EQ, compression and processing — for metal, jazz and rock.
Genre context:
EQ — Frequency Guide
Per instrument
EQ shapes tone by boosting or cutting specific frequencies. Rule #1: cut problems first, boost character second. A clean cut at a bad frequency does more good than ten boosts.
K
Kick Drum
Foundation. The low-end anchor of your entire mix.
20–40 Hz
HIGH-PASS
Sub-rumble that wastes speaker energy. Nothing musical lives here. Cut it and your mix instantly has more room.
50–80 Hz
BOOST — body
This is where the thud ? lives — the feeling of the kick hitting your chest. Boost here for that physical heaviness.
200–350 Hz
CUT — mud
The muddy zone ?. Cutting here makes the kick sound cleaner and more defined without losing weight.
800 Hz – 1 kHz
WATCH — boxy
The boxy zone ?. If the kick sounds hollow and cheap, make a narrow cut here.
3–5 kHz
BOOST — click (metal/rock)
The beater click ? — the attack of the beater ? striking the head. Essential for kick to be heard through distorted guitars.
1–2 kHz
GENTLE BOOST — jazz
In jazz, the kick is often felt more than heard. A slight presence boost helps it speak naturally without overpowering the double bass or piano.
S
Snare Drum
The backbone. Every backbeat, ghost note and accent lives here.
100–200 Hz
BOOST — body
Adds body ? and fatness to the shell. Makes the snare sound like a real wooden drum, not a tin can.
300–500 Hz
CUT — cardboard
The dreaded cardboard sound ?. A narrow cut here is one of the most effective single EQ moves in drum mixing.
2–4 kHz
BOOST — crack (metal/rock)
The crack ? and punch ?. What makes a snare sound like a gunshot. Essential for metal and hard rock.
8–12 kHz
BOOST — wire sizzle (jazz)
The snare wire sizzle ?. That characteristic jazz snare shimmer underneath the main hit. Adds air and complexity.
HH
Hi-Hat & Cymbals
Rhythm and texture. The top-end glue of the kit.
< 200 Hz
HIGH-PASS — always
Always high-pass cymbals. They produce no useful low-end — only bleed ? from kick and toms that turns into mix mud.
2–4 kHz
CUT — harshness
The harsh metallic spitting zone. Too much here causes ear fatigue and makes cheap cymbals sound even cheaper. Cut narrowly until it stops hurting.
10–16 kHz
BOOST — air
Air ? and shimmer. This is where cymbals truly live. A subtle high shelf boost makes them glisten and breathe.
T
Toms
Fills and drama. Should punch hard and decay cleanly.
< 60 Hz
HIGH-PASS
Toms create subsonic rumble that eats into your low-end budget. High-pass to keep space for the kick and bass.
80–120 Hz
BOOST — floor tom weight
Floor tom weight and depth. This is what makes fills sound massive and physical rather than plasticky and thin.
300–600 Hz
CUT — ring
Toms ring and resonate ? in this zone. Cutting here tames the annoying sustained ring without needing a gate.
3–5 kHz
BOOST — attack
Attack presence. Makes toms cut through a dense mix instead of just feeling like a vague low rumble.
OH
Overheads / Room Mics
The glue. Should sound like a complete drum kit on their own.
< 80–100 Hz
HIGH-PASS
Kick and bass are handled by close mics. High-pass overheads to prevent low-end buildup and phase cancellation issues.
300–600 Hz
WATCH — room mud
Room reflections accumulate here. Cut if the overheads sound murky or like the drums are playing inside a cardboard box.
8–12 kHz
BOOST — air
A gentle high shelf boost opens up the overheads and adds the expensive, airy cymbal sound that makes a drum recording feel professional.
Compression
Control dynamics
A compressor is an automatic volume knob. When your signal gets too loud, it turns it down automatically. When you then bring it back up with makeup gain, everything becomes more even — quiet hits get louder, loud hits get tamed.
Threshold ?
