Mixing Challenges: "The Soul of Music Lives in the Midrange" – Fact or Fiction?

There’s a lazy mixing style known as the “smiley face EQ” or “smiley face curve.” This technique involves boosting both low and high frequencies while cutting the mids, which creates a smile-like shape on a graphic equalizer. On a parametric EQ, it also looks like a grin.

This method is often used in mass-produced music (like stock tracks) or when quickly creating cues for lower-tier commercials—situations where the producer's chair might be on fire due to tight deadlines.

Essentially, this approach is a bit of a cheat, allowing you to gloss over the painstaking process of resolving conflicts between mid-range frequencies.

However, it has one major flaw: it can suck the life out of your music, making it sound thin, soulless, and formulaic. It’s kind of like the musical equivalent of checking off a box—you’ve got something playing in the background, but who cares if it lacks depth? If the client doesn’t notice any issues, then great—everyone’s happy.

It’s unfortunate when this approach seeps into other parts of the music industry—specifically pop music. Some young producers, dabbling here and there, try to carry over these "advertising" or "stock" production methods into the realm of artistic expression, where different rules apply. Music intended for direct consumer listening doesn't necessarily have to be super visceral or bursting with life, but it can't be "dead" in terms of formulaic, cookie-cutter mixing.

Why Do Some Producers Avoid Detailed Work on Mid Frequencies?

The mid-frequency range of a mix, especially if there's a lot going on musically, can be quite treacherous. On one hand, all the "body" of the music, its liveliness and tangibility, resides there—roughly from 180–200 Hz up to about 2000–2500 Hz. On the other hand, it's within this same range that some of the most unpleasant resonances lurk. Consider this:

• Around 200–300 Hz, your music may start sounding muddy or muffled, as though it's being smothered by a pillow or made of cotton wool.
• In the 400–500 Hz region, you might encounter an unexpected "boxiness" creeping into your mix.
• Somewhere, vaguely around 500–800 Hz, there's often a sense of "congestion"—the sound can feel cluttered, like it's clogged with something.
• At 1000 Hz, a feeling of "woodenness" might sneak into your music.
• Between 2000–4000 Hz lies the territory of nasality.
• But somehow, right next door—in the band from 1500 to 2000 Hz—there can be piercing sharpness that's genuinely fatiguing to the ears.

It's easy to see why some producers don't want to deal with all this madness and opt instead to get rid of it wholesale—by simply cutting broad swaths of the midrange in their mixes.

Why Crucial Musical Information Resides in the Mid-Frequency Range

Understanding why the midrange is so crucial for the "soul" of music isn't too hard. Just take a look at the frequencies typical instruments use to convey their defining tonal characteristics, as well as information about attacks and decays.

Guitar

The fundamental tone of acoustic and electric guitars falls within the 400–800 Hz range. This area defines the instrument's characteristic sound.

Piano

While the lower frequencies provide support, the piano's main tone lies higher, in the 400–800 Hz zone. These frequencies are responsible for warmth and clarity.

Vocals

For vocals, the 200–300 Hz range adds fullness and harmony, while the 3 kHz area enhances intelligibility and presence in the mix.

Violin

Although the violin emits harmonics across a wide spectrum, the mid-frequencies (around 500–1000 Hz) shape its primary timbre and expressiveness.

Brass Instruments (e.g., Trumpet)

The richness of a trumpet's sound is concentrated in the 120–240 Hz range.

Let's delve deeper into such an important part of the rhythm section as the bass guitar and drums. We'll see that so much crucial stuff happens in the midrange for these guys that this area needs to be handled with extreme care and selectivity—or else, well... your rhythm section in the song will basically be ruined.

Here’s the critical and somewhat sensual information contained in the midrange for key elements of the drum kit:

1. Snare Drum

200–500 Hz: Provides body and substance to the sound.

800–2 kHz: Clarity and attack of the stick hit.

Problem Areas: Too many frequencies around 400–500 Hz can add a "boxy" quality.

2. Bass Drum (Kick)

100–200 Hz: Warmth and body of the kick.

2–4 kHz: Click and attack.

Problem Areas: Mud in the 300–400 Hz range often compromises mix clarity. 500–800 Hz: Unwanted "plastic" overtones may emerge.

3. Toms

200–500 Hz: Body and depth.

1–3 kHz: Readability of the attack.Problem Areas: Excess buildup in the 300–400 Hz range can create a "muddy" sound.

4. Cymbals

Though cymbals primarily operate in the high frequencies, the midrange (500–2 kHz) gives them their sonic "body."

Problem Areas: Over-attenuating the midrange can make cymbals sound overly harsh.

5. Overheads

500–2 kHz: Essential for capturing the natural overall image of the drums.

6. Room Mics

200–800 Hz: Shape the fullness and depth of the overall drum sound.

Problem Areas: Overemphasizing these frequencies can lead to a boomy or muddy mix.

As far as we’re concerned, the picture with the midrange of drums is clear. Let’s move straight to the bass guitar.

1. 200–300 Hz:

Adds warmth and body to the bass sound. Boosting here helps make the bass more "meaty."

Issue: Excess can cause muddiness, particularly when combined with other instruments.

2. 400–500 Hz:

These are the frequencies associated with "woody" and "boxy" tones.

Boosting here adds a vintage character, but too much can make the bass sound dull or muddy.

3. 600–800 Hz:

Responsible for expressiveness and readability, especially during dynamic play. These frequencies help the bass stand out even in dense mixes.

Issue: Can sound obtrusive if overdone.

4. 1–1.5 kHz:

A crucial area for the attacking part of the sound, especially when using a pick or slap technique.

Lends brightness and clarity.

Issue: Over-boosting makes the bass sound harsh and "nasal."

5. 2–2.5 kHz:

The domain of clicks and crispness. Particularly noticeable with slapping techniques or when played with a pick.

Used to help the bass cut through the mix.

Why Synthetically Created Music Also Needs Midrange "Body"

First off, no matter how innovative or unusual synthetic drums and bass sounds (or a group of basses) might be, they inevitably serve similar musical and aesthetic purposes as live drums and bass guitar. Therefore, to fulfill those roles, they need punch, fullness, and a tangible auditory presence.

If you hear a killer bassline in a successful EDM track produced by a talented and diligent producer, rest assured that the midrange of that bass was carefully sculpted with only minor, almost surgical cuts.

If the four-on-the-floor kick makes you instinctively nod along and tap your foot, it means the smart creators and mix engineers left enough "body" in it.

And here's something worth considering: humans don’t perceive different frequency ranges with equal loudness. Evolution has trained our brains to pay extra attention to certain frequency areas. You might guess which ones we're talking about...

Let's examine the Fletcher-Munson curves, also known as equal-loudness contours. Scientists Fletcher and Munson experimentally proved that we perceive sounds loudest in the range of approximately 300 to 7,000 Hz.

That's because our brain prioritizes distinguishing speech, alarmed or threatening animal cries, infant wails, the noise of a hungry and angry bear crashing through nearby underbrush, wolf howls, the babble of a river—you get the idea.

Almost ALL these vital sounds contain significant energy in the midrange. That's where life itself resonates.

When we listen to overtly synthetic music, we still involuntarily detect elements reminiscent of lifelike sounds. And we'll naturally gravitate toward the music that feels more vibrant and alive.

To wrap things up, the seemingly contentious notion that "the soul of music lives in the midrange" turns out to be damn near a timeless, scientifically-backed truth.

That troublesome, occasionally messy, "muddy," box-like, and nasal midrange deserves love—and learning to handle it skillfully and fearlessly. How exactly to do that? Well, that's a topic for another article...