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EQ
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As mentioned in [[EQ or Filters]], it's generally better to cut rather than boost.
=== How to EQ a Hard Rock Tone ===
In general the tone should be relatively "flat" with a seemingly equal balance of bass, midrange, and treble - if you try to deviate too far from this, especially with narrow boosts or cuts, the tone will simply sound "off". It might sound good at low-volume or outside a mix, but when cranked it will sound weird, plastic, harsh, or get buried in the mix.
The slight deviations from "flat" will define what kind of tone you have: cold, warm, punchy, crisp, etc. Emphasizing mostly punch will give you a very metalcore chug-a-chug sound. Emphasizing cold djent and dialing back the warmth gives you that cold Meshuggah tone. Hot djent is the key to the older Metallica tone - kind of harsh and very crisp, add lots of bass to make it extremely heavy - the classic scooped thrash tone. Warmth gets you the creamy lead tone, and it can make a sterile-sounding rhythm tone come to life. Honk sounds like really vintage tone - I find it sounds a bit awkward in a modern metal tone but works for classic rock.
You can emphasize combinations of these to dial in what you like best, but don't go too extreme. If your tone's frequency response looks like a saw when viewed through a frequency spectrum analyzer, it's likely to sound goofy. If you want to dial a spot down, it's generally a good idea to do so mildly. If you cut too much, the tone just feels like part of it is missing - it isn't loud or "full" enough. It might sound good at a low volume, but when you crank the volume, you'll find the tone is very harsh or fake-sounding. If I'm cutting I only do so until that spot blends into the rest of the tone, not so that it completely disappears. Yes, even the "fizz".
When I emphasize some frequency range, I'll often boost it with a wide Q, so I'm also boosting the frequencies around it, just not as much. This keeps the tone "in balance".
Neither thump (and boom) nor sizzle should dominate a good guitar tone. It will sound odd to completely dial them out, but they generally get buried in a full mix anyway. I like to de-emphasize them; however, they are often de-emphasized to begin with - guitar speakers (as well as cab/mic sims) tend to roll off the ultra-highs and lows.
If you have any "broken glass" in your tone, you should dial it out. It will be harsh and annoying. If it's just a little; however, you might not even be able to hear it in a mix. Still, it will interfere with the tone of the cymbals and will taint a recording or live performance.
== Common EQ Techniques ==