EQ rules of thumb...

[MrKyle]

I must be missing something here. I've been tuning my mix all of the place and I can't seen to get a balanced EQ sound out of it. I'm starting to lose it. Are there general EQ-ing rules of thumb that I've been overlooking? Are there tricks for making the low -end and the high-end play well together without losing clarity and quality? That is my biggest issue. Everything sounds stable and clear with a flat EQ, but I want to bring it "out", like divide the sounds and give it punch, instead of everything sounding like it is muddled in stereo.

Any help? Thank you all!

[Moseph]

Everything sounds stable and clear with a flat EQ, but I want to bring it "out", like divide the sounds and give it punch, instead of everything sounding like it is muddled in stereo.

Stable and clear is what you ought to be shooting for when you EQ. If it already sounds pretty much like that initially, you may simply be overdoing it with the EQ and/or trying to use EQ to get a sound that would be better achieved through other techniques.

When you EQ tracks, the idea is to reduce the unimportant/unpleasant frequencies in a given track so they won't interfere when those frequencies are needed by a different track. If you're EQ'ing the entire mix (i.e. the master channel), you just want to make subtle changes to balance out frequencies that might be a bit too loud or too soft.

What kind of instruments does this mix use? If you tell us that, I or someone else might be able to make some specific suggestions about how they can generally be EQ'd. Also, do you have access to any sort of file hosting? It would be even better to actually be able hear the mix you're working on.

[DDRKirby(ISQ)]

practice, practice, practice.

EQ can fix some problems, and can't fix others.

[Wiesty]

Unless your going for an optimum/different sound on a vst type thing, Equing is usually not needed, as they are already designed to sound proper, and any further equing would be personal preference. If your recording something with a mic, take a look at your mic's frequence chart and you may wana boost some of the frequencies which the mic tends to lack.

[Tensei]

The only thing that I can think of that comes close to a 'rule of thumb' for eqing is to roll off the lower end on most of the instruments. The bass and the lower mid frequencies often tend to get swamped because there's a lot of instruments active in that range, so if you get that part of the frequency range right, the rest usually tends to be a breeze.

Also, some other general pointers:

- Cut, rather than boost

- Only use EQ where you think it's necessary, don't think OMG ITS AN INSTRUMENT IT NEEDS EQ.

- Listen a lot to your mix throughout the progress, save under different file names, and keep a good reference with your starting point. That way, when you screw up, you can always go back.

[Argle]

For a clear mix you often need to cut more than you think you do. And do low cuts on everything but bass instruments, it will help immensely.

[Zephyr]

Try to cut down on th frequencies used by each individual instrument, that allows for each instrument to have it's own "space" seriously though, you should need intense eq envelopes for the master channel. Compression can be equally as important as EQ, so don't forget about that.

[SnappleMan]

Unless your going for an optimum/different sound on a vst type thing, Equing is usually not needed, as they are already designed to sound proper, and any further equing would be personal preference. If your recording something with a mic, take a look at your mic's frequence chart and you may wana boost some of the frequencies which the mic tends to lack.

You fail. VSTs are NOT made to sound "proper", the ones that aren't completely unprocessed are made to sound decent as a starting point. You have to EQ everything because the dynamics of a mix change from song to song. Generalizing like this is a surefire path to continued failure.

The most important thing you need to do when you get to the EQ portion of the mixing process is to stop and think about what your goal for the song is. If it's a rock, hip hop, dance, techno (or any other similar style) tune, then your first order of business is to get a good sounding bass drum. You should EQ everything around that bass drum, and make sure you leave plenty of room between the lower registers of your mix. NOTHING eats up a compressors bandwidth like low frequencies. Seperation in the low end (30-250hz) is the key to clarity, and clarity defines your low end better, and in turn makes it sound more powerful than just boosting the fuck out of all your low frequencies and crowding the spectrum and making a muddy mess.

[Wiesty]

Notice how i said, "Optimized/personal/different" sound? VST's are generally meant to have good sound quality. If you want a different sound, by all means equalize, but as in means of correcting something, no, as i Said in the example. Some mic's lack in certain frequencies, so in those situations, equalizing them to get them back up is usually recommended.

[Tensei]

Notice how i said, "Optimized/personal/different" sound? VST's are generally meant to have good sound quality. If you want a different sound, by all means equalize, but as in means of correcting something, no, as i Said in the example. Some mic's lack in certain frequencies, so in those situations, equalizing them to get them back up is usually recommended.

I don't think you 'get' EQ. It's not meant to personalize or otherwise improve the sound quality of the VST, if anything it actually degrades the sound quality because you shave off certain frequencies (cutting and rolling off is what EQ is used for mostly anyway), which is necessary to make it sit in the mix and not mask out other instruments too much.

Think about how a solo piano would sound horrible if you did something like rolling off at 200 Hz, but when you place it in a rock mix it's almost necessary to do so, so it doesn't conflict with your bass, guitars and kick drum.

tl;dr You fail again

I'd love to hear one of your amazing EQ-less mixes then.

