EQUALS

EQUALIZATION GUIDE

WWW.THEPARALLAXPRODUCTIONS.COM
EQUALS : EQ GUIDE

This guide will help you understand the ins and outs of
equalization while giving you the knowledge you need to
tweak the presets to fit your specific needs.

Copyright © 2023, Hrithik Sharma

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any

electronic or mechanical means including. The only exception
is by a reviewer, who may quote the short excerpts in a
review. While all attempts have been made to verify the
information provided in this publication, the author doesn't
assume any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary
interpretations of the subject matter herein.

The views expressed are those of the author alone and

should not be taken as expert instructions or commands. The
reader is responsible for his/her own actions.

http://theparallaxproductions.com/
 EQUALIZATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
What is Audio Equalization?
Key Frequency Ranges
The Frequency Spectrum
Overview of Fabfilter Pro-Q3
Primary Functions of EQ
Filters
Using EQ like a Pro
Frequency Slotting
Mid-side EQ
Mid-side EQ Techniques
Dynamic EQ
The Problem With Regular “Static” EQ
Advantages of Dynamic EQ
EQ Presets Explained
Rebalance
Mix EQ Cheatsheet 1
Mix EQ Cheatsheet 2
Recap
Best Free EQ Plugins
Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone, before we dive into this guide and the methods
to apply equalization easily to your tracks, let's talk about a few
things quickly so that we are on the same page.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE?

This comprehensive PDF guide is designed specifically to give

you a deep understanding of the principles of equalization and
how to use EQ effectively in your own mix. It covers everything
from basic EQ concepts to advanced techniques for shaping
sound.

But that's not all, this guide is also designed to help you apply
and use the presets from 'Equals' pack in your own mix. Every
sound is different and that's why this guide will help you learn
the equalization process and how to tweak the presets to fit the
specific needs of your mix. With the added convenience of our
preset pack and this detailed guide, you'll have everything you
need to streamline your workflow, achieve a polished sound and
take your music production to the next level.

Whether you're new to the audio engineering world or have

some experience, this guide will take your EQ skills to the next
level and give you the knowledge and confidence you need to
make your mix sound professional. Now, let's dive in....
 EQUALIZATION

Now that we have a good balance going on for the track, let's
use the Eq and clean up some of our tracks and give each
instrument it's own space in the frequency spectrum. But first..

WHAT IS AUDIO EQUALIZATION (EQ)?

Audio equalizers or EQs make it possible to adjust the level of

specific frequency ranges in an audio signal, as determined by
the EQ parameter settings. EQs work through the use of
different types of filters which are designed to reduce or boost
certain frequencies while leaving other frequencies unaffected.
An EQ can be seen as a combination of simple filters.

This vital process is the main tool that we have as mixers that
allows us to shape sounds to our liking. Whereas volume
balancing allows us to control the overall level of an instrument
or voice, EQ allows use to zoom in to a sound and adjust the
volume of the individual frequencies.

With EQ alone you can remove nasty elements, exaggerate

pleasing elements, make things sound different and create
space in your mix.
 20 Hz 20 KHz

Every audible sound is within the frequency range of the human

ear, namely (20 Hz-20 kHz). High pitched sounds, such as hi hats
or hiss, are at the high end of the spectrum. Low pitched
sounds, such as 808 or kick drum, is at the low end of the
spectrum.

Through equalization, you can adjust the characteristics and

pitch of the sound by increasing or decreasing these different
frequencies. It is important to remember that you cannot
completely change the sound through equalization. It cannot
create new frequencies. You can only delete or exaggerate
existing frequencies.
KEY FREQUENCY RANGES:

We can now further divide all the frequencies from 20hz to

20Khz into key frequency ranges. For me, this breaks down into
six very distinct sections.

SUB BASS LOW MIDS HIGH HIGHS

BASS MIDS MIDS

SUB BASS (20-60Hz)

The first area we’re going to focus on is sub-bass. Everything

below 60Hz is sub-bass, so generally you need a subwoofer or
a good pair of headphones (open-back headphones, for
example) to hear that.

