Why High-Pass Filters (Low-cut) Are the Most Powerful Button on the Board.

I was mixing a service a while back, and everything felt muddy. Vocals weren’t clear, guitars were fighting the keys, and the whole mix felt like it had a blanket over it.

I started EQ’ing and tweaking faders… but nothing worked. Then I realized I had skipped the simplest step: engaging high-pass filters.

Here’s the truth:

Almost every channel on your board is carrying low frequencies it doesn’t actually need.

Those lows pile up, and suddenly your mix turns to MUD.

Think about it:

Vocals don’t need anything below ~100Hz.
Acoustic guitars don’t need the rumble.
Keys usually sound cleaner with the low junk rolled off (in a band situation)
Even electric guitars carry low-end garbage you don’t want (if guitar player doesn't have EQ)

When you cut that stuff out, guess what happens?

🎯 The kick and bass finally have room to breathe.

🎯 Vocals jump forward with clarity.

🎯 The whole mix feels lighter and cleaner.

⚡ Pro tip: Don’t be afraid of the high-pass. Use it aggressively on everything that isn’t designed to live in the low end.

Question for you:

Do you actually high-pass almost every channel, or do you leave most things wide open? Curious to see how you approach it.

— Nate

I high pass everything I can

I only use it on a few channels

I did not know high pass/low cut was a thing lol

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