The EQ Cheat Sheet

Disclaimer
This information is taken from here: http://www.homerecording.be/forum/t11664.htm
This document is purely intended to make a better overview of what is written there. All the
credits for this incredibly helpful cheat sheet belong to the original author.

General frequency information

Frequency (Hz) Meaning

< 20 Impossible to detect; remove as it only adds unnecessary energy to
the total sound, thereby most probably holding down the overall
volume of the track.
< 60 Sub bass (feel only)
80 ( - 100) Feel AND hear bass
100 - 120 The "club sound system punch" resides here
< 200 Bottom
250 Notch filter here can add thump to a kick drum
150 - 400 ‘Boxiness’
200 – 1500 Punch, fatness, impact
800 - 4000 Edge, clarity, harshness, defines timbre
4500 Extremely tiring to the ears; add a slight notch here
5000 - 7000 De-“essing”
4000 - 9000 Brightness, presence, definition, sibilance, high frequency distortion
6000 – 15,000 Air and presence
9000 – 15,000 Adding will give sparkle, shimmer, bring out details;
Cutting will smooth out harshness and darken the mix

Frequency (Hz) Q Effect

60 1.4 Add fullness to kicks
100 1.0 Add fullness to snare
200 - 250 1.4 Adds wood to snares
3000 1.4 Adds attack to snare
5000 2.8 Adds attack to kicks
7000 2.8 Adds Sharpness to snares and percussion
10,000 1.0 Adds brightness to hats and cymbals

EQ Reference: frequencies

50 Hz
Boost: To thicken up bass drums and sub-bass parts.
Cut: Below this frequency on all vocal tracks. This should reduce the effect of any microphone
'pops'.

70-100 Hz
Boost: For bass lines and bass drums.
Cut: For vocals.
General: Be wary of boosting the bass of too many tracks. Low frequency sounds are particularly
vulnerable to phase cancellation between sounds of similar frequency. This can result in a net
cut of the bass frequencies.

200-400 Hz
Boost: To add warmth to vocals or to thicken a guitar sound.
Cut: To bring more clarity to vocals or to thin cymbals and higher frequency percussion.
Boost or Cut: to control the 'woody' sound of a snare.

400-800 Hz
Boost: To add warmth to toms.
Boost or Cut: To control bass clarity, or to thicken or thin guitar sounds.
General: In can be worthwhile applying cut to some of the instruments in the mix to bring more
clarity to the bass within the overall mix.

800Hz-1 kHz
Boost: To thicken vocal tracks. At 1 kHz apply boost to add a knock to a bass drum.

1-3 kHz
Boost: To make a piano more aggressive. Applying boost between 1 kHz and 5 kHz will also
make guitars and basslines more cutting.
Cut: Apply cut between 2 kHz and 3 kHz to smooth a harsh sounding vocal part.
General: This frequency range is often used to make instruments stand out in a mix.

3-6 kHz
Boost: For a more 'plucked' sounding bass part. Apply boost at around 6 kHz to add some
definition to vocal parts and distorted guitars.
Cut: Apply cut at about 3 kHz to remove the hard edge of piercing vocals. Apply cut between 5
kHZ and 6 kHz to dull down some parts in a mix.

6-10 kHz
Boost: To sweeten vocals. The higher the frequency you boost the more 'airy/breathy' the result
will be. Also boost to add definition to the sound of acoustic guitars or to add edge to synth
sounds or strings or to enhance the sound of a variety of percussion sounds. For example boost
this range to:
- Bring out cymbals.
- Add ring to a snare.
- Add edge to a bass drum.

10-16 kHz
Boost: To make vocals more 'airy' or for crisp cymbals and percussion. Also boost this frequency
to add sparkle to pads, but only if the frequency is present in the original sound, otherwise you
will just be adding hiss to the recording.
Instruments

General

Try applying some mid-range cut to the rhythm section to make vocals and other instruments
more clearly heard.

