Chris McKinley
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I've noticed a lot of threads discussing the merits of using graphic EQ's to help shape your guitar tone. I've also noticed that people often ask, "What's the best EQ for this or that brand of amp?" While there are differences, especially in noise, between brands of EQ's, the most important factor is often which set of frequencies the unit allows you to adjust, so I've decided to give what I hope will be a helpful explanation of how these frequencies affect your tone.
It can be invaluable to play around with several EQ's, not so much to determine which brand is best (although that's a fringe benefit) but rather to determine which frequencies are the ones you find yourself most often adjusting to achieve your preferred sound. It should be noted that even 31-band EQ's can sometimes be missing the precise frequency you may be looking for.
As a rundown, I'll give a short description of some of what I have found to be the most important frequencies to be adjusted and why.
<80Hz: While a standard six-string guitar isn't capable of producing musical notes below about 88Hz, the rest of your rig may still produce sound in this range. Unless you're playing through a 1000w P.A. with 18" subwoofers and crossovers, any sound in this range will come out as pure noise, not a heavier guitar sound (unfortunately). Noise in this range can also easily damage your equipment. Blown speakers are almost always destroyed by strong pulses of ultra-low bass frequencies. If your EQ allows you to adjust these frequencies, cut them completely out of your signal. You won't lose any audible bass, and you'll save wear and tear on your speakers, as well as make your soundman happy since you'll no longer be spiking his meters.
100-120Hz: This is the sweet spot range for audible bass frequencies with the electric guitar. It's responsible for the heavy, heart-thumping palm-muted chugs in heavy metal. Most graphic EQ's give you a slider in this range, which can be used modestly up to, say, a 6 to 8 db maximum boost, usually less. More than this and you risk damage to most typical guitar speakers and your sound can begin to get muddy.
200-250Hz: Mudville. This is the range most responsible for what is known as the undesireable "muddy" sound. Unfortunately for Recto owners, the Recto amps provide copious amounts of bass response in this range. Recto's that are accused of sounding too muddy can often be easily improved simply by reducing this frequency range by as little as 2 and up to about 6db. Don't go overboard, though. As is true with all frequency ranges, it acts as both a strength and a weakness. Too much of this range and your sound turns to muddy sludge, too little and you will suck all the warmth out of your sound, leaving your guitar sounding wimpy. Experiment to find where it sounds best to you.
400Hz: This is what I call the "Les Paul" frequency range, since Les Pauls often provide a little more of this range naturally due to their mahogany construction. It's also where I define the low-mids of the guitar's frequency range. Some people will call frequencies as low as 250Hz part of the low-mids, but let's be clear, 250Hz is bass, not mids. 400Hz starts to get into the actual mids of the guitar. If your guitar sounds a little thin and cold (such as can happen when your clean sound is dripping with lots of digital modulation effects), you may find it helpful to boost this range by as little as 2db to add back some "body" to your guitar sound. It should be used subtly; too much and you'll sound like you're playing in a closed cardboard box with a moving blanket draped over it. Likewise if your darker-sounding guitar is having a hard time providing a light, chimey clean sound, you can very subtly cut this range and it will tend to emphasize your guitar's treble frequencies more.
650Hz: This range isn't quite as vital, though it can provide a noticeable boost or cut in the warmer (read: bassier) mid-range frequencies. It becomes more important when you're trying to EQ a good tone for soloing, especially in recording situations. Many modern amps, again unfortunately including the Recto, are lacking in rich, mid-range response, and as a result, the unaffected tone from these amps can often actually sound quite thin and wimpy when it comes time to rip a searing, singing, melodic solo, especially if the presence control is set particularly high. A boost here of 4 to 6 db can do a lot to help.
800Hz: The "Singing" frequency of the guitar. This is one of the most important frequencies on any EQ. It is this frequency, when severely cut, that provides the classic mid-scooped thrash metal Metallica sound. This same frequency, when strongly boosted, is also responsible for the singing solo tone of many 70's classic rock songs, especially those associated with the classic Les Paul/Marshall combo. A very large boost in this range is a key factor in achieving the singing solo tone of Boston songs. Subtler levels of boost in the 2 to 4 db range are a key part of achieving the power chord and solo tones of much of 80's hair metal. Think "Round and Round" by Ratt, or any solo by George Lynch of Dokken. These are heavy with 800Hz boost. Queen's Brian May is famous for his signature fixed-wah lead tone. Setting the wah at 800Hz is a key to achieving his tone.
