Mixer Settings
EQ Settings
Quick Setup
My mixer eq looks like this. Notice the HF, MF1, MF2 and LF Sections. This is important.
To set this up quickly, I've provided below a few of my own "starter settings" for certain types of inputs (vocals, guitar, bass, drums, etc.) Assuming your mixer is used for one band all the time, you can usually get these set and leave them alone, with only minor tweaking from show to show.
You must understand the following:
The mixer shown above has a high frequency (HF), two mid frequency (MF1 and MF2), and a low frequency (LF) adjustment. Your mixer may have more or less. Also note that the mid frequencies have two knobs. One, (my green one) sets the frequency that you are boosting or cutting. The other knob, (my light blue one) sets how much to cut or boost.
My high frequency knob is fixed at 12kHz (kilohertz) or 12000 Hertz. My low frequency knob is set at 60Hz or 60 Hertz.
The settings below are how I like to start. If you only have one mid frequency adjustment, use the BOLD setting I list. This one seems to be more "important".
Also 0 (zero) means leave it set in the middle, or flat.
You are always safe to start if you leave everything flat!
So, the settings I usually use to start:
| Input | Low Cut | High | M1Freq | M1Level | M2Freq | M2Level | Lows |
| Male Vocal | On | 0 | 4k | +3 | 250 | +3 | 0 |
| Ac Guitar | On | 0 | 1.5k | -4 | 400 | -2 | -3 |
| Elec Guitar | On | 0 | n/a | 0 | n/a | 0 | 0 |
| Bass | Off | 0 | 5k | +3 | 200 | +3 | +3 |
| Snare | Off | +3 | 2k | +2 | 250 | +3 | 0 |
| Floor Tom | Off | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| High Toms | On | 0 | 4k | +2 | 400 | -2 | 0 |
| Kick Drum | Off | 0 | 200 | -4 | 70 | +4 | +3 |
Now, these don't always work so use the following guides.
Vocals: If they are thin, use 250Hz to fatten them. Boost 4k to get them to cut through a rock mix.
Acoustic Guitar: This is all over the place. Usually, they are boomy and thin. Cutting lows and around 400Hz helps with boom. Cutting the 1-2kHz area seems to help even the sound out.
Electric Guitar: If you have a good guitar rig with a good mic and a good system, you shouldn't have to mess with this. Some heavier types like to add lows.
Bass: 5k boost will help bring out the pluck or bright end for rock or funk. Back it off if you want full smooth lows for country types. Boost the 250 to fatten it up some, cut the 200-400 if it's too "mushy".
Snare: 250Hz boost fattens the sound, cut it to thin. Use the highs to add sizzle or snap.
Toms: These are all over the place. Use the general rule to keep the lows in the floor tom and keep it limited in the higher toms, this keeps down unnecessary noise.
Kick drum: The kick can be pretty tricky. I like to cut somewhere around 200 to get rid of boomy-ness. I like to boost around 70hz, because this is where the "punch in the chest" is. Play with the low cut and the lows to adjust the amount of deep bass you get. I think the best thing is to use a graphic or parametric eq just for the kick drum. This gives you much more control over the sound. If I have an eq available, I'll roll off everything below about 45-50Hz to make sure there's no bad rumbles or feedback. Then boost around 65-70Hz to make sure to get that "kick in the chest" feel. Then roll out a wide band from about 150 to 250Hz to get rid of the muddy sound. This will all need to be adjusted based on your kick drum sound.
Keep in mind these are guesses based on my experiences, you will need to adjust these.