You should be able to hear it a little bit if you’re on monitors or

headphones. But if you’re listening on a laptop or a phone,
there’s no way you will hear that.
BASS (60-200Hz)

After that, we get into what I would call bass. For me, this is
everything between 60 and 200 hertz.

In this area, we’ve got lots of bass guitar. Lots of the low-end
vocals as well, because male vocals are going to have the
fundamental below 200Hz in most cases.

LOWER MIDS (200-600Hz)

Next up, if you go from 200 up to 600 hertz, this is what I would
call low mids, and this is a really important area for mixing.

Now, this area is crucial for home recording, because this is

where you get a lot of buildup with guitars, vocals, even the top
end of the bass guitar especially.

This area is really known for adding mud to a mix.

MIDS (600Hz - 3KHz)

The human hearing focuses mostly on this frequency range…

So it’s crucial to get this range right. You want the main focus of
the track (e.g. vocals) to have lots of room in this range.

Be aware that this is also where you can start to get into
harshness and aggressive tones.
HIGH MIDS (3-8kHz)

Then we’ve got upper mids between 3 and 8 kilohertz, and this
is where things really start to get harsh. This is where we have
brittleness a lot of the time.

It’s also an important range for clarity and aggression,

especially in vocals.

HIGHS (8kHz+)

After that we get to treble, or the highs. This is everything above

8 kilohertz. This is where we have air.

You could split this even further into 8-12kHz, and that’s what I
would call treble, and then 12kHz+ is what I would call air.

But for now, we’re just going to leave this as the highs, and this
is everything above 8kHz.
FREQUENCY SPECTRUM:
The chart shown above by landr is useful in two ways:

First, it helps you visualize the position of different instruments

on the spectrum. This is a good indicator of whether your mix is ​
too busy. If you have too many instruments in the same range,
your mix will start to sound cluttered.

Second, it allows you to view different frequency ranges and

their sounds. The best thing to do when you start mixing is to
learn the spectrum. This small feat will have a major impact on
the speed of your progress as a producer, mixer, and home
engineer.

Note how the frequency spectrum is divided into sub, bass,

midrange, and high frequency. These are your four key
frequency ranges that occupy all of the instruments.
The chart shown above by musician on a mission is also useful
to relate commonly used audio terms like rumble, mud, hollow
etc to their respective position in the frequency spectrum.

Remember, though, that they are only guidelines to get you

started. Once you become more familiar with the different areas
of the frequency spectrum, you'll never need to refer to a chart
like this.
OVERVIEW OF FAB FILTER PRO-Q3

The interface of FabFilter Pro-Q 3 is simple and straightforward.

The interactive EQ display fills the whole plug-in window, and
lets you create and adjust EQ bands using the mouse. When you
create or select bands, the band controls will appear, floating
above the display, positioned under the selected bands. Using
the band controls, you can change the settings of the currently
selected EQ bands.
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF EQ

Any parametric EQ has three functions:

Frequency - Where you select which frequency you want to

manipulate.

Gain - Where you decide whether you want to increase

(boost) or attenuate (cut) the frequency you’ve selected.

Q - Where you decide how much you want to affect the

surrounding frequencies around the one you chose. This
technically defines how wide or how narrow the selected
frequency bandwidth will be.

You’ll find these three things on every software EQ in some way.

Plug-ins that emulate hardware might have fixed frequencies
and Qs, but the overall function is always the same.
WIDE Q VS NARROW Q

WIDE Q NARROW Q

In the above example, you can visually see the difference

between selecting a wide Q vs selecting a narrow Q.

The wider the Q factor is, the more frequencies will be affected
because of more area covered and vice versa.
FILTERS

Filters allow you to cut out everything above or below a certain

frequency.

