Mastering EQ Frequency Chart
Published · updated · by Loopin
Knowing roughly what each frequency range controls turns EQ decisions from guesswork into informed choices. This isn't a rigid formula — it's a practical starting reference to sweep and confirm by ear.
Sub and low bass: 20-80 Hz
This range carries felt weight more than heard tone — kick fundamental and sub bass live here. Most content below 30 Hz is rumble worth high-passing away; content in the 40–80 Hz range is where a lot of a track's physical impact actually lives.
Keep this range mono and be conservative with boosts — it eats headroom fast and translates unpredictably across systems that can't reproduce it well anyway.
Low mids: 150-500 Hz
This is where warmth and body live, but it's also where muddiness and congestion concentrate when a mix is too dense — the most common problem area in mastering, especially for AI-generated or busy arrangements. Small cuts here often do more than any other single move.
Too little energy here makes a track feel thin; too much makes it feel muddy or boxy — this range rewards careful, moderate treatment more than any other.
Midrange: 500 Hz-2 kHz
Vocal body, most instrument fundamentals, and a track's overall sense of presence and power live here. This range is heavily perceptually weighted — small mid-frequency changes are often more audible than similarly-sized changes elsewhere.
Boxy or honky qualities often trace to a narrow resonance somewhere in this range, findable by sweeping a boost and listening for where things sound most unpleasant.
Upper mids and presence: 2-6 kHz
Vocal clarity, intelligibility, and "forwardness" in a mix live here, but so does harshness and listening fatigue if pushed too hard — this is the most common location for the harshness issue in AI-generated content, and it's the range that makes or breaks how comfortable a track is to listen to at length.
Small, careful moves here go a long way — both boosts and cuts in this range are more perceptually impactful than the same dB change elsewhere.
Air and top end: 6-20 kHz
This range adds sparkle, openness, and a sense of "expensive" polish when handled well, but it's also where sibilance sits (roughly 5–8 kHz specifically) and where harshness or brittleness shows up if pushed too aggressively.
A gentle boost above 10 kHz can add air without the harshness risk of boosting lower in this range — but only add it if something's genuinely missing, not as an automatic finishing touch on every master.
Frequently asked questions
What frequency range is most commonly responsible for muddiness?
150-500 Hz, particularly 250-500 Hz. This is where warmth and body live, but it's also the most common location for congestion in dense or AI-generated mixes -- small cuts here often do more than any other single EQ move.
What frequency range causes harshness in vocals?
Most commonly 2-6 kHz, sometimes called the presence range. It's essential for clarity and intelligibility but is also where harshness and listening fatigue show up if pushed too hard.
Should I always add a top-end boost when mastering?
No, only if something is genuinely missing. A gentle boost above 10 kHz can add air and openness, but it shouldn't be an automatic finishing touch applied to every master regardless of whether it's needed.