SonEQ is an excellent free 3-band equalizer plugin that takes elements from vintage gear and combine them into one. 2 Musical Filters, High-Pass Low-Pass and a Preamp stage with bass booster (Pultec style). Put this on your drum buss for some sweet, super smooth analog high end boosting. VST Plugs – VST Crack – Free VST Plugins – Direct Download Vst Plugins – Direct Download Free Vst – Download Free Fl studio Plugins – Music source for AAX, VST, AU, Audio samples, Audio software, DXi, RTAS Vst Plugin. I put this preset together and just finished updating my website so that this is the new weekly free FL Studio Stock Plugins Only Patcher preset! A full effects chain for processing vocals with de-esser, compressor, overdrive, delay, reverb and EQ. Each effect has its own surface control UI and can be toggled.

The vocals are a vital part of a song, even if you have a great recording or acapella if it’s not mixed well it won’t stand out. To get the most out of your vocals you should be using audio plugins, compressors, and equalizers.

In all DAWs the workflow for vocals is usually the same, but the way of doing things is different, in this post I will be talking about the DAW that I use, which is fl studio 20. If you use other DAW but you know well how to use it, you can follow the post without a problem.

The first thing before starting to mix vocals is comping, which is basically fitting together the best takes of the recording, so it’s really important that you get a lot of takes before starting with the mixing.

When people travel, usually they take hundreds of photos of the place they have been to and end up only using a few, the same happens with vocals, when you listen to the recordings you will always notice some mistakes or thing that could be improved, so to get the result you have in mind you should get as many takes as you can.

Also before starting with the mixing process, you should check if you could improve your room acoustics, microphone or if you feel that the song needs some changes in the melody or the lyrics. You don’t want to expend a lot of time mixing a part you aren’t going to use.

When you have everything ready, and fitted with the rest of the track(Synth, instruments, ad-libs, samples), then is the time to start making room for the vocals and getting the vocals to sound louder and better.

To mix vocals you will need plugins and good takes from the singer. Before starting to mix you should comp your vocals and crossfade were you connect one part to the next one, once you have the final acapella you can start mixing. The first part of mixing vocalsis to De-noiseand Normalize, then use a plugin for pitch correction to get the acapella perfectly in tune, after that, you can use an equalizer before using a compressor to remove noise you couldn’t get rid offand then use a compressor for loudness and an equalizer in the instruments to make room for the vocal and another one in the vocal to enhance some frequencies.

Let’s make a summary:

1. Comp the vocals, which is cutting the best parts of the recording and putting them together.
2. Remove any noise that may have originated from the room where you recorded the acapella, or from the streets or noise from the singer being too near from the mic, whatever noise it is, remove it.
3. Normalize and apply gain automation to make everything sound equally loud without applying compression.
4. With a pitch-correction plugin analyze the song and look for any note that maybe out of tune and correct its pitch.
5. Use an equalizer and listen to the acapella, maybe there aren’t noises but you may find some sounds disturbing, search for those sounds with the spectrum analyzer, then use a bell shape to raise the volume where those frequencies are, and when you find the exact point, just lower the volume of those frequencies.
6. After that you can use a compressor to make everything sound at the same level or in other words make the quieter parts sound louder, it may enhance some frequencies you may not like, but with some plugins, you can decide which frequencies you want to compress more, so for example, you could get to compress the mids, and not the highs and the lows.
7. Make room for the vocal, changing the volume and equalizing each instrument, so the range of frequencies where the sound of the vocal has more presence isn’t distorted by any instrument or synth.
8. Use another equalizer on the vocal to enhance those frequencies you like the most in the vocal.
9. Finally, use effect plugins, reverb, and delay.

Comping vocals

Getting a perfect take is really difficult, even if the singer has been singing for years, mistakes happen, you may think that is the one after one listening but then you notice the mistakes, and you can’t do anything about it. To avoid this you should get a lot of takes and since it’s really difficult to get a perfect take, you should get the best part of each take.

This collage of takes is called comp(which is short for “compilation”). This method is not only a great way to get the best vocal possible but also it makes easier the recording process, once the singer has done a number of takes he/she can leave and you don’t have the problem of realizing there is a mistake when you are mixing it and having to call the singer for more takes.

You can do great with five takes, making more will mean a longer time to decide which parts to get from each take without getting a better result.

It is very important that when you do the first take before jumping into the next one you listen to the vocals with the track if you already have the track made or imagine how it will sound with the rest of the instruments to see if there are some things you want to change in the melody of the song or in the lyric.

Sometimes a word can be replaced with a shortened synonym that fits better the melody and sounds more natural.

Once you have the vocals, the first thing to do is to get the lyrics and separate the phrases of each verse and from the chorus. After that listen to each take and rate each phrase, from very bad to very good. Then listen to all the phrases rated as very good and if one of them doesn’t convince you got to the same phrase rated lower.

Once you got the best parts you just have to cut and put it all together.

In fl studio, you can have each take on a track of the playlist and have them one in top of each other so it’s really easy to have them all muted, and then listen one by one and then zooming and cutting each phrase you liked.

Now that you made the cuts, delete from the playlist the rest of the takes, and put each phrase near to the next one, to bind them as better as possible and make the transition sound smoother, make a crossfade, which means lowering the volume of the last and first bit of each phrase so when the transition happens both audio clips are at the same volume.

If you don’t do a crossfade, some clicking sounds may appear when you pass from one audio clip to the next one.

To crossfade an audio clip, double click on it, go to declicking mode and select Crossfade(bleeding). You don’t need to do anything more, but if you want more control over the crossfading you will have to automate the volume and lower the phrase that ends and raise the phrase that begins.

To automate the volume just double click the sample or in this case the audio clip, right-click the volume knob and select “create automation clip” from the list. You can do this same thing to automate a lot of knobs, from synths to effects.