While this frequency range can be altered more severely than many others and still yield useable guitar tones, start off by altering it sparingly. Too little of this range and you'll get completely buried in the mix with your band. Too much of this range and your guitar will sound like it's singing through its nose.
1.6kHz: After 800Hz, this is one of the most important ranges to cut when trying to get the scooped-mid sound. When playing sparkly clean passages on a dark-sounding guitar, boosting this range by 2 db as well as a subtle cut at 400Hz can sometimes do the trick.
3-4kHz: This range is one of the most psychoacoustically active for the human voice, meaning it plays a big role in how we determine "tone of voice". For the guitar, a subtle boost of 2 to 4 db can emphasize "crunch" and add just a bit of bite to solos. Eddie Van Halen's early guitar sound had a healthy boost at this range, allowing him to emphasize dynamics in his playing and take advantage of pick scratches to full effect. Think of the opening guitar on Van Halen's "You Really Got Me". In between chords, Eddie does a very quick down-up scratch across all six strings that's very prominent.
10-14kHz: This range is another two-edged sword. It's the "presence" range on most amps, and used correctly, can take the blanket off of an otherwise muffled sounding guitar. However, it's also the range most responsible for sibiliance...that nasty "sssss" sound that plagues vocal microphones. Adjustments in this range can also sometimes be sneaky in that it's easy not to notice the difference in tone an adjustment here has made, often resulting in the player making larger and larger adjustments. However, walking away from the project and coming back to it later can often reveal dramatic and harsh effects on tone that large adjustments can produce. Keep it subtle.
It's sometimes helpful to think of graphic EQ's as a chef's spice rack. Sometimes the key to a really delicious dish is just the right blend of spices. Black pepper adds a little zing to a dish, but too much and it becomes bitter and hot, completely masking the flavor of the dish. Too little salt and a dish can taste bland, too much and the other flavors disappear and the salt becomes all you can taste. Treat your EQ adjustments similarly. Sometimes it's not immediately apparent how much you've altered your tone by making small EQ slider adjustments. If you don't notice any difference, walk away from the rig. Go take a break and come back and you may be surprised that the difference now jumps out at you. Often giving your ears a rest helps regain the ability to distinguish differences in tone, since the human ear can become fatigued, becoming less and less able to distinguish subtle differences in timbre.
Good luck and have fun with it!
It can be invaluable to play around with several EQ's, not so much to determine which brand is best (although that's a fringe benefit) but rather to determine which frequencies are the ones you find yourself most often adjusting to achieve your preferred sound. It should be noted that even 31-band EQ's can sometimes be missing the precise frequency you may be looking for.
As a rundown, I'll give a short description of some of what I have found to be the most important frequencies to be adjusted and why.
<80Hz: While a standard six-string guitar isn't capable of producing musical notes below about 88Hz, the rest of your rig may still produce sound in this range. Unless you're playing through a 1000w P.A. with 18" subwoofers and crossovers, any sound in this range will come out as pure noise, not a heavier guitar sound (unfortunately). Noise in this range can also easily damage your equipment. Blown speakers are almost always destroyed by strong pulses of ultra-low bass frequencies. If your EQ allows you to adjust these frequencies, cut them completely out of your signal. You won't lose any audible bass, and you'll save wear and tear on your speakers, as well as make your soundman happy since you'll no longer be spiking his meters.
100-120Hz: This is the sweet spot range for audible bass frequencies with the electric guitar. It's responsible for the heavy, heart-thumping palm-muted chugs in heavy metal. Most graphic EQ's give you a slider in this range, which can be used modestly up to, say, a 6 to 8 db maximum boost, usually less. More than this and you risk damage to most typical guitar speakers and your sound can begin to get muddy.
200-250Hz: Mudville. This is the range most responsible for what is known as the undesireable "muddy" sound. Unfortunately for Recto owners, the Recto amps provide copious amounts of bass response in this range. Recto's that are accused of sounding too muddy can often be easily improved simply by reducing this frequency range by as little as 2 and up to about 6db. Don't go overboard, though. As is true with all frequency ranges, it acts as both a strength and a weakness. Too much of this range and your sound turns to muddy sludge, too little and you will suck all the warmth out of your sound, leaving your guitar sounding wimpy. Experiment to find where it sounds best to you.
