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Drum EQ Cheat Sheet

Drum EQ Cheat Sheet

in Drum Recording Posted on 

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Kick Drum


50 – 100 Hz – Boost this area to add low-end punch. Don't boost too much because it can create a lot of mud in the low-end causing it to clash with other instruments in this frequency spectrum i.e bass guitar.


150 – 250 Hz – If you’re concerned about boosting the low-end too much, try cutting in this area. Cutting this are will give you more punch without adding more mud.


300 – 600 Hz – Here you'll find that cardboard sound. If boxiness is killing your kick drum sound, cut somewhere in this area. Most metal kick drums have a cut at around 300 Hz.


2 – 4 kHz – This is where the attack is. If you have a hard time getting the kick drum to cut through the mix, don’t add more low-end, add more mids. A larger boost in this section will bring out the beater sound. Depending on what you're mixing the drums for, this range may vary. A narrow boost at the 4 kHz area will bring out the click you're probably looking for. 


10+ kHz – I don't tend to do a whole lot of boosting in these upper frequencies, but if you like how it sounds, then by all means create a nice shelf and add a healthy amount of air to your kick drum sound.


Snare Drum


150 - 200 Hz – If your snare sounds too thin and needs some extra weight AKA "Fatness", try boosting this area.

900 Hz – To add more point and attack to your snare, try sweeping this area to find the fundamental frequency your snare sounds the best in.

5 kHz – Add crispness and punch by boosting this area in the upper mids.

10+ kHz – If you're looking for some snap on your snare drum, try boosting 10k and on.


Toms

Toms have to be the easiest part of the drum set to eq. Realistically we want our toms to have a lot attack, and we want it to have a lot of fullness and body.

Start your EQ sweep at 300hz and listen for that awful boxiness sound we all loathe. Once you find it, cut them out until you hear your toms start to get thicker.

Your EQ moves will depend on the drum you're Eq'ing. 

Fullness / Body:

Floor tom boost around 80hz-100hz
Rack tom boost around 100hz-200hz 

Attack:

5-7kHz

Overheads

For overheads I like to do a HPF (high pass filter) up to 350hz. Usually i'll do a generous bell boost at 10k so that the cymbals have a nice sheen to them. A narrow Q boost at 4.5k for a little more bit, and i'll remove a lot of the mud that usually resides in the 800hz region. If I find that the snare still needs a little more body, then i'll give it a boost at 200hz.

Typically with the overheads i'm trying to use these as a stereo image. Usually a blend with these mics, and the close mics I can generally get a great drum sound.

If you have a set of stereo room mics, they do add a great amount of glue to blend all of those close mics together.



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