Like EQing a live kick, cymbals require a slightly different tact as they tend to get a bit more splashy in a live setting, depending on the environment, room, gear, etc. Follow this live cymbal EQ guide to get your cymbals sounding great even in a live setting.
Live Cymbal EQ
Note that I’ll be referring to dynamic EQ in some cases here. This obviously applies more to when you’re mixing live cymbals after the fact rather than in the moment, but in general this live cymbal EQ guide will be applicable whether you’re EQing live in the moment or again treating previously live cymbals.
Here is a snapshot of my live cymbal EQ guide; we’ll talk about each move individually subsequently to better explain why I’m suggesting each move and the effects they’ll have on the live cymbals:
Let’s begin at the low end and work our way up.
High Pass Around 250Hz
I like to high pass a little more aggressively when I’m cleaning up a live cymbal.
Specifically I aim for about 250Hz because the bleed from other instruments, the nearby snare, and generally the reflections calls for a higher spot than I’d do with a studio cymbal.
This helps to clean up the tone without cutting into the body which we’ll address next.
Boost/Cut at 300-400Hz to Control Body/Clarity
That body of the cymbal resides on the low end of the cymbal, or specifically around 300-400-Hz. A larger cymbal will have its body featured on the lower end of that range and conversely with a smaller cymbal.
Whether you cut or boost here depends on the tone you’ve got after you’ve got the microphone(s) set up overhead.
You’ll get more of that body if it’s set up closer, but again depending on the cymbal and sound you’ve got you can boost or cut in this 300-400Hz range to add body or clarity, respectively, as necessary.
Cut at 400-600Hz to Attenuate Live Snare Bleed
As I covered in my tutorial on live snare EQ, there’s a lot of boxiness coming off of the snare around 500Hz.
While supplementing your snare microphone’s signal with a bit of the bleed from the overheads can enhance the collective sound of that snare, particularly in its transient punch, that 400-600Hz bleed can get picked up by the overheads and cloud up the tone of your live cymbals.
With that in mind, a cut in that 500Hz region is a great way to clean up the tone on your cymbals.
Even better when possible is to use a dynamic EQ cut so that you don’t cut into the higher end of the body of the cymbal more than you have to.
Dynamic EQ is ideal as the snare hits are very pronounced, so dynamic EQ is a great and responsive way to remove that bleed in general, but admittedly this will typically just be applicable when you’re mixing live drums after the fact.
Cut at 4-5k to Tame Abrasive Live Cymbals
A couple areas which don’t change significantly are the abrasive and sizzle or splashy frequencies on a live cymbal.
Speaking of the former, 4-5k can be a bit sharp. While this isn’t always as problematic with live drums when natural reflections and room reverb are the prevailing effects, know that a small cut around 4-5k can control that low (high) end sharpness.
Don’t cut just to cut here; this is also an important range for clarity so only make adjustments as necessary.
Boost/Cut at 8-10k to Control Sizzle or Splashiness
On the top end, you get the transient attack of the stick on metal which helps the cymbals cut through the mix.
At the same time, you’ve got the overtones of those frequencies we just treated, adding sizzle and potentially splashiness to the live cymbal.
As such, 8-10k can be boosted to add more clarity and presence to the cymbals, but this is another area which can sound harsh on the listener’s ear in some cases.
Typically a cut here, at least as deep a cut, isn’t necessary as compared to studio recorded drums, however.
As we established in our comparison of low frequencies versus high frequencies, low frequencies travel better whereas higher frequencies die off more quickly, especially in larger rooms.
Low Pass Around 20k (Optional)
Low passing your overhead and cymbal focused microphones is more applicable to studio mixes for buying yourself a modicum of extra headroom.
With these instruments representing the absolute top end of your mix, you don’t need to cut here to create space, but if you want to add a low pass filter on the top end, you can generally aim for 20k without worrying about losing anything audible on your live cymbals.
Live Cymbal EQ
- EQing your live cymbals is especially useful for removing bleed from the rest of the kit, band, and room reflections in general.
- High pass around 250Hz to remove unwanted bleed and frequencies from the rest of the band.
- Boost/cut at 300-400Hz to bring out the live cymbal’s body.
- While picking up some of the higher frequencies and transients of the snare can sound good from the cymbal microphones, cut at 400-600Hz if live snare bleed is conflicting with the body or simply too boxy in the mix.
- Cut at 4k to tame abrasive live cymbals, but your need to do this will very widely from room to room and setup to setup (don’t cut just to cut).
- Boost/cut at 8-10k to bring out sizzle and clarity OR control splashy or harsh overtones, respectively.
- Low passing your overheads/cymbal microphones is more relevant for studio cymbals rather than live cymbal EQ, though occasionally you can clean up some resonance on the top end in some cases. You can generally aim for 20k and not lose any practical or audible tone to your live cymbals via a low pass filter.
