This article is provided by Behind The Mixer.

 
I recently received an email with these questions:

“How should you EQ guitars (or other instruments) when you have more than one of them on stage? How do you make them distinctive?”

Let’s look at this common issue and what you can do.

The question is in reference to acoustic guitars so with that in mind.

How do you EQ a guitar?
Acoustic guitars do not all sound the same.

The sounds can vary based on the brand of guitar strings, the gauge (diameter) of the guitar strings, the type of wood used, as well as the electronics used inside the guitar. Even the age of the guitar can make a difference in the sound.

Therefore, the first thing I do is listen to the guitar without it being plugged into the system. I’m listening for the dominate frequencies.

For example, I remember a guitarist who brought in a brand new Breedlove guitar. It sounded bright and clear. There wasn’t much in the way of low end frequencies. Mid’s and High’s dominated with a bias towards the High frequencies.

Knowing the natural sound of the guitar, I focused on those sounds when I EQ’d the instrument. This meant making sure those mid’s and high’s were brought out.

I wasn’t going to try giving it a more bassy sound if I knew that wasn’t strength of the guitar.

That being said, when EQ’ing instruments, I also want those instruments to sit in the mix well.

For example, if there was another instrument that was strong in those high frequencies, I’d cut the high’s a little in one of the instruments so as to separate them out so they didn’t work against each other. I’d also want the right instrument to be right focus in the mix.

What about a second guitar?
Again, listen to the natural strengths of the guitar and focus on bringing those sounds out in the mix. One guitar might be bright, another might be mellow, and another could be warm.

Bring that sound into the mix.

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