Electric guitar EQ guide

There aren’t many steadfast EQ rules for electric guitar. Electric guitar often requires different EQ treatments for every mix and part.¹

Lows

Neck pickup sounds may be too fundamental-heavy.¹ Palm-muted guitars risk having too much low-end buildup.²

Sometimes guitars have tonal resonances that need to be tamed, just like when Managing resonances on bass.³ There may be other low-mid resonances, perhaps one particular note that jumps out too much.⁴

Mids

500 Hz is a trouble spot for electric guitars.² It’s a honky region.⁵ Maybe Scoop distorted guitars with a dynamic EQ.

1kHz, The problem-child frequency, can be overpowering in guitars.

4kHz is another pain point. Billy Decker boosts 3kHz instead.⁶

Highs

Use a low-pass filter to cut out amp hiss.¹ If EQ brings out too much distortion sound, Use a de-esser to tame high end.