Bell High Shelf

Low Shelf

LPF

Notch

A low pass filter will let everything below the set frequency
pass through the filter.
A high pass filter will do the complete opposite.
Bell curves boost/cut a frequency and its surrounding
frequencies at a set point.
Shelves attenuate or boost everything above or below a
certain frequency by a set amount.
Notch is used to remove problematic frequencies
USING EQ LIKE A PRO

Now you have a decent understanding of what EQ does and an

awareness of the frequency spectrum, you can put this
knowledge into practice and improve your mixes.

To make it simple, there are two main ways in which you can
use EQ:

Carving EQ
Creative EQ

Lets' cover each of these in detail as understanding this is pretty

crucial.

CARVING EQ

Carving eq is used to:

Remove nasty elements (Subtractive eq)
Exaggerate pleasing elements (Additive eq)

For ex, when the piano is too muddy, you want to cut some 200
hz in order to remove the mud. Here what we are doing is
essentially removing the nasty mud i.e. subtracting it from the
frequency spectrum. That's why this is also known as
subtractive eq.
Don't shy away from making surgical cuts if something is
bothering you. Maybe it's persistent ringing on the snare,
sibilance in a vocal or a prominent resonance.

SURGICAL
CUT

A surgical cut should always be narrow if you are targeting a

particular group of frequencies, and due to the narrow
bandwidth you can be a bit more drastic and go for a -6dB cut.
Now that you’ve removed the bad stuff and prioritised
subtractive EQ you can use some subtle, wide boosts to
emphasise the good stuff. This step isn’t necessary, and quite
often cuts are enough to clean up the instrument.

As long as you're subtle with your boosts, there is no reason to

shy away from them. If you can, use an analogue modelling EQ
plugin for this purpose. If not just be sure to use wide boosts of
around 3dB.

For ex, If a guitar isn’t cutting through the mix too well you could
boost it at 2kHz to give it a bit more presence and crunch. This
will be additive eq, because we are boosting certain
frequencies as per our liking.

Stock logic analog emulation eq based on pultec eqp-

1a. I use this to add some high character in vocals
CREATIVE EQ

Creative EQ techniques allow you to create interest in a mix or

on a certain instrument. Basic examples would be using your EQ
to create a telephone effect or automating your EQ filters to
create filter sweeps.

So, if you’re using your EQ and you’re not cutting down and
removing offending frequencies from your mix, you’re probably
applying creative EQ.

FREQUENCY SLOTTING

You can also use cuts to make room for other instruments. This
technique is called frequency slotting because we are making a
slot in the frequency instrument to be filled by a specific
instrument. For ex.
In the above example, there was a clash between the kick and
the 808. They were fighting with each other over the space in
the low end. What I did to fix it is :

I found the fundamental frequency of the kick and it was at

75hz. I boosted some of that and then on the 808 I cut the exact
same frequency. Thus creating a slot in bass for the kick to cut
through, Smart right? I know you can also side-chain it, but if you
couple this with side-chain, it will do wonders.

You can use this same technique on vocals and guitars when
they fight for space.
MID-SIDE EQ :

Now we will cover a special case of EQ which is called Mid-Side

EQ. It is an equalizer process that encodes a stereo signal into
separate mono and stereo channels. Once encoded into M/S,
you can process the mid information independently from the
side information. Both channels are then decoded or converted
back into conventional left and right stereo channels. This
technique allows you to EQ your mix with greater flexibility and
precision.

MID-SIDE
EQUALIZATION

SIDE MID SIDE

MID-SIDE EQ TECHNIQUES:

Here are some simple mid-side EQ techniques that will improve

your mix. For these mixing tips, we’ll use the FabFilter Pro-Q 3
equalizer. The green filter is the mid band, and the blue filter is
the side band.

1) Adding stereo width for a fuller sound

Use mid-side equalization to create a wider stereo image on a
full mix or individual elements. You can create stereo width by
changing the balance between mid and side levels. For
example, widen a signal by boosting high frequencies in the side
channel or attenuating low frequencies in the mid channel. You
can use this technique on vocals, synths, shakers, hi-hats, drum
bus etc.
2) Mixing 808 to achieve a tight low end
Achieve a tight low-end by treating the 808 with mid-side
equalization. For example, use Mid-Side EQ to preserve a tight
and punchy mono signal while saving the wider, harmonically
rich frequencies.