Start: −12 to −18 dB
Where compression kicks in. Think of it as the ceiling before your signal gets tamed. Lower = more gets compressed overall.
Ratio ?
Drums: 4:1 to 8:1
How hard it compresses. Start at 4:1 for drums. Higher ratio = more squashed. Infinity:1 = a brick wall limiter.
Attack ?
Drums: 10–40 ms
Slow attack = punchier. The initial transient ? gets through before compression kicks in. Fast attack smooths everything out but can sound flat.
Release ?
Start: 100–200 ms
How fast it lets go. Too fast = pumping ?. Too slow = kills energy over time. Listen carefully and adjust by ear.
Makeup Gain ?
Match uncompressed level
After compression the signal is quieter. Bring it back up to the same volume, then bypass to A/B. If compressed sounds better at equal volume, you got it right.
Knee ?
Soft for jazz, hard for metal
Hard knee = compression snaps on suddenly. Soft knee = gradual and more transparent. Jazz: soft. Metal and rock: hard or medium.
Recommended Settings Per Piece
KICK
Ratio4:1 – 6:1
Threshold−12 to −18 dB
Attack20–40 ms (slow — punch)
Release80–150 ms
Let the beater click through. Goal: even and powerful, never strangled.
SNARE
Ratio4:1 – 8:1
Threshold−10 to −16 dB
Attack5–20 ms
Release60–120 ms
Use parallel compression to lift ghost notes without killing loud hits.
OVERHEADS
Ratio2:1 – 3:1
Threshold−8 to −14 dB
Attack30–60 ms
Release200 ms+
Just kiss the signal. Soft knee. More glue than control.
DRUM BUS
Ratio2:1 – 3:1
Threshold−6 to −8 dB
Attack30–50 ms
Release100–250 ms
Glues all drums together. Should feel like one kit, not separate pieces.
⚡
Parallel Compression (New York style): Duplicate the drum bus. Compress the duplicate very heavily (ratio 10:1+, threshold very low). Blend it back quietly underneath the main signal. Quiet hits like ghost notes get lifted into the mix without losing the snap of loud hits. Essential for jazz-influenced drumming in dense mixes.
Mixing Workflow
Do this in order
01
Gain staging — Set all tracks to hit around −18 to −12 dBFS before any processing. Prevents clipping and makes compressors behave predictably.
02
High-pass everything except kick — Cut below 80–100 Hz on snare, toms, hats, overheads. Instantly clears your low end.
03
Fix problems with EQ — Boost a narrow band, sweep to find the ugly frequency, then cut. Fix mud, boxiness and harshness per piece.
04
Compress kick and snare — Get them punchy and even individually before touching overheads or toms.
05
Bus compression — Route all drums to one bus, add light glue compression. This is what makes a kit sound like a kit.
06
Mix in context — Always mix with the full band playing. What sounds good in solo often disappears or clashes in context.
Cheatsheet 02
Electric Guitar
EQ and compression for clean, crunch, heavy and ambient tones.
Style:
EQ — Guitar Frequencies
Context matters most
Guitar EQ is heavily style-dependent. A jazz clean tone needs warmth preserved; a metal tone needs its mud scooped. Guitar fundamentals sit between 80 Hz–1.2 kHz, with harmonics and presence extending to 6 kHz.
ALL
All Guitars — Foundation Rules
Applies before any style-specific shaping
< 80 Hz
HIGH-PASS — always
Guitars produce no useful sub information. This range is amp hum, pick noise and bass bleed. Cut it and your bass guitar immediately sounds cleaner.
200–400 Hz
CUT — mud
The mud zone ?. Guitars stacked with drums here turn into indistinguishable mush. Cut conservatively to clean up definition.
300–500 Hz
WATCH — nasal/honk
A honky ? or nasal quality lives here. Often needs attention on high-gain tones.
1.5–3 kHz
BOOST — presence
Presence ? and definition ?. Helps guitars cut through drums and vocals without turning up volume.
4–6 kHz
WATCH — pick harshness
Pick attack and string scrape lives here. On high gain, this can become very harsh on fast playing. Cut if ears hurt on bright picks or rapid riffs.
HG
High Gain / Metal
Djent, death metal, prog metal, extreme genres
100–200 Hz
CUT — tighten low mids
High gain distortion smears the low mids into a woolly mess ?. This is the single most important cut for metal — it makes riffs tight and articulate.
80–100 Hz
BOOST — chunk
Restore low-end chunk ? after tightening the low mids. Gives riffs physical heaviness without the mud. Keep it narrow.
2–3 kHz
BOOST — bite
High gain bite ?. Makes palm mutes and fast riffs audible and defined even at extreme gain.
CL
Clean / Jazz Guitar
Warm, articulate, full-bodied tone
200–300 Hz
PRESERVE — warmth
Warmth ? and body. On clean tones this is where the wood of the guitar resonates. Preserve it — don't cut unless absolutely necessary.
1–2 kHz
BOOST — note clarity
Individual note clarity for jazz voicings. Makes chord extensions, passing tones, and melodic lines intelligible rather than a wash of harmonic noise.
4–6 kHz
CUT — pick sharpness
Pick noise becomes unpleasant on clean tones. A small cut here smooths it without affecting the character of the note or string fundamental.
CR
Crunch / Rock Guitar
Classic rock, hard rock, moderate gain
100–200 Hz
BOOST — thickness
Rock guitars need body without going full metal. Preserve more low mids than high gain but less than jazz clean. The sweet spot for crunch.
400–600 Hz
CUT — boxy
The zone that makes crunch guitars sound boxy and cheap. A small cut reveals the harmonic content above it and lets the tone breathe.
2–4 kHz
BOOST — edge
The cutting edge of a rock guitar. Makes chord rhythms and solos slice through drums and bass without going harsh or fatiguing.
Compression
For guitar
Guitar compression is more subtle than drums. The goal is usually sustain and evenness ?. Exception: metal usually needs no compression on guitars because distortion already compresses heavily.
Clean / Jazz Guitar
Ratio 2:1–4:1, gentle
Slow attack preserves pick attack. Medium release matching note length. Goal: even volume across positions. Adds sustain ? and consistency.
Rock Guitar
Ratio 3:1–6:1, medium
Moderate compression helps rhythm guitars sit consistently. Watch attack — too fast kills the pick attack that gives rock rhythm its drive and character.
Metal Guitar
Usually skip it
High gain distortion is itself a compressor. Adding another on top usually kills dynamics and adds noise floor. Focus on amp tone and EQ instead.
⚡
Stereo widening: For rhythm guitars in metal or rock, record the same part twice and pan hard left and right. This creates natural width without phase issues and gives guitars room to breathe in a dense mix without EQ tricks.
Cheatsheet 03
Bass Guitar
The low-end glue between kick drum and harmony.
EQ — Bass Frequencies
Low-end management
Bass and kick drum share the most critical sonic real estate. Your job is to carve out distinct frequency homes for each so they co-exist without competing. In a mix, only one instrument should dominate below 80 Hz at any moment.
B
Bass Guitar — Full Frequency Map
Fundamental: 40–200 Hz. Harmonics: 200 Hz–2 kHz
< 30 Hz
HIGH-PASS
Subsonic rumble. Inaudible but wastes amplifier headroom and causes excessive speaker movement. Always cut it.
50–80 Hz
BOOST — sub fundamentals
The fundamental ? of bass notes. The deep sub thump ?. Present here = bass feels powerful. Too much = low-end buildup ?.
80–120 Hz
WATCH — kick crossover
Where kick and bass compete hardest. Common technique: if the kick owns 60–80 Hz, let the bass live at 100–120 Hz. They share the space by occupying slightly different zones.
150–250 Hz
BOOST — warmth/body
Bass body and warmth. Too much = boomy ?. Too little = thin and weak. This range gives bass its sense of physical weight and fullness.
