The process to EQ vocals isn't hard when you look at the primary areas to change and proceed from there. Let start off with the basic vocal eq settings and the details behind them. Then, let's dig deeper.
The Basic Steps (A Review)
01 Drop the Very Low
Roll off below 100 Hz using a High Pass Filter. Anything below this isn't going to benefit the mix. We'll look at rolling off even higher.
02 Tenderize Harsh Vocals
To remove harshness from a vocal, apply a narrow bandwidth cut within the 1 KHz to 4KHz range. We'll look at how to find the right frequencies to cut.
03 Brighten the Vocals
Apply a gentle boost using a wide frequency band above 6 KHz.
04 Smooth it Out
Experiment with a narrow cut in the 1 KHz to 2 KHz range to smooth out the voice.
05 Bring out the Bass
Apply some boost in a reasonably narrow band somewhere in the 200Hz to 600Hz range. Look for adding a little power behind the vocal.
This is all well and good, however, using vocal EQ isn’t as simple as A+B = C.
The Reasons to EQ Vocals
Vocal EQ work is performed to enhance the vocals so they sound best in our environment as well as within the band and within the song. And this is where most of your work is focused.
Let me put it this way...not every singer has a golden voice. Adding to that, you have to modify the vocal to fit with the song. For example, a lead singer must stand out from backing singers and the instruments. Backing singers must blend together.
Bonus Vocal Mixing Download
Grab the 27-point vocal mixing checklist so you can create better sounding lead vocals today.
The Vocal Mixing Details
Drop the Very Low
Each mixer channel has an HPF (high pass filter) button. By pressing this button (or engaging it on a digital console), we are dropping all audio frequencies below a certain level. As an example, a Yamaha mixer with a “/80” button is the HPF and it rolls off 80 Hz.
Freq’s this low are typically your low bass notes and kick drum. Also general stage noise rumble. If any low frequencies seep into the vocal microphone, they can muddy up the sound. So, it’s good to use a HPF on vocal channels.
If the HPF is controllable, roll off the lows starting at a higher point, such as 120 or 140 or 180...until you hear a negative impact on your vocal, then back it off.
Tenderize Harsh Vocals
This is where a lot depends on the type of mixer; analog or digital. For example, most analog mixers have a semi-parametric EQ. This means you EQ via knobs on each channel with control for gain (amplitude) and the center frequency, however, you can't control the width of the affected frequencies - the bandwidth. Thus, your EQ adjustments affect a wide range of frequencies at once - like moving a mountain peak back and forth - and moving a lot of the mountain with it.
Some EQ's allow the user to work on EQ like a surgeon, making frequency cuts/boost in very specific ranges.
Harsh vocals can be reduced by sweeping over the mid/ high-mid frequencies until you hear the harshest vocal sound. Then you cut (reduce) those frequencies via the EQ. This would be the case with a parametric EQ where you can control the center frequency, the gain/amplitude cut or boosted, and the bandwidth, sometimes known as the Q.
Look to sweep from 1 KHz up 4 KHz
Brighten the Vocals
As for “brightness,” much of the high frequencies control how bright and airy a vocal can sound. For example, crank the high EQ all the way up during a practice on a vocal mic. It will be very airy and then you can reduce it to where it sounds good.
So much of what sounds good comes with having a good ear and knowing your music.
Smooth it Out
Much of the natural freq’s of a voice are in the mid-range frequencies. By cutting or boosting in the mid-range, we can optimize the sound so it sounds best. We can also boost or cut to separate it out in the mix from other vocals and or instruments that might be vying for the same frequencies.
Check out the 1-2 KHz area. I've had to cut there and I've found boosting to me helpful. Try both and find out what works for you.
You also want to work that vocal into the music in a spot that fits. This means you might need to cut some frequencies from an instrument that seems to conflict with your vocal, such as acoustic guitar or piano.
Bring out the Bass - sort of
While the low end can muddy up the vocals, there are some valuable frequencies down there for use. Roll up a little boost in the 300-600 range and find a spot that adds to the vocal. You might find it doesn't add anything or it hurts it. That's possible. It all depends on the frequency characteristics of the singer's voice.