De-noise

If you have recorded the appropriate place you shouldn’t get any noise in your vocals, usually this happens when vocals are recorded near a fan, a computer or windows that are near the street, but vocals should be recorded in a completely quiet place which has some kind of acoustic treatment.

A plugin called Edison in fl studio can help you remove this type of noise, you can easily use it double-clicking on the sample and right-clicking on the wave image at the bottom and then click edit, which leads you to Edison.

Now in Edison select a part where you are not singing and there is only noise, then right-click on the toothbrush icon, it should say something like noise profile acquired, then right-click on the same toothbrush icon and here you can select the amount of noise reduction you want, if you get a lot of amounts it will sound distorted, so try to have the least amount possible, preview it to see if the noise disappears, and keep tweaking the amount till you have no noise but the audio still sounds good.

This is only for background noise, in case the singer has too much breathiness or there are ‘S’ or ‘P’ sounds, you should have used a pop filter in the mic, you can still use plugins called De-essers to remove those sounds, but is better if you just use a pop filter when you record the vocals.

Another thing you won’t remove with this technique is clipping in the vocal. If this happens is because of the mic, to remove it from the vocal or to know why your mic maybe clipping check this post.

Normalize and gain automation

Normalizing is as easy as going to the sample settings and clicking normalize, in Edison you can do this by section but is a bit dangerous, so just normalize the whole track and if some parts sound quiet, you can make them sound louder later with compression.

Gain automation is the same as volume automation, which I already talked about. So you can raise the volume of quieter parts of the vocal, when the singer almost whispers, and lower the loudest part where the singer may scream.

This is similar to compression but it gives you more control and you are not affecting the quality of the vocal. The main problem with this technique is that you will expend a lot of time getting everything at the same level and also if you raise the volume too much you can get clipping.

Pitch correction

This is a vital part, which is getting everything in tune. The vocal may sound great and in tune, it’s not difficult to sing in tune if you have sung for some time, but even if the singer made an “A” that “A” can be towards an “A flat” or an “A sharp”, so to get it in the perfect position you would need a pitch correction plugin.

This type of plugins can make any vocal sound in tune, but it will sound artificial if there is a lot of difference from the original note, so for example, if you get from “G” to a “C” with the plugin, you will hear something a little bit weird and robotic, you can also change another thing of each note, but you should just use it to make small changes, like changing from “B flat” to “B”, and think that there aren’t biggest spaces between notes in a vocal because usually when a singer is out of tune is just one semitone.

There are a lot of plugins to make this small pitch correction changes, I use Melodyne but you can use Autotune instead which has a similar graphic interface in the last version.

Fl Studio Vocal Presets Free

To use it, route your vocal to a track in the mixer, just by selecting a channel number where it says “track” in the sample settings and double-click to go to the mixer. Then just hit the record button on the plugin, and play a phrase to get all the notes, after that you can change the pitch of notes of that phrase. It is better to go phrase by phrase as it takes some time to recognize all the notes.

Eq for removing sounds

At this point, you won’t have any noise but you can have some sounds you don’t like. To fix this you need first to find in which frequencies those sounds are originating and once you know where they are, simply lower them.

I use FabFilter Pro Q for eq, but you can use fruity parametric EQ2 as well.

To do this load the EQ plugin in the track where your vocal is routed and select analyzer if you use Fabfilter, then double-click to create a band and right-click to select a bell shape. If you use parametric EQ2 just click on any band and select peaking(you should have it as default).

Now search for that frequency raising the volume of that band and moving it from left to right, and when you find it lower the volume in that frequency range.

Compression

Compression can be used for a lot of things. I use compressors to get vocals or sound louder, to get vocals or instruments only sound louder when the kick or beat is not present which is called side-chain compression, to change the sound quality of a sound and also to enhance and reduce some frequencies with a multiband compressor.

This sounds very complex, and it can be, but you don’t need to know all about compression to get good results, just knowing where to use one and some preset settings will do the trick.

In this case, we are talking about compression on the vocals. It’s important that you have all sounds you don’t want to hear in the vocal removed with an equalizer as I said in the previous step, this is because the compressor will make some frequencies more noticeable than others.

The compressor has different knobs: threshold, attack, release, output gain. The most important are the threshold/ratio and the output gain, the threshold/ratio determines how much compression is applied, the less db the more compression, and the output gain is like a volume knob, you turn it up and it sounds louder.

If you turn the output know all the way up you will get the signal to clip(red), which is really bad because it will distort your sound, but if you turn down the threshold it will leave you with a lot of room for output gain. What this means is that you can make your vocals sound a lot louder, but without getting them distorted.

First set the ratio between 1:5-3:1, then have your threshold on -3db, apply some output gain to raise the volume until is at 0db or near 0db in the mixer bus/channel. If it doesn’t hit 0db then reduce the threshold and raise the output gain, the more you reduce the threshold the more you can raise the output gain, but be aware that reducing a lot the threshold will apply more compression and some qualities of the sound will be lost.

A simple setting is to have the threshold at -30db and the ratio at 2:1, now you can tweak the output gain until the volume in your bus hits 0db or until you think the vocals sound loud enough.

The attack and the release will have a subtle effect on the qualities of the vocal. A slow attack(30ms) will make the vocal sound more aggressive and emphasizes the consonants and clarity of the vocal, while a faster attack(15ms) will make the vocal sound smoother but it can also make it sound further back. On the other hand, we have the release; A slow release will make the sound more natural while a fast release will make more apparent details like breathings sound.

The changes in the attack and release are really subtle you may don’t even notice. The important knobs are just threshold, ratio, and output gain.

There are two cases where you need to use compression:

1. When your vocal sounds too quiet.
2. When there is a lot of dynamic range, which means there is a lot of difference in volume between the quieter and louder parts of the vocal.

