Subtractive EQ: cut what’s in the way

By Dan Murtagh · Updated

Short answer: subtractive EQ means fixing a sound by cutting what’s in the way, not boosting what’s missing. If a part sounds dull, the cause is often too much underneath it rather than too little on top, and a cut there can open it up without making it louder or harsher. Cuts tend to sound more natural and they don’t eat headroom. It isn’t a rule: when something really is missing, a boost is right. The skill is hearing which one you’re dealing with.

The guitar from a funk mix, with the band or on its own. Two ways to make it clearer: a 6 dB cut in the low mids at 300 Hz, or a 6 dB high shelf boost from 3 kHz. Flip each against Clean. Both sides play at the same loudness, so the boost can’t win by being louder.

Why cut first

  • Louder fools you. A boost makes the part louder, so it seems better even when it isn’t. A cut makes it quieter, so if it still sounds better, it is.
  • It makes room. Most instruments share the same ranges, the low mids most of all. Cutting what a part doesn’t need leaves space for the parts that do.
  • It keeps headroom. Boosts add level, a few dB at a time, on every track. Cuts don’t.
  • A boost lifts everything in its range, including the noise, the hiss and the harshness you didn’t want more of.

Cuts that do a boost’s job

Because what you hear is the balance between ranges, you can often get the change you want by turning down the other side of it:

  • Dull? Before you boost the top, try cutting some of the bottom.
  • Thin? Before you boost the bottom, try cutting some of the top.
  • Mids buried? Try cutting a little from both ends.
  • Muddy, boxy or honky? Find the range that’s piling up and cut it there. How to fix a muddy mix walks through mud.
  • Rumble under a part that doesn’t need low end? A high-pass filter. High-pass and low-pass filters shows where it goes on a vocal, and when it goes too far.

When a boost is right

When something really isn’t there, no cut will put it back: a vocal with no presence, a kick with no click, a recording with no air. Boost it. “Cut first” is a habit to check yourself against, not a law. A useful sign: if you’re boosting the same range on track after track, something is probably in the way, and a cut somewhere would do it better.

How to practise it

In your own mixes, before you reach for a boost, try a cut that would do the same job. Compare the two at the same loudness and keep the one that sounds better. To train the ear for it, practise with no boosts at all: fix sounds that are dull, thin or buried using only cuts, and score how close you get.

Questions

What is subtractive EQ?

Fixing a sound by cutting the frequencies that are in the way rather than boosting the ones you want more of. A dull guitar might be fixed by cutting its low mids instead of boosting its top.

Is subtractive EQ better than additive EQ?

Not always. Cuts tend to sound more natural, make room for other parts and keep headroom, and they can’t win a comparison by being louder. But when something is missing, a boost is the right tool. Use whichever sounds better at matched loudness.

What’s the difference between subtractive and additive EQ?

Subtractive EQ cuts, additive EQ boosts. Both change the balance between ranges, which is what you hear, so often either one can get you close. They sound different, and a boost also makes the part louder.

Should I use subtractive EQ on vocals?

Usually the first moves on a vocal are cuts: a high-pass under the voice if there’s rumble, a cut where it’s muddy or boxy, sometimes a narrow cut on a harsh or ringing spot. Then add presence or air if it still needs it.

Train it

Fix it without a boost.

Cuts Only gives you a sound that’s dull, thin or buried and only shelf cuts to fix it, all level-matched, so louder can’t fool you. Fix the Mix asks you to find the instrument causing a problem and cut it there.

Train it in Cuts Only

Then: Fix the Mix · Free, in your browser, no account