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Hip Hop Compression Sweet Spots

Brass, Low Synth

Attack Time - 40ms
Release - 80ms
Threshold - -20db
Ratio - 6:1


Fast Rap Vocal

Attack Time - 5ms
Release - 90ms
Threshold - -15db
Ratio - 5:1


Piano, Guitar type instruments

Attack Time - 15ms
Release - 15ms
Threshold - -20db
Ratio - 5:1


Singing Vocal

Attack Time - 15ms
Release - 80ms
Threshold - -8db
Ratio - 3:1


Snare

Attack Time - 20ms
Release - 40ms
Threshold - -12db
Ratio - 5:1


Vocals

Attack Time - 5ms
Release - 50ms
Threshold - -10db
Ratio - 5:1

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Hip Hop Instrument and Vocal EQ Sweet Spots
(Parametric Equalizer)

Hiphop Bass

Low - 100Hz
H-Mid - 2.5KHz


Hiphop Bass Drum

Low - 100Hz
L-Mid - 500Hz


Hiphop Cymbals

Low - 100Hz
L-Mid - 400Hz
H-Mid - 1Khz
High - 14KHz



Hiphop Hi-hat

Low - 90Hz
L-Mid - 400Hz
H-Mid - 3KHz
High - 8KHz


Hiphop Kick

Low - 80Hz
L-Mid - 300Hz
H-Mid - 1.5KHz
High - 6KHz


Hiphop Overheads

H-Mid - 9Khz


Hiphop Percussion

Low - 100Hz
L-Mid - 400Hz
H-Mid - 3KHz
High - 17KHz


Hiphop Piano

Low - 100Hz
H-Mid - 9Khz


Hiphop Snare

Low - 150Hz
L-Mid - 1KHz
H-Mid - 3KHz
High - 5KHz


Hiphop Strings

Low - 100Hz
L-Mid - 750Hz



Hiphop Synth

Low - 100Hz
L-Mid - 400Hz



Hiphop Toms

Low - 100Hz
L-Mid - 500Hz
H-Mid - 9KHz


Hiphop Vocals

Low - 200Hz
L-Mid - 3KHz
H-Mid - 8KHz

Note: These "sweet spot" ranges are approximate places to cut or boost to get
a better sound or to make an instrument sound better. Nothing is fixed in hip hop sound engineering so experiment to your own liking, usually the low sweet spots are reference points to cut-off or filtered off and reduce these unwanted low frequencies.

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Hip Hop Frequency Chart - Sweet Spots



50 Hz

Boost to add more fullness to toms and bass. 1.4 Q
Reduce to decrease boom of bass



100 Hz

Boost to add harder bass sound
Boost to add fullness to strings, snare
Boost to add warmth to piano horns
Reduce to remove boom on brass



200 Hz

Boost to increase fullness of vocals. 7.1 Q
Boost to add fullness to snare and guitar type instruments. 1.4 Q
Reduce to decrease muddiness of vocals. 1.0 Q
Reduce to decrease "gong" of cymbals. 1.0 Q



400 Hz

Boost to add clarity to bass lines. 1.0 Q
Reduce to decrease "cardboard" sound of drums. 1.4 Q
Reduce to decrease "ambience" on cymbals. 1.0 Q



800 Hz

Boost to add more "punch" of bass. 1.4 Q
Reduce to remove "cheap" sound of guitars type instruments 1.4 Q



1.5KHz

Boost to add "clarity" and more "punch" to bass. 1.4 Q
Reduce to remove "dullness" of guitar type instruments. 1.4 Q



3KHz

Boost to increase "pluck" of bass. 1.4 Q
Boost for more attack on electric synths. 1.4 Q
Boost for more attack on piano. 1.0 Q
Boost for more attack on snare. 2.0 Q
Boost for to increase "clarity" of voice
Reduce to increase "breathy" sound of background vocals. 1.0 Q
Reduce to disguise "out-of-tune" vocals and piano-type instruments. 1.0 Q



5KHz

Boost to increase vocal presence. 1.0 Q
Boost for more "finger sound" of bass. 1.4 Q
Boost for more attack on piano and similar type instruments. 1.4 Q
Reduce to make background sounds more "distant". 1.0 Q
Reduce to soften "thin" pads. 1.0 Q



7KHz

Boost to add attack on drums. 2.0 Q
Boost to add attack to percussion. 2.0 Q
Boost to increase "life" to dull singers. 1.0 Q
Boost for more "finger" sound on acoustic type basses. 1.4 Q
Boost to add "sharpness" on synths and piano. 1.0 Q
Reduce to decrease "sibilance" ("s" sound) in singers. 2.8 Q



