EQ Tips for Mastering
2001-08-23

Here's some basic EQ tips:

50 hz. "hip hop" bottom. stay away from this unless you are mixing with and for subs. 

80 hz. Solid bottom end. 

100hz. "warmth" for low end, use SPARINGLY! 

125 to 250hz. Mud. Lose it.

300 to 600hz. Fundamental frequency for most instruments, best left alone for the most part. 

600 to 900hz. Almost always subtractive to lose "nasal" quality. 

1 to 2k. Irritating. Percieved by dummies as "loud". (i.e. Peavy guitar amps) 

2k and up a bit can be useful for Bass Guitar presence/definition. 

3 to 4k. Presence for low end inst. Read kick drum. 

5k. Presence for mid range inst. Damn near all of 'em. (fundamental for Piccolo, screw 'em) 

6 to 8 k. Sparkle. 

8 to 10k. Shine 

10k and up, Air. The higher you go, the more you can use. Season to taste. 

General EQ principals. Use as little as possible, applied in very small increments. Subtractive EQ whenever possible. Try not to duplicate EQ from inst. to inst. ALWAYS make your final EQ decisions in the mix, not soloed. 

Worlds oldest, and best, engineering tip. Solo your inst., boost level, narrowest Q possible, then sweep through your frequencies till you find what you DON'T like, cut it. (a little, don't go overboard). 