Other Vocal Mixing Tips
The best thing you can do is get a solo track of a vocal on CD (or do this during practice). Move the EQ dials, one at a time, to an extreme. Once you hear what is bad, it’s easier to then move the dial until you hear what sounds good. We just need to know the bad to help identify the good.
Additionally, if you have singers with slightly wavering voices or young singers – teenagers, you can add a little vocal reverb effect that will even out their vocal fluctuations. Reverb and effects weren't mentioned here as those only happen after doing all your EQ work.
Know The Microphone
I play golf and I used to smash the ball as hard as possible with whatever club I used. Because of this, my accuracy left a lot to be desired. One day, a pro told me to use the next club up and swing easy. As he put it, “let the angle of the club do the work.” My accuracy increased and my score dropped – a double win!
I’ve adapted this idea into microphone selection. I pick the microphone that does some of the work I need. For example, I pick a vocal microphone with a natural EQ bump or cut that is what that singer needs.
EQ Warning
Maybe it’s something deep within our minds that says “if there is a problem with the sound then we need to boost the good frequencies to makeup for it.”
However, with EQ and even cross-channel balancing, this isn't always the case. Cutting frequencies is often the cure.
For example, if two instruments share common frequencies and you want one instrument to stand out, don’t boost the frequency for that instrument. Cut that small frequency band in the other. Also, lowering other channel volumes can bring the boost that you need. Louder isn’t always better.
One last VERY HELPFUL TIP! Clean up a male vocal by cutting 3-6 dB in the 250 to 350 Hz range. Look around for the sweet spot. This is where a lot of muddiness in a vocal can be found.
"Vocal EQ is where the science of audio manipulation is surpassed by the art of audio manipulation."
The tips mentioned might get you exactly what you want to hear when you EQ vocals. But more than likely, they will only point you in the right direction that will eventually lead you to the sound you want.
Listen to several genres of music and you can hear the different types of vocal EQ for that style of music. That's how you start going from the science of EQ work to the art. You might think that a singer’s vocal EQ is perfect but they think it needs more breathiness or more brightness or more bass. It’s quite subjective, sorry to say. But in the end, the creativity is in your hands.
Take it to the next level
Are you ready to learn all the nitty-gritty details about mixing vocals? What if I said it's not as hard as you think?
The Take Away
Start with foundational EQ work. Cut before boosting. Roll off excess low end. Keep the mindset of cleaning up the vocal first.
EQ in a way that matches the style of music you are mixing. Listen to the same song from a professional recording to hear it.
The Next Step
Do you want to learn even more about mixing vocals? If you do, check out my massive article on mixing vocals!
Bill Wells says
July 19, 2020 at 2:53 amHey man this really helped a lot. You just gave my mix a huge upgrade. I really appreciate it. All the best to you!
Duncan says
December 19, 2019 at 9:59 pmI personally prefer if vocals have only a small amount of air in them, and I would not recommend boosting the vocals by default, but rather anything above 1 kHz could be dynamically equalised so that the air/breath levels are reduced but the vowels remain unchanged. I propose this because cranking up the high frequencies in vocals often results in a sound that I find very fatiguing and hard to listen to. The dynamic EQ is to make sure the frequency response slopes down from 1-2 kHz onwards and has minimal peaking above that. Voice recognition may be necessary to tame sibilants and whatnot, but I feel that uniform air is better than more air.
Bulus Audu says
May 24, 2019 at 5:31 pmGood day,
please can you give me good setting from EQ, and which ghrap will i use to cut down echo, a hall that has tails and pop above, please help,
thanks
Bulus
Michael Roach says
April 18, 2018 at 10:21 pmI’m having trouble mixing so that certain instruments and or vocals do not occupy the same frequencies. I don’t seem to be able separate some guitar frequencies and not get the vocal muddied up. Also I tend to loose some of the keys without just making things louder. Any suggestions? We’re running a Allen & Heath GLD 80 digital board. Love the board, just need to learn how to layer the instruments and vocals. Been playing with the parametric EQ. Thanks for you help.
