In this article, we suggest several ways how you can up your EQ game when mixing and monitoring on studio headphones. To mix properly across the frequency spectrum, you first have to learn the sonic characteristics of the headphones you are using.

Several professional mix engineers use a single 5″ Auratone speaker because its small driver helps them achieve translatable sounding mixes out in the real world. Aspiring mixers clocked this trend. Many followed suit and bought their own Auratone to quickly discover the sound of these monitors were very different from what they were accustomed to hearing in full-range monitors.

However, aspiring mixers didn’t know what a proper mix on Auratones sounded like and didn’t know how to get the most from their new grot box. The trick to mixing on headphones, or monitors for that matter, is similar to that Auratone trend. Try not to worry about what headphones you use, instead know what the headphones you already use sound like.

Let’s move onto to some general EQ tips for mixing on headphones.

Mixing Kick Drum & Bass Instruments In Headphones

Small headphone transducers can not reproduce the sound of bass instruments or kick drums with the impact you typically hear pumping out of larger monitors in a room. That does not mean you shouldn't work hard though at mixing low-end instruments on headphones. It can actually be quite effective. The thing to listen for is clarity and presence of kick drums and bass instruments in relation to the other instruments.

With bass guitars, you will mainly hear harmonics an octave above the fundamental rather than deep bass. The first and second-order harmonics should be full and present in headphones. With kick drums, you will mainly be hearing attack rather than the deep resonance of the kick thump.

How Do The Pros Mix With EQ On Headphones?

There are several philosophies to consider when mixing a bass instrument and kick drum together. Eric Sarafin, aka Mixerman, states that one should appear on top of the other in the sound field. The positional effect can be a lot easier to tell on headphones rather than on monitors. As mix engineer Andrew Scheps puts it, “One has to rule the low end”. This means that one has a preponderance of low frequencies. According to producer-mixer Michael Wagener (King’s X, Metallica, Alice Cooper), kicks live at around 60Hz, bass at 100Hz. To separate these tracks try using a low-cut filter on the bass instrument below 100Hz with a steep filter. This implies that the bass instrument will sit on top of a kick drum.

When headphone mixing you may have to work hard not to set high levels of bass instruments and kick drums. Many mixers make this mistake as they are compensating for the lack of deep resonances we typically hear and feel when mixing on loudspeakers. Once bass instruments and kick drums are working together in your headphone mix, all that remains is to switch to a set of full-range monitors for a quick balance reference. You may need to finely adjust the lower frequencies once more to ensure everything is playing nice before moving on with your mixing headphones workflow.

Balancing The Midrange

Since our ears are most attuned to midrange sounds, it stands to reason that the midrange deserves special attention. Headphones can make it easy to balance the mids. In fact, with the mids properly mixed bass and treble frequencies often only need to be in a ballpark for your mixes to sound translatable out in the real world.

Midrange instruments tend to fight for attention. The goal here is to make sure that all instruments are heard yet still work together as a unified whole. One of the more commonly considered approaches is to use high pass filters a means of “carving out space” for other instrument types to occupy. In reality, scooping out large frequency chunks from one instrument to make room for another can sometimes have the opposite effect. Doing so can thin the sound of the instrument or vocal you want to poke through at that desired frequency range.

How To EQ For Balance

Another approach is to use subtractive EQ to cut low midrange frequencies which can also make a suitable amount of room in the mix. While this is also simple to do but you might once again weaken the sound of certain tracks. This may come back to bite you later in the mix, especially if an instrument you have applied subtractive EQ becomes a featured instrument in the mix later on.

So how do you EQ the midrange to make instruments stand out? First, here’s one pointer to consider. Try not to EQ any instrument in isolation, hoping that when you drop it back into the mix it will work. Here are some EQ techniques worth trying:

1. As we've already mentioned, always EQ instruments in context.

2. If you are trying to fit a guitar and piano together using EQ then listen closely the instrument you are not EQing. If you are EQing the guitar then listen to the piano until you hear both tracks working together.

3. Try not to sweep narrow Qs. Use your best judgement to choose which frequency range you feel needs boosting or cutting. If at first, you don't succeed, try another frequency range. Trial and error is the best way to train your ears to hear the effects of EQ.

4. Remember that mixing can be counterintuitive. Lots of mix engineers look to cut ugly frequencies to make instruments sit better in a mix. Nothing wrong with this approach but sometimes boosting an ugly frequency can add a lot to a sound as well. For example, bringing out a timbale in a mix by boosting its honkiest frequency (1kHz) can actually gives it clarity in a busy mix.

Using Saturation Instead of EQ To Equalize

EQ is not the only tool for the job of tonal balance. EQ boosts add amplitude at various frequencies which in most EQ plug-ins will sacrifice headroom if not used carefully. Using distortion and saturation instead of EQ can help an instrument stand out without fussing with frequencies.

Let's Get Highs

High frequencies do not always require the same amount of scrutiny or attention as low-end bass. In fact, once you have lower frequencies under control you may find the high-end often takes care of itself.

In Conclusion

1. Getting control of bass frequencies in headphones means achieving clarity in relation to the rest of the frequency spectrum. Remember, what you are hearing is not always a fundamental, rather the first and second-order harmonics.

2. When it comes to EQing the mids, don’t sweep. Try to make your EQ moves in the context of the whole mix.

3. Try using distortion, saturation or enhancement instead of EQ to bring instruments forward in a mix without getting lost down a rabbit hole of EQ choices.

If you mix on headphones then we would love to hear how you use EQ.