[po!]

EQ philosophy is like girls' makeup philosophy... ie. the end result should look like you're not wearing makeup. similarly, you should EQ such that it doesn't sound like you EQ'd anything, where every instrument sounds natural

start with FLAT EQ. then CUT frequencies in tracks that are too muddy, while maintaining the tonal characteristcs of flat EQ. if you do an A/B comparison of that vs flat EQ, it should sound the same except cleaner and less muddy

if you can get that, then from there you can start shaping things to get a specific sound

[Nicole Adams]

Well said, po!. I also work with EQ the same way.

[MrKyle]

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What kind of instruments does this mix use? If you tell us that, I or someone else might be able to make some specific suggestions about how they can generally be EQ'd. Also, do you have access to any sort of file hosting? It would be even better to actually be able hear the mix you're working on.

See if you can grab the file here if you want a listen. I have female vocals and several electric guitars for live instruments and an assortment of synths throughout. Still going through the replies, but I thought I'd post the song here.

[Fray]

I think you guys are being too hard on Wiesty I believe he's thinking more about the EQ you'd apply to fix problems with live recordings -- there's usually less of it when dealing with VST's. Then you also EQ to make things sit in a mix better, which you still have to do with VST's, because it's relative to what else you have in the mix.

Moseph already said the first thing that came to my mind when I read the first post: you're probably overdoing it. EQ is best applied in small doses unless you're trying to produce a deliberately wacky effect -- 6 dB of boost is a lot unless you're working with a really narrow band (high Q). I read a good observation in an interview (cannot remember who with -- some famous producer): one of the potential problems with software plugins (compared to their older analog equivalents) is that they let you go absolutely ballistic on certain settings. To a beginner, a 20 dB boost on an EQ band might seem like a "moderate" setting because the slider goes from 0-50, but it's not. 20 dB is an insane amount of boost. It's not a problem if you just use your ears, but when you're starting out you don't necessarily know what you're listening for...

[Argle]

Notice how i said, "Optimized/personal/different" sound? VST's are generally meant to have good sound quality. If you want a different sound, by all means equalize, but as in means of correcting something, no, as i Said in the example. Some mic's lack in certain frequencies, so in those situations, equalizing them to get them back up is usually recommended.

It doesn't matter how good a vst sounds, when you layer a bunch of tracks everything gets muddied up. In fact well eq'd parts often don't sound right when soloed, but in the mix they fit properly.

[Harmony]

I can't suggest this guide enough, especially if youre looking for general tips (and there are a few out there) or are specifically looking for info on the mastering stage. Easy to read and easy to apply.

[Wiesty]

I don't think you 'get' EQ. It's not meant to personalize or otherwise improve the sound quality of the VST, if anything it actually degrades the sound quality because you shave off certain frequencies (cutting and rolling off is what EQ is used for mostly anyway), which is necessary to make it sit in the mix and not mask out other instruments too much.

Think about how a solo piano would sound horrible if you did something like rolling off at 200 Hz, but when you place it in a rock mix it's almost necessary to do so, so it doesn't conflict with your bass, guitars and kick drum.

tl;dr You fail again

I'd love to hear one of your amazing EQ-less mixes then.

Well many artists dont even touch a piano with an equalizer, because it has so many frequency ranges, equalizing would pull out certain parts of the piano leaving the sound uneven.

[Tensei]

Well many artists dont even touch a piano with an equalizer, because it has so many frequency ranges, equalizing would pull out certain parts of the piano leaving the sound uneven.

..Which is why I attempted to emphasize the difference between a SOLO piano (where you obviously want the full sound with all the frequencies to come through), and a piano in a mix with guitars, bass and drums, where you will probably HAVE to roll off the lower end of the piano to prevent it from messing the mix up.

[MrKyle]

To a beginner, a 20 dB boost on an EQ band might seem like a "moderate" setting because the slider goes from 0-50, but it's not. 20 dB is an insane amount of boost. It's not a problem if you just use your ears, but when you're starting out you don't necessarily know what you're listening for...

This sounds dead on to me. It's like, you are given the options, and without experience with all of the settings, it's hard to know how much is enough. Expecially when you listen to your mix 50X in a row to try to narrow in on the "problem". I mean, you look at the sliders and think "these all must be (mostly) normal ranges, let's start moving..." This is where the problem lies for me. I'm going to try starting flat again and work from the bass up, not boosting anything until the end, then I'll reevaluate. Everyone's advice has been extremely helpful though, so thank you all.

[MrKyle]

I can't suggest this guide enough, especially if youre looking for general tips (and there are a few out there) or are specifically looking for info on the mastering stage. Easy to read and easy to apply.

Harmony, seriously, thanks. Even though I haven't ever used Ozone and currently don't, this evaluates a lot. I'm going to go di through it!