Chris Huff says
April 19, 2018 at 9:17 amNext time you mix, start with the vocals. Then, bring in other instruments and the minute you notice they interfere with the vocal, apply a cut to that area for the instrument. And easy way to find that area is apply a 6dB cut to the mid-range and sweep the frequencies to find where it suddenly clears up.
Michael Roach says
May 25, 2019 at 10:56 amThanks so much. I’ll give it a try next time around.
On a separate issue. My lead female vocal is getting a lot of distortion from her SLX2 SM58. I’m thinking she needs to back off the mic when she’s belting it out. Or perhaps I have her gain set too high. However if I cut that she gets lost when singing the softer parts. I’ve been using some compression on her channel which seems to help a bit, but not enough. What’s a good distance for her to be away from the mic without losing the proximity effect?
Thanks for your help.
Josh says
March 24, 2018 at 12:18 amThank you so much! I went step by step, EQ-ing as you describe—just from those first five steps, and the vocals fell right in line. Excellent advice.
Chris Huff says
March 29, 2018 at 11:20 amThanks!
Ritchie says
January 30, 2018 at 6:26 pmSuper useful, thank you!
Sam says
December 20, 2017 at 8:42 amVery well explained. Cant wait to put this in practice !
Kennedy Pratt says
August 8, 2017 at 12:21 amWow, thanks a lot for this tips, it worked like magic.
David says
May 31, 2017 at 12:15 pmFantastic article. Super helpful, I finally got rid of that cheap sound from my acoustic guitar!
floyd hester says
February 13, 2017 at 5:28 pmhow does this apply to a beheringer altra pro 31 channel graphic equalizer?
I am learning to run sound at our church and having trouble understanding eq.
some one has set our eq at what looks to be odd settings, the first few slides on the left ( 20, 25 31.5 40 and so are set all the way to the top +12 for 20 and just below that for the others. and its a smily face type all the way to the last slide on the right wich is all the way up as well. this seams odd to me. can you help me understand theis please?
Chris Huff says
February 14, 2017 at 10:18 amIt’s hard to make a judgement call without hearing the room. But my thought is it’s wrong. You shouldn’t be boosting all those lows by that much. Take note of all the settings and then move everything back to zero. Play something through the system, such as an audio CD and with that channel’s EQ set to flat, tweak the house EQ to meet how it should sound. If you don’t have subwoofers in the room, then boosting the lows +12 is only going to stress the speakers and you lose quality at all frequencies.
Sam says
January 31, 2018 at 6:49 amThats what I did. Turned all frequencies to ZERO.
For a lay person, Zero means “nothing”!
But for musicians, Zero means a lot ?
Sam
Try it ! It will sound great. From there make tiny adjustments.
Jinora says
November 9, 2016 at 4:42 amIm new at these i to be advance in vocals eqing, thats only my failer thak so much.
Chris says
August 11, 2015 at 1:53 pmBasic basic no matter what ALWAYS flatten EQ when new input, mic or device. IT gives you a perfect starting point no matter what console you walk up to when touring
John Woolard says
November 16, 2013 at 2:05 amSome great points here. I have been running sound for around 30 years at a professional level. All of the equipment and thought process really boils down to three things, in my experience:
1. What do you have in hand. Everyone likes to look through the latest book of goodies, but you still have to “run what you brung”. Learn the EQ curves of your mics (the little sheet of paper that comes with most mics will help you here) and set your PA accordingly.
2. What does the venue require? While it looks impressive to have a zillion watt system in the venue, typically, a small system, properly optimized and rung out, will sound BETTER in the room than a large, overpowered feedback generation device of a system. Makes for less to haul, too.
3. Gain, Gain, Gain. Gain structure is the single most overlooked component of EQ’ing anything. If the gains are set correctly, you can almost avoid any EQ really….and allow the sweet tones of the voice/guitar/whatever to come through and sound natural….which, at the end of the day, is the goal – isn’t it?
