At 1/18/26 04:51 PM, FlickeringAltSwitch wrote:i'm trying to eq guitar in a song i made a month or so ago. i think i either messed up the tone so much while composing the song that i can't recover it, or i'm just way too inexperienced in mastering. for clarification, it isn't a real guitar. it's a vst instrument that i put a ton of effects and distortion on.
guitar stem
song to be mastered
(also i know the bass in the song has way too little low frequencies, i was working on that before i started trying to master the guitar)
if i raise the guitar's high frequencies, all the instruments start fighting with each other. if i lower its high frequencies, the song becomes extremely muddy-sounding. this is a cry for help, i need to learn how to master metal songs
One thing I learned far too late:
- instead of trying to increase the high frequencies on the guitar, CUT the low frequencies on it. Solo'd it won't sound like you want it, but as a whole it'll sound great.
Basically by removing the low end of your guitar, you're allowing the bass to fill that space. Leading to a more balanced, clear mix.
Also, just a personal thing I like to do with my guitars. I quad track everything. So I have AT LEAST 2 different guitar tones in each song I do. I have a main tone that is more mid-high focused and has that nice djenty sound to it. I also have a backing track that is at a lower volume and is more mid-low focused. This helps make the both the bass AND the guitar tracks sound fuller. Just need to play with the levels and gain stage everything until you find the blend that works best for the sound you're looking for.
I hope this helps some!
EDIT: I just listened to the guitar wav in the post. Dial back that distortion. You don't want your distortion so high that you can't differentiate what notes or chords are being played.
