EQ It!

How to Fix Your Mix With EQ

by

Kermit V. Gray

KVG Laboratories 16371 Lake Point Drive Bonner Springs, KS 66012 USA No animals were harmed during the making of this book BUT the author did sustain critical injuries from paper cuts.

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INTRODUCTION
This booklet was written to help you with a common but confusing question: How do I EQ this? Well, actually, it is easier than you might think. The tips in this booklet are time proven. They work. So what is EQ? Basically, its a tone control with incredible flexibility. Its used to alter the tonal balance of an instrument or correct for errors in either the recording itself or in playback gear. This brings up an important point. To do EQ well, you must have good speakers with low distortion and flat frequency response. Otherwise, youll actually end up EQing to compensate for your speakers, which wont sound good on anyone elses speakers. Good acoustics are important too. If you dont have good speakers and at least decent acoustics, dont EQ. You can never go wrong by NOT EQing! Keep in mind that the ideal perfect recording would use no EQ at all. Without exception, despite what all the magazines, books and catalogs say: equalizers degrade sound quality significantly and should be used as a last resort. Always think of EQ as remedial. You need it when something isnt right. TOO MUCH EQ will ruin an otherwise good recording. When in doubt, dont EQ. Use as little EQ as possible and apply EQ in very small increments. Over-processing your sound by excessive use of EQ and will render your recording dull, lifeless, muddy and weak. When broadcast over AM or FM radio, an over-processed recording will not sound as loud as other songs. Also, an over-processed recording will sound amateurish and cheap. If youve placed all of the microphones correctly, and have picked the correct microphone for each instrument, then you wont need EQ, except as an effect for some electric instruments. If youve done a good job of recording the tracks, you will not need to use electronic equalization during mixdown. One clue that you made mistakes in your recording is the need to add EQ during mixdown. In many instances, you will have to subtly alter the tonal balance of the instruments and vocals for various reasons. The best method of altering tonal balance IS NOT EQ, but instead to choose a microphone that has the needed tonal balance. Fine tune the result by altering microphone placement. This is called eqing by mic and it will give you a quality of sound you wont get from electronic equalizers. Subtractively EQ whenever possible. First, SOLO the instrument. Second, BOOST the EQ level with the narrowest Q possible. Third, SWEEP through all the frequencies until you FIND the frequency that is the problem. Fourth, once found, CUT IT but only a little! Dont cut too much! Typically, only 2 or 3 dB Page 2

of cut is needed. If you find yourself cutting more than 6 dB then you have a problem that EQ wont really fix. REDO the track using a different microphone or microphone placement, different instrument or different playing technique. Be careful when boosting high frequencies because it is too easy to make a mix sound harsh. The higher the frequency you boost, the more air around the sound. Boosting at only 3 to 4 kHz can bring out the bite in electric guitars and similar sounds, but it also tends to make the top end sound harsh. Dont duplicate EQ from instrument to instrument. Otherwise, you wont be able to distinguish each instrument in the final mix. ALWAYS make your final EQ decisions in the mix, not soloed. Something that sounds right on its own may be totally wrong in the final mix. Minimize any noise increase by boosting only a relatively narrow band of high frequencies. Noisy recordings are no fun to listen to. After all, thats what its all about great music recorded well that is fun to listen to! The rest of this booklet gives EQ tips for various instruments and common situations. Have fun and make great music!

BASS GUITAR, CELLO, UPRIGHT BASS

To reduce the boom of the bass, BOOST at 50 Hz. To un-bury overtones, BOOST at 50 Hz. To increase the bass line in a final mix, BOOST at 50 Hz. To increase loud rock bass lines, BOOST at 50 Hz. To add a harder bass sound to lowest frequency instruments, BOOST at 100 Hz. To add more power to lowest frequency instruments, BOOST at 100 Hz. For increased clarity of bass guitar, cello, or upright bass; BOOST at 800 Hz For increased clarity of bass guitar, cello, or upright bass; BOOST at 1.5 kHz. For punchier bass guitar, cello, or upright bass; BOOST at 800 Hz or at 1.5 kHz. For more pluck of bass, BOOST at 3 kHz. For more finger sound on bass, BOOST at 5 kHz or at 7 kHz.

