The EQ Frequency Cheat Sheet Every Engineer Needs
EQ is the most-used tool in audio engineering, but it’s also one of the hardest to master. Knowing where to listen is half the battle. Here’s a practical breakdown of the frequency spectrum and what you’ll find in each range.
Sub-Bass: 20-60 Hz
What lives here: The lowest fundamentals of kick drums, bass guitars, and synth sub-bass.
Character: You feel this range more than you hear it. It adds weight and physical impact.
Watch out for: Too much energy here can make a mix sound muddy and eat up headroom without adding perceived loudness. Most consumer speakers can’t even reproduce these frequencies.
Bass: 60-250 Hz
What lives here: Bass guitar fundamentals, kick drum body, lower range of male vocals, warmth of acoustic instruments.
Character: This is where “warmth” and “fullness” come from. It’s also where “mud” lurks.
The sweet spot: Around 80-100 Hz is often where a kick drum hits hardest. 100-200 Hz is the warmth zone for most instruments — but it’s a crowded neighborhood.
Low Mids: 250-500 Hz
What lives here: The body of most instruments, lower harmonics of vocals, the “thunk” of a snare drum.
Character: This is the most problematic range for many mixes. Too much here makes everything sound boxy and congested.
Pro tip: This range is often where you’ll make the most impactful cuts. A gentle dip around 300-400 Hz can open up a mix dramatically.
Mids: 500 Hz - 2 kHz
What lives here: Vocal presence, guitar body, piano fundamentals, snare crack.
Character: The human ear is most sensitive to this range. Changes here are immediately noticeable.
The nasal zone: 800 Hz to 1.5 kHz can sound nasal or honky when boosted too aggressively. Be surgical here.
Upper Mids: 2-4 kHz
What lives here: Vocal clarity, guitar attack, the “bite” of most instruments.
Character: This is the presence range. Boosting here brings things forward in the mix. But too much becomes harsh and fatiguing over time.
The fatigue zone: Extended listening sessions with too much energy at 3-4 kHz will tire your ears fast. This is why ear training in this range is so valuable — you learn to find the balance.
Presence: 4-8 kHz
What lives here: Vocal sibilance (“s” and “t” sounds), cymbal definition, string articulation.
Character: Adds clarity and air, but can become piercing. De-essers typically target this range.
Brilliance: 8-20 kHz
What lives here: Cymbal shimmer, room ambience, the “air” and “sparkle” of a mix.
Character: Gentle boosts here can make a mix feel open and modern. Too much sounds thin and harsh.
Age check: Your ability to hear above 15 kHz decreases with age. Another reason to train your ears while you can.
From Cheat Sheet to Instinct
Reading about frequencies is a start, but it’s not the same as hearing them. The real skill isn’t memorizing a chart — it’s being able to listen to a track and immediately identify what needs attention.
That’s the difference between knowing that “mud lives around 300 Hz” and actually hearing the 300 Hz buildup in a bass guitar.
Soundie’s EQ challenges are designed to bridge this gap. Starting with simple low-shelf and high-shelf adjustments and progressing to full parametric EQ with frequency, gain, and Q control, you build the instinct to hear what the cheat sheet describes.