Mastering EQ

EQ Conflict Detector

When two tracks both own the same frequency band, your listener hears a smear instead of two distinct elements. Drop a 5-band EQ curve for each of two tracks and this tool overlays them, shades the conflict zones where both are boosting the same band or pushing against each other, and recommends a give-and-take split.

Two EQs to compare

Track A name

Track B name

Conflict heat-map

20 Hz – 20 kHz · ±18 dB

Shaded red bands = both tracks are boosting in this range. Yellow = one boost, one cut. Cyan / fuchsia curves = each track's full EQ shape.

Per-band energy share

Recommended give-and-take

How to use

Type a label for each track (vocal lead, synth pad, bass, kick, etc.) so you remember what the visualisation is comparing.
For each of the 5 bands per track, choose whether it's a shelf or a bell, set its centre frequency, its gain in dB and (for bells) its Q width.
Watch the conflict heat-map turn red where both tracks are boosting the same band — those zones are the worst offenders.
Read the per-band energy share: which track currently owns each part of the spectrum.
Apply the give-and-take suggestions to one or both tracks' EQs and re-check.

How to read the result

Red band: both tracks are boosting at the same time. This is a "fight" zone — usually you assign one of them to cut slightly so each element gets room.
Yellow / orange band: one boosts, one cuts — fine if intentional (e.g. a high-pass on the vocal lets the synth own the lows), but watch for unintentional masking.
Cyan curve is Track A's EQ. Fuchsia curve is Track B's. The dashed zero dB line is the un-EQ'd reference.
Per-band energy share — this is approximate, not a real measurement, but it tells you whether you've accidentally handed one band to one track.
Start with the lowest frequency row and work upward — sub / low end is where EQ mistakes cause the most obvious "muddy" outcomes on a small speaker.

Limitations

This is a 5-band approximation, not a spectrum analyser. Real parametric EQs have 4–8 bands; this tool models 5. The curves shown here are mathematical functions, not what you'd see on a spectrum analyser (which depends on the actual audio).

We do not know the tracks' actual frequency content. A vocal track doesn't have a +4 dB bump at 60 Hz because you want the kick — but this tool can't see that. It only sees what you've told it.

"Conflict" is a starting point, not a verdict. Sometimes two elements are supposed to occupy the same band (a pad and a vocal both at 1 kHz during a melodic moment). Trust your ears over the heat map.

Masking is loudness-dependent. Real masking depends on the relative level of the two tracks at the same moment in time, not just their EQ curves. This tool gives a static "where would the fights happen?" view.

FAQ

What if both tracks need the low end?

In a mix the kick and bass together almost always own the sub. The conventional split is: kick controls the click (200–800 Hz + click attack) and the bass owns the weight (60–120 Hz fundamental), with a small dip on the bass at the kick's click frequency and vice-versa. The visualization will glow red at 60–120 Hz if both are boosted — that's the moment to do a sidechain or a -3 dB cut on one of them.

What's the difference between bell and shelf?

A bell ("peak") affects a band around its centre frequency — great for surgical moves. A shelf rises or falls and stays there — great for tone changes like adding air above 10 kHz or removing rumble below 80 Hz. Use shelves at the top and bottom of the spectrum, bells in the middle where you need to leave the rest of the range intact.

What does Q do?

Q controls how wide the bell is. Higher Q (1.0+) = very narrow, surgical moves — e.g. taming one bad resonance at 2.7 kHz. Lower Q (0.5–0.7) = wide, gentle moves — e.g. a 3 kHz air bump that colours the whole midrange. Use narrow for "this exact note" problems, wide for "this whole range" tonal shifts.

Is +6 dB really a lot?

On a single track it sounds like a small nudge. In a mix the same +6 dB on two tracks at the same band becomes a +12 dB equivalent in the bus — that is enough to drive the master into the red. The visualisation makes the doubling obvious; the ears often don't until it's already too late.

Should I use high-pass on every track?

In modern mix practice, yes — every track except the bass and the kick should have a high-pass filter somewhere between 80 and 200 Hz so they don't waste energy fighting in the sub. This tool's first band is a shelf precisely for that purpose. If a track has no energy below 200 Hz, model it as a high-pass (shelf at 100–200 Hz, -3 to -6 dB) and the conflict map gets a lot cleaner.