guys…
can some of the more informed engineers on here answer me this… when equing do you accentuate the prominent frequency of an instrument and bring it down in volume… so its main “body” and character is there and the “extra” parts of the sound are less evident… allowing other instruments to take up the others area of the spectrum…
thats a sweeping assumption/statement about eqing, but is it correct…?
You have to play it by ear, every sound will have a certain frequency that when enhanced by an EQ it will just make your sound better. But no producer will boost these magic frequencies on their sounds and then add hundreds of cuts on their other sounds as alot of the time you will find alot of sounds share these magic frequencies and boosting both will create a muddy mess, so how do you decide which to cut and which the boost. Masking which is where different sounds share the same prominant frequencies can never be 100% avoided. There is no track out where some sort or masking is happening. Whilst it can’t be avoided there are alot of things you can do to diminish the masking effect, like sidechaining panning etc and like you posted about EQ. A general rule of thumb is to cut unwanted frequencies when you EQ, for example a hi hat does not have anything of use to you below 500hz really. Simply cutting out lows on all the sounds that don’t need it will INSTANTLY do a hell of alot to clean up your overall mix. The trouble you get is when you go to your kick clashing with your bass or your lead clashing with everything or whatever. Try to always cut first rather than boost and compare your mix before and after. Also alot of people solo their tracks when eqing this is totally the wrong thing to do as whilst boosting a certain frequency might sound great on it’s own, throw the mix in and it could be a whole different story. Cutting has alot more effect than boosting, looking in the terms of the sound of your overall mix. Sometimes you have to sacrifice frequencies and say ok these frequencies really define the sound of this bass I am going to cut them from the kick or vice versa. Start small and increase unill it sounds ‘right’. Finally just a little tip from myself and this is sooooooo true. If you can work to get all your sounds soundig and gelling well together from the get go sometimes u just don’t even need an EQ. If your kick and bass aren’t working use a different kick use a different bass etc etc trust me the earlier all your sounds work together the easier it will be when mixing down. I’ve seen it done, not really any processing just a limiter on the master and a mix that sounds blazing hot. It’s insane but it works! Sorry for the wall of text, blame iPhone!
I will give a super super brief rundown of my EQing. Cut the low end as to cut out all lower harmonics without affecting the main body of the sound. Cut elsewhere in the sound to shape it. I RARELY boost. Unless Im trying to create a shimmer of highs or whatever, I almost never boost. 90-95% of my EQing is cutting rather than boosting.
^Same
Alot of people dnt realise that by adding a distortion or high end reverb or something you are already boosting frequencies.
I Cut.
Rarely Boost.
Raise a Hi Q & Sweep through… Making Dips whenever everything starts vibrating.
Shelve off some of the Hi’s on things that I feel dont need it - especially when I want to leave room for another sound later in the higher registers.
Sometimes I feel like I’ve got **** all of the sound left… but it sounds ok when everything is all playing together.
Finally… I’ve got my Note to Freq Chart & Voxengo Span on my master & open on my 2nd Screen.
I always try to start of my Eq’n based on the sounds musical information.
im just having a hard time getting my head around juggling the mid frequency stuff… lead, pads, etc etc how you guys get around it?? 
I dont know if I always do it successfully…
I belive that I am on the right track by choosing the space that everything is sitting in.
All the elements in my tracks are obviously in Key & I pay attention to whats being stacked on top of eachother - per octave.
I’ll have all the different elements occupying the different notes of chosen Key as I need… like a big chord.
Thats how I try & keep everything tidy. Usually if something is Muddy or Clashing, by moving it up or down the scale, it finds its own space… rather than trying to just fix with EQ.