Fatness at 120-240Hz
Boing at 400Hz
Crispness at 5kHz
Snap at 10kHz

Voice: fullness (120 Hz), boominess (200 - 240 kHz), presence (5 kHz), sibilance (7.5 - 10 kHz)

Electric Guitar: fullness (240 Hz), bite (2.5 kHz), air / sizzle (8 kHz)

Acoustic Guitar: boominess (120 - 200 Hz), harshness / bite (2 kHz), cut (7 - 10 kHz)

Bass Guitar: bottom (60 - 80 Hz), attack (700 - 1000 Hz), string noise (2.5 kHz)

Kick Drum: bottom (60 - 80 Hz), slap (4 kHz)

Snare Drum: fatness (240 Hz), crispness (5 kHz)

Hi Hat & Cymbals: clank (200 Hz), sizzle (7.5 - 12 kHz)

Toms: fullness (120 - 240 Hz), attack (5 kHz)

Floortoms: fullness (80 - 120 Hz), attack (5 kHz)

Horns: fullness (120 - 240 Hz), shrill (5 - 7.5 kHz)

Strings: fullness (240 Hz), scratchiness (7.5 - 10 kHz)

Conga/bongo: resonance (200 - 240 Hz), slap (5 kHz)

When mixing bassline and kick drum, give the kick some extra dBs at 90-something Hz (listen to
the sound and find where it has its punch) and remove a few dB from the bassline sound at this
same frequency. Then go to around 400 Hz on the kick drum (where its boxiness resides) and
remove a few dB; this will make it feel more punchy and thumpy, in a nice way (at least it has
worked well for me in the sound I am trying to achieve). Finally add a few dB to the bassline at
this same 400-something frequency, this will increase the presence and audibility of the bassline
when played at the same time as the kick.

Good point - those frequency tips are taken from many different sources and I think I've learned
more over the time now so I wouldn't say that particular tip is really something to rely on. I
more often cut at around 400 Hz, add at around 100 Hz, notch at 250 Hz and also I always cut my
kicks at 70-80 Hz. Though sometimes I also layer sub hits underneath
Vocals
General: Roll off below 60Hz using a High Pass Filter. This range is unlikely to contain anything
useful, so you may as well reduce the noise the track contributes to the mix.

Treat Harsh Vocals: To soften vocals apply cut in a narrow bandwidth somewhere in the 2.5 kHz
to 4 kHz range.

Get An Open Sound: Apply a gentle boost above 6 kHz using a shelving filter.

Get Brightness, Not Harshness: Apply a gentle boost using a wide-band Bandpass Filter
above 6 kHz. Use the Sweep control to sweep the frequencies to get it right.

Get Smoothness: Apply some cut in a narrow band in the 1 kHz to 2 kHz range.

Bring Out The Bass: Apply some boost in a reasonably narrow band somewhere in the 200Hz to
600Hz range.

Radio Vocal Effect: Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5 kHz and lots
of cut below 700Hz.

Telephone Effect: Apply lots of compression pre EQ, and a little analogue distortion by turning
up the input gain. Apply some cut at the High Frequencies, lots of boost about 1.5 kHz and lots of
cut below 700Hz.

Bassdrum
General: Apply a little cut at 300Hz and some boost between 40Hz and 80Hz.

Control the attack: Apply boost or cut around 4KHz to 6KHz.

Treat Muddiness: Apply cut somewhere in the 100Hz to 500Hz range.

Hi-Hats
Get Definition: Roll off everything below 600Hz using a High Pass Filter.

Get Sizzle: Apply boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter. Adjust the bandwidth to get the sound
right.

Treat Clangy Hats: Apply some cut between 1KHz and 4KHz.

Guitar
General: Apply a little boost between 100Hz and 250Hz and again between 10 kHz and 12KHz.

Treat Unclear Vocals: Apply some cut to the guitar between 1KHz and 5KHz to bring the vocals
to the front of the mix.

Acoustic Guitar
Add Sparkle: Try some gentle boost at 10KHz using a Band Pass Filter with a medium
bandwidth.