DRUMS
To add more fullness to kick, floor tom, and bass drum, BOOST at 50 Hz To add fullness to snare, BOOST at 100 Hz. To add fullness to snare for a harder sound, BOOST at 200 Hz. To reduce gong sound of cymbals, CUT at 200 Hz. To reduce cardboard sound of lowpitched drums and toms, CUT at 400 Hz. To reduce ambiance on cymbals, CUT at 400 Hz. For greater attack on low frequency drums, BOOST at 5 kHz. For greater attack on floor or rack toms, BOOST at 5 kHz. To add attack on low frequency drums a more metallic sound, BOOST at 7 kHz. To give snares a more metallic sound, BOOST at 7 kHz. To add attack to percussion instruments, BOOST at 7 kHz. For added hardness on cymbals, BOOST at 10 kHz. To brighten cymbals, BOOST at 15 kHz. Page 3

ECHO AND REVERB

To prevent reverb or echo from muddying the mix, CUT at 100, 125, 150, 200 or even 300 Hz. To create a cave sound, BOOST at 100 Hz. To emphasize reverb or echo, BOOST at 3 kHz or 5 kHz To get Elvis style echo, BOOST using a broad parametric EQ bell centered at 300 or 500 Hz.

GENERAL
To reduce muddiness of mid-range instruments, CUT at 200 Hz. To add clarity to bass lines, especially when speakers are at low volume, BOOST at 400 Hz. To bring a part forward, BOOST using a broad parametric EQ bell centered at 2 kHz. To send a part backward, CUT using a broad parametric EQ bell centered at 2 kHz. To make background parts more distant, CUT at 5 kHz.

GUITAR AND STRINGS

To add fullness to guitars, BOOST at 100 Hz. To remove boom on guitars, CUT at 100 Hz. To add clarity to guitars, CUT at 100 Hz. To add fullness to guitar for a harder sound, BOOST at 200 Hz. To make cheap sounding guitars sound less cheap, CUT at 800 Hz. To remove dullness of guitars, BOOST at 1.5 kHz. For more attack of electric or acoustic guitar, BOOST at 3 kHz. To disguise out-of-tune guitars, CUT at 3 kHz. To accentuate the attack of acoustic guitar, BOOST at 5 kHz. To add brightness to guitars, especially rock guitars, BOOST at 5 kHz. To soften thin guitar, CUT at 5 kHz. To add sharpness to rock guitar or acoustic guitar, BOOST at 7 kHz. To brighten string instruments, BOOST at 15 kHz. To add light brightness in acoustic guitar, BOOST at 10 kHz.

HORNS AND WOODWINDS

To add warmth to horns, BOOST at 100 Hz. To reduce shrillness of horns, CUT at 5 kHz or at 7 kHz. To brighten flutes and woodwinds, BOOST at 15 kHz.

KEYBOARDS AND PIANO

To add warmth to piano, BOOST at 100 Hz. For more attack on low piano parts, BOOST at 3 kHz. To accentuate the attack of piano, BOOST at 5 kHz. To add sharpness to synthesizers and piano, BOOST at 7 kHz. To make sampled synthesizer sound more real, BOOST at 15 kHz. To add light brightness for a piano, BOOST at 10 kHz. Page 4

VOCALS
To add fullness to vocals, BOOST at 200 Hz. To reduce muddiness of vocals, CUT at 200 Hz. For more clarity or hardness on voice, BOOST at 3 kHz. Reduce to breathiness, or to reduce soft sounds of background vocals, CUT at 3 kHz To disguise out-of-tune vocals, CUT at 3 kHz. For greater vocal presence, BOOST at 5 kHz. To brighten a dull singer, BOOST at 7 kHz, or send them to college. To brighten vocals, BOOST at 10 kHz. To reduce sibilance, which is the s sound, on singers, CUT at 7 kHz or at 10 kHz. To brighten vocals by emphasizing breath sound, BOOST at 15 kHz.

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