Defining Guitar EQ Frequencies

[53Crëw]

I wonder about this a bit lately because nobody really defines frequency ranges when they refer to them. And some guys can't even quantify it when you ask unless they have at least some amount of audio production experience working with EQ...

If someone says "That pickup has more mids" I might be thinking he's talking about 900-1200 Hz. He might be thinking 400-800 Hz, or something totally different.

So I'm curious, how do you guys think of these frequency ranges as they relate to the guitar?

Highs
High mids
Low Mids
Lows

I suppose I would consider the highs to be the fizzy frequencies maybe above 4 kHz. Upper mids maybe 1.2 to 3.6 kHz, Low mids maybe around 400 to 800 Hz, and lows generally below 120 or 160 Hz.

How about you guys? Just saying mids is an awful broad range, me thinks.

 

[GearMan2point0]

I like to consider the range of frequencies like this

Sub Lows - 20hz-45/50hz
Lows - 50 - 180/200hz
Low Mids - 200 - 350hz
Mids - 350hz - 650hz
High Mids - 650hz - 3000hz
Highs hz - 3000hz - 8000hz
Air Highs - 8000-16000hz

It also depends on the instrument too

EDIT: I just realized this is a guitar question. My apologies

Lows - 80-200
Low Mids - 200-400
Mids - 400-600
High mids - 600 - 2000
highs - 2000 - 8000

anything above 8000 or below 80hz, unnecessary. However it is more often tricky to use these terms

Sub --> Thump --> Boom --> Note Value/tone --> Boxy --> Radio harshness --> crisp --> scratch/brightness --> Brilliance/Presence --> Air

 

[Mago]

for me on guitar it would be something like (guitars in a mix)

up until 200hz -> Lows
200-1k-ish -> Low Mids
1k-ish to around 4-5 k -> hi mids
5k+ -> Highs

can be tricky tho, as the hi mids are responsible for a lot more brightness in the mix than you'd think...so the high mids more become the highs, and the highs becomes fizz, that you won't miss when you cut it in a mix with cymbals.
Astounding how much those eat the fizz. Guitars that sound totally different alone with a lowpass at 8k can sound pretty sameish with a LP @ 8k in the mix.
I guess that's why it's hard to wrap your head around the terms of lows, lo mids etc...totally different thing solo or in the mix, imo...esp himids & highs.

 

[Nimvi]

for me on guitar it would be something like (guitars in a mix)

up until 200hz -> Lows
200-1k-ish -> Low Mids
1k-ish to around 4-5 k -> hi mids
5k+ -> Highs

That's very close to how I would classify things as well.

I think the reason why such broad terms are used for guitars is because it's not so much about the exact range, as it is about the function the frequencies fulfil, and imo that can change quite a bit depending on the chain. What I would call high mids for one amp, I would call highs for another.

So I would probably classify it like this:
Lows: the bass response, usually very dependent on the cab and speaker size
Low mids: anything that gives the guitar its thickness
High mids: anything that gives the guitar its bite and edge that helps it cut through the mix. IMO one of the most important and defining characteristics of a guitar tone. Because of its nature, the difference between desirable grain and annoying fizz can be very small.
Highs: Gives a sense of air. Having a lot of it sounds open, bright and modern, but may clash with vocals and overheads. The opposites apply too. I like to match this range to the overheads, so it "slots in". Otherwise, the guitars feel disconnected from the mix imo.

Because of all this, I find it nigh impossible to judge a guitar tone before I hear it in context. For most other instruments I have a rough idea of what I want to capture, but as Mago said, the way a guitar sounds solo'd and in the mix can be a vastly different thing.

 

[Alphanumeric]

Sub: 20-60
Bass: 60-150
Thump/Low Mids: 150-400
Toney Mids - 400-600
Honky Mids - 600-800
Presence Mids - 800-1500
Hi Mids - 1500-4000
Highs - 4000-10000
Air - 10000 +

 

[He's Dead, Jim]

It kind of seems like the crossover point and relative proportions of low mids, mids, and the "honk" range vary substantially with cabs. Mesas tend to have more mids and less honk, with the low mids a bit further up the frequency spectrum, whereas an ENGL, say, is more scooped in the mids and sounds honkier as a result. But what everyone said is basically true generally speaking.

 

[guitarguru777]

FYI, just saying, the only think most of us do to our guitars in the pro environment when recording metal is High Pass them. 99.9% of your tone is from proper micing and setting the amp up properly. A shitty guitar tone going in wont be fixed with post EQ..... not saying thats what your trying to do, just making a small point.

 

[Spectivum]

When HP/LP is mentioned there is very rarely an indication of what order that is. What is the consensus there?

 

[abaga129]

Haha welcome to the world of audio where nothing has a true definition: slap, honky, tight, loose, etc. I think its cool how we all know what these terms mean but would have a tough time defining them.

 

[Nimvi]

Haha welcome to the world of audio where nothing has a true definition: slap, honky, tight, loose, etc. I think its cool how we all know what these terms mean but would have a tough time defining them.

Audio is magic maaaan

 

[melovine]

I'm curious about the order of the hp and lp as well

 

[JasinElric]

FYI, just saying, the only think most of us do to our guitars in the pro environment when recording metal is High Pass them. 99.9% of your tone is from proper micing and setting the amp up properly. A shitty guitar tone going in wont be fixed with post EQ..... not saying thats what your trying to do, just making a small point.

So what do you do when all the frequencies from the distortion start masking the cymbals, vocals or even lead guitars? I don't know if you're talking about pulling a usable tone or guitars in the mix, but I have trouble believing there's no cuts or scoops in pro productions. I doubt that's a practice limited to mere hobbyists like me.

 

[Terminus]

When HP/LP is mentioned there is very rarely an indication of what order that is. What is the consensus there?

Since these two things rarely interfere with each other in terms of guitar eq filters, why would it matter what order they come in? If they are running on the same EQ, there's no order to be had anyway. If you were talking about something like notches or thin bandwidth cuts and boosts, there might be some benefit in using more than one EQ instance in the chain if you've either run out of bands or want to get really surgical with it, though.

 

[GearMan2point0]

If you milk cows, you will have buckets filled with milk. If you buy it from the store, you will never understand the fundamentals behind milking a cow. It's science.

 

[Mago]

Since these two things rarely interfere with each other in terms of guitar eq filters, why would it matter what order they come in? If they are running on the same EQ, there's no order to be had anyway. If you were talking about something like notches or thin bandwidth cuts and boosts, there might be some benefit in using more than one EQ instance in the chain if you've either run out of bands or want to get really surgical with it, though.

I think they ask about the 1st order, 2nd order etc
You know, dB/Octave

Mine are not too steep fwiw, but sometimes a harder pass works better.

 

[Spectivum]

Yes, I was asking about dB/octave. The cutoff freq does not mean much on its own when you don't know if the slope is 6dB or 36dB. Still, in tips sections here and in interviews when two pros talk, only the frequency is mentioned so I had to assume there is a consensus on the slope, e.g. the standard on consoles.