That elusive sweet spot that you are looking for is probably never going to come from a EQ crazyhorse. EQ'ing on recordings is a lot different than in live sound applications. Either way, using a filter on a source is going to cause the signal to phase a bit, and this will corrupt the signal according to the amount of EQ and the quality of it also. Actually adding EQ can cause signals to lose presence in a mix because of this phase.
My best luck with EQ's has always been to not use them......really. But, sometimes an EQ is the only way to take care of a sonic problem. It can also be used artistically. So, that is the problems with EQ.
Now to answer your question, just about any book that deals with recording and/or sound will give you a little table that shows where most instruments primarilly fall in the sonic picture. Once you see this graph, you will find that it offers nothing to you in the case of making something sound good. Sure, understanding where it falls in the audible frequency range could potentially help you make some decisions concerning EQing, but theories seldom produce outstanding results.
Next. What I was trying to get to earlier when I went on about using EQ is, you should strive to get the kind of sound you are looking for on tape. Try to get the "EXACT" sound you are looking for to tape!!! This just takes some experience to "know" while recording what will work and what won't. Like I said earlier, not using the EQ except in situations where it is the only way to solve a sonic problem will render better results.
Here are a few things I will throw your way. Now consider yourself lucky that I am giving away my little secrets here while you have paid me nothing for recording time.....
On drum overheads, roll out everything under at least 100hz, more if you are not using them for anything other than a bit of ambience and cymbals.
On kick drums, cut some 200-250hz, and add some 3-4khz. Maybe add a little 80-100hz.
Snares, depends on what you are after in the sound. I won't offer anything on this one. It will be obvious to your ears. Remember that a well defined reverb can really change the texture of the snare in the mix.
Tom's, cut some 1khz, add some 4-6khz, add some 80-100hz.
Bass guitar, depends a lot on the sound needed for the style. Sometimes cutting the mids works, sometimes boosting them works. You are after all the notes sounding about the same volume, so, having an understanding of the Fletcher/Munson realtive loudness curve will give you some clues. Regardless, you can pretty much cut stuff on a bass that is over like 8-10khz.
Guitars, depends on what was captured on tape. Be careful with EQ on guitars. It is very easy to get them lost in a mix. Usually, you can cut low end below 100hz, and cut highend above 10khz. Any stuff in those extremes will only detract from other stuff that is there.
Vocals, usually you only need to get rid of the stuff below 100hz. After that, you should only use EQ for damage control. Like those annoying 4-6khz things that singers seem to blow at the mic. (hey, what do you call the guy that hangs out with musicians??? the singer......LOL)
Horns. Trumpet and trombone, cut a little below 100hz, and sometimes if the signal is overly bright, above 10kz. Sax, sort of the same thing and also sometimes adding a little 500hz will get it sounding honky.
Keys. Oh god, not keys!!! I hate them!!!What ever works here my friend. Way to many sounds on them to wrap it up in a nutshell.
You may benefit from learning what certain frequencies sound like. You can get a tone generator and feed it through your system and listen to what all the different freq's sound like. This will sharpen your ears a bit.
The thing about mixing is that you just do what sounds good. WHAT EVER SOUNDS GOOD!!! There are no rules, or for that matter terribly common settings for EQ. It is a tool for fixing problems. Just because you have it doesn't mean you have to use it. If you find yourself haveing to add lots of EQ to something, you might consider just re recording the instrument and getting a sound closer to what you were after. If you are cutting a lot of bands, well, you may want to get your ears checked out......
, or get new monitors. Cutting is usually reserved for the highs and lows. You want to cut the opposit freq's of the source track. Cut lows on cymbals, cut highs on bass...etc......
In the digital realm, try not to get too bass heavy. With studio monitors people have a tendency to do this, apply WAY too much bass to everything. When they pop it on their consumer playback system, with the bass boosted, the low end just goes crazy. Remember that most people add some high and low EQ on their playback systems. And some systems just make low/high boost's part of the design. This is especially true of home speakers. Just be carefull about adding too much bass in the mix.
Hope this helps.
Ed Rei
Echo Star Studio
www.echostarstudio.com
