Today you'll learn a handy EQ trick to get rid of unnecessary lows, tame muddiness and boom while bringing the instrument out in the mix.

Try it on any instrument track to get it to fit better with the rest of you instruments.

Step 1 - Filter

If it's not a bass instrument you're perfectly fine with filtering everything out below 100 Hz.

If you hear your mix clean up with more drastic filtering while you play this track in context with the rest of the mix then keep going on the filter.

Just make sure it's not really thin in case it's a crucial part of the mix somewhere and you've accidentally taken all the weight out.

Step 2 - Shelving Cut

Two times I usually use shelving cuts instead of bell cuts is when: 

• a) There are already enough low frequency instruments
• b) This track has problem with causing muddiness in the low-mids

It basically acts as a less aggressive filter.

Instead of taking all the frequencies out with the filter I'm reducing the energy from the filter cut-off frequency to the shelving cut frequency.

Say a third instrument (like a keyboard) is getting in the way of the bass and distorted electric guitars in the 2-400 Hz area. This makes everything sit a bit better. Last thing to do is to give it its own space in the mix.

Step 3 - Masking Boost

Keeping on with the keyboard analogy, I find keyboards sounding very nice when I boost them in the 500-700 Hz range. It's a mid-frequency range that seems to go  unused in other instruments but can work wonders to bring out the keyboard in the mix.

Also try hunting around that area for:

• Roundness in the snare
• Harmonics in the bass guitar
• Character frequency for electric guitars (midway between "weight" and "attack")

Results

This accomplishes three things:

1. Cleanup in the low region
2. A controlled lower-mid range that doesn't clutter up the rest of the mix
3. A place for the instrument to cut through

You can also do this using a low-pass filter in case you have a full-range instrument that needs some cleanup in the highs and high-mids.

For example: a crunchy electric guitar that sounds a bit hissy. In that case just filter out the highs, add a bit of shelving to tame the very high-mids and add a boost to make them cut through.

Try this tip out the next time you want a simple EQ approach that gives you very effective results.

This is the kind of practical EQ advice I fill my EQ Strategies - Ultimate Guide to EQ with. I like making everything practical and easy to implement.

So if you need more ideas for EQ'ing your next mix, check out all the advice inside:

www.EQStrategies.net