drag through 20Hz to 20kHz. hear what lives there.
A GoatWave Audio Interactive · May 2026 · 7 min read
PANEL 01
Music lives between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz.
That's the whole audible spectrum. Below 20 Hz you feel it but don't hear it (the subway rumbling under you). Above 20 kHz only dogs and dolphins care.
Inside that range lives every sound you've ever loved — kick drums, sub bass, vocals, snares, hi-hats, cymbals, breath, air, sparkle. Each one occupies its own neighborhood. Mixing is just learning which sounds live where.
"why does my mix sound muddy? why are my vocals harsh? why does it lack air?"
Because something is wrong in one of those neighborhoods. Let's go visit them.
PANEL 02
Drag through the spectrum. Hear it live.
Move the cyan marker left and right. Click HEAR IT and you'll play a clean sine wave at that exact frequency. The label below tells you what lives there in a real mix.
▶ INTERACTIVE: 20Hz - 20kHz
— Hz
20501002505001k2k5k10k20k
— Hz
DRAG TO EXPLORE
Click anywhere on the spectrum and drag left or right. The cyan marker shows where you are. Sound is logarithmic — small movements at the LEFT cover a big range, small movements at the RIGHT are tiny.
VOL
★ WHY LOGARITHMIC?
Doubling a frequency raises it one octave. 100Hz → 200Hz is one octave. 1000Hz → 2000Hz is also one octave. The spectrum slider is logarithmic so each octave takes the same space — that's how human hearing actually works.
PANEL 03
Six neighborhoods you need to know.
Pros think of the spectrum as 6 zones. Memorize these — it's like learning the cities on a map. Once you know them, you can navigate any mix.
SUB BASS
20 - 60 Hz
Felt more than heard. 808s, kick fundamentals, sub drops. Too much = your mix won't translate to small speakers. Too little = no weight.
BASS
60 - 250 Hz
Bass guitar, kick body, low piano. The "thump." Too much here = boom. Just enough = pocket.
LOW MIDS / "MUD"
250 - 500 Hz
Where vocal warmth lives — AND where mixes go muddy. Most mixes need a small cut here. Engineers call it "the mud zone."
MIDS / "VOCAL"
500 Hz - 2 kHz
The most important range. Vocals live here. Guitar body. Snare crack. If this is wrong, the mix is wrong.
PRESENCE
2 - 5 kHz
Vocal intelligibility, snare snap, guitar bite. Too much = harsh. Too little = vocal sounds far away. Surgical zone.
AIR / "SHINE"
5 - 20 kHz
Cymbals, vocal breath, the "shimmer." A gentle boost up here is the difference between professional and bedroom mixes.
PANEL 04
How EQ changes a mix.
Pretend you have a mix that sounds slightly off. Click each problem and read what an engineer would actually do:
▶ DIAGNOSE THE MIX
★ CUT, DON'T BOOST
Beginners reach for boost. Pros reach for cut. Why? Cutting a problem frequency cleans up the mix without adding gain. Boosting can introduce noise and push you toward clipping. Rule of thumb: cut narrow, boost wide.
PANEL 05
Frequency identification quiz.
Last test before we set you free. Click your best guess. We'll tell you why:
▶ NAME THAT FREQUENCY
Three quick questions to lock it in.
PANEL 06
What GoatWave does behind the scenes.
When you hit Mix & Master in our console, here are some of the EQ moves the AI is making for you per stem:
Vocals get a highpass at 80-120 Hz (removes rumble that competes with bass), a small cut at 250 Hz (de-mud), a presence boost around 3 kHz (so the words cut through), and an air shelf at 12 kHz (sparkle).
Drums get a 60 Hz body boost on the kick, a 3.5 kHz snare crack, and an 8 kHz shimmer on cymbals. Classic CLA frequencies.
Bass gets a low cut at 30 Hz (the part you can't hear anyway), a small boost around 80 Hz (weight), and a presence cut around 350 Hz (less mud, more clarity).
Mix bus gets a gentle air shelf at 12 kHz to glue everything together with a sense of openness.
"so the AI is basically doing everything in this zine for me?"
yes. that's the point.
★ HEAR IT ON YOUR OWN TRACK ★
Mix it with one click.
Drop a vocal and beat. AI analyzes the frequency spectrum of both and makes every EQ move from this zine — automatically.