Lastly, when we say “do what sounds good to you”, we may have an issue of “evil ear” – an operator who’s ear is not tuned to a real sound palette that has anything of substance to it – the result will be a muddy mess or the sonic equivalent of an am radio played through a tin can…..so research and a LOT of listening to great sound systems is a HUGE benefit in this area…..
John Woolard
Sound Mangler and Mercenary Engineer for over 30 years
Chris says
November 16, 2013 at 9:46 amJohn, those are great tips!
guest says
November 15, 2013 at 9:50 amFreddie Mercury, Madonna, Bono, Meatloaf have all used Shure 57/58 dynamic mics in the studio.
I found the article to be very helpful (despite its apostrophe catastrophes) and will be trying some of the hints and tips provided.
Thanks!
[chris: thanks for the note on the apostrophes. fixed.]
@ThomasJDunn says
February 18, 2013 at 10:41 am@markswimbikerun here’s the blog I was talking about: http://t.co/I1HNyhAL – There are plenty of posts on EQ there. Hope it helps :-)
(@samdycate) (@samdycate) says
May 28, 2012 at 1:39 pmVocal EQ Settings – http://t.co/7fTL31SY via @behindthemixer
ikonoja michael oji says
May 26, 2012 at 12:56 ampls,am a young upcoming produer and am having problem EQ pls can u help me with tips and guides,I use sonitus to mix,bt I jst need anything that’s internationally acceptable,pls i’ll so appreciate it if you help me with images and pictures…thank you,may God bless you
Joe Morris says
October 5, 2011 at 4:48 amChris, thanks for your tip. I was kind of leaning in the same direction. Two questions: In your opinion, what would you advise for an adequate equalizer? And number 2, are you saying that maybe I don’t need a feedback destroyer? I guess I don’t understand “pitch shifting.” Thanks again, Joe
Joe Morris says
October 2, 2011 at 7:31 amChris, PS — I forgot to tell you that my mixer is connected to a feedback destroyer and then a crossover — if that matters. Anyway, my main question is to either go with an Equalizer, or a Vocal Processor for my next step. I’ve tried one TC Helicon Voicetone T1 product already — but I got alot of feedback, so I just went back to the basics. So, do I just live with it; or can you aim me in the right direction for what I should do next? Thanks again.
Chris says
October 2, 2011 at 10:50 pmI tend to say go with the multi-band EQ. Go for the “big picture” sound and you’ll likely get a better vocal sound as well. One thing to note about feedback eliminators is they work by temporary pitch-shifting. As you can imagine, pitch-shifting is not a good thing all the time. Nail down the feedback problems and you’ll also likely get better tone.
Joe Morris says
October 2, 2011 at 7:21 amChris, If I had a choice between a 31-band equalizer for my jam room, (even though I already have a built- in 7 band EQ on my Behringer mixer), and a vocal processor (such as the TC Helicon products or a Boss VE-20) — which way should I go? I’ve been trying to get that perfect vocal tone for 2 years — and even though I’m getting close — I think I’ve maxed-out all my options with what I have, and I’m getting frustrated. Any advice or help? i’d appreciate it very much. Thanks.
Anonymous says
July 17, 2011 at 1:03 amMost boards have EQs that are too generic for all instruments. In the studio it’s not uncommon to boost vocals at 15k. I’ve also seen a few studio engineers who weren’t so great at live sound especially when mixing the bass. A good bass player will have a preamp with eq setting specifically for that instrument. Learn those frequencies and use them on you live PA rig. Most rock guitar sounds great coming out of a guitar amp through 12′ inch speakers, with the eq settings on the amp. Get to know what freqs a guitar amp uses.
Bass freqs do tend to take up a lot of sound space, but instead of cutting the lowest frequencies, yo can give the effect of huge bass drum and bass sounds by using something like the Earthworks Kick Pad which cuts a wide band at 300hz or so. Sometime it’s more about subtraction that addition. And don’t be afraid to try messing with extreme freqs with vocals.
Check out the freq chart on microphones. The audix encore 300 stage condenser boosts at around 15k.