The Best Graphic Equalizer Settings for Music

Graphic equalizers simply the process of EQing your music in a sense because you don’t have control over which frequencies you can adjust. Instead, there’s a set predetermined block of frequencies you can move a slider up or down to respectively boost or cut their corresponding frequencies. Let’s talk the best graphic equalizer settings for music by explaining the net result of adjusting each fader to achieve whatever sound you’re going for.

Best Graphic Equalizer Settings for Music

best graphic equalizer settings for music

As I mentioned in my overview of what is a graphic equalizer, the number of frequency bands you have access to will vary wildly depending on your specific EQ.

For instance, the Waves GEQ graphic equalizer features 30 bands which is more than most graphic EQs in giving you additional control in terms of a more narrow precision than you get from most graphic EQs:

graphic eq

Your graphic EQ likely won’t include quite as many bands, but I’ll be referring to different ranges rather than specific faders so you can apply these settings to any graphic EQ.

Q Setting

As with any EQ, the Q setting affects the width of the adjustments you make. At default on this EQ, the Q is set to .706. Clicking on this and dragging down to drop this number widens the effect over the surrounding frequencies.

For instance, minimizing the Q would mean that a boost at 10k would extend all the way to the next two dials of 8k and 12.5k, boosting everything between them, albeit proportionately as related to a bell curve (see types of EQ filters).

You should adjust this based on your needs, going with a higher Q for more precision cutting or boosting or a lower one for smoother curves.

You’re likely fine leaving this at the default position, but note that smaller Q numbers meaning wider curves sound more natural than extreme sharp peak adjustments.

High Pass Filter

The button with the symbol of the line which slows down and to the left in the bottom left is the high pass filter – a filter which removes everything BELOW the frequency you set and allows everything higher to pass through.

Some graphic EQs don’t have this feature, like the classic analog ones you’ll find on sound systems.

If you have one, you set the number to dictate the starting point for that filter. High pass filters are essential in a mix on virtually every track for removing bleed, low end rumble, unwanted noise, and inaudible sounds which aren’t contributing to the tone but are just eating up headroom.

You can refer to my complete and free EQ cheat sheet for specific recommended high pass filter frequency points for every single instrument or vocal in your mix.

Sub Bass (Below 70Hz)

Sub bass is generally characterized as everything 70Hz and lower, or as it translates to this graphic EQ, the first five faders.

Boost/raise these to bring out more of the “feel” of the bass, 808’s, and the body and thud of the kick.

Alternatively, you can cut/drop these faders down to mitigate boominess in your track or mix.

Low End (70Hz-200Hz)

The low end picks up at that 70Hz and extends to around 200Hz or so before we start getting into the low mids.

This is where the body of the bass lives as well as the low end of the fundamental of countless tracks in your mix.

That 200Hz fader and the immediate surrounding faders are extremely impactful in affecting the body, thickness, and warmth of so many elements of your mix.

If tracks like vocals are feeling thin, you can push this fader up slightly to give them more of that low end power, but if they feel too boomy, you can pull this down ever so slightly.

Remember that cutting one frequency range places a greater emphasis on the remaining frequencies; this is known as subtractive EQ.

As such, we’re actively adding to the top end of our mix without even having to boost in that region simply by cutting the lower end and mids.

Low Mids (200-400Hz)

Speaking of that range, the low mids are in that 200-400Hz range.

You’ll tend to find a lot of mix mud building up on these frequencies as a result of reflections and unflattering frequencies which oftentimes don’t contribute to individual tracks or your mix.

The high end of the low mids section can be pulled down a bit to add a little clarity via subtractive EQ without giving anything up in the process.

Mids (400-1000Hz)

The mids are in that 400-1000Hz range and contain a lot of the character of the tone of your audio.

You might do a small cut at that 500Hz fader at the low end of the genuine mids to help supplement the clean up cut you made at 400Hz just now.

You’ll also find that you can correct certain issues in the 800-1000Hz range via those faders.

For instance, if your audio is sounding hollow, you can introduce a small boost to fill it out and add a little fullness. Too much in the 800-1000Hz range can sound a little wonky, including making a vocal sound nasally.

