10 Guitar EQ Tips for Live Performance

The right EQ settings are like seasoning for your live guitar sound

By Craig Anderton

The most important signal processors for any guitar are distortion and EQ. If you don’t agree, then consider this: what is a guitar amp but a distortion box, coupled with EQ from the cabinet/speaker combination?

Although amps are fun, they tend to specialize in one particular sound, which is why rack preamps and parametrics (or a good multieffects) can be invaluable. With a little tweaking, you can shade the sound to best suit the music at hand—something that’s a bit more difficult to do with an amp.

Fig. 1 shows the Source Audio Programmable EQ, which is a good choice for live EQ applications because it can store four presets.

However, any decent EQ should do the job; also note that most multieffects include at least one available stage of EQ.

Fig. 1: Having presets makes it easier to have specific, ready-to-go setups when playing live.

MORE EXPRESSIVE DISTORTION

Patching EQ before distortion can make the distortion seem more "touch-sensitive." Generally, distortion clips all frequencies more or less equally. Adding a gentle midrange boost before the distortion causes the notes in the boosted range to distort at lower levels, which makes the distortion seem more responsive at the selected frequencies. Start by boosting in the range of 200 Hz to 1 kHz. Note that some multieffects don’t let you place EQ before distortion; but as distortion is often the first effect in a multieffects’ signal path, placing a hardware EQ box before the multieffects will solve the problem.

“CLEANING UP” THE GUITAR SOUND

Adding a bass cut prior to distortion can clean up the guitar sound because the lower strings will cause less intermodulation distortion, creating a more "biting" sound. Another option is to cut around 2 – 2.5kHz before distortion, which means there’s less distortion on the note harmonics, and more on the fundamental.

PEAK FUZZ

Using a sharp, narrow boost prior to distortion adds an effect that is almost like a synthesizer’s "hard sync" option. Being able to sweep the boost frequency is even better, as it dramatically changes the guitar’s timbre—sort of like a wa-wa, except that the distortion adds a kind of "resonant toughness."

LEAD GUITARS THAT LEAD

Many times, making a lead guitar stand out in a band doesn’t have to involve turning up the volume. A rock guitar can be a pretty broad-bandwidth instrument, and overlap with the frequency ranges of vocals, piano, upper bass range, etc. If you turn up the volume too much, you run the risk of drowning out other important sounds.

EQ can accent a range of the guitar that doesn’t overlap other instruments, thus letting the guitar stand out without disturbing the rest of the track. A few dB boost at 3 to 4 kHz can really accentuate a guitar lead; as that’s above the range of the toms, bass, and most rhythm-oriented keyboard parts, there’s no interference with these instruments. During solos where no vocals appear, a 1 to 2 kHz boost can often give the guitar a more "vocal-like" quality, as well as make it stand out a bit more.

VOCAL SUPPORT

Here’s another example of using EQ to make an instrument a "better neighbor" for your band. Suppose you’re playing rhythm guitar behind a vocalist, but the guitar and voice conflict because they occupy a similar frequency range. If you add a shallow, fairly broad midrange cut to the guitar, it opens up more bandwidth for the vocal frequencies. The guitar’s high and low frequencies "frame" the vocals.

HUM BANISHMENT

60Hz hum is a drag, but a parametric equalizer can help minimize it. Simply set the equalizer for maximum cut and sharpest bandwidth, then dial in 60Hz (you’ll know you’re at the right frequency because the hum will disappear). If there’s also an harmonic component at 120Hz, use a second parametric stage to take care of that.

QUIETING VINTAGE EFFECTS

A stereo graphic or shelving EQ can help reduce hiss in older effects by using one channel to boost treble going in to the effect, and the other channel to cut treble after the effect by an equal but opposite amount.

Start the boost at around 2 to 5kHz, and boost a reasonable amount (6 to 10dB), short of overload. Cut starting at the same frequency, and by the same amount. This will reduce any hiss coming out of the effect and in theory, the original signal will sound unaltered if the boosting and cutting are symmetrical.

ARTIFICIAL STEREO WITH EQ

In smaller venues, some guitarists are experimenting with stereo by using delays. However, one problem with using delays is that sometimes, unless you’re careful with the delay settings, strange phase cancellation problems can occur. An alternate approach is to use EQ to spread the signal. For example, suppose you use a Y cord to send a guitar signal to two graphic equalizers (left and right). If you boost the odd-numbered channels and cut the even-numbered channels in one equalizer, and do the opposite with the other (cut odd-numbered channels and boost even-numbered channels), you’ll create a pseudo-stereo spread without any kinds of timing delays.

Although this doesn’t create as dramatic a stereo effect as stereo miking, it does help fill out a mono guitar part when mixing.

TAME YOUR ECHOES

You don’t always want a meaty, substantial echo; something subservient to your main guitar sound might be more appropriate. To trim your echo’s frequency response you’ll need a mixer and Y-cord. Split the guitar into two paths; one goes directly to your amp or a mixer, and the other to an equalizer/delay line combination before it hits the amp or mixer. Cut the bass and lower midrange going to the delay line, and the echo will shimmer on top of your main sound

DON’T FORGET THE GUITAR ITSELF!

There are a lot of modifications you can do to a stock guitar to greatly alter the sound, such as using tapped pickups, rewiring the tone control, changing pickup phase, etc. Think of this as “mechanical EQ.”

But remember, no matter what EQ techniques you use, tweak until everything sounds great—that’s what tone control is all about. The sound you want lies somewhere in those dials; you just have to find it.

  Craig Anderton is Editor Emeritus of Harmony Central. He has played on, mixed, or produced over 20 major label releases (as well as mastered over a hundred tracks for various musicians), and written over a thousand articles for magazines like Guitar Player, Keyboard, Sound on Sound (UK), and Sound + Recording (Germany). He has also lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages.