EQ Training Series Part 4: How To Use EQ To Create Balance

In the last part of our training series on EQ, I want to look at using EQ to create balance. Balance is one of the most important aspects of mixing, but surprisingly it is often looked over.


One goal as a mix engineer to create a balance in a song. What do I mean by balance? I mean that you want your instruments and your tricks to sit together and occupy their own spaces without fighting for attention. If you've ever mixed a song but you tried to push everything up front and center, you probably noticed how it had the opposite effect and nothing really stood out. This is because the tracks are all fighting for the same space and therefore you can't hear any of them clearly.



There are many different ways to create balance in a mix, but today we're going to look at primarily how we can use EQ to create that balance by boosting and cutting certain frequencies.

Using EQ to Cut and Boost Frequencies

When using EQ, we are able to add or take away volume at certain frequencies. This allows us to push a track more into a certain frequency, thereby allowing it to occupy that space. We can also cut other tracks in the same frequency to help as well. Let's look at kick drum and bass guitar as an example. 

Kick Drum EQ

Bass Guitar EQ

Two tracks that occupy the low frequencies in a mix are the kick drum and the bass guitar. These two tracks bring a lot of "umph" to your mix and you want them to stand out. However, because they both occupy the low frequencies and have a lot of energy, it can be difficult to hear each of them distinctly while still getting that low end bass sound. They need to be balanced. 

One way you can do this is to boost the kick drum in a certain frequency by say about 3 to 6db, and cut the bass guitar at the same frequency by the same amount. If you do this, you will not notice much low end taken away from the bass or too much added to the kick, but you will notice that each track sits a little more nicely. This is a subtle trick, but it helps to create balance in your mix. 

You can use this on doubled tracks as well like acoustic or electric guitars to help them sit together and not muddy up each other. For instance, let's say you have an electric guitar track and you recorded two takes so you can double them. Go ahead and EQ one, and then when you go to EQ the other guitar, do a subtle cut and boost opposite of what you did to the other track. The key here is to be subtle. If you start cutting or boosting by large amounts you will alter the sound of your track too much. All you are trying to achieve is creating balance. 

I hope that these tips on using EQ have been helpful and will equip you to make better mixes. Soon I will be releasing the EQ Training Series as a downloadable package that includes all of these videos, screenshots, multiple examples, and all of these text posts in and easy to read and helpful format. Thanks again for reading! See you next time.


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