10KHz

Boost to "brighten" vocals. 1.0 Q
Boost to increase "brightness" of piano type instruments. 1.0 Q
Boost to increase " hardness" of cymbals, flutes and strings. 1.0 Q
Boost to decrease "sibilance" on singers. 1.4 Q



15KHz

Boost to "brighten" vocals. 1.0 Q
Boost to "brighten" cymbals, flutes, strings. 1.0 Q
Boost to make "sampled" synths sound "real". 2.0 Q

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Hip hop Instrument Mixing Tips (In alphabetical order)

"These are tips and recommendations from other rap sound engineers, use at your own risk"

Acoustic Guitar, Piano - Boost at 3000Khz and 500Hz for flare

All Instruments - Cut everything below 40Hz

Bass Guitar - Cut all frequencies below 400Hz. Boost at 1.5KHz to add twang

Hi-Hat -High pass cut all frequencies below 250Hz. 7db boost at 2Khz

Kick Drum - Boost at 7KHz for thump

Snare - Boost at 250Hz for snap

Snare (2) - 3db boost at 200Hz
7 db boost at 2.5 Khz - 1.2 Q
10db boost at 6Khz - 1.2 Q
12db HF Shelf boost at 16KHz
High-pass filer to cut below 6Hz

Percussion - (Compression) Ratio: 6:1, attack - 150ms. (EQ) Highpass cut below 70Khz

Vocals - Boost at 250Hz

Vocals, horns, guitars, keys - 400Hz low cut

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Hip Hop Mixing Tips


Too Loud Monitoring

- Don't monitor and listen to your mixes too loudly. The consumer is unlikely to listen to it at such high levels.


EQ Fix

- If possible, fix problems with an EQ cut instead of a boost


Rest Ears

- Rest your ears. Come back with fresh ears after a long break to listen to your mix.


Non Compete

- Try not to let too many instruments compete for the same frequencies


Don't Look

- Try not to look at the mix while listening back if you are software based. Close your eyes to hear who the mix sounds will cure you from this "visual bias".

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Noise Reduction

Use this to clean up rap vocals that have a messy background where sound from the outside leak into the recording microphone. To use this program you get a 5 second sample of "white noise" or the background noise, the part where no one is rapping. This will become the profile that you will use. You will then select the entire vocal and load it into the noise reduction program. You will re-apply the profile to this vocal which deletes it from the audio. If you set the settings too high so that it takes 100 percent of the white noise it will severely effect your audio by erasing part of it as well. You need to find a balance on how much white noise you will take out and the clarity and quality of the original vocal.

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RapEngineer Dictionary

Attack - First part of a sound

Attenuation - A level adjustment

Automation - System memory, ability of playback

Bandwidth - A range of frequencies that can be used

Bit Rate - Transmission rate

Buss - Signal Path

Chorus - As an effect, the original audio is copied and re-applied on top of itself, but detuned

Cue Buss - Stereo pair of busses.

Cut - Adjusting the level of something

DAC - Digital to Analog converter

DAW - How long it takes before a sound becomes inaudible

DB - Abbreviation of the word "decibel"

De-esser - A program that finds sibilance and allows you to reduce it.

Digital - Computer binary data.

Direct Level - A box that converts a phone connector to XLR

Distortion - Roughness or non-perfection of a sound.

Doubling - Creating an exact replica of a sound, sometimes delayed

Dry - Audio without an effect added to it

Dynamics - The change of loudness

Echo - Copies original signal and repeats it in a delayed and trailed form.

Effect Return - Input that receives signal from an output

Effects - Any program you use to alter the original audio

Exciter - Uses Harmonics and phase altering to give a better sounding high-end to audio

EQ - Equalization, the changing of volume that effects the tonal quality of a signal

Equalizer (Graphic) - Allows adjustment of, usually a small, set of frequencies

Equalizer (Parametric) - Controls the tone of audio by bandwidth, frequency and gain

Mute - To turn something on or off

Panning - Shifting the two signals (left and right) of a stereo mix.

Phase Shift - When frequencies are choosen to be slowed

Pre-Delay - The time beroe reverb takes effect

Ratio - Gauges how much limiting or compressing to use after the threshold is exceeded

Reverb - Reproduces how audio sounds in a predetermined space

Reverb (chamber) - Makes reverb by resampling audio and making it sound as if it were recorded using multiple microphones

Reverb (plate) - Recreates the effect of a metal plate wall being near the audio

Sibilance - An increase of the "s" frequency.

Subwoofer - A speaker who's range of sound lies between 25Hz and 120Hz

Threshold - The point where effects happen

Volume - The dynamic level of sound.

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What is Q?


Q = The width of a band of frequencies that you want to cut or boost.

Q Bandwidth

0.7 = 2 Octaves
1.0 = 1 1/3 Octave
1.4 = 1 Octaves
2.8 = 1/2 Octave

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