If your vocals sound loud enough, and everything can be heard clearly in every part of the vocal, you don’t need compression. You can use compression to give certain tonal qualities to the sounds, but that is better done with specific plugins used just for vocals.

Eq to make room for the vocal

You can use EQ in the vocal to enhance some frequencies and remove high and lows so it doesn’t get in the way of the instruments, but it isn’t a vital part.

What is really important is that you have the frequencies where the vocal is more present empty or really quiet, so all the instruments should have an EQ.

Obviously drums and bass don’t need mid-frequencies so you can cut those, but with guitars or pianos is more difficult because if you cut the mid frequencies in those instruments they will sound horrible. In case of EQ for instruments where you can’t cut the mids, you can lower them in specific parts, you can just lower 3 or 6db and that will make a huge difference.

Panning is also really great to create space for the vocal, but this is not possible in all music genres.

Sometimes songs make what is called a wall of sound, where all sounds overlap each other but if you want the vocals to be heard clearly you need to figure out ways to get space for the vocal.

Sometimes it doesn’t have anything to do with mixing, but with arrangement, for example, if the notes of a piano that is being played while the singer is singing are in a different octave there won’t be any problem with overlapping frequencies, the same would happen if a piano is playing notes in the same octave as the singer but only when she stops singing or it’s being played lower when the singer sings.

Mixing can do great things to make a vocal sound clear without being overlapped by any instrument, but to get everything to sound great and connected, you need to think before-hand about arrangement, instruments, melody and the production as a whole.

Effect plugins

These types of plugins have compressors, reverb, delay, saturation, equalizer and other effects in them, all in one plugin. The benefit of this kind of plugins is that they are designed to enhance or mix vocals, and are also easier to manipulate.

You could use only one of this plugin alone to mix the vocals, but I prefer to use compressors, equalizer, reverbs and delays outside of the plugin, because usually you get more options and have more control in each part with a specific plugin.

One of the most popular plugins to mix nowadays is Nectar, which lets you mix everything, from equalizing to compression, and in this case, you get a lot of options to work around, and is also very visual and easy to use.

As I said before, the plugins made for vocals “Usually” are not made for making the entire mix with them, but it’s not the case of nectar, with nectar you can make all the mix with the plugin because it has a lot of features. This plugin has also a feature that automatically mixes your vocal called vocal assistant, the way to use it is as simple as clicking on it, playing the part of your vocals and you have your vocals mixed, but after that you have to tweak some of the changes made and add more things or remove others if you want to get a good result.

The plugins that I use to make some aftertouch on the vocals are all from waves plugins, I have CLA vocals stereo, EKramer VC stereo and Butch Big Vocals stereo, but I mostly use CLA vocals and Butch Big Vocals.

With CLA vocals, you can change the lows and highs, compression, reverb, delay, and pitch. You have three settings you can choose from each effect and then you can just turn up or down a knob to get more or less effect, which makes it really simple to use but you will also get great results.

Butch Big Vocals, on the other hand, has more features and is a little bit more complex, I use it sometimes like a compressor to make the vocals sound louder but also I use it to make the vocals sound more crispy. You can change the presence, saturation, compression and even give the vocal more air.

Reverb

Reverbs give space to the sound, for example, you can make your vocals sound as if they were sung in a stadium or a cathedral.

Obviously when mixing vocals is rare that we want that effect as if our track is being played in one place, the actual purpose of reverb can vary, sometimes is used to make the vocal sound bigger while other times it can be used to make it sound more close and intimate.

• Short reverbs(rooms or small spaces), will add clarity and realism.
• Long reverbs(halls, plates, and large spaces), will add depth and widens the sound, usually, this type of reverb is most used in vocals to make them stand out in the mix.

The reverb that I use the most is, Redline-reverb. Fl studio has it’s own reverbs but it is better if you get a better one like Redline orValhalla.

The great thing about this reverb apart from the quality is that they come with a lot of presets, so you can go a test each one, then when you like the effect it makes you can lower the mix level knob on the bus where you have loaded the plugin so you get the exact sound you have in mind.

In case the reverb you use doesn’t come with presets you need to know that what makes a short or long reverb are early-reflections and pre-delay, a reverb with less pre-delay and no early reflections will sound bigger than one with early reflections and pre-delay, and the decay controls the time when the reverb is present.

Delay

A delay plugin makes the vocal sound with echoes, which can be used for a lot of things, like creating more space or connecting one phrase of the vocals to the next one.

The main things in a Delay are the echo time and the feedback. The echo time is the time between each repetition of the echo, usually, it’s divided by fractions of a beat(1/4,1/8,1/16), and the feedback is the time that repetition is made, so if you put it all the way up it will be echoing forever.

EchoBoy is the delay that I use, which as the reverbs I mentioned before, comes with presets, and also presets for vocals. You can use the same trick here, try some presets and once you find one you like, you can lower the mix knob in the bus channel so the effect isn’t so big.

The problem with Delays is that sometimes it will sound great with the mix knob turned almost down but too much if it’s all the way up, you can try the presets with the mix volume knob down and see if it make the vocal sound bigger and more clear.

Reverb and delay are used together, but I use first the delay and after that the reverb because the delay of the reverb is what makes the sound more spacious. This is called a pre-delay and reverb plugins already have it but you will get better results adding a delay before the reverb.

Delays can also be used to connect parts of the song to others, you can, for example, automate the feedback and have the echo time at 1/4 beat, so it sounds the echo of the last word of a phrase and you sustain that echo until the next phrase because you automated the feedback and you can turn it down when the next phrase begins, and everything will sound more connected. This is really useful if there is a lot of space between phrases that is not being completely filled by other instruments.

