Don't you just hate it when everything you seem to be mixing sounds like a cardboard box?

I do. Whether it's a kick drum, your vocals or a piano chord, everything seems to be living inside a box.

I don't especially enjoy the sounds cardboard boxes make, especially when they're interfering with my 26" kick drum sound. I don't suppose you do either.

That's why I want to let you into the secret to deleting that cardboard box preset out of your mix once and for all.

Given that you couldn't save the sound when you recorded it, or that you were given a lousy recording to mix, you have to try to get rid of unwanted boxiness with some EQ in your mix.

There's not a lot of magic involved in getting rid of boxiness. You just have to know where to look.

For example,

• Fullness is found around 150-200Hz

• Presence is boosted at 5 kHz

By knowing that, we just have to find out where the boxiness hides.

Use a parametric EQ with a narrow bell curve and boost the middle frequencies. Sweep through the spectrum, starting at around 300Hz, going up to 600Hz. Somewhere along the way there'll be a spot where the cardboard sound jumps out prominently.

Set your EQ setting to KILL and cut that certain frequency until you've effectively eliminated that dreaded boxy sound.

EQ It Out!

Next time you are struggling with a cardboard-y sound, try some corrective EQ'ing and zero in on those problem frequencies. It'll make everything sound tighter and punchier.

For even more in-depth EQ tips on making all your instruments fit together in the mix, check out EQ Strategies - Your Ultimate Guide to EQ.

Here's what a Michael, a recent reader, had to say about how it helped him:

"I got a better sense on what frequency bands are critical to resolve certain issues. I was actually surprised on how helpful the very simple breakdown of the characteristics of the individual frequency bands was. You ofter hear the term "clarity" or "presence". But there is surprisingly little information on what that means in concrete EQ terms. Having all that information n one place (even if there is some subjectivity in the interpretation of the terms) was very helpful."

If you're in a similar situation to Michael, hit the link below to check it out:

www.EQStrategies.net