200–400 Hz
CUT — mud
Bass mud. This overlaps directly with guitar mud. If your mix sounds thick and unclear, both instruments probably need cuts here. Be assertive.
700 Hz – 1 kHz
BOOST — note definition
Individual note definition. Boosting here makes it easier to hear what notes the bassist is playing — essential for complex jazz lines or progressive metal riffs.
2–3 kHz
BOOST — pick/finger attack
The attack transient ?. Pick attack or finger pluck. Critical on small speakers where low end doesn't translate. Boost = bass audible everywhere.
3–6 kHz
CUT — fret noise
String noise and fret buzz ?. Common on roundwound strings with aggressive players. Cut to clean up without affecting tone.
Compression
Essential for bass
Bass benefits more from compression than almost any other instrument. Live bass dynamics can swing 20–30 dB. A compressor brings this under control so the bass sits at a consistent level rather than disappearing on soft notes and overwhelming on hard ones.
Ratio
4:1 – 8:1
Higher ratio than guitar — more control needed. Aim for 6–8 dB of gain reduction on the loudest passages.
Attack
20–50 ms
Slower than you might think. Let the transient through to preserve the pluck or pick attack, then compress the body. Too fast = dead, rubbery sound with no life.
Release
Auto or 80–150 ms
Should roughly match the tempo. Many engineers use "auto" release on bass — it adapts to note length automatically. Check that it fully releases between notes.
⚡
Parallel compression on bass: Compress a duplicate heavily (ratio 10:1, very low threshold), blend it about 30–40% under the dry signal. Adds density and sustain without killing the natural feel of the finger or pick attack.
🎸
Sidechain kick to bass: Route the kick drum as a sidechain trigger to a compressor on the bass. Every kick hit momentarily ducks the bass. Result: kick and bass lock together rhythmically and never fight for the same space. A production staple in metal and rock.
Vocals are the focal point of nearly every mix. Listeners connect with the human voice first. Every other instrument should serve the vocal. The human voice spans roughly 80 Hz–16 kHz, with the most important content between 300 Hz–8 kHz.
VC
Clean Vocals — All Genres
Applies before any style-specific processing
< 80–120 Hz
HIGH-PASS
Rumble, room noise, and proximity effect ? from close-miking all live here. Always high-pass vocals before any other processing.
200–400 Hz
CUT — mud/boxiness
Vocal mud and the room sound ?. Cutting here adds clarity without reducing the fullness or body of the voice.
1–3 kHz
BOOST — presence
Intelligibility ? and forward presence ?. This is where words are understood. A small boost here makes lyrics clearer without volume changes.
2–4 kHz
WATCH — harshness
The harsh zone ?. Boosting presence can create harshness here. A narrow cut fixes it if vowels sound shouty or uncomfortable.
8–12 kHz
BOOST — air/shine
Air ? and vocal shine. A gentle high shelf makes vocals breathe and feel present. Watch for sibilance ?.
SC
Screams / Harsh Vocals
Metalcore, hardcore, post-hardcore
< 150 Hz
HIGH-PASS — aggressive
Screaming generates a lot of low-end pressure that muddies everything. High-pass higher than clean vocals — up to 150 Hz — without hesitation.
400–800 Hz
CUT — honk
Screamed vocals accumulate a harsh honky resonance here. Cutting makes the scream sound powerful rather than nasal and thin.
1.5–3 kHz
BOOST — aggression
The attack and aggression of screams. This is what makes them feel threatening and cut through the wall of distorted guitars.
4–8 kHz
CUT — harsh air
Screaming produces a lot of harsh high-mid content. Tame carefully — too much and the scream sounds muffled; too little and it's ear-damaging in the mix.
GR
Fry Screams & Growls
Death metal, deathcore, black metal, extreme styles
60–120 Hz
BOOST — sub depth
Growl sub-depth ?. Deep growls have chest resonance here. Boosting gives them a physical, monstrous quality that sits under the guitars.
