7 Logic Pro EQ Tricks That Make Your Mixes Better

Logic Pro ships with every EQ you need to finish a mix.

These seven moves use only the stock plugins (Channel EQ, the Vintage EQs, and Multipressor), and they'll get you to a better-sounding mix in less time.

Tip 1: Set a Channel EQ Default to Skip the Setup Every Time

Channel EQ is the plugin you'll reach for more than any other, so save a starting configuration that loads the moment you insert it.

1. Insert Channel EQ on any audio track.
2. Activate the bands you reach for most. A useful starting point: roll off everything below 30 Hz and add a gentle high shelf at 12 kHz.
3. Click the preset menu at the top left of the plugin window (it shows the current setting name, such as Default Preset).
4. Choose Save As Default.

From that point on, every new Channel EQ instance loads your configuration and you go straight to mixing.

For track-specific starting points, save named Plug-in Settings (a "Vocal Start" with a narrow cut at 3 kHz, for example) and load them from the same menu.

Tip 2: Duck Instruments to Make Room for Vocals

Vocals get buried in a busy mix all the time. Multipressor, set up as a sidechained dynamic EQ, carves space for them automatically, with no volume automation to draw.

1. Bus all your instruments to a new Instrument Bus.
2. Route your vocals to a separate Vocal Bus.
3. On the Instrument Bus, insert Multipressor (under Dynamics in the plugin menu).
4. Set one band to the vocal frequency range, typically 1 kHz to 5 kHz.
5. Turn off the other three bands so only the vocal range ducks.
6. Click the Side Chain menu at the top right of the plugin and select your Vocal Bus.
7. Adjust the Threshold and Ratio so the instruments pull back 1 to 3 dB whenever the vocal comes in.

The instruments step aside when the vocal sings. You'll hear more space open up in the chorus without touching a fader. If the vocal still sounds pasted on after ducking, Logic Pro's Match EQ can blend its tone into the mix.

Tip 3: Use Creative EQ to Shape Emotion in Vocals

EQ can also change the emotional color of a vocal, turning a throwaway phrase or ad-lib into a textural moment with a single Channel EQ.

• Underwater: Roll off everything above 4.5 kHz with a low-pass filter.
• Old radio: Boost around 1 kHz and cut sharply below 300 Hz and above 3.5 kHz.
• Lo-fi air: Cut lows under 150 Hz and add a gentle boost around 10 to 12 kHz.

Automate the EQ band gains across a phrase to sweep between these textures. That kind of movement keeps a listener's ear engaged without any additional effects.

Tip 4: Stack Channel EQ and Vintage EQ for Precision and Color

Logic gives you two distinct types of EQ, and they work best in sequence on the same track: Channel EQ for surgical fixes, then a Vintage EQ for character.

1. Insert Channel EQ first. Use it to notch out problem frequencies (a nasal 2.7 kHz or a boxy 400 Hz) and roll off sub-rumble with a high-pass filter.
2. Insert a Vintage EQ after it. Try the Vintage Console EQ for presence or the Vintage Tube EQ for warmth. Gentle boosts at 110 Hz on the Console EQ or 8 kHz on the Tube EQ go a long way.

Running them in that order keeps you from adding color to frequencies you're about to cut.

Tip 5: Add Air to Your Mix Bus Without Harshness

If your mix sounds dull or congested at the top end, a small EQ adjustment on the Stereo Out can open things up.

1. Insert Channel EQ on your Stereo Out.
2. Add a gentle High Shelf boost starting at 7 kHz. Two to three dB is enough.
3. If the mix sounds pushed forward or aggressive, add a narrow dip around 2.5 kHz.

The shelf lifts the air without touching the midrange presence. The 2.5 kHz dip pulls back the harshness if the mix reads as too bright or fatiguing. Neither move should be obvious. If it sounds like EQ, dial it back.

Tip 6: Use the Pultec Trick with Logic's Vintage Tube EQ

The Pultec trick (boosting and cutting the same low frequency at once) is a classic analog move for tightening kick and bass, and Logic Pro's Vintage Tube EQ models the hardware that made it famous.

1. Insert Vintage Tube EQ on the track.
2. In the Low Frequency section, set the frequency to 60 Hz.
3. Boost around +4 dB.
4. Cut the same frequency around -4 dB.

The boost curve is broader than the cut, so together they lift the deep sub and carve a small dip just above it. Your kick or bass hits harder without crowding the rest of the low end. The Logic Pro Vintage Tube EQ guide covers the rest of its controls.

Tip 7: Use M/S Mode on the Mix Bus for Stereo Width Control

Channel EQ's Processing menu sits at the bottom of the plugin, right next to the HQ button, and it lets you aim your EQ at the center of the mix or the sides. Set it to Mid Only or Side Only and every band you touch works on that part of the stereo image. On your Stereo Out, that means:

• Cut low end from the Side signal. Set the Processing menu to Side Only, then apply a high-pass filter at 100 to 150 Hz. Bass frequencies in the stereo field cause muddiness and translation problems on mono speakers. Cutting them from the sides while leaving the Mid alone cleans this up fast.
• Boost high-end air on the Sides only. A gentle shelf boost above 10 kHz on the Side signal adds width and shimmer without making the center of the mix brighter.

Use a second Channel EQ instance set to Mid Only if you want to EQ the center of the mix separately from the stereo field. It's a more surgical approach than processing both sides together, and it gives you precise control over where the energy lives in your mix.

Save Everything as Presets

Once you find EQ chains that work, save them. In Logic, click the Setting button at the top of the channel strip and choose Save Channel Strip Setting As. Name it something you'll recognize later, like "Vocal Carve" or "Kick Tighten."

Your best setups become one-click recalls on every future session. That's the difference between a workflow and a starting-from-scratch habit.

Start with the two tips that fix the mix on your screen right now, and save them before you close the session.

Your Logic Pro Coach,
Graham
Author of Logic Pro For Dummies