Would love to know what others think of that. Never read it anywhere btw… its just something that I’ve found myself doing over time.
so bascially… try to not use eq when possible… lol
see this has been my way of working all the time. just roll off the bottom end and just move the octaves about. if i do have 2 instruments in the same register then i use some eq, cutting on one slightly and boosting slightly on the other at the same frequency… but my problems occur when ive 3 or more… in the same register… like guitars and key pads and a vocal or lead line :(:(
[quote]ICN (13/09/2010)[hr]…Finally… I’ve got my Note to Freq Chart & Voxengo Span on my master & open on my 2nd Screen.
I always try to start of my Eq’n based on the sounds musical information.[/quote]
That’s really smart, ICN. 
Approaching a mix like that, and by moving a clashing part up or down the scale, too. If I understand you correctly, you have two sounds that pretty much sit in the same frequency sweet spot, and instead of forcing one of them out of that range with EQ you simple move the part up or down the scale until it find it’s own sweet spot away from the other sound?
To even further warp your mind sometimes two sounds that share the same prominant frequencies CAN work together! The tip from this thread isn’t to not use EQs it’s to try and cut more and boost only when you really really have to! Boosting isn’t doomsday and can really push a sound through a mix, just cutting is better for the overall clarity and outcome. Tbh notes/frequency charts aren’t really necesery because if you have to start worrying about the different keys your playing and how they work with your other sounds you might as well not even try. It would be easier to change some sounds. It’s not rocket science, if you have got a really low booming bass it’s prolly a good idea to add a topier kick with a strong prominant frequency around 70-80hz as apposed to lower. His is what drum n bass producers do, there music is all about having a strong growling sub going on so alot cut there kicks below 70hz and mabey layer them with a snare so it has some upper range prescence.
[quote]anthonyp20 (13/09/2010)[hr]
That’s really smart, ICN. Approaching a mix like that, and by moving a clashing part up or down the scale, too. If I understand you correctly, you have two sounds that pretty much sit in the same frequency sweet spot, and instead of forcing one of them out of that range with EQ you simple move the part up or down the scale until it find it’s own sweet spot away from the other sound?
[/quote]
Yeah…
So for example… I always seem to end up making stuff in the Key of A… or A minor to be exact.
So I’d mess around with A B C D E F G♯.
Not exclusively though… as sometimes it might just sound nice where you didnt intend, but the point is that you move it up into that ballpark to begin with.
I find it cool having Bass & Kick locked together.
Snare, Perc & Hats etc… all different notes 
Yer I forgot if it’s not working try moving up or down an octave at a time or play both.
i just listen and turn the knobs till it sounds cool
[quote]phil johnston (14/09/2010)[hr]i just listen and turn the knobs till it sounds cool[/quote]
Lol this cant b the way phil. There must b some logical reason and process we should go through when deciding on which frequency to boost or cut. When watching the FM vids the producers say, well i boosted a small amount at 5k but reduced some at 9k because i dont like that sound in a club… Why??
You have to be very carefull with your high end if your making music that is going to be played on a loud system. It’s the very high end frequencies that if overdone will make people cover there ears and pull that face that looks like their about to throw up.
[quote]jpgetty2win (14/09/2010)[hr][quote]phil johnston (14/09/2010)[hr]i just listen and turn the knobs till it sounds cool[/quote]
Lol this cant b the way phil. There must b some logical reason and process we should go through when deciding on which frequency to boost or cut. [/quote]
Listening and turning the knobs till it sounds good is a perfectly logical process 
[quote]phil johnston (14/09/2010)[hr]i just listen and turn the knobs till it sounds cool[/quote]
sounds about right
Don’t under estimate the power of panning either. If 2 sounds are fighting for the same frequency range sometimes some simple panning can really help things in the right direction.
Its like cooking sausages… you could figure out the heat distrubution of your grill and multiply it buy the absorpion factor of the meat times the caramelisation coefficient of the outer sasuage skin and you would get the exact time it takes to cook sausages perfectly.
OR!
Just keep checking on them until they are kinda golden brown - if they are burnt youve had them in too long.
EQ < Sausages (mmmm)
Yes im hungry
you should have been a breakfast chef man