300–600 Hz
CUT — nasal mud
Growls accumulate a nasal mid-heavy quality in this zone. Cutting makes them sit deeper, darker and more guttural rather than thin and honky.
1–2 kHz
BOOST — definition
Word definition in extreme vocals. Without this boost, lyrics are completely indecipherable. Boost carefully for presence without losing the low-end character.
5–8 kHz
CUT — fry harshness
Fry scream ? produces harsh upper harmonics here. Cut significantly — these frequencies fight everything else in a dense mix.
Compression
Vocals need a lot
Vocalists are the most dynamically inconsistent instrument. A single phrase can swing 15–20 dB from whisper to belt. You need multiple stages of compression to tame this.
Clean Vocals
Ratio 3:1–6:1
Attack 5–15 ms. Release 50–100 ms. Often stack two compressors: a gentle first stage (2:1) catches peaks, a firmer second stage (4:1) controls consistency. Preserve emotional dynamics.
Screams
Ratio 6:1–10:1
Screams have enormous peaks. Compress harder than clean vocals. Fast attack (5 ms), medium release (80 ms). Follow with a limiter to catch any rogue peaks that get through.
Growls
Ratio 4:1–8:1
Similar to screams but watch the attack — let some of the initial chest hit through before compressing. A 15 ms attack preserves the physical impact of the growl.
⚡
De-essing: A de-esser ? is essential on clean vocals. Place it after compression. Target 5–8 kHz. Sibilance always becomes more pronounced after compression, so always de-ess after, never before.
🎤
Reverb and delay: Short room reverb (100–250 ms, low mix %) thickens vocals in the mix. A quarter-note delay at 20–30% creates depth and width. For metal vocals: keep reverb very subtle or skip it entirely — too much sounds like the singer is in a church.
Cheatsheet 05
Mastering
The final step. Make it loud, consistent, and ready for the world.
📖
What is mastering? Mastering is the final processing stage applied to your finished stereo mix bounce. You are no longer touching individual instruments — you're shaping the entire song as one object. Goals: consistent loudness across an album, translate well on every playback system (phone speakers, club PAs, earbuds, car stereos), and deliver at the correct loudness level for streaming platforms.
EQ for Mastering
Gentle overall shaping
Mastering EQ should be subtle. If you need more than 3–4 dB of any boost or cut here, the mix has a problem that should be fixed at mix stage — not masked in mastering. Think of it as fine-tuning, not surgery.
Sub cleaning < 30 Hz
High-pass: always
Even a well-mixed track has subsonic content from room noise or headphone bleed. A steep high-pass at 20–30 Hz protects woofer excursion ? and reclaims loudness headroom.
Low-end balance 60–120 Hz
±2 dB max
If kick and bass feel light on your reference monitors, a gentle shelf boost helps. If it sounds boomy on cheaper speakers, cut. Check on at least 3 different playback systems before adjusting.
Mud control 200–400 Hz
Cut 1–3 dB
Most mixes have some accumulation here. A wide, gentle cut (Q of 1.0–1.5) in this range adds clarity to the full mix without obviously changing its tone. The most common mastering EQ move.
Presence 2–5 kHz
±1.5 dB max
If the mix sounds recessed or distant, a tiny boost helps it speak forward. If harsh, cut. Use a wide bell (Q 0.5–1.0). Even 0.5 dB is significant at this stage.
High shelf — air 10 kHz+
+1 to +2 dB
A gentle high shelf adds openness and makes a mix feel airy ?. Only add if it genuinely improves the sound — on harsh mixes this boost is painful.
Compression for Mastering
Glue, not control
Mastering compression is used for glue ? and density ?, not loudness. The settings are extremely gentle compared to mix compression.
Ratio
1.5:1 – 2.5:1
Extremely gentle. At this stage you are barely touching the signal. 2:1 is considered aggressive for mastering. Above 3:1 and you're mixing, not mastering.
