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What Are Your EQ Settings?


Mlucas
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Differs for every gig. 'My' sound (for studio stuff, when I'm allowed free reign) is as follows:

On the Ampeg SVP PRO: LO boost on, Bass at 12 o'clock, Mid Range at 1 or 2 o'clock (band 4 selected) and Treble at 4 o'clock(!) - of course all of this is dependent on the type of tubes in your amp. That's a whole other thread right there... Occasionally I'll add some 'drive' and back off the bridge PUP if I want a bit more 'Precision' sort of sound.

If I'm using the MXR Bass DI: bass 3 o'clock, Mid 12 o'clock, Treble 3 o'clock (a nice 'Geddy Lee' sprangy tone)

Live stuff (Hartke LH1000) everything straight up.

The tone starts with the Blade B15 (Jazz bass-esque).

That is all.

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I don't have a single setting since I play in more than one room. For funk/rock I like to lose a bunch of the highs and often some of the lows. I always turn off tweeters on my cabs. So many variables to consider. I do prefer the organic focused old school sound and I find the wide frequency range - hifi tone advertised so heavily doesn't sound good to me when playing with a band.

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I use a Shuttle 6 and I have all settings flat, pointing at 12 o clock (somebody will now tell me that 12 o clock is not flat on this amp) and my Precision and Jazz has volume to full and tone to full or occasionally, the tone rolled back a little to reduce some of the clank. On the 2EQ Stingray, the volume is on full, the tone on 50% and the bass of 75%.

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Everything centred on the amp inc the 4 band Para EQ.
The aural enhancer between 10 and 2.

For the room I might need to get more cut out of the cabs and might tweak the top two faders..but leave the freq alone..so only looking for a small boost.

Cabs have the horns turned up to 4. Basses are active and I might add a touch of bass and the treble at the pre, I don't mess with the mid sweep during gigs.

The one thing that has me hunting for EQ is when my strings go off. I like a good clean signal from the bass and then I can dial brightness down.. It isn't something you can clean up the other way round, IMO.
With bass, I like to add bass not have to try and get rid of it.

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I'm playing almost everything at the moment. I don't own an amp but I usually set whatever one I'm using flat. I set the EQ on my bass (SR500) to:

Bass - 6/7
Mid - 5
Treble - 0/1

I find that suits me for most things (primarily jazz and rock), but I'll tweak it depending on what I'm playing.

Edited by JeSuisSkeleton
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[quote name='Lozz196' post='1143833' date='Feb 27 2011, 08:59 PM']I generally pick the tone for the band, as in whatever I think the band needs, so "my" tone changes depending on which band I`m with.[/quote]

Mine even varies from one track to the next! Especially if it is covers. For example, I have an audition on thursday where I have been asked to play three tracks, each of which demands (to me anyway) a totally different sound...

Hard to Handle - Black Crowes. Pretty much flat EQ with the neck pick-up selected. Slight boost in the midrange.
Hysteria - Muse. More bass and treble, with a slight mid-scoop. Distortion! :) Gentler touch to get the speed, so higher volume.
By the way - RHCP. Slight cut on the treble, slight mid-boost, bass about flat. Aggressive fingerstyle.

And that's just for three tracks!! :)

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Surely all controls should be set to 11...

Genre - Unfashionable. original power pop/rock

Orange Terror through TC cabs with the tweeters off.

Varies between venues. a rule of thumb I'll go for.

Bass - flat, Mid 2.5/10, treble 6/10. Not that the eq makes a lot of difference on the OTB. Gain 6/10 P bass, 4/10 Retrovibe RV4.

I 've only one guitarist to 'cut through' and he leaves me lots of space (or he's too lazy to play all the time) so I don't need the mids. I'm sure I'd boost them if we had a second guitarist or keys player.

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I see both sides of this thread. I think the point was to look at people's settings.

When I was a nipper there was a bass player I knew from church that always had a great bass sound and I always wanted that sound. I was able to borrow his bass on a regular basis and this enabled to start look at his setting for his 'sound'..

