16 EMX5016CF Owner’s Manual
Making the Most of Your Mixer
Mixer Basics
To EQ or Not to EQ
In general: less is better. There are many situations in which you’ll need to cut certain frequency ranges, but
use boost sparingly, and with caution. Proper use of EQ can eliminate interference between instruments in a
mix and give the overall sound better definition. Bad EQ—and most commonly bad boost—just sounds terrible.

Cut for a Cleaner Mix

For example: cymbals have a lot of energy in
the mid and low frequency ranges that you
don’t really perceive as musical sound, but
which can interfere with the clarity of other
instruments in these ranges. You can basically
turn the low EQ on cymbal channels all the
way down without changing the way they
sound in the mix. You’ll hear the difference,
however, in the way the mix sounds more
“spacious,” and instruments in the lower
ranges will have better definition. Surprisingly
enough, piano also has an incredibly powerful
low end that can benefit from a bit of low-
frequency roll-off to let other instruments—
notably drums and bass—do their jobs more
effectively. Naturally you won’t want to do this if
the piano is playing solo.
The reverse applies to kick drums and bass guitars: you can often roll off the high end to create more space in
the mix without compromising the character of the instruments. You’ll have to use your ears, though, because
each instrument is different and sometimes you’ll want the “snap” of a bass guitar, for example, to come
through.

Boost with Caution

If you’re trying to create special or unusual
effects, go ahead and boost away as much as
you like. But if you’re just trying to achieve a
good-sounding mix, boost only in very small
increments. A tiny boost in the midrange can
give vocals more presence, or a touch of high
boost can give certain instruments more “air.”
Listen, and if things don’t sound clear and
clean try using cut to remove frequencies that
are cluttering up the mix rather than trying to
boost the mix into clarity.
One of the biggest problems with too much
boost is that it adds gain to the signal,
increasing noise and potentially overloading
the subsequent circuitry.
Some Frequency Facts
The lowest and highest frequencies than can be heard by the human ear are generally considered to be around 20 Hz
and 20,000 Hz, respectively. Average conversation occurs in the range from about 300 Hz to about 3,000 Hz. The
frequency of a standard pitchfork used to tune guitars and other instruments is 440 Hz (this corresponds to the “A3”
key on a piano tuned to concert pitch). Double this frequency to 880 Hz and you have a pitch one octave higher (i.e.
“A4” on the piano keyboard). In the same way you can halve the frequency to 220 Hz to produce “A2” an octave lower.
20 50 100 200 500 1 k 2 k 5 k 10 k 20 k (Hz)
Piano
Bass Drum
Snare Drum
Bass
Guitar
Trombone
Trumpet
Cymbal
Fundamental: The frequency that determines the basic musical pitch.
The fundamental and harmonic frequency ranges of some
musical instruments.
Harmonics: Multiples of the fundamental frequency that play a role
in determining the timbre of the instrument.
Signal
Level (dB)
Frequency (Hz)
LOW Boost
LOW Flat
LOW Cut
MID Boost MID Flat
HIGH Boost
HIGH Flat
HIGH Cut
MID Cut