[KevWind]

While EQ and Compression are in fact vast subjects in and of themselves, and are something that are life long learning curves (for all recording and mix engineers , not just novices ) the basic concepts are IMO integral to understanding and improving ones personal home recording pursuits and arguably critical for any multi instrument projects.

I think a common mistake (I know I was guilty of it) among those starting out, is the notion that to get the fullest sound (the most like the recordings we admire) that we must have all the sonics possible form every instrument we are using. While this may work fine for a solo instrument, as soon as we add a second instrument we are introducing possible depth and detail sucking distortion from the buildup of overlapping competing frequencies, and becomes more important as we add instruments. Even just acoustic guitar and the human voice are a primary examples of how this can apply. Given they both occupy a significant portion of the same frequency range.


To add to what Rick has stated above
What I do as always the first, and often only EQ'ing I use when mixing multiple tracks and instruments, is to do exactly what (my take is on what) he is describing, to carve out some space for each instrument so as to have each be a bit more detailed by being differentiated from one another .

So here is just a brief summery of how I approach EQ.

I start this process by using "subtractive eq".
It should be noted that in multi instrument tracks (even just guitar and voice) but even more so as you add instruments. Sonic buildup of conflicting overlapping tones tends to act as masking and possible distortion. Masking and distortion always results in less perceived clarity which tends to make recordings seem to have less depth.

The first subtractive EQ I do, is roll off the low end (steeply) on every track ( it of course takes experimenting on exactly where and how much) but usually somewhere between 50 and 150 hz
I will often for example roll off my vocal at 80 and my guitar at 100 or 125

BoneDigger, I checked the Mixcraft web sight it looks like the free version has only a graphic EQ which will work but is not as good as the TB Parametric EQ available in the Pro version (but is actually also downloadable as an additional EQ )

The nest step I do is what Ronan Chris Murphy calls "seek and destroy", this step is by far easier and more accurate with a multi band parametric eq with adjustable Q like TB Parametric,
On each track start with a very narrow Q (band width) I then boost the level (towards the upper limit) and sweep the frequency range and find what frequencies are sounding boxy honky (somewhat like hearing the sound thru a large metal culvert.) Once it find that frequency where that honk is the most pronounced I simply cut somewhere between -2 and -6 db in a fairly narrow but wider Q than I used for sweeping.

For guitar & vocal I find the most pronounced honk frequencies in each and if they different by enough say 30 hz or more I cut at those freqs'. If they are very close then I fudge the cut point up on one, and down on the other (so I am cutting different fairly narrow ranges) on each . This subtractive EQ'ing is often enough EQ to get the the guitar and vocal to stand out a bit more from each other .

Again I always do subtractive (cutting) before ever doing any additive (boosting) EQ and often additive is actually unnecessary.


Again just to make a point low end build up is probably the single most egregious in terms of having the effect of flatting and sucking the depth out of a recording. So much so that for example (even though it seem counter intuitive) with bass guitar and kick drum the worst thing you can do IMO is boost (without having first cut) either one or both with EQ, even in different ranges. If you want to have the bass and kick more distinct from each other start by cutting first. If you listen closely to raw tracks of kick and bass it is actually pretty amazing that by simply rolling off the low end on one will make both more distinct. And rolling off the low end on both but in different starting frequencies, they will begin to #1 be even more distinct and #2 work more complimentary with each other instead of fighting each other for attention.