Sound Groupie

The following list is a general guide to frequency ranges that are useful for affecting the sweet spots of a variety of instruments and points within stereo mixes while mastering.

Vocals

 Fullness; 120 Hz

 Boominess; 200 to 240Hz

 Presence; 5kHz

 Sibalance; "sss" 8kHz to 12kHz

 Use High Pass filter at 30Hz to 100Hz to remove boomy muddiness and room noise

Accoustic Piano

 Bottom; between 80Hz and 120Hz

 Presence; between 2k5Hz and 5kHz

 Crisp Attack; 10kHz

Keyboard

  Bottom; between 80Hz and 120Hz

  Body; 240Hz

  Presence; 2k5Hz

Bass Guitar

 Bottom; between 60Hz and 80Hz

 Attack Pluck; between 700Hz and 1kHz

 String Noise and Pop; between 2kHz and 3kHz

Electric Guitar

 Fullness; 240Hz

 Bite; between 2kHz and 3kHz

Acoustic Guitar

 Bottom Boom; between 80Hz and 120Hz

 Clarity; between 2k5Hz and 5kHz

Horns

 Fullness; between 120Hz and 240Hz

 Shrill; between 5kHz and 8kHz

Strings

 Fullness; 240Hz

 Scratchiness; between 7k5Hz and 10kHz

Kick Drum

 Depth; between 60Hz and 80Hz

 Click Attack; between 2k5Hz and 8kHz

Snare Drum

 Fullness; 250Hz

 Attack Crack; 5kHz

Hi-hat and Cymbals

 Gong; 200Hz

 Shimmer; between 8kHz and 15Hz

 Air; between 20kHz and 32kHz

 Use High Pass filter at 140Hz to remove kick drum muddiness and bleed through

Rack toms

 Fullness; between 80Hz and 120Hz

 Attack; 5kHz

Floor toms

 Fullness; between 80Hz and 120Hz

 Attack; 5kHz

Conga and Bongo

 Resonance; between 200Hz and 240Hz

 Presence Slap; 5kHz

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Professional Audio Mastering with JAM: A Linux Based Solution

By: Ron Parker