There are a lot of things you can make with delay and reverb, but if the plugins you are using have presets just with that, you can get the vocals to sound really good and professional.

Equalization (or “EQing”) is an essential process to a great sounding mix and knowing how to do it right will definitely make your mixes sound better.

When it comes to EQing it’s very important to know the main frequency ranges and how they sound. For examples if you hear that bassline sounds muddy, that’s going to be somewhere in 150Hz – 500Hz range; if the vocal sounds harsh – apply cut somewhere in the 2.5KHz to 4KHz range.

The easiest way to learn these frequency ranges are EQ charts and we’ve made a huge EQ chart for you to learn and grow as a producer. If features general charts that can be applied to any instrument and mix, and you will also find EQ charts for almost all common instruments – from drums and vocal to acoustic guitar and trumpets.

Keep in mind that these frequency charts are just the starting point and you don’t have to follow them exactly. Not all guitars, synths and vocalists sound the same, every track has its own context and unique characteristics so use these charts as a starting point and adjust according to your sounds and mix.

These charts are from our new plugin called EQ Wise+, an eight-band parametric equalizer with built-in interactive instrument frequency charts to help you EQ better. Check it our here.

SUB BASS 0-60 Hz
Most sounds in this frequency range more felt than heard. Be careful while mixing here as too much sub bass can make your mix sound muddy. Cutting everything below 25-45 Hz is a standard practice to reduce the rumble and preserve headroom. Avoid boosts here.

BASS 60-250 Hz
The fundamentals of kick and bass are centered in this area. Boost 100-180 Hz range for more punch. Boost 140-225 Hz to add warmth and fullness. Don’t overdo as boosting too much will sound boomy.

LOW MID-RANGE 250 – 500 Hz
This range is usually called the bass presence range. Try a slight boost at around 300 Hz to add clarity to the bass and low frequency instruments. Too much in this range make things sound muddy and boomy, while too little make them sound thin.

MID-RANGE 500 – 2000 Hz
Boosts in this range can make an instrument prominent in the mix. Be careful while mixing here as too much of 500-1 kHz can make your instrument sound muddy, and too much of 1-2 kHz can create a tinny sound.

HIGH MID-RANGE 2-6 kHz
This is where you’ll find the attack tones of percussive and rhythm instruments. Instruments that struggle to cut through the mix may be adjusted here for more presence. Excess here can cause listener fatigue. 4-6 kHz range is responsible for clarity and definition.

HIGH FREQUENCIES 6-20 kHz
Boosting this range can add extra air and sparkle to your instrument or mix. Excess in this area can cause undesirable listener fatigue and create an extremely shrill tone. Too much boost around the 6-8 kHz range tend to sound sibilant.

RUMBLE / SUB BASS 0-60 Hz
Most sounds in this frequency range more felt than heard. Be careful while mixing here as too much sub bass can make your mix sound muddy. Cutting everything below 25-45 Hz is a standard practice to reduce the rumble and preserve headroom. Avoid boosts here.

BOTTOM 60-100 Hz
This is where the bottom or “chest punch” of the bass and kick drum lies. Boost 2-3 dB within 60-90 Hz range with a low Q setting if more energy is needed, but don’t overdo it.

BOOM / WARMTH / MUD 100-450 Hz
Boost 100-170 Hz range for more punch. Boost 130-220 Hz to add warmth and fullness.
Check 250-450 Hz range for mud, boost to bring fullness. Too much energy in the 100-450 Hz range make things sound muddy and boomy, while too little make them sound thin.

HONK 450 – 1000 Hz
You may eliminate many of the harsh, “honky” and boxy characteristics of the tone with a centered, wide cut in the 450-1 kHz range. By making cuts on some instruments you can bring more clarity to the bass within the overall mix.

TINNY 1 – 2 kHz
Too much in the 1-2 kHz range make things sound tinny or horn-like. You should be careful boosting here, especially on vocal tracks. Excess in this area can cause undesirable listener fatigue. Boost at 1.4-1.5 kHz can improve the intelligibility of bass and piano.

CRUNCH 2 – 4 kHz
This is where you’ll find the attack tones of percussive and rhythm instruments. Instruments that struggle to cut through the mix may be adjusted here for more presence. Excess in this area can cause undesirable listener fatigue.

PRESENCE 4 – 6 kHz
The 4-6 kHz range is responsible for clarity. Boosts here can add edge to electric guitars and drums. Make sure to check the 5-6 kHz range for sibilance. Boost in the 4-7 kHz range can also add air.

DEFINITION 6 – 10 kHz
Try boosting at around 6 kHz to add more definition to vocal and guitar tracks. Boosts in this range can add edge to synths, string instruments and drums. Too much boost around the 5-8 kHz range tend to sound sibilant.

AIR 10 – 20 kHz
Boosting this range can add extra air and sparkle to your instrument or overall mix. Excess in this area can cause undesirable listener fatigue and create an extremely shrill tone. Cut frequencies above 18 khz to reduce hiss noise.

• 808 BASS DRUM

LOW-END 0-40 Hz
Highpass 20-40 Hz range with the steepest slope filter to preserve headroom and get rid of subsonic frequencies. 24-48 dB steep slopes work perfectly for the task with default Q setting engaged.

BOTTOM 50-60 Hz
Boost 2-3 dB within 50-60 Hz range with a low Q setting if more energy is needed, but don’t overdo it. Keep an eye on the meters as boosts in this range increase levels quickly. Use Output slider for gain compensation when needed.

BODY/SMACK 100-200 Hz
Try low Q-factor boosting within 100-200 Hz range to get some extra punch. Be careful of other bass sounds such as basslines that normally get most of their sonic content in the same frequency range. Careful octave-planning of your arrangement will help to minimize frequency conflicts.

MUD/BOXINESS 200-500 Hz
Sweep 250-500 Hz band with Q set high enough to get 6-8 dB of gain resulting in a resonant peak. Tweak the band knob while listening carefully – frequencies that sound most dissonant should be attenuated carefully.

KNOCK/CLICK/ATTACK 2-4 kHz
Check 2-4 kHz range if more click is needed. Stay within moderate 2-3 dB boosts with bell EQ curve. High shelf and tilt curves will also work for this purpose as well.

• 909 BASS DRUM

LOW-END 0-40 Hz
Highpass 20-40 Hz range with the steepest slope filter available to cut subsonic content and preserve headroom 24-36-48 dB slopes work perfectly for the task (keep Q factor set by default 0.71)

BOTTOM//WEIGHT 70-100 Hz
Boost 2-3 dB with wide Q within 70-100 Hz if more presence is needed, but don’t overdo it. Try narrower Q with more resonance for extra prominence. Keep an eye on the meters, boosts in this range increase levels quickly, so be ready to adjust levels.

MUD/BOXINESS 250-500 Hz
Sweep 250-500 Hz band with Q set high enough to get 6-8 dB of gain resulting in a resonant peak. Tweak the band knob while listening carefully – frequencies that sound most dissonant should be attenuated carefully.

KNOCK/ATTACK 2-4 kHz
Check 2-4 kHz range if more click needed. Stay with moderate 2-3 dB boosts with bell EQ curve. High shelf and tilt curves will also work for the purpose as well.

PRESENCE 5-8 kHz
Try boosting 5-8 kHz range with high shelf curve if more presence is needed. Keep watch on the 8-12 kHz band though, as boosting there may add hiss.

• DANCE BASS DRUM

LOW END 0-40 Hz
Highpass 20-40 Hz range with 48 dB filter slope. Getting rid of subsonic content here preserves headroom. 24-48 dB slopes work perfectly for such task (keep Q factor set by default 0.71).

ENERGY 40-100 Hz
This is where you’ll find the most energy and sub power. Check 40-50 Hz for excessive energy. Boost 40-100 Hz to add bottom. Manage this band of frequencies very carefully.

BODY/PUNCH 100-200 Hz
Try low Q-factor boosting within 100-200 Hz range to get some extra punch. Be careful of other bass sounds such as basslines that normally get most of their sonic content in the same frequency range. Careful octave-planning of your arrangement will help to minimize frequency conflicts.

MUD/BOXINESS 200-500 Hz
Sweep 250-500 Hz band with Q set high enough to get 6-8 dB of gain resulting in a resonant peak. Tweak the band knob while listening carefully – frequencies that sound most dissonant should be attenuated carefully. Boosts here can add presence.

PRESENCE/CLICK 5-15 kHz
Try boosting within 5-8 kHz range if more presence is needed, use moderate Q. You can find the click sound of the attack around the 4-15 kHz range, a peaking band works well here.

TONE 10-20 kHz
Boosts here can add sharpness. Lower this range to make kick drum sound darker. Reduce 14-15 kHz to soften excess sharpness and make the sound warmer.

• ACOUSTIC BASS DRUM

LOW END RUMBLE 0-40 Hz
Highpass 20-40 Hz range with 48 dB filter slope. Getting rid of subsonic content here preserves headroom. 24-48 dB slopes work perfectly for such task (keep Q factor set by default 0.71).

BODY/WEIGHT 90-145 Hz
This range is the body and meat of the kick sound. Boost 2-3 dB with wide Q within 90-145 Hz range if more presence is needed. Keep an eye on meters, boosts in this range increase levels quickly so you may want to compensate for it.

MUD/BOXINESS 250-600 Hz
Sweep 145-500 Hz band with Q set high enough to get 6-8 dB of gain resulting in a resonant peak. Tweak the band knob while listening carefully – frequencies that sound most dissonant should be attenuated carefully. Mud mostly resides within 250-350 Hz range.

KNOCK/ATTACK 2-4 kHz
Check 2-4 kHz range for the extra attack. Stay moderate with 2-3 dB bell curve boosts (high shelf and tilt EQs will work nicely as well). Working on this area provides a “bouncing basketball” type of ‘thwack’ tone.

AIR/CLICK 4-8 kHz
Try boosting 5-8 kHz range with high shelf curve if more presence is needed. Keep watch on the 8-12 kHz band though as boosting there may add hiss. You can find the click sound of the beater up around the 3-8 kHz range, a peaking band works well here.

• TOM

LOW END RUMBLE 0-100 Hz
Highpass carefully from 70 Hz upwards but don’t overdo, as you may thin out the sound too much.

THUMP/BODY 100-300 Hz
Boost 100-300 Hz range to add weight. Don’t overdo as boosting too much will sound boomy. While it depends on the actual tuning of the drum, you should be careful while mixing here as too much can make your toms sound muddy, while too little can create a thin tone.

ATTACK 3-5 kHz
This is where you’ll find the attack tones from the drumstick hitting the head of the drum itself. Boost 3-4 kHz for extra bite.

PRESENCE/AIR 5-12 kHz

Boost 3-4 dB within 6-9 kHz band to accentuate stick hits.
2-3 dB high shelf boost within 5-12 kHz range will bring extra air and presence.

• SNARE

LOW END RUMBLE 0-120 Hz
Highpass carefully from 100 Hz upwards. 12-24 dB steep highpass filters may be used. Use your ears and choose what sounds best.

BODY 200-400 Hz
This is the central area of sound in most snare drums. Most fundamental characteristics live somewhere inside of this range. Boost 2-3 dB with wide Q within this range to make the snare sound heavier.

RING 250-600 Hz
This range is responsible for the all-too-undesirable “ringing” or hollow tone of the snare. Search within 250-600 Hz range for it. Sweep the band with a resonant peak, attenuate unpleasant sounding frequencies with narrow Q cuts.

