14. Frequency Bands: How to Hear So We Can Better Create. The Science of Sound 301

In order to produce a great sound, we first need to learn how to hear good sound. In this listening heavy episode, we isolate the 7 frequency bands in the audible spectrum to hear what they sound like in isolation, and what it sounds like when they're completely removed from the signal.

All of the previous episodes and these listening exercises, in addition to the ones upcoming are critical to build a foundation of understanding what these frequencies sound like and how they affect the signal as a whole. We'll continue to build on this foundation as we learn what it is that makes up our voice and how to best treat it in post production.

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This topic is very "listening exercise" heavy, so make sure to listen to the episode below!

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Let's Take a Look at the 7 Frequency Bands

Sub Bass (20 - 60 Hz)

also calls "subs"

This frequency range holds little to no information in most vocalists. It's common to cut this frequency range entirely with a "high pass filter", which is sometimes also called a "low cut filter".

Bass (60Hz - 250 Hz)

also called "lows"

This extremely important band holds the secret to life within. This is where almost all of the warmth and thickness of the human voice lies, in both men and women., It contains the most power, along with the fundamental frequencies of our voices. Basically, this is where the heart of our voice lives. Without a proper representation of this frequency range, we sound like a phone call or a Zoom.us recording: dull, lifeless, and uninspiring.

Low Midrange (250 Hz - 500 Hz)

also called "low mids"

This frequency range often contains a lot of "boxiness" and can often contain a bit of what is called "mud". Along with the high end of the bass range, an overwhelming amount of 250-500Hz will result in an undefined and washed out sound. I usually end up cutting QUITE a bit of 350Hz and 500Hz out of most voices, men and women. However, cutting too widely in this frequency range will result in a dull and very unnatural sound.

Midrange (500 Hz - 2,000 Hz)

also called "mids"

I'd almost like to break this band into several smaller ones, because it's such an important frequency range. Most of the intelligibility of the human voice lies in this range, as well as a lot of unpleasant and grating sounds.

I like to make sure 750-850Hz is REALLY tight in voice over, as this is the range that is most accurately replicated by low quality speakers and headphones.

However, the 1kHz range holds a lot of displeasing nasalness and most recordings (voice, snare drums, electric guitar, etc) will be better off with a slight cut in this range. Not too much, as things will start sounding unnatural, but a little less nasal never hurt anything.

Upper Midrange (2,000Hz - 4,000 Hz)

also called "upper mids" or "high mids"

If we remember last week's blog post, we know that the human ear is tuned incredibly well to this frequency range. For that reason, we want to make sure it's tamed properly. We're going to hear a lot of bite in this range, and if we're not careful, a lot of the upper mids can cause fatigue when listening for a long time. This is true to most other frequencies above 2kHz, but our ears hear this range with much more intensity than all others.

Lower Treble (4,000 Hz - 6,000 Hz)

also called "presence"

This band is one that accounts for the depth of a signal. It's called the "presence" range because we can attenuate or cut out a lot of this range to make a sound feel distant, and the more the range is represented, the closer it will appear. We need to be careful that we're also removing the sibilance that lives in this range!

Highs (6,000 Hz - 20,000Hz)

also called "air" for 12kHz - 20,000 kHz

When an audio file is compressed to a smaller size, or you are recording your podcast through a VOIP recording platform, Skype, Zoom, Zencaster, etc, this range is the first to go. It's the difference between a studio quality recording and either an amateur recording or a low quality file, such as most podcast mp3s. This is a very wide frequency range that holds many different characteristics within it, but crisp highs are typically sought after in most audio mediums. It gives the audio a sparkle that feels modern and exciting. However, a lot of unnecessary "air" also lives in the very high highs, so we want to tame those in most of our recordings as well! It can be fatiguing on the ears and doesn't contribute too terribly much to the sound once we pass 14-15kHz.