Subtractive and Additive EQ: Which One Should You Use?

Looking at an audio equalizer can feel daunting, but it's actually much easier to use than you might think. 

By looking at this graphic eq you can see that there are peaks and there are dips. The peaks are the additive eq and the dips are subtractive eq. 

Now you're probably asking yourself which should I do? Subtract or Add? Well the answer isn't that complicated. Try to subtract where you can, so if your mix is a little muddy in the low end, take out some of those lows. If it's sounding a bit harsh on the higher end, bring down those high end frequencies. Now, if you're trying to bring out some the harmonics and a particular frequency within the spectrum you may need to add a bit of a boost (try to stay within 1-3 dB of gain).

Example: You have an acoustic guitar that you need to eq so that it sits better in your overall mix.

• You'll start by using subtractive eq to sweep out those lows (you'll want your bass and kick to sit in the lower frequencies and you don't want them to clash)

• Next you'll most likely need another subtractive eq around 200-300 hz (vocals usually tend to start cutting through the mix here and again you don't want the two to clash)

• Instead of subtractive eq, you may now use additive eq to boost some of those mid and high range frequencies, this will add a bit of color to the sound and brighten the harmonics

Worth mentioning:

Subtractive EQ

• Allows more headroom within your mix

• Is more accurate than Additive EQ

• You'll encounter less phasing issues

Additive EQ

• You'll be able to color your sound a bit more 

When in doubt use Subtractive EQ.