You can cut here to correct a nasal voice, or even mitigate the ringing from a snare drum (boosting adds roundness when ringing isn’t an issue).

Most of the time you shouldn’t need to adjust much in the mids outside of correcting a specific issue (like you can find in my aforementioned and linked to EQ cheat sheet).

Upper Mids (1k-5k)

The upper mids extend from about 1k up to about 5k, depending on who you ask.

This is where we can add clarity via some boosts, but it’s easy to get carried away to accidentally make your audio sound grating, especially when you hear it in context of a good mix.

This is why I preach having reference tracks playing which AREN’T playing through the filter of this graphic EQ so that you know what a good mix sounds like, particularly a responsible one in the high frequency range.

When all you hear is music through a graphic EQ which has been boosted in the high end, your ears become deaf to the brightness so you lose context.

That’s a great way to ensure that your mix or music sounds grating to anyone else who joins you to listen.

In addition to adding some clarity, the 5k range on average is where a lot of the transient punch for most instruments exists.

Think the “crack” of stick hitting skin on most drums; it’s the transients which help an instrument assert itself in the mix so that the listener’s ears are drawn to the remainder of the sound.

A small (and again, responsible) boost on instruments like the kick, snare, and toms helps each of these drums assert themselves in the mix more effectively than pushing their individual volume faders up by another decibel.

High End (5k and Up)

If you favor a brighter, more treble heavy mix, the high end of 5k and up is generally a safe place to boost as long as it’s done responsibly/conservatively.

You get the crispness of the transients, the air behind vocals, the sparkle on synths, etc. all without offending the ears of your listener.

Again, the key is everything in moderation, so experiment in boosting in the 6-10k range depending on the instrument by maybe a decibel to get a little extra top end brightness without scraping the ears of your listener.

Speaking of vocals, you can attenuate the sibilance or annoying exaggerations of “S” sounds on the vocal with a cut on the 8-9k faders, but this is a job better suited for dynamic attenuation like a dynamic EQ, multiband compressor, or de-esser.

This is compared to a graphic equalizer which is all static adjustments.

Low Pass Filter

A low pass filter removes everything ABOVE a certain frequency point. While not nearly as pressing as cleaning up the low end with the high pass filter, you can adjust the low pass filter and set it around 15k generally without removing anything from MOST instruments to add headroom to your mix.

Some exceptions would be cymbals, synths, and possibly even vocals where you might take a more conservative approach.

Again, you won’t find this filter on most analog graphic EQs which are built in to sound systems, and if you’re applying this to an entire mix, don’t go lower than 20k.

The Best Graphic Equalizer Settings for Music Reviewed

To recap, here is an overview of the best graphic equalizer settings for music.

  • The Q setting controls the width of the band boosts or cuts, keep this at the default or lower for wider bands and more natural sounding adjustments.
  • Cut or boost the sub bass sliders below 70Hz to attenuate boominess or add body and thud to the kick or sub bass, respectively.
  • Cut or boost the low frequency sliders between 70-200Hz to compliment high end and add clarity or add body to the bass and various tracks of the mix like vocals, respectively.
  • Cut at 400Hz, the top end of those low mids, to remove the muddy frequencies and clean up the mix.
  • Cut at 500Hz, the low end of those mids, to remove the boxy frequencies and clean up the mix.
  • The high end of the mids in the 800-1000Hz range contain a lot of the overtones and character of your mix, so boost to add fullness or cut to correct snare ring, nasal vocal, etc. though generally this area is best left untouched.
  • The upper mids exist in the 1-5k range and can be used to add clarity if done responsibly and at or less than 1dB. Overboosting will bring out an abrasive quality, particularly in the 2-5k range.
  • For a more treble heavy mix, boost the faders above 5k in that 6-10k range responsibly to bring out a crispness and air in your tracks or mix.
  • A low pass filter can be applied to add headroom in the case of using a graphic EQ in mixing, but you generally don’t want to go too low, particularly on tracks/instruments which rely on the presence of these top end frequencies.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *