EQ Lab

Starting templates for the trickiest sources in the room. Every recipe assumes a stock parametric (Logic's Channel EQ or equivalent) sitting first on the track, before compression and colour. Boosts read amber, cuts read blue — same code as the signal-flow lines. Ears over numbers, always.

Synths

Minimoog · Prophet · DFAM · Mother-32 · Labyrinth

Minimoog Model D

Lead / Melody

Cut the mud, sharpen the edge — leads that ride above the pad without going ice-picky.

EQ Moves

HPF80 Hz · 12 dB/oct
Kills sub-oscillator bleed that pushes the bass off its throne.
350 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.0
Thins the low-mid honk so the lead sits above pads and organ.
1.5 kHz+2 dB · Q 1.2
Filter squelch and note attack step forward.
4 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.5
The sawtooth edge that cuts through a busy mix.

Notes from the console

▸With Topanga or Komorebi already coloring the top end, back off the 4 kHz boost — the pedals give you the air.
▸On portamento parts, hunt an extra dB at 250 Hz — the slide accentuates mud that a held note hides.
▸If you tracked the Model D LOW output, this template is calibrated; the HIGH output usually needs -1 dB more at 4 kHz.

Minimoog Model D

Bass · with Sub Enhancer

Anchor the sub, punch through the kick — fat mono bass that survives a small speaker.

EQ Moves

HPF30 Hz · 12 dB/oct
Cleans subterranean rumble that lives below the fundamental.
55 Hz+2 dB · Q 1.5
Reinforces the body of the note without adding rumble.
300 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.2
The boxy zone that competes with the kick — the single biggest cleanup move on Moog bass.
900 Hz+1 dB · Q 1.0
Attack transient — this is what keeps bass audible on phones and laptop speakers.

Notes from the console

▸Sub enhancer: Logic's Bass Enhancer around 40 Hz with drive at 30%, OR duplicate the track with an RBass instance blended -12 dB and tuned to add an octave below.
▸Sidechain a 1–2 dB duck around 60–80 Hz to the kick — even a tiny gap lets both sit.
▸Filter mostly closed, resonance dialed for punch, envelope amount modest — the sound should be 'growl,' not 'squelch.'

Prophet-5 Rev 4

Preserve the poly weight, add air — cleanup for chords without thinning the character.

EQ Moves

HPF60 Hz (pads) · 100 Hz (plucks)
Removes the room-rumble the Rev 4 doesn't need; higher on plucks to keep them tight.
250 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.0
Pad mud from stacked oscillators — the classic Prophet cleanup.
3 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.2
Chord articulation — each voice becomes a note again.
10 kHz+2 dB · high shelf
Shimmer, especially through the CP-1X which smooths transients before it.

Notes from the console

▸Rev 4's poly-mod is already fat — go easy on EQ; use stereo widening on the pad band (400 Hz+) instead of boost.
▸On arpeggios, drop 300 Hz another dB so each note sits clean — arpeggios expose mud that pads hide.
▸The Prophet + Topanga combination is your money sound — most of the 'air' lives in the reverb, not the EQ.

DFAM

Punch the transient, tame the mid — kicks and toms with definition, not just weight.

EQ Moves

HPF25 Hz · 12 dB/oct
Keep the kick voice's fundamental; kill everything below.
70 Hz+2 dB · Q 1.5
Kick voice weight without overlapping the DrumBrute kick.
350 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.2
Inter-voice mud when all six steps are firing at once.
3.5 kHz+2.5 dB · Q 1.0
Stick / click transient — the thing that reads as 'hit.'
8 kHz+1 dB · high shelf
Snap for the higher-tuned voices in the sequence.

Notes from the console

▸Logic's Enveloper (transient shaper) usually beats EQ for shaping DFAM — try +40% attack before touching frequency.
▸Multiband compress 60–200 Hz gently (1–2 dB GR) to even out sequences where the kick voice fires unevenly.
▸When the DFAM is doing its 'DFAM-swing' trick from a BSP drum gate, EQ for the accent hit — the rest of the pattern will follow.

Mother-32

Clarify without fattening — the M32 is thinner than the Model D, don't fight it.

EQ Moves

HPF30 Hz (bass) · 100 Hz (lead)
Depends on role; bass wants the fundamental, lead wants tight.
400 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.2
Thins the boxy mid that the M32's filter can pile up.
1.5 kHz (bass) / 2 kHz (lead)+2 dB · Q 1.2
Filter clarity — where the M32's character lives.
5 kHz+1 dB · high shelf (lead only)
Brings the filter resonance forward on lead lines.

Notes from the console

▸Don't try to fatten with EQ — the M32 is inherently leaner than the Model D. Reach for tape or tube saturation (Logic's Bass Amp or Vintage EQ analog color).
▸Filter self-oscillation piles up 3–5 kHz — surgical -4 dB notch at Q 4.0 when it gets edgy.
▸For sequence parts, tighten 200 Hz further so each 16th note reads distinct.

Labyrinth

Notch the fold, lift the top — tame wavefolder harmonics, keep generative movement clear.

EQ Moves

HPF80 Hz (melodic) · 40 Hz (bass)
Melodic Labyrinth doesn't need weight down there; bass sequences do.
700 Hz-4 dB · Q 2.0
Wavefolder harmonics pile up in this narrow band — the surgical fix.
2 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.5
Clarity for generative sequences so the pattern reads even when it's evolving.
6 kHz+1 dB · high shelf
Sparkle for foreground parts; skip when Labyrinth is a bed underneath.

Notes from the console

▸If Labyrinth is meant to sit under other elements, HPF aggressively (up to 200 Hz) so it lives in the top half of the mix.
▸Compress 2–3 dB of gain reduction to even out the generative dynamics — the pattern probability creates volume swings.
▸Corrupt + probability against a locked DFAM groove is the sweet spot — EQ the Labyrinth to complement DFAM's low mid, not stack on it.

Princeton Reverb — by source

SM7B → Cloudlifter → Volt ch 5

Princeton Reverb '68

Clavinet source

Bring the wah cry, tame the pluck — Clav through the amp is percussive; EQ for attack.

EQ Moves

HPF100 Hz · 12 dB/oct
Kills amp cabinet thump — Clav has no meaningful low end anyway.
300 Hz-2 dB · Q 1.0
Reduces the Princeton's 10" speaker box tone.
900 Hz+2 dB · Q 1.2
Where the Cry Baby 'cries' — accents the wah sweep.
3.5 kHz+2 dB · Q 1.5
The hammer click that makes Clav read as Clav.
6 kHz-2 dB · high shelf (as needed)
Tame Cry Baby stridency when the toe is down and the mic is hot.

Notes from the console

▸Princeton Volume around 3 keeps the SM7B track controllable — EQ up rather than fight breakup.
▸Compress before EQ (3:1, slow attack ~20 ms, fast release) to tame the sharpest Clav plucks before you sculpt.
▸Blend against the J48 DI on ch 6 heavily — the DI carries the pluck detail, the amp carries the wah body.

Princeton Reverb '68

Prophet-5 source

Preserve the poly, uncloud the mud — a mono amp with poly chords is a mud factory; EQ hard.

EQ Moves

HPF80 Hz · 12 dB/oct
Amp cab already thumps enough; the Prophet's lows live in the DI, not the mic.
200 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.0
Poly-through-mono-amp mud — the biggest cleanup move on this pairing.
1.5 kHz+1 dB · Q 1.5
Chord definition through the amp's midrange focus.
8 kHz+1.5 dB · high shelf
Recovers air lost through the Princeton's 10" speaker.

Notes from the console

▸Blend heavily toward the DI (ch 6). Think 70/30 DI/amp — the Princeton is texture, the DI is the note.
▸CP-1X pre-compresses nicely before the amp — dial it in first, then EQ.
▸Poly stacks with the amp breakup at high volumes — keep the Princeton at Vol 3 for chord work.

Princeton Reverb '68

Minimoog Model D source

Cut the honk, keep the fat — the money combination for psych leads; don't over-EQ it.

EQ Moves

HPF100 Hz · 12 dB/oct
The amp already contributes low-mid weight; the Model D fundamental is on the DI.
400 Hz-3 dB · Q 1.0
Princeton's boxy honk when fat mono synth hits the mid range.
1.8 kHz+1.5 dB · Q 1.2
Cuts through a psych mix without ice-picking.
5 kHz-1 dB · high shelf (as needed)
Only if you used the Model D HIGH output and it's harsh.

Notes from the console

▸For leads, this is the money combination — trust the pedal chain (POG 2, Komorebi, Topanga) and don't over-EQ.
▸Bass Moog through the Princeton at Vol 3–4 will break up on the lowest notes — HPF the amp mic to 200 Hz for cleaner bass, or accept the breakup as character and blend heavier with the DI.
▸TS808DX into a mildly-broken-up Princeton around 1 o'clock volume is a classic Pink Floyd lead — this EQ template is calibrated for that.