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FX Tips – EQ: Mixing with high pass filters

A high pass filter is a type of equalizer that eliminates frequencies below a specified cutoff point. Since it is low
frequencies that are removed, only high frequencies may pass (thus the name). You might also hear high pass filters
(HPF) referred to as low cut filters which is a bit ambiguous. High pass filters have a few very important roles to
play in the mixing process. Your home studio recordings can benefit greatly from wise use of the powerful eq
techniques outlined below.

Sweeping a high pass filter

Sweeping a high pass filter is very similar to the techniques outlined in my eq sweeping guide. The main
differences are in the Q (bandwidth) settings used and what you listen for as you sweep. Not all equalizers offer
adjustable bandwidth on their HPF. Some offer a highly adjustable bandwidth while others offer preset slopes (6,
12, 24dB per octave are common). A higher Q, a higher slope value, and a lower bandwidth value all result in a
steeper HPF. Steeper high pass filters roll low frequencies off more aggressively. Set your high pass filter up
initially at a frequency of 20Hz and Q of 1.4 (about 1 octave bandwidth). If your HPF only offers preset slopes then
set it to the steepest setting. If your HPF doesn’t allow you to set the slope then don’t worry about it. Your HPF
may also not let you go all the way down to 20Hz. If that is the case then just go as low as possible. You should end
up with something like Figure 1.

Figure 1

Now we are ready to begin the sweep. With your whole mix playing start to sweep the HPF upward. Identifying the
sweet spot and what you do with the eq after you have found it is largely dependent on how you are using the high
pass filter. These cases are covered in the next few sections.

High pass filter for clarity

Once I finish the tracking phase of my project I will usually start the mixing phase by adding a high pass filter to
almost every track. The number of tracks that get the treatment is proportional to the number of tracks in the mix. A
dense 30 track rock mix will have a lot more HPF action than a two track songwriter demo (which probably won’t
have any). We are using the eq in this case to bring out extra clarity in our mix. The low end energy on multiple
audio tracks can really start to build up and cause a lot of masking in the bass region of your mix. Using eq like this
on many of your tracks can really open up the low end and make extra space for that fat bass guitar line or solid
kick drum (or both).

Sweep to find the point where the track has lost its low end muddiness but retained its low end character. The slope
is then backed off to a more gentle Q of around 1.0 (bandwidth 1-1/3 octaves).
High pass filter for solid low end

In the previous section I mentioned that my mixes will typically have a HPF on almost every track. Even kick
drums and basses? Especially kick drums and basses! When you boost a low frequency based track you also have
the potential to boost a lot of rumble. Kick drum mics are especially vulnerable to extra resonance and rumble from
inside the shell or standing waves in the room. Sometimes the HPF on these instruments will be fairly low, around
30-40Hz, just to eliminate the low end rumble as described in the section on clarity. You can also use the high pass
filter to allow a more aggressive boost in the lower frequencies.

As an example, we will consider a kick drum that gets a nice, fat low end boosted by 6dB at 100Hz. You will
probably notice a lot of extra low end rumble with a loss of clarity in your mix. The problem will be even more
evident if you have a subwoofer hooked up with your home studio monitors. A quick look at the frequency
response graph in Figure 2 will give us some clues about why this has happened.

Figure 2

It is immediately apparent that our 100Hz boost has affected frequencies all the way down to 20Hz and below.
There is still about a 0.5dB boost at the 20Hz mark (orange dot). I don’t know of any audio engineers who would
boost a kick drum by any amount at 20Hz. The extra boost in the low frequencies is a side effect of the 100Hz boost
and is what causes us to lose low end definition. We can turn on the HPF band and adjust it to get rid of the
problem frequencies in our kick drum. Engage the HPF and sweep to find the point at which the rumble is fixed.
You could end up with a setup like that depicted in Figure 3.

Figure 3

The HPF has eliminated all the extra and unwanted low frequencies caused by the desired 100Hz boost. We are left
with a solid and clean low end on the kick drum. Here are some audio files to demonstrate this principle.

• [sound clip A]: This is a two bar clip from a TouchyFeeliacs recording. Most of the tracks are muted to
allow you to focus in on the sound of the kick drum. The kick drum has its natural low end here with no
doctoring of the eq.
• [sound clip B]: This is the same two bars but this time the kick drum’s low end has been boosted by 6dB at
60Hz. The low end has gotten a lot more robust but it also has a dirty character.
• [sound clip C]: A high pass filter has been applied to the kick drum eq at 50Hz. Focus on listening to just
the kick drum’s low end and you will hear the difference. This frequency range now has a very refined and
focused sound.

Note: All three of the sound clips exhibit a kick drum sound that could work in a mix. You have to decide what
kind of sound you are looking for and apply the techniques that will get you that type of sound. You will likely not
notice a difference unless you line the tracks up in your DAW and listen critically to each one.
High pass filter for correction

Microphones are notorious for picking up the slightest bit of rumble. This can be caused by handling noise or
vibrations stand vibrations. A home studio often lacks the resources to float the floor for soundproofing and
isolation from ground vibrations (caused by street traffic or perhaps the washing mashine downstairs). These
vibrations are passed from the ground and floor through your microphone stand and straight into the microphone. A
shockmount for your mic can go a long way toward eliminating these problems but shockmounts can be expensive
and not all mics fit very well in them. If you find your track suffering from this or any other type of rumble or low
frequency problems you can use a high pass filter to correct it. I will typically set the eq up with a steeper slope for
this type of work. This will allow you to filter out more of the problem without attenuating too much of the wanted
low frequencies above it. A high pass filter attenuates by 3dB at the frequency it is actually set to. If set at 20Hz
you can still have slight attenuation all the way up to 30Hz or higher (depending on the slope, see Figure 1). The
steeper your slope, the less frequencies above the cutoff point will be affected.

High pass filter for ambient mics

Ambient mics are most commonly known as drum room mics in contemporary music. They may also be used to pic
up a room sound on the guitar, backup vocals, piano, or anything else you can think of. The ambient mics are used
to enhance the spaciousness of the track, not for its main sonic character. You will often find that your ambient mic
makes your guitar track sound terrible when the faders are set to the same level. Turning down the ambient track
can help but you will still get plenty of coloration in the main track’s content. We can use a high pass eq to help the
ambient track work for the mix since our desired spaciousness it typically associated with the high frequencies.

HPF used for this purpose are typically a lot more extreme in their settings. It would not be unusual to have your
room mic for guitar or drums with the HPF set all the way up at 3-6kHz (or higher). I like to use a gentler Q of 0.7
(bandwidth around 2 octaves) to give a more natural falloff on the ambient track. Finding the cutoff point can be
accomplished by setting your main and ambient tracks at the same level. Then sweep the HPF until you can hear
the fundemental frequencies of the main track unaffected by the ambient track.

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