A good drum set mic setup will include 2 overhead mics for capturing the sound of the kit as a whole. Listen to the audio from these microphones and examine the tone - is it bright and punchy or dark and warm? The tone from your overhead mics is crucial to adjusting your EQ, because it establishes a kind of overall constraint.


For example, if your overhead mics produce a bright, crisp sound, then trying to make each individual drum sound dark and warm will be a losing battle. In this way, you should use the tone produced by your overhead mics as the general template for the type of tone you aim for when adjusting the EQ for each drum.
EQ adjustment for the overhead mics should be minimal, but it often helps to roll off some of the low frequencies. This will make room for the floor tom and bass drum in these frequency bands.;
, Your microphone setup will vary, but generally you want to have dedicated mics for the snare drum, bass drum, and hi-hats. A single mic can be used for toms, and cymbals can be picked up solely through the overhead mics if desired.


When adjusting the equalization for the snare drum, roll off most of the low frequencies. The depth of a snare drum's sound can be adjusted by moving the faders for mid frequencies, and the bright "crack" can be adjusted through the high frequencies. Adjust your hi-hat similarly, as they benefit from the same type of EQ treatment.
When adjusting the EQ for your bass drum and low toms, roll off some of the high frequencies. This will cause you to lose some of the drums' brightness, but will keep each drum out of the way of each other in the mix and improve the overall sound of your drum set.
Do not listen to each channel in solo mode while adjusting the EQ. If you adjust just the snare drum until it sounds perfect, for example, you may find that it sounds terrible when mixed back in with the rest of the drum set. Always adjust EQ with all of the channels playing.
 In addition to rolling off the low end of your snare, high toms, and cymbals, consider using a high-pass filter in your mixing software. This will completely remove much of the low frequencies, which will allow the bass drum to occupy this sonic space without being crowded by other channels. This is a better way to improve your bass drum's presence than simply cranking the channel up.
 If you are mixing music that includes guitars, pianos, or vocals, your mix will likely already be very crowded between about 250 and 500 hertz. Cutting these frequencies from your drums makes room for other instruments and cleans up the overall sound.


These middle frequencies can be more readily sacrificed on drums than on other instruments like guitars. Drums are chiefly valued in a mix for their high-frequency crack and their low-frequency "oomph."
Examine the tone quality from your overhead mics.
Adjust the equalization for each individual mic.
Apply a high-pass filter to all channels except the bass drum.
Consider cutting some of the middle frequencies from your drum channels.
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