All the EQ Information You’ll Ever Need in One Handy Chart

Written by in Music Mixing - 5 Comments
EQ Chart

Independent Recording has one of the most useful EQ charts I’ve ever seen. I’ve stumbled upon this extremely handy EQ chart many times on the internet, but I don’t want any of you to go without it.

Not only does it tell you the frequency ranges of a multitude of instruments, but it’s also interactive. By sweeping over the various instruments you can see where some of their more important frequencies are.

How to Use the EQ Chart

You can see the full chart here below, but check out the interactive part of it here as well for extra information.

As you can see in the chart below all the instruments have a specific place in the frequency spectrum. The orange color represents the fundamental frequencies of each specific instrument while the yellows signify their harmonics. Low fundamentals are the blacks on the left while the black surrounded by yellow represents Air.

EQ Chart

EQ References

By looking at the various instruments you can see where their most important frequency information is. Here are a few simple things you can do to make it help you EQ better.

  • You can see what instruments can potentially clash, and where you might need to trim and cut their frequencies.
  • All the technical jargon from ‘thump’ to ‘air’ is there for you to learn.
  • All the instruments are conveniently grouped into their corresponding ensembles.
  • With the handy keyboard layout you can see what frequency range each note represents.

Have you seen this chart before? What did you learn from it?

For even more information on how to use EQ in your mixes, check out Understanding EQ.

About the Author

Björgvin Benediktsson is an Icelandic born musician, audio engineer and writer. He has worked in the audio industry since 2006 and is an SAE Alumni from the SAE Institute. He is the man behind Audio Issues. His latest ebook Mixing Strategies tackles the all important aspects of mixing music. Learn more about him and Audio Issues here

5 Comments on "All the EQ Information You’ll Ever Need in One Handy Chart"

  1. Dogbreath August 5, 2011 at 3:16 pm · Reply

    I’ve had this EQ chart bookmarked for a couple of years now. It’s really helped me to figure out where my “mud” was and why. The “why” is a big deal for me cuz I figure if I don’t understand that part, I’m doomed to repeat. It also helped me to train my ears to what the different frequencies sound like and to decipher them in the mix. I “met” Glen (at Independent)…at home recording a few years ago and he’s a great guy who has probably forgotten more about this stuff than I’ll ever know.
    Good find boss…..

    • Björgvin Benediktsson August 5, 2011 at 3:55 pm · Reply

      Thanks. When I stumbled upon it again I was like “oh I don’t know if everyone has seen this” So I hope I introduced it to at least someone.

      • Ben March 30, 2012 at 4:43 am · Reply

        It introduced me to it, so I do appreciate the re-post.  :D

    • Björgvin Benediktsson August 5, 2011 at 3:55 pm · Reply

      Thanks. When I stumbled upon it again I was like “oh I don’t know if everyone has seen this” So I hope I introduced it to at least someone.

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