400Hz: This is what I call the "Les Paul" frequency range, since Les Pauls often provide a little more of this range naturally due to their mahogany construction. It's also where I define the low-mids of the guitar's frequency range. Some people will call frequencies as low as 250Hz part of the low-mids, but let's be clear, 250Hz is bass, not mids. 400Hz starts to get into the actual mids of the guitar. If your guitar sounds a little thin and cold (such as can happen when your clean sound is dripping with lots of digital modulation effects), you may find it helpful to boost this range by as little as 2db to add back some "body" to your guitar sound. It should be used subtly; too much and you'll sound like you're playing in a closed cardboard box with a moving blanket draped over it. Likewise if your darker-sounding guitar is having a hard time providing a light, chimey clean sound, you can very subtly cut this range and it will tend to emphasize your guitar's treble frequencies more.
650Hz: This range isn't quite as vital, though it can provide a noticeable boost or cut in the warmer (read: bassier) mid-range frequencies. It becomes more important when you're trying to EQ a good tone for soloing, especially in recording situations. Many modern amps, again unfortunately including the Recto, are lacking in rich, mid-range response, and as a result, the unaffected tone from these amps can often actually sound quite thin and wimpy when it comes time to rip a searing, singing, melodic solo, especially if the presence control is set particularly high. A boost here of 4 to 6 db can do a lot to help.
800Hz: The "Singing" frequency of the guitar. This is one of the most important frequencies on any EQ. It is this frequency, when severely cut, that provides the classic mid-scooped thrash metal Metallica sound. This same frequency, when strongly boosted, is also responsible for the singing solo tone of many 70's classic rock songs, especially those associated with the classic Les Paul/Marshall combo. A very large boost in this range is a key factor in achieving the singing solo tone of Boston songs. Subtler levels of boost in the 2 to 4 db range are a key part of achieving the power chord and solo tones of much of 80's hair metal. Think "Round and Round" by Ratt, or any solo by George Lynch of Dokken. These are heavy with 800Hz boost. Queen's Brian May is famous for his signature fixed-wah lead tone. Setting the wah at 800Hz is a key to achieving his tone.
While this frequency range can be altered more severely than many others and still yield useable guitar tones, start off by altering it sparingly. Too little of this range and you'll get completely buried in the mix with your band. Too much of this range and your guitar will sound like it's singing through its nose.
1.6kHz: After 800Hz, this is one of the most important ranges to cut when trying to get the scooped-mid sound. When playing sparkly clean passages on a dark-sounding guitar, boosting this range by 2 db as well as a subtle cut at 400Hz can sometimes do the trick.
3-4kHz: This range is one of the most psychoacoustically active for the human voice, meaning it plays a big role in how we determine "tone of voice". For the guitar, a subtle boost of 2 to 4 db can emphasize "crunch" and add just a bit of bite to solos. Eddie Van Halen's early guitar sound had a healthy boost at this range, allowing him to emphasize dynamics in his playing and take advantage of pick scratches to full effect. Think of the opening guitar on Van Halen's "You Really Got Me". In between chords, Eddie does a very quick down-up scratch across all six strings that's very prominent.
10-14kHz: This range is another two-edged sword. It's the "presence" range on most amps, and used correctly, can take the blanket off of an otherwise muffled sounding guitar. However, it's also the range most responsible for sibiliance...that nasty "sssss" sound that plagues vocal microphones. Adjustments in this range can also sometimes be sneaky in that it's easy not to notice the difference in tone an adjustment here has made, often resulting in the player making larger and larger adjustments. However, walking away from the project and coming back to it later can often reveal dramatic and harsh effects on tone that large adjustments can produce. Keep it subtle.
It's sometimes helpful to think of graphic EQ's as a chef's spice rack. Sometimes the key to a really delicious dish is just the right blend of spices. Black pepper adds a little zing to a dish, but too much and it becomes bitter and hot, completely masking the flavor of the dish. Too little salt and a dish can taste bland, too much and the other flavors disappear and the salt becomes all you can taste. Treat your EQ adjustments similarly. Sometimes it's not immediately apparent how much you've altered your tone by making small EQ slider adjustments. If you don't notice any difference, walk away from the rig. Go take a break and come back and you may be surprised that the difference now jumps out at you. Often giving your ears a rest helps regain the ability to distinguish differences in tone, since the human ear can become fatigued, becoming less and less able to distinguish subtle differences in timbre.
Good luck and have fun with it!