BANG/SMACK 2-4 kHz
Boost some decibels at 2 kHz for more, boost 2-4 kHz range slightly for extra bite and attack.

AIR/DEFINITION 6-10 kHz
Boosting 4-6 kHz range brings more air. If is still sounds off, boost 7-10 kHz range slightly as that should bring extra definition. The cracking sound made by the stick on the drum head is often around 8000 Hz.

• CYMBALS: HATS, RIDES, CRASHES

LOW END 0-200 Hz
Highpass 100-200 Hz to get rid of unnecessary low end.

GONG/CLANK/CHINK 200-400 Hz
Highpass up to 400 Hz to get rid of “gong” sounds. Boost 200-300 Hz range slightly for more “chink” but don’t overdo – as it may sound muddy.

AIR/BRIGHTNESS 6-15kHz
Sweep from 6 kHz upwards to find the “tsss” part of the sound and boost slightly when done for more air. Attenuating 10 kHz range will reduce harshness while boosting 14-15 kHz will bring more brightness, but be careful as too much can create an extremely shrill tone.

• ELECTRIC BASS / BASS GUITAR

LOW END RUMBLE 0-70 Hz
Highpass 30-70 Hz range to get rid of subsonic content and save headroom.

BODY/GIRTH 80-200 Hz
Allows the listener to feel the power of the bassline as most of the energy that sustains from the bass strings resides here. To accentuate, boost moderately with wide Q starting from 80-100 Hz. Basses that sound boomy may be cleaned up around 180-200 Hz.

MUD 250-500 Hz
Mud mostly resides within 250-500 Hz range. Try attenuating 3 dB at 200-220 Hz as a starting point but be careful not to affect the low-mid girth negatively.

DEFINITION 400-800 Hz
This range helps the listener to pick out the melody of the bassline. Boosting 400 Hz will make it more readable at low listening levels while boosting 700-900 Hz range will bring more energy and power.

ATTACK 1.2-1.5 kHz
Boosting 1.2-1.5 kHz range will bring out more attack while adding 2-3 dB at 3 kHz brings out more finger and fret noises. Try going further up to 5 kHz to check for anything worth boosting. Don’t overdo unless you want the bassline to dominate the mix.

STRING NOISE 2-5 kHz
Where the gliding sound of fingers across strings is found. This high frequency can be attenuated to remove some of the shrill “shwoop” noises caused by playing.

• ELECTRIC GUITAR

LOW END RUMBLE 0-120 Hz
Although every case is different, you can usually (safely) eliminate this band with a high pass filter, as there typically aren’t any useful frequencies down here besides ones that introduce flabby, boomy noise.

BODY/THICKNESS 150-300 Hz
Most of the electric guitar’s beefy sound and characteristic live here. Boost 150 to 300 Hz range moderately to expose more body of the guitar riffs. Be careful to not overrun that part of the spectrum with other instruments. 1-2 dB wide boost should do.

CHARACTER 300-1000 Hz
Much of the guitar’s “life” lives in these frequencies. Many of the familiar tones that make an electric sound like an electric are within here, but play with them carefully, as the snare lives in this band as well.

HONK 1-2 kHz
You may eliminate many of the harsh or “honky” characteristics of the tone with a centered, wide cut within this range.

PRESENCE/ATTACK/BRIGHTNESS 3-10 kHz
Boost around 3 kHz for extra attack on solo guitars but attenuate on riff guitar parts. Attenuate 3-8 kHz band if the vocal is present. Boost 10-13 kHz range with high shelf for extra brightness.

• ACOUSTIC GUITAR

LOW END RUMBLE 0 – 70 Hz
When mic’ing an acoustic, you’ll often find many of the boomy, explosive low-end tones within this range. Although a bit of it can add warmth and fullness, it will often cloud up a mix with a full band and can typically be removed with high-pass filter.

WOOD 200-400 Hz
This is where the majority of the acoustic’s body lives. Be careful when working in this range, as it’s easy to flatten the tone and lose its life with too many cuts.

BODY 80-400 Hz
Reduce at 200 Hz to remove muddiness. Boost 200-400 Hz range carefully to add more weight. Boosts here can add fullness to solo instruments but may create conflicts in a dense mix, so attenuate here if that’s the case.

WARMTH / FULLNESS 500 – 1000 Hz
Boost 500-700Hz to add more warmth and 1kHz to bring more fullness.

DEFINITION 1.5 – 2.5 kHz
The 1.5-2.5 kHz range is responsible for tiny intricacies in chords and string-picking, but boosting it too far can make guitar sound aggressive and harsh.

ATTACK/AIR 7-10 kHz
A slight shelf boost in this range will help an acoustic sound brighter and airier. Boost around 5 kHz if more attack is needed and around 7 kHz for some additional sparkle. If it still sounds off, try boosting around 10 kHz and 12kHz spots to achieve desired result.

• PIANO

LOW END 0-50 Hz
Highpass 40-50 Hz range to get rid of subsonic content and save headroom.
This is an important setting if you mix bass heavy music.

BOOM/MUD/WARMTH 50-250 Hz
Mud usually comes from this range. Boost 150-250 Hz slightly if you want to warm the instrument up. Boost around 80 – 120 Hz for fullness.

BODY/MUD 250-3kHz
Check 250-500 Hz range for muddiness. Try narrow cuts at 2 kHz or 3 kHz to keep a piano from conflicting with the vocal and guitar tracks.

PRESENCE 3-5 kHz
Boosting here will brighten the instrument up and add presence. Beware of the string damper noises that occupy this range unless it’s needed for a creative reasons.

ATTACK 5-6 kHz
Boost 5-6 kHz if more attack is needed. Use wide Q values.

CLARITY 7-9 kHz
Boost 7-9 kHz to add clarity and breath. Use wide Q values.

SHARP 10-15 kHz
Boost the 10-11 kHz frequency range to add sharpness, cut to make it sound darker. Reduce 14-15 kHz to soften excess sharpness and make the sound warmer. Check 10-13 kHz for piano’s hammer noise and cut with a narrow Q factor.

• E-PIANO (RHODES)

LOW END 0-50 Hz
Highpass 40-50 Hz to get rid of unnecessary low end.

BOOM/MUD 50-250 Hz
This range should be taken care of as a priority. Just like the acoustic piano, many of the muddy, boomy sounds stem from 100-250 Hz range. A Rhodes/E-Piano has a dense and rich low end which can become muddy very quickly if not properly cut.

BARK 0.8-1 kHz
Bark and damper noises could create issues, so search for resonance frequencies and attenuate 800-1 kHz range if this is the case.

PRESENCE 1500-2500 Hz
Boost 1.5-2 kHz a bit to add more presence and definition. Use wide Q factor.

• STRINGS SECTION

LOW END/RUMBLE 0-50 Hz
Highpass 40-50 Hz to get rid of unnecessary low end.

WEIGHT/WARMTH/MUD 80-300 Hz
Boosting 80-100Hz will deliver more weight while 100-300 Hz more warmth. Check 200-500 Hz with resonating peak for muddiness.

ATTACK 500-1 kHz
Boost 500-1 kHz to add more attack, attenuate the same range to soften it.

STRING NOISES/AIR 2-5 kHz
Tweak 2-5 kHz range for bringing string noises more to the front if that’s the desired effect.

CREAK/SPARKLE 7-12 kHz
High shelf boosting of the 7-10 kHz band brings more creak of the bows while 8-12 kHz more sparkle and extra air.

• CELLO

LOW END RUMBLE 0-80 Hz
Highpass 60-80 Hz to taste.

MUD 200-300 Hz
Check 200-300 Hz for muddiness, cut it with narrow Q.

FULNESS 400-600 Hz
Try boosting 400-600 Hz to add more roundness and fullness.

PRESENCE 6-8 kHz
Boost 6-8 kHz a bit to add more presence and definition.

HARSH 14-20 kHz
Lowpass around 14-15 kHz for more distant timber and to reduce harshness if needed.

• VIOLA

LOW END RUMBLE 0 – 100 Hz
Highpass to taste from 100 Hz upwards.

MUD/FULNESS 150-250 Hz
Search for mud within 150-250 Hz. Boost 180-240 Hz band to add more fullness, use wide Q values.

STRING and BOW NOISES/ATTACK 1-4 kHz
Boost 2.4 kHz for string noise and 4 kHz for bow noise. To enhance the attack, boost 500-1 kHz. To soften, attenuate within the same range.

• VIOLIN

LOW END RUMBLE 0 – 100 Hz
Highpass to taste from 100 Hz upwards to get rid of unnecessary low end and rumble.

MUD / FULLNESS 100 – 250 Hz
Check for muddiness within 150-250 Hz. Boost the 200-350 Hz range for fullness, use wide Q values.

STRING NOISES / BOW NOISES 2 – 10 kHz
Boost around 2.4 kHz for string noise and 7-10 kHz if more scratchiness needed.

• BASSOON

LOW END RUMBLE 0 – 60 Hz
Highpass from 50-60Hz upwards to get rid of unnecessary low end.

MUD 60-250 Hz
Carefully cut mud within the 60-250 Hz range with a moderate Q.

• CLARINET

LOW END RUMBLE 0 – 140 Hz
Highpass 120-140 Hz range to clean up the low end.

MUD 140-300 Hz
Check 200-300 Hz range for muddiness. Cut with narrow Q factor.

• FLUTE

LOW END RUMBLE 0-250 Hz
Highpass up to 200-250 Hz.

MUD 250-400 Hz
Check 250-400 Hz range for mud.

SOFTNESS 2-4 kHz
Attenuate 2-4 kHz for softness.

BRIGHTNESS 10-12kHz
Try boosting 10-12 kHz range with high shelf curve for brightness and presence.

• FLUTE PICCOLO

LOW END RUMBLE/MUD 0-300 Hz
Highpass up to 350-400 Hz.

FULNESS 500-1000 Hz
Slightly boost around 500-1 kHz to add more weight.

SOFTNESS 2-4 kHz
Attenuate 2-4 kHz for softness.

BREATH 5-6 kHz
The 5-6 kHz frequency range can be attenuated to remove some of the airy and breathy sounds.

BRIGHTNESS 10-12 kHz
Boost 10-12 kHz for brightness if needed. Be careful to avoid making the sound shrill.

• BRASS SECTION

LOW END 0-125 Hz
Highpass up to 125 Hz to get rid of unnecessary low end and mud. But don’t overdo, as you may thin out the sound.

FULNESS/MUD 200-500 Hz
Check 200-500 Hz range for mud, boost 300-400 Hz with a moderate Q to bring fullness.

ROUNDNESS 1-5 kHz
Boosting around the 800-1 kHz spot will add roundness. You can also try boosting at 5 Hz to add a brighter tone.

BRIGHTNESS / DEFINITION 5-10 kHz
Manage this band of frequencies carefully. Dark sounding horns can be brightened up and made lively in this range, but too much can also destroy a mix with shrill and harsh high-end. High shelf boost around 5-8 kHz will add definition.

• TUBA

LOW END 0-80 Hz
A tuba has a deep low sound so be careful with low end and cut only when needed.

FULLNESS 65-95 Hz
Try a slight boost at around 80 Hz to give the brass track a fuller, or “warmer” sound.

MUD 150 – 250 Hz
Check 150-250 Hz range for mud, cut with narrow Q factor.

RESONANCES 450-550 Hz
Check 500 Hz range for resonances, cut with narrow Q factor.

