alembic1989 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I find mid control pots almost impossible to suss out. I just don't know how to use them to use them to dial in the tone I want. I have an EMG preamp fitted to one of my basses. The control in question is stacked. One controls the gain (boost or cut) ..the other selects the freq. This all sounds nice and simple...but where the f@@k do I start?I haven't got a clue. Can anyone offer a nice simple clear explanation on the best way to use this control? Would I for example start with the eq flat on the amp? HELP!!! It's been upsetting me for a long time. I suspect many others struggle with this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 (edited) I'm having fun with the sweepable mid on my MM v7 Jazz. When I'm using this bass active I mostly have my amp EQ totally flat. I'm finding I get quite a sweet sound with everything flat on the bass too, but with just a slight mid boost at just under half-way on the freq selector. Obviously your mileage will vary. But I've no idea what this equates to in numbers - the mid covers 200Hz to 1kHz - but that's meaningless really. Trial and error - if it sounds good it IS good, and vice-versa. Edited April 17, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameronj279 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1429292325' post='2750183'] Trial and error - if it sounds good it IS good, and vice-versa. [/quote] ^ This. Take the time and work out what does what sound wise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 A sweepable mid is to my mind the most useful active control you can have on a bass and is well worth experimenting/persisting with. It's not as 'toneful' as treble and bass controls when practicing/soloed perhaps, but in a band and live situation careful use can be the difference between being heard and sounding good, being heard and sounding bad, or simply not being heard at all (despite a powerful amp at an otherwise appropriate volume setting), all of these too a far greater degree than do most bass and treble controls. How do you get used to it? Trial and error with your ears and those of your band mates, sound guys and audiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 It's hard to know where to start as you don't say what kind of bass tone you like. What players do you like? What kind of music do you listen to? As discreet said, trial and error. I would start by boosting the mids a bit then sweep the freq control around until you get a tone you like. Then cut the mids a bit and play around with the freq. But then when you get to playing in a band context what you like will change. Experiment, experiment, experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der JD Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Set your bass and treble controls flat. Then start by cutting the mids quite a bit. Put the mid freq. selector all the way down and play for a while. Move the freq. selector up in small increments and repeat. Preferably, do this while playing along to a backing track so you can hear what it does to your tone in a mix. Then, set the mid contol to boost and repeat the process. You may need to do this several times over a period of days. The important thing is to try to remember what each setting does to your overall tone. Once you're completely familiar with how the controls affect your tone overall you'll be able to use the tools. In any given situation, think to yourself, "what is my tone missing", or "what do I have to much of in my tone". Then you can make adjustments. The great thing about a good onboard preamp is that you can set your amp controls flat and do all your tone adjustments right on the bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 The way I do it (and this is not scientific by any means) is to set the gain to max, and sweep the frequency from high to low to find a sound I'm interested in or one that is causing me trouble. Then I experiment by backing the gain right off at that frequency to see what that does. Hopefully after a few experiments I find the right frequency and the right gain levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepbass5 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 cut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 boost !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Trial and error... I used to turn the mid control all the way up, and then sweep to hear what frequencies were being affected. Then turn it all the way down, and repeat. That helped me zero in a particular range that I could then boost or cut. I usually only ever needed small amounts of boost/cut, but experimenting with the extremes to get a feel for where each frequency was (not in Hz but in "honk", "growl", "boom" ) was useful for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1429305825' post='2750377'] ...not in Hz but in "honk", "growl", "boom"... [/quote] Now you're talking! I also quite like "crash", "thump", "twang", "ping" and "Ow, my knob!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 It's fun to whack the mid level up full, then sweep the mids rapidly, it's like a wah. Once you've stopped chuckling that that, yeah, trial and error really. Live you probably want a bit of mid boost and then sweep until you find a frequency that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 The way I do it is to centre all the on board eq, then leave them alone and if I want to tweak anything it'll be on my amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I leave the bass & treble flat and boost my low mids set to around 180 - 220 Hz. This give 'bassiness' without the muddy lows. Boosting around 2 - 4 Khz will give bite. Cutting around 800Hz will remove honk. Experiment. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 [quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1429351579' post='2750650'] I leave the bass & treble flat and boost my low mids set to around 180 - 220 Hz. This give 'bassiness' without the muddy lows. [/quote] That's what I tend to go for. And along with the 'bassiness' you get a surprising amount of 'punch', too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass Pedal Geek Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Sweepable mids (semi-parametric design) are quite nice as they offer more flexibility than the ones with fixed frequencies. One way to approach this is to always bear in mind that whenever you increase any given frequency area, you actually turn down all others - and vice versa. It can also work well to work out your tone "backwards". Give the mid boost/cut knob a healthy boost. Then sweep through the mid frequency area and identify if there is a particularly problematic frequency in the room. Then cut inatead of boost that frequency. Just remember that often if you find a "nice" sound this way on your own, it may well be a completely different story once you're in a dense band mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Yes, really confusing... I twist it one way and it does this, I twist it another and it does that...and I cut or boost the selected frequency. It is a minefield, I tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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