Create this separation by cutting low frequencies from the side

channel. The exact frequency cut will vary depending on the
content. A good starting point is anywhere between 80 Hz and
250 Hz. Caution against cutting too much from the sides. It can
make the bass sound thin and weak. Use your ears!

The example above removes low frequencies from the side

channel at 300 Hz. It also boosts the mid channel at 175 Hz to
give the mono signal more presence in the mix
3) Mixing drums to create a more balanced sound.
Mid-side equalization is also effective at tightening and
enhancing a drum group. For example, use the mid and side
channels to keep your kick and snare centered while adding
width to only the percussion.

The example above attenuates the side channel at 400 Hz to

keep the kick mono and focused. Also, a high-shelf filter is
boosting frequencies at 8,000 Hz to add width. Lastly, a bell
filter boosting the mid channel at 65 Hz adds presence and
weight to the kick drum. Now, there is more space for the kick
to cut through the mix. The overall kit also sounds fuller and
balanced. However, every drum group will be different. Use your
ears to make informed decisions on where to cut or boost!
DYNAMIC EQ

Dynamic EQ is a form of equalization processing that combines

traditional EQ with elements of dynamics control normally found
in compressors or expanders.

Dynamic EQ works similarly to traditional EQ—with a twist.

Instead of a fixed gain value for each EQ band, you can cut or
boost with different intensity depending on the strength of the
incoming signal at those frequencies.

That may sound complicated, but it just means that dynamic

EQs automatically adjust how much EQ they apply based on the
sound coming in.

In Fabfilter Pro-Q3 it's very simple to make any frequency band

dynamic.

Just pull this slider to engage the dynamic mode.

THE PROBLEM WITH REGULAR “STATIC” EQ

Dynamic EQ is a novel solution to a problem that pops up with

static EQ. Often, when you’re EQing a track, there will be a
particular frequency that’s only an issue occasionally. An
example of this is a vocalist who strains to hit a note and the
tone of her voice gets particularly harsh in that range. Another
example is a filter sweep on a bass synth that gets very
resonant at just one point in the song.

If you use regular EQ, you’d set up a bell to notch out that exact
frequency. The issue with this is that during most of the audio
material, this frequency isn’t problematic. EQing it out
throughout the whole track can make things sound thin. Of
course, you could use track automation to temporarily pull down
that frequency at that exact moment, but that’s painstaking work
and there’s now a better way.

USING DYNAMIC EQ TO IMPROVE YOUR MIXES

Dynamic EQ is a game-changer. It works kind of like a

compressor, where it only attenuates when the amplitude of an
audio signal goes over the threshold. It’s different than a
compressor though because it’s more surgical. When a
compressor attenuates a signal, it pulls down the whole thing.
Unless, of course, it’s a multi-band compressor. Even still, a
multi-band compressor will pull down an entire band.
Dynamic EQ just pulls down the area selected by the EQ node.
This can be a bell or a shelf, with fully adjustable Q / width. So
when a vocalist strains and hits a note where 6,500 Hz really
jumps out and sounds harsh, the dynamic EQ bell can pull down
just that frequency at that exact moment, leaving everything
else untouched.

ADVANTAGES OF DYNAMIC EQ

Dynamic EQ pretty much lets you have your cake and eat it too.
You can eliminate frequency masking by being quite heavy-
handed with the EQ attenuation but without sacrificing the
fullness of all elements in your mix when masking isn’t a
problem. Dynamic EQ is far more surgical than multi-band
compression and lets you target very specific frequencies like a
sniper!

