Monakai Audio Mixing Cheat Sheet

EQ ranges, compression tips, reverb pre-delay and gain staging — one page for every mix session.

EQ Frequency Ranges

Range	What you hear	Mixing tip
20–60 Hz	Sub-bass, rumble	High-pass most tracks except kick and bass.
60–250 Hz	Low end, warmth, mud	Cut mud around 200–250 Hz on guitars and vocals.
250–500 Hz	Boxiness, body	Small cuts here add clarity to dense mixes.
500 Hz–2 kHz	Presence, intelligibility	Boost vocals gently around 1–3 kHz for articulation.
2–6 kHz	Definition, harshness	De-ess sibilance around 4–7 kHz; add snap to snare.
6–12 kHz	Air, brightness	High-shelf boost for sheen on vocals and cymbals.
12–20 kHz	Sparkle, hiss	Roll off extreme highs to reduce noise if needed.

Compression Quick Tips

• Ratio: 2:1–4:1 gentle; 6:1+ control; 10:1+ limiting.
• Attack: Fast tames transients; slow lets punch through.
• Release: Auto works for most; fast adds energy, slow sounds smoother.
• Threshold: Lower = more compression. Aim 3–6 dB gain reduction.
• Make-up gain: Match compressed and uncompressed levels to judge fairly.
• Parallel compression: Blend a crushed copy with dry signal for power.

Reverb Pre-Delay

Source	Pre-delay	Effect
Vocals	20–60 ms	Lyrics stay upfront with added depth.
Snare	15–40 ms	Slap and size without wash.
Pads / synths	0–20 ms	Cohesive ambience.
Room reverb	0–10 ms	Natural small-room glue.

Gain Staging Guidelines

• Keep tracks peaking around -12 to -6 dBFS before plugins.
• Leave 3–6 dB of headroom on the master bus.
• Use input trims so plugin emulations aren't overloaded.
• Mix with a loudness reference at similar perceived level.
• When in doubt, turn it down — quieter sources process better.