• TROMBONE

LOW END RUMBLE / FULLNESS / MUD 0-250 Hz
Highpass up to 100 Hz. Boost the 100-200 Hz frequency range to add fullness. Attenuate at 100-200 Hz if band overlaps with more important low-mid range instruments. Bass trombone should be processed carefully as you may thin out the sound too much.

BRIGHTNESS / OVERBLOW 4-10 kHz
Boost 4-8 kHz to add brightness. Tweak 8-10 kHz to accentuate overblow.

• TRUMPETS

LOW END RUMBLE 0-200 Hz
Highpass up to 200 Hz depending on the mix.

FULLNESS / MUD 200-500 Hz
Check 240-500 Hz for muddiness. Boost 180-240 Hz for fullness.

BRIGHTNESS 4-5 kHz
Check 4-5 kHz for excessive brightness and piercing overtones.

• SAXOPHONE

LOW END RUMBLE 0-100 Hz
Highpass up to 100 Hz.

HONK/MUD 120-400 Hz
Depending on the player’s sax, whether it be soprano or baritone, the low mid frequencies may be found here. The deeper the instrument, the lower the range point becomes. Check 240-400 Hz for mud. Boost 120-240 Hz range for fullness.

SQUAWK 1-2 kHz
Depending on the type of sax used, this range can be responsible for the harsh tones of the instrument – cutting removes some of the shrillness and painful attack tones.

REED NOISE 5-7 kHz
The thin piece of vibrating wood, known as the reed, can sometimes make a specific vibration tone. You can usually find this undesirable sound somewhere near this range. Check 6 kHz for reed noise and cut with a narrow Q factor.

OVERBLOW 11-14 kHz
Slightly boost 12-13 kHz range to accent breathing tones / overblow.

• BASS SYNTHS

LOW END RUMBLE 0 – 80 Hz
Highpass up to 60-80 Hz to get rid of the subsonic content if genre requires it or if you have a separate sub bass track.

Fl Studio Vocal Mixing Presets

BODY/PRESSURE 60-250 Hz
Boost around 80 – 150 Hz for for more body and weight. Boost around 160 Hz for extra pressure.

MUD / WARMTH 250 – 500 Hz
Carefully cut mud within the 250-500 Hz range. Boost 250 Hz to add more warmth. Listen solo’d and in the mix.

PRESENCE 2-3 kHz
Boost the 2-3 kHz range to add more presence.

• PAD SYNTHS

LOW END 0 – 160 Hz
Highpass up to 160 Hz according to your sound design concept. Low pass up to 500 Hz to make space for the bass in dense mixes.

MUD 250 – 450 Hz
Check 250-450 Hz range for muddiness. Try 2-3db cut depending on the mix.

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THICK 400-600 Hz
THICKNESS. Boosting 400-600 Hz range will add thickness. Be careful when layering as this band may get cluttered easily.

• LEAD SYNTHS

LOW END RUMBLE 0-160 Hz
Highpass 80-160 Hz to taste and use good sound design judgement.

MUD 160-450 Hz
Many synths become muddy in this range and can directly affect the quality of the tone and sound – especially if multiple synthesizers are layered. Check muddiness within the 250-450 Hz range.

CHARACTER 1-2 kHz
Most attributes of synths can be found here, so cutting or lifting certain frequencies within this range can help it to either stick out or hide away. Mix as appropriate to the individual synth / patch.

PRESENCE 2-3 kHz
Boost 1-2 kHz range to add more grit and to help the instrument cut through the mix.

CLARITY 3-4 kHz
Just like the guitars and vocals, you can find the exciting, airy tonal characteristics here. Boost 3-4 kHz range to add excitement and clarity. Just like the other instruments as well, too much can be shrill and unpleasant.

SHARPNESS 7-9 kHz
Boost the 7-9 kHz frequency range to add more sharpness and clarity, use wide Q factor.

LOW END RUMBLE 0 – 100 Hz
Most sounds in this range are garbage, whether it be noise from handling the mic, vibrations from the floor or air conditioning units. Highpass up to 100-120 Hz to clean things up (note that “P” plosives reside around 90-120Hz as a general rule).

MUD 200 – 500Hz
Try 3-4 dB cuts within the 325-350 Hz range on male vocals. Boost at 200 Hz can sometimes add fullness. Female vocals may run a bit higher in the spectrum, but this is a good starting point to search for boomy tones that need to be attenuated.

HONKINESS/NASALITY 800 – 1500 Hz
Boosting these frequencies can help make some singer’s lyrics more intelligible. Cuts in 800-1,5 kHz range can reduce honkiness or boxiness. Use narrow Q factor.

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PRESENCE 2.5 – 4.5 kHz
You can add energy, buzz and definition to a vocal track right around 3 kHz. It’s important to be careful here as too much of this band can make vocals actually painful to listen to. Use with care. Try a narrow cut in the 2.5 kHz to 4 kHz range to soften vocals.

CLARITY 5-10 kHz
Gentle boost in 5-10 kHz range may add extra presence to a dull vocal. Check this range for sibilance, most de-essers handle this range.

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AIR 10-16 kHz
To add more air do high shelf boost around 10 kHz but don’t overdo. Let your ears rest and listen to it the next day to make sure you really need it. Cuts in this range reduce the “s” sound.

Fl Studio Vocal Presets

LOW END 0 – 500 Hz
Highpass up to 500 Hz according to your sound design concept and mix.

PRESENCE 1500-2500 Hz
Boost 2-3 dB with wide or moderate Q within this range to add more presence and character.

BRIGHTNESS 10-20 kHz
Boost at 14.5 kHz can add more brightness, use narrow Q. Lowpass around 17-18 kHz to reduce harshness if needed.

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Free Vocal Presets Fl