so ive been on HF for about two years now and SSB is still kind of frustrating me in terms of how I sound on the other end. I run an IC-7300 which supposedly has decent audio right out of the box but ive had a few guys tell me im either too bassy or kind of muffled sounding. I do use the stock mic which is probably part of it but before I go buy something new I wanted to figure out if its a settings thing first.

I know there's the TX monitor feature on the 7300 so I've been listening to myself a bit and honestly it doesn't sound terrible to me but I also don't really know what I'm listening for. like what does good SSB audio actually sound like vs just okay audio. someone on the air told me to roll off the low end and boost around 2k or something but I didn't really get the full explanation before the band shifted and I lost him.

also does mic gain matter as much as people say it does or is ALC the thing I should actually be watching. I see the ALC jumping around a lot when I talk and I'm not sure if thats normal or a problem. any thoughts appreciated, been bugging me for a while

ALC is definitely the thing to watch honestly. if its slamming hard every syllable your audio is gonna sound compressed and kind of rough on the receiving end. you want it just barely ticking on the peaks, not sitting pegged up. back off the mic gain until the ALC is only moving on loud consonants and you'll probably already notice an improvement.

on the EQ side your friend was on the right track. SSB doesn't need bass, it actually hurts intelligibility and can cause splatter if you're overdoing it. the 7300 has a parametric TX EQ built in, I'd cut everything below maybe 200hz, leave the mids mostly alone, maybe a small bump around 2-2.5k for presence and then roll off above 3k or so. voice intelligibility on SSB basically lives in that 300hz to 2.5k range anyway, anything outside that is just noise on a crowded band.

the stock mic is fine for casual use but the element is a bit boomy up close. if you keep it a fist away instead of right at your lips it helps a lot. people get too close to that thing and then wonder why they sound muddy.

yeah the ALC thing tripped me up for the longest time too. I had mine way too hot for probably the first six months and didnt even know it. what finally helped me was getting a friend on a nearby repeater to give me honest reports while I adjusted in real time, way better than trying to figure it out from the TX monitor alone because the monitor has a slight delay and you can't really trust your own ear on your own voice anyway.

one other thing I'll throw out there — if you're operating in the shack with any kind of fan noise or PC noise near the mic that can also contribute to sounding muddy or distant to people. I had a desk fan running and didnt realize how much it was bleeding in until someone finally pointed it out. switched to a boom mic with a cardioid pattern and most of that went away.