High-pass filter explained: when and where to cut low frequencies

By Tongkit Leong · October 23, 2026 · 6 min read

A high-pass filter lets high frequencies through and removes everything below a cutoff you choose, so it clears out rumble and muddy low end that adds nothing to a track. In the Tracks browser studio you set one with the High pass band in any track's EQ.

What a high-pass filter does

It is also called a low cut. Frequencies above the cutoff pass through untouched, and frequencies below it get turned down. The further below the cutoff, the more they drop.

Most instruments carry some energy below the range where they actually sound good: mic stand thumps, breath pops, synth sub content, room rumble. You often cannot hear it on its own, but it adds up across a dozen tracks and eats the headroom your bass and kick need.

Why cutting lows makes a mix cleaner

Low frequencies carry a lot of energy. When every track contributes a little, the mix turns muddy and the master gets louder than it sounds, which leaves less room before clipping. Filtering the low end from tracks that do not need it gives the kick and bass their own space. If your mix already sounds cloudy, how to fix a muddy mix is a good companion read.

How to set a high-pass filter in Tracks

1. Open the EQ on the track you want to clean up.
2. Set one band's type to High pass.
3. Drag the cutoff up from the bottom until you just start to hear the sound thin out, then back it off a little.
4. Switch the band off and on while the whole song plays, and judge it in context, not solo.

Always make the final call with the full mix playing. A track that sounds thin alone often sounds right once the bass is underneath it.

Starting cutoff points by instrument

These are starting points, not rules. Your ears and your material decide.

• Vocals: roughly 80 to 120 Hz. This removes plosives and handling noise and keeps the chest of the voice. See the vocal chain guide for where the filter goes in the chain.
• Acoustic guitar and piano: roughly 80 to 150 Hz, higher if the bass is busy.
• Synth pads and chords: roughly 150 to 300 Hz, so they stay out of the bass range. This pairs well with a warm synth pad.
• Hi-hats and percussion: roughly 300 to 500 Hz or higher, since they have nothing useful below that.
• Snare: roughly 80 to 120 Hz, adjusted to keep its body.
• Kick and bass: usually only a very gentle cut around 20 to 30 Hz, or none, because the low end is their job.

High-pass on reverb and delay returns

Reverb tails full of low frequencies turn a mix to mush quickly. Put a high-pass band on the reverb or delay return so only the upper range gets the echo. A cutoff of a few hundred hertz is common. Reverb and delay explained covers sends in more detail.

Common mistakes

• Cutting too high: if a guitar or vocal sounds thin and small, the cutoff is eating the body.
• Filtering everything the same: use different cutoffs for different tracks, not one value for all.
• Judging in solo: a solo track has nothing to compete with, so you will keep too much low end.
• Filtering the bass: leave the bass and kick largely alone, and check how they interact with the bassline and kick guide.

High-pass versus low-pass

They are opposites. A high-pass removes lows and keeps highs. A low-pass removes highs and keeps lows, and it is what darkens a synth or softens a bright sound. The EQ in Tracks offers both, and the broader EQ cheat sheet shows how they fit with other bands.

Frequently asked questions

Should I high-pass every track?

Not every track. Apply it to anything that does not own the low end, and skip or use only a very low cutoff on kick and bass.

What frequency should I high-pass vocals at?

Start around 80 to 120 Hz and raise it only until rumble and plosives disappear without thinning the voice.

Does a high-pass filter change the sound?

Yes, a little. A gentle cut below the audible range of an instrument is barely noticeable alone but makes the whole mix clearer.

Is a high-pass filter the same as a low cut?

Yes. They are two names for the same filter.