FabFilter Pro-Q3 is my favourite plugin for dynamic EQ for

several reasons:
1. The interface is incredibly intuitive and powerful with their
“what you use is what you see” GUI philosophy. There’s no
clutter.
2. The plugin is very clean and transparent sounding.
3. The visualization functions with the spectrum help you to
make better decisions.
4. Auto Gain allows you to EQ without making significant
changes in gain that may fool your ears.
5. The Tilt function helps you to tailor the EQ to be more
appealing to the way human hearing works.
EQ PRESETS EXPLAINED

Now that we have covered the fundamentals of equalization,

and some different EQ techniques let's talk about the approach
you should take while using these presets and eq'ing certain
instruments in your beats/music.

In most instances, a little amount of patience, trial-and-error

experimentation and critical listening will reveal an instruments
most pleasant or offensive frequencies. For beginners, though,
this may seem like a daunting task, and determining what
sounds good and what doesn’t can be confusing. In these
cases, Having a general reference like the presets included in
the pack will help get you where you want to go more quickly.

However, these presets should never be taken as law, but they

do provide starting points to guide your mixes. No two
instruments, performances, or recordings are alike, which is why
the result may vary from mix to mix when using presets and
cheat sheats.

Always, always, always use and trust your ears; an EQ preset

will get you started, but it’s up to you to make things work in
that particular mix!

I'm explaining some specific presets for your reference below:

PRESET : TRAP KICK - PUNCH

Cut everything <20hz to remove unnecessary rumble

Boost to taste 60 - 120hz for punch
Cut 200 - 450hz to remove muddy frequencies
Boost 5 -10khz for click & cut through the mix. I'm using
the dynamic expansion to further enhance the top end of
the kick

This is in context of a punchy trap kick. If you are making lofi,

or rnb that might require a warm thump kick so we will not
boost 5-10khz. Make changes according to your song and
always use your ears.
PRESET : TRAP SNARE

Cut everything <50hz to remove unnecessary rumble

Boost to taste 100 - 200hz for punch
Cut 200 - 450hz to remove muddy frequencies
Cut 5 -10khz for harshness &. I'm using the dynamic
mode to only cut when needed. This will make you eq
turn into smart eq.
Boost >5Khz with a shelf according to taste to add sizzle
PRESET : TRAP HI-HAT

Cut everything <850Hz to remove rumble.

Boost slightly around 3-5k if needed.
Cut at 6-8k to eliminate harsh sibilances (Again using the
dynamic mode)

This preset is in context of a trap hihat. In general, Trap

samples are usually already very processed so you will have
to hear what kind of treatment they need. If you want them
to be crispy, you can boost the top end with a high shelf.
PRESET : DRUM BUS - TIGHTENER

Boost <50Hz with a low shelf to add power to the lows

Cut around 200Hz to reduce muddiness and add clarity
Cut around 1KHz to reduce resonances
Boost around 2KHz to add punch and tightness to the kit
Finally boost >6KHz with a high shelf to add brightness
PRESET : PIANO - CONTROL

Boost <50Hz to remove rumble and unwanted lows

Cut around 200Hz to reduce mud (with dynamic band)
Cut around 400Hz & 1.5KHz to reduce resonances
Boost around 900Hz to add some body
Finally boost >5KHz with a high shelf to add clarity
PRESET : ACOUSTIC GUITAR - ALLROUND

Boost <80Hz to remove rumble and unwanted lows

Cut around 200Hz to reduce mud (with dynamic band)
Cut around 1.2KHz, 2.5KHz to reduce resonances
Cut around 5KHz region to reduce harsh frequencies

When eq'ing acoustic guitar you have to keep in mind that

there will be a lot of resonances jumping out so listen for
them and cut accordingly. Don't forget to cut the deep low
end because it's gonna clash with the bass/808.
PRESET : 808 - BASIC

Cut <20Hz to remove rumble. (Gives more headroom)

Boost the fundamental range a bit with dynamic mode.
Cut around 200Hz to reduce mud (with dynamic band)
Boost around 2KHz with dynamic mode to make them
cut through and this can make your 808's sound better
on mobile devices and bluetooth speakers.
PRESET : VIOLIN

Cut <120Hz to remove rumble and lows

Cut around 2.5KHz-3KHz to reduce harsh resonances
(with dynamic band)
Slightly cut after 5KHz with a high shelf to control the
harshness and shrill caused by the bow.

Don't forget to use your ears because the violin sound or

samples that you will use might not have a super harsh top
end. So cut/boost accordingly.
PRESET : MASTERING - START HERE

All the mastering presets are set to Linear phase mode by

default.
Cut <20Hz to remove rumble and provide more headroom
for limiter.
Slightly boost ~20Hz with mid band to add some punch.
Slightly cut ~150Hz & 800Hz with mid band to reduce
muddiness and resonances.
Slightly boost ~ 2KHz with mid band to add focus to the
vocals.
Slightly cut ~5k to control overall sibilances and harshness
Slightly boost >8k with side band to add air and brightness
 VOCALS

Before explaining the preset, I want you to apply the same

concepts that we have learned above. Remove nasty things and
enhance the good ones. Use this chart below as a guide :

TOO MUCH

0 hz 80 hz 500 hz 5 khz 20 khz

TOO LITTLE
As you can see in the chart, If you have too much of 250hz, it
will sound muddy but if you cut it too much, then it will sound
weak. So you will have to find the optimum balance point in
between. The more you practice, the easier and quicker it will
be for you to find the balance while eq'ing.

Along with this chart, I have few additional tips for vocals:

If the vocal is lacking clarity while still having plenty of high-

end energy then reduce the 200 Hz area to clean things up.

If your vocal sounds too nasally then attack the 900hz - 1

kHz area to cut it out.

The area above 1 kHz, around 1.2 - 1.5 kHz can often help the
vocal cut through the mix. Just make sure you don’t
accidentally make the singer sound nasally!

Bring out the clarity and intelligibility of the vocal in the 3 kHz
range.

A 5 kHz boost tends to add a nice presence to the vocal, but

boosting too much of any high-mid frequency can quickly
result in overall harshness.
PRESET : MALE LEAD - RAP

Cut <60Hz to remove rumble and subs/pops

Slightly cut ~150Hz to reduce head voice and muddiness
Slightly boost ~500Hz to add fullness.
Slightly cut ~ 1.5KHz,3KHz & 6KHz to reduce nasal and
harsh frequencies. (Use your ears to listen according to the
vocals you are working with.)
Slightly boost >8k with high shelf to add air and brightness
EQ is a big part of mixing and also is a subject to taste,
experimentation and style that changes with every mix you do.
Every time I open up a new mix I instinctively think of these
guidelines when I’m listening to what I want to add or subtract.
However, that doesn’t mean I blindly follow these areas if those
decisions don’t make a good mix. People care whether the mix
sounds good, nothing else.

REBALANCE

So after making all the necessary eq moves that you learned

above, you have successfully Eq'd and cleaned up all the tracks
that required it. But now if you listen you will notice that the
balance has changed. This is because while eq'ing you were
essentially adding or removing energy from the tracks. That's
why we would need to rebalance the track before moving on to
compression.

Also it will be effective to listen to your reference at this stage

and let that guide you. Listen to how bright the vocals sound,
your's sound dull? Maybe give them a wide 5kHz boost for
presence.
 MIX CHEATSHEET

Here is additional cheatsheet for you to reference while eq'ing

some of the most common audio sources. Please use your ears
and do not blindly copy this chart as every source/instruments
are different.