Threshold
−6 to −12 dB
Set to get 1–3 dB of gain reduction ? on the loudest parts. If you're seeing 6 dB+, you're overcompressing and will kill the life of the mix.
Attack
30–100 ms (slow)
Slow attack preserves transients. You never want to kill the punch of a kick or snare in mastering. Very slow attack = transparent glue that doesn't touch the impact.
Release
Auto or 200–400 ms
Slow release tracks the program dynamics ?. Most mastering engineers use auto release. Listen for pumping on loud-to-quiet transitions.
⚡
Transparency test: A/B your mastering chain constantly. Your bypass should sound relatively similar to processed. If the difference is dramatic, you're overprocessing. The effect should feel like the mix has "settled" — not obviously changed.
Limiting
The loudness stage
A limiter ? is always the last plugin in your chain. It sets a true peak ceiling ? and allows you to push overall loudness.
Ceiling (True Peak)
−1.0 dBFS
Set to −1.0 dBFS for all streaming platforms. Prevents inter-sample peaks ? that cause distortion during MP3/AAC encoding. Both −1.0 and −0.1 dBFS are used professionally.
Input gain / Loudness target
−14 LUFS (streaming)
Streaming platforms normalize to −14 LUFS ?. Push input gain until hitting target. Metal can push to −11 to −12 LUFS before quality suffers.
Release
Auto or 50–100 ms
Most modern limiters have excellent auto release. Manual: shorter = more loudness but risks pumping artifacts. Longer = more transparent but slightly less loudness.
Lookahead
1–5 ms
Allows the limiter to "see ahead" and react before the peak arrives. Reduces distortion artifacts. Most quality limiters have this — always enable it.
⚠️
The loudness war is over. Streaming platforms automatically turn down loud masters. Pushing to −7 LUFS doesn't make your track louder on Spotify — it just makes it more distorted and fatiguing. Aim for −10 to −14 LUFS with a clean ceiling. Dynamics are preserved and it still sounds punchy.
Other Mastering Tools
Beyond EQ and compression
Stereo widening M/S ?
Use with care
M/S EQ lets you boost highs in the sides for width, or cut low end in the sides to tighten the bottom. Bass should always be mono below 150 Hz ?.
Harmonic Saturation
Subtle only
A tape or tube saturation plugin ? adds warmth and perceived density without increasing peak levels. You should hear the difference more on A/B than in solo.
Loudness Meter
Essential
A LUFS meter ? is mandatory. Youlean Loudness Meter and iZotope Insight are both excellent. Check integrated LUFS and true peak simultaneously.
Reference Tracks
Critical habit
Import 2–3 commercially released tracks in your genre. Match their LUFS level and compare frequency balance and dynamics. Your ears adapt and lie to you after hours of work — references keep you honest.
Mono Check
Always before export
Sum your master to mono. Check nothing important disappears or phase-cancels. Phone speakers, Bluetooth devices and club PAs often play mono. If stereo effects cause cancellation, elements vanish for half your listeners.
Dithering
Final export only
Dither ? when exporting to 16-bit for CD. Not needed for streaming exports at 24-bit/44.1 kHz. Apply once — never stack.
Mastering Chain Order
Signal flow
01
EQ (corrective) — Fix problems: mud cuts, subsonic cleanup, frequency imbalances inherited from the mix.
02
Compression (glue) — 1–3 dB of gain reduction, slow attack, gentle ratio. Makes the mix settle together into one cohesive object.
03
EQ (creative/tonal) — Optional. Fine-tune tone after compression has settled dynamics. Air shelf boost, tiny presence nudge.
04
Saturation — Optional. Add analog warmth and harmonic density before limiting.
05
Stereo widening / M/S — Optional. Adjust stereo image if needed. Always check mono afterwards.
06
Limiter — Always last. Set true peak ceiling to −1.0 dBFS, push to target LUFS. Listen carefully for distortion artifacts.
07
Loudness meter — Verify integrated LUFS and true peak against target platform specs before exporting.