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How to EQ a Guitar for Cutting Through the Mix

When recording music with a full line of instruments, it's easy for your guitars to become lost in the mix. This is not simply a volume issue. It revolves around the equalization of the guitars with respect to the rest of the instruments. By adjusting frequencies within your guitar tracks, you can help the guitar stand out in the mix without watering down your sound. The key is to know what frequencies are critical for cutting through effectively.

Instructions

    • 1

      Bring up your tracks in the music recording program of your choice. Identify the guitar tracks and bring each track up one at a time so that it plays by itself.

    • 2

      Use the equalizer to analyze the frequencies of the guitar's signal. Most recording programs have this feature in the drop-down menus at the top of the screen or by right-clicking on the track and choosing equalization options. Start with the electric guitars one by one.

    • 3

      Use the frequency controls to lower frequencies below 100 Hz. This helps to reduce some of the low-end side of the electric guitar that makes the bass too dominant. Since you have a bass recorded already, you don't need the electric guitar ringing out on the low end.

    • 4

      Give the electric guitar's frequencies a boost between 120 and 250 Hz. Experiment between these ranges until the guitar has a more full sound. Increase attack by boosting around 2.5 to 4 kHz. Attack can make the guitar more prominent by making it sound as if the strings were played harder. A boost at 5 kHz can help if you want some extra bite.

    • 5

      Move on to acoustic guitars, if necessary. Cut frequencies below 80 Hz to reduce the bass. Also cut between 800 and 1kHz to eliminate some of the ringing that is associated with the treble part of acoustics. To get more body into the sound, boost frequencies between 150 and 250 Hz. For more bite and attack, boost between 3 and 5 kHz. To make an acoustic sound higher and brighter, give it a small boost around 7 kHz.

    • 6

      Play the tracks together to see how the guitars are working with the other instruments. Stop as needed and make adjustments until the guitars are cutting through as desired.

Recording Music

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