TRACK EQ BOOST EQ CUT COMPRESS

Between 50-70hz for low-end 150-350hz for mud 700-900hz

KICK 2.5-4.5khz for slap 8khz for click
& attack
for boxiness or "basketball"
sound
Slow Attack Fast Release

200hz for low end, 2.5khz for

500-700hz for boxiness Slow Attack Fast Release
SNARE midrange attack, 8khz for
crack/snap

HPF 200hz or higher 400-700hz Slow to medium attack

OVERHEADS 12khz shelf for high-end sheen for boxiness and reduce kit
sound
Medium to Fast release

50-80hz for sub/low-end 1khz for Medium attack

350-700 for boxiness LPF above
BASS attitude & cut in the mix 2-2.5khz
for string noise and presence 8k Medium release

GUITAR 1-2.5k to cut through

8-12khz for brightness
250-600hz for mud or boxiness Medium attack
Medium release
CLEAN

GUITAR 1.5khz to cut through the mix

2.5khz for extra aggression 5-8khz
HPF below 90-120hz LPF above
10-12khz 250-350hz for mud
Medium attack
Medium release
DISTORTED for brightness

1-2.5khz to get up-front vocals Fast to Medium Attack Fast

VOCALS 8khz for aggressive brightness 150-300hz for mud,
5k for harsh sibilances
Release, Compress hard
Slow attack = hard
SCREAM 12-14khz shelf for air
consonants

1-2.5khz to get up-front vocals Fast to Medium Attack Fast

VOCALS 8khz for aggressive brightness
150-300hz for mud,
700hz ,1.5khz for nasal
Release, Compress hard
Slow attack = hard
CLEAN 12-14khz shelf for air 5k for harsh sibilances consonants
ORCHESTRAL CHEATSHEET

Here is one more cheatsheet for you from audio issues

explaining frequency occupied by vocals, percussion and other
orchestral instruments.
RECAP

Alright, let's recap this chapter:

Every audible sound is within the frequency range of the

human ear, namely (20 Hz-20 kHz).
Through equalization, you can adjust the characteristics and
pitch of the sound by increasing or decreasing these
different frequencies.
There are two main ways in which you can use EQ: corrective
EQ & creative EQ.
Corrective eq is used to remove nasty elements or
exaggerate pleasing elements
Creative EQ techniques allow you to create interest in a mix
or on a certain instrument.
EQ is your best friend when you’re trying to separate your
instruments in the frequency spectrum.
Clean individual tracks first, then move on to EQ'ing the
busses.
You don’t always have to use EQ on every track. Some
tracks might sound great as they are and only need some
compression and effects to fit with the rest of the mix.
Maybe all they need is a little filtering. So just remember that
you might have tracks in your mixes that you don’t feel the
need to EQ. That’s ok!

I hope that the concept explained in this chapter gave you a

good idea on how you can use eq to create seperation, clarity
and depth in your mix.
BEST FREE EQ PLUGINS:

Even though stock plugins gets the job done in most cases, I am
sharing the list of some amazing free and paid EQ plugins if you
want to expand your vst arsenal :

TDR Nova (FREE)

Blue Cat's Triple EQ (FREE)

lKJB – Luftikus (FREE)

FRANK CS - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE) (MUST HAVE)

RARESE - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE) (MUST HAVE)

SSQ SSL STYLE EQ - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE)

OAQ - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE) (MASTERING M/S EQ)

BLEND EQ - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE)

FRANK - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE) (ANALOG EQ)

MAXBAX - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE) (BAXANDALL EQ)

TILTA - ANALOG OBSESSION (FREE) (SIMPLE EQ)

CONCLUSION

I hope that you've found this guide to be informative

and helpful in your journey to mastering the art of
equalisation. I are grateful that you have chosen
"Equals" to aid in your understanding of EQ and how
to use it effectively in your music production.

I understand that every sound is different and that's

why I have provided detailed information on how to
tweak the presets to fit the specific needs of your
mix.

I believe that with this guide and the 'Equals' preset

pack, you will have everything you need to
streamline your workflow and achieve a polished
sound.
THANK YOU!

I would like to thank you for getting "Equals" and

taking the time to read through this guide and for
your continued support. I encourage you to visit our
website or follow me on social media for more
information and future updates. And if you have any
feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to reach
out there.

CLICK HERE

Again, thank you for choosing

Equals and I wish you all the
best in your music journey.

Until then,
Happy Mixing
- Hrithik (Lax)