What ten bands give you
The equalizer splits the audible range into ten bands — 32, 64, 125, 250, 500 Hz, then 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 kHz — and lets you cut or boost each by up to 24 dB. The bands roughly double in frequency as they go up, which matches how hearing works: the musical distance from 100 Hz to 200 Hz is the same octave as 1 kHz to 2 kHz, even though one spans 100 Hz and the other 1,000.
Knowing what lives where is most of the skill. 32 and 64 Hz are sub-bass, felt more than heard, and often just rumble that can be cut. 125 and 250 Hz carry warmth and body, and are where recordings turn muddy. 500 Hz to 1 kHz is where voices sit — cut too much here and everything sounds hollow. 2 to 4 kHz is presence and intelligibility, the range that makes speech cut through. 8 and 16 kHz are air and sparkle, and also where hiss and sibilance live.
Cut before you boost
The instinct is to boost what you want more of. Cutting what you want less of usually works better. Boosting adds level and eats headroom, which risks clipping; cutting frees headroom and achieves the same relative balance. If a recording sounds dull, try cutting 250 Hz rather than boosting 4 kHz — the result is often cleaner.
- Muddy or boomy — cut 125 to 250 Hz by 3 to 6 dB before touching anything else.
- Boxy, like speaking into a carton — the problem is usually 500 Hz. A narrow cut here often fixes a recording made in a small hard room.
- Harsh or fatiguing — cut 2 to 4 kHz slightly. This is the range ears are most sensitive to, so small changes go a long way.
- Hissy — cut 8 to 16 kHz, but expect to lose some brightness with it. The Noise Remover is a better tool if the hiss is constant.
- Thin on small speakers — a modest boost around 250 Hz adds perceived body without demanding bass the speaker cannot produce.
Tip: Make one change, then listen to something familiar. Adjusting several bands at once while judging by ear almost always ends in an over-processed result, because your ears adapt as you work.
Equalizer or bass booster
If the only thing you want is more low end, the Bass Booster is faster: three sliders fixed at 80, 250 and 500 Hz with no decisions about which band to reach for. Come here when the problem is not confined to the bass, when you need to cut something specific higher up, or when you want finer control than three bands allow. Preview is local in both tools; the filtering is applied on the server at export and the file is deleted immediately after.