Some Modern Mixes Frequency Curve with White = Mid and Blue = Side)

– 2kHz and 4kHz are Frequencies we are Very Sensitive, so Could be Spots You Use a Resonance Suppression Tool, but Use Resonance Suppression Tools Within a Range (e.g. 2kHz to 4kHz), in General More in the High Range to Fix Harshness

– Motorcity EQ (Passive) has Fixed Frequencies at 50 / 130 / 320 / 800 /2000 / 5000 / 12500

– Often Vocal are Too Boomy or Muddy Between 100Hz and 300Hz, Make Bell or Shelf Cuts

– Real Width Comes Especially from 2 Instruments that Play Opposing  Rhythms and then Pan Them Hard Left / Right (be it Keyboards, Guitars, Percussion, Voices, Strings Stabs etc.), to Add on that it is Even Better when the 2 Opposing Instruments have Slightly Contrasting Tones (e.g. Instrument 1 = Dominant 400Hz to 1kHz and Instrument 2 = Dominant 1kHz to 2.5kHz)

• To Mimic (or Restore) a Good Vocal Mics Proximity Effect Boost a Little at 100Hz and Cut Harshness Around 2kHz and Muddiness at Around 500H

• Often Harsh / Resonating Frequencies on a Guitar or Guitar Stack are Around 3100Hz

• Stick with the Moves you Got, i.e. if the Result is Not there Yet Do Not Go Backwards and Change Previous Moves that you Trusted, Instead Call Another Tool and Correct the Spot, e.g. you have EQed a Vocal with a 3 Band EQ by Reducing a Little at 300Hz / Pushing a Little at 1.6kHz / Reducing a Little at 3 kHz but the Result is Not Fully Satisfying (as Its Missing Bite), then Add Bite with Another EQ by Increasing 2.5kHz or 3.2kHz a Little (Instead Changing the Decisions Made with the 3 Band EQ)

– Overtones in the Mid Frequencies are Very Important, in General Most Problems and thus Fixes are in the Mids from 200Hz to 5000Hz (or 100Hz to 8000Hz) and when you Get these Right then the Lows and High Speak for Themselves 

– Create a Peak Band with a Q of 1 and then Sweeps Up /Down the Frequency Spectrum with a Boost to Hear What Different Qualities a Sound has Before he Actually EQs the Element, i.e. Boost Around 9dB in Lowest Range and Go Back to Zero -> then Boost Around 9dB in Low Mids Range and Go Back to Zero -> then Boosts Around 9dB in Higher Mids Range and Go Back to Zero and so On

– to Bring Vocals to the Front, Push 5dB Between 400Hz + 500Hz with a Q Around 2, then also Push 5dB Around 3000Hz with a Q Around 1, then also Push 2dB Around 5000Hz with a Q Around 1.6

– to Make Claps Sound Out of Speakers Boost at 1 kHz (e.g. + 8dB at 1kHz) and Between 10kHz + 20kHz with a Q Around 3 (e.g. + 12dB at 12kHz), i.e. Put this on a Clap Group After the Main EQ, You Could also Apply this EQ to the Reverb

– Try the “Blauert” Trick to Enhance the Width by Boosting Side Signal by 1dB at 352Hz, Try this also between 500Hz and 600Hz (Benefits Guitars) or also between 1000Hz and 2000Hz (Benefits Upper Mids) or also between 4000Hz and 5000Hz (Benefits Overheads), in Any Case Check the Q Factor to Not Spread the Entire Side Signal but Selected Elements