The only problem I had was to get his 'sound' because I soon realised that the settings changed all the time :)

I later learnt two things that I missed in the past that effected his 'sound':

The surroundings where the bass was being played, which changed on each gig - for more info see BussBass comments
The bass playing

I've realised now.. you have experiment and as your playing changes and tase do, that changes..

For me in general, I take a little of the treble and little mid boost and little bass drop.. But that's just the start...

When I'm playing for others, it depends on the the sound that works for the band/artist

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I'm another who sets the amp to flat & then adjusts things to suit the venue.

My sound is made up with the VLE being set at @10:30 o'clock & the VPF @ 9 o'clock. The MF-105b then cuts out certain frequencies (a couple of certaim mids & then anything above 1.2k). It's a bit more complex than Bass 6, Mid 4, Treble 5. :)

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Genre: Indie/Rock type stuff

Amp: Orange Terror

Bass: SBMM SB14 with Nordstrand MM4.3 pickup and fender nickel wound strings.

EQ on bass: little bit of a boost in treble (this and the pickup mode are the only things I fiddle with live, also adjust for new/old strings) mids and bass flat.
EQ on amp: treble boosted to about 3/4, mids flat, bass boosted to about 3/4 (sounds like big boosts but the EQ on the terror is subtle)

reason I use both EQs is that I can boost the bass on the amp after the signal has been through the preamp tubes as this seems to create a tighter bass sound when the gain is cranked up. Of course I might be talking b******s - that's what I hear but if it's not why I hear it someone correct me.

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[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1143493' date='Feb 27 2011, 04:37 PM']Since using a Markbass head I just set everything at 12 o'clock and use the two filters. I boost mids on my bass.[/quote]

+1
No need to do any more, just let the natural sound of the Bass shine through.

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Genre: Rock covers G/B/D trio

EQ settings:
Set all sliders to minimum
Twiddle each slider in turn to see if it's a nice or nasty sound
If it's a nasty sound, drop it out completely
If it's a nice sound, mix it in with the other nice sounds

It might be an unusual way to set up the EQ, but generally sounds good, avoiding nasty 'honks' and 'farts', but obviously doesn't make a nice bell-curve shape as it's done purely by ear. Having jotted the settings down, I can then use it as my baseline for a speedy soundcheck. In general my EQ settings are fairly flat with a bit of mid cut, but then the signal is also coming through my GT pedal (Ampegish emulation).

Having said that, I do vary the balance between neck & bridge pickups, the bass tone controls, and also where I pluck the string (to modify the overtones). That all alters the tone quite a bit too.

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Now I just set everything flat. Usually roll off the bass and treble slightly and add a bit of mid. I run through a compression pedal into a sansamp and I get a lovely tone from that. Any slight tweaks that maybe needed i noodle with the EQ on my bass (now playing an active J).

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  • 5 months later...

Classic Rock, hard rock, a little metal, covers

Ashdown EVO II. Pre-amp eq flat, bass cut a little, mids boosted, treble flat.

This is a general rule for what fits in my band. I also use an eq pedal so that I can engage the classic (but horrible in a band mix) big mid-scoop when slapping. And a slight mid-scoop when the other instruments drop out.

I find that, by cutting the bass a little and boosting the mids, I can cut through the mix without pushing the amp. If you play bass - mids are your friend!

Obviously the size and furnishings of the venue come into the equation. But so do people in the crowd. Clothing soaks up volume, especially the highs.

Oh, and I also use compression, switch between fingers and pick, jazz and P, use 45-105 pressure wound strings....there are so many other variables that are just as relevant to what makes 'your' sound. And don't forget that all amps are individually 'voiced' to give them their signature tone.

One man's perfume is another man's poison...

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when I had beginners gear and other middle order stuff too I prattled with my eq muchly in order to get a sound that would sound full and still cut so lots of bass and mid shuffling up and down to find it...

since improving my amps via hartke, then eden and now a genz benz head through an epi UL112-2 I no longer have to faff with the amps eq I just leave it flat and only touch it if the room has an explosive frequency...

my stingray 5 now cuts and fills just lovely

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