Leaderboard

I EQ as I go, but I don't worry about getting it "perfect" right away. Unless I have to render the channel for some reason, simple EQing doesn't take much CPU, so I can mess around with it as needed until I'm ready to render a track. Kicks may get EQed to sound punchier/less boxy/more subby. Snares may get EQed to have more bite or sizzle. Hats usually get EQed to take off the low end. I'll EQ my drum bus before it goes into a few layers of saturation/compression (to control what gets distorted), and I'll EQ it after if it needs it (for overall drum balance). I ruthlessly hipass anything with too much low end energy if it conflicts with the bass or kick. I try not to EQ using EQ plugins if I can help it. If my saturator has a filter built in, I'll use that, for example. Or I'll just use different distortions themselves to boost/cut the lows or highs. Synths and recorded sounds will get EQed if they need it to fit the mix, but while I don't think there is anything wrong with a 16db cut or boost if you need it, major EQing to fit a sound into the mix is often a strong sign that I should have chosen sounds that didn't clash so much. Usually, I'll just change a synth or take something out entirely rather than try to wrestle with infinite mud. I have a nice gentle EQ on my master because I see no reason not to. I used to avoid this because everyone told me this is a bad idea. But more often then not, a 3db cut or boost on the master actually sounds better (to me anyways) than going back and working with individual channels. An EQ on the master really makes me feel in control of the overall feel and vibe of my mix. YMMV. Everyone seems to do their own thing or have their own "rules" for EQing. Curious to see what other people's workflow is. But I do think blanket advice like "never boost more than +6db" is misleading, especially with synthetic music. Who is anyone to decide what a squelchy space fart is supposed to sound like "naturally?"