EQ bypass vs. flat EQ

Nadja · #1 06-11-2010, 03:30 PM

My Markbass head (TA-503) runs perfectly for me with flat EQ. There is an optional footswitch that controls the mute function and allows to bypass the EQ section (both the 4-band EQ and the VLE and VLE filters). I'm wondering if there is any audible difference between having the EQ flat and the filters at zero on one side, and bypassing the the EQ/filters section on the other. The footswitch is expensive and I woudn't buy it only for the muting.

Has someone compared both situations, maybe in another amp, or knows what to expect?

BassmanPaul · #2 06-11-2010, 03:41 PM

Ideally there should be no difference but as we all know things are seldom ideal!

Paul

BurningSkies · #3 06-11-2010, 03:42 PM

No real difference, but if you need to have an on the fly, on stage EQ shift, a quick click on a foot switch is a heck of a lot quicker than having to go to your amp and twist a bunch of knobs.

Nadja · #4 06-12-2010, 08:10 AM

Thanks for the answers.

I see, the idea is to be able to switch between a flat setting and a filter/EQ configuration. I was thinking that since pedals without true bypass can degrade a bit the signal, maybe there was some benefit in bypassing the EQ section. Also, I had in mind that the Momark modular Markbass system allows for a dummy no-EQ module so there could be some interest in having the preamp going straight to the power amp.

JimmyM · #5 06-12-2010, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nadja

Thanks for the answers.

I see, the idea is to be able to switch between a flat setting and a filter/EQ configuration. I was thinking that since pedals without true bypass can degrade a bit the signal, maybe there was some benefit in bypassing the EQ section. Also, I had in mind that the Momark modular Markbass system allows for a dummy no-EQ module so there could be some interest in having the preamp going straight to the power amp.

this is a big problem with gear talk on the internet...things that don't matter get blown up into things that people think really do matter.

naturalkinds · #6 06-12-2010, 08:43 AM

Neat that that MB head apparently has an EQ bypass. The only amp I've been acquainted with that has that feature are the Glockenklang heads.

Sundogue · #7 06-12-2010, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturalkinds

Neat that that MB head apparently has an EQ bypass. The only amp I've been acquainted with that has that feature are the Glockenklang heads.

My Carvin BX1200 (as I do believe all the BX series do) has an EQ bypass. Nothing really new about it.

As to the OP, bypassing should = flat. It's been my experience that they are the same. I've never had an EQ set flat that when engaged sounded any different than when bypassed. That is the purpose of bypassing...to not have any frequencies boosted or cut when not in use.

naturalkinds · #8 06-12-2010, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundogue

My Carvin BX1200 (as I do believe all the BX series do) has an EQ bypass. Nothing really new about it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it only the GRAPHIC EQ on that amplifier that can be bypassed? I just had a look at the specifications on that amp, and it doesn't appear that you can get a signal chain going straight from the preamp to the poweramp on that head.

thudfromafar · #9 06-12-2010, 10:18 AM

Hmm... aren't a lot of bass preamps "voiced" when EQ is set flat? You know, the whole "flat EQ isn't actually flat" ... I could see flat EQ settings being different than EQ bypass on bass heads...

mulchor · #10 06-12-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thudfromafar

Hmm... aren't a lot of bass preamps "voiced" when EQ is set flat? You know, the whole "flat EQ isn't actually flat" ... I could see flat EQ settings being different than EQ bypass on bass heads...

I was thinking along the same lines. I have a Fender -- no matter how you set the knobs it's never completely uncolored.

Sundogue · #11 06-12-2010, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturalkinds

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it only the GRAPHIC EQ on that amplifier that can be bypassed? I just had a look at the specifications on that amp, and it doesn't appear that you can get a signal chain going straight from the preamp to the poweramp on that head.

Yes, only the Graphic EQ. I thought that was the point.

If one wants truly flat, then only use a signal boost into a power amp. Any preamp will color the tone. Of course, then you have the whole speaker cab messing up the flat signal after the fact.

naturalkinds · #12 06-12-2010, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundogue

If one wants truly flat, then only use a signal boost into a power amp. Any preamp will color the tone. Of course, then you have the whole speaker cab messing up the flat signal after the fact.

Sure a preamp will colour the tone. There's a big difference between the colour a UA preamp feeds into the signal chain and the colour an Avalon preamp imparts. And let's not stop at the speaker cab. What about the acoustic environment? That colours the sound exiting the speaker enclosure, too!

Look. No one disputes that a preamp colours the tone. That this is so is not at all relevant to the question of whether an EQ module whose role is to boost or cut certain frequency groups can be defeated in a signal chain. Which is what I was commenting on in my initial post here.

Steve · #13 06-12-2010, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nadja

The footswitch is expensive and I woudn't buy it only for the muting.

Has someone compared both situations, maybe in another amp, or knows what to expect?

You could just get a TRS plug, jump it out and plug it in to test your theory. That wouldn't break the bank....

Matt Dean · #14 06-12-2010, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturalkinds

Neat that that MB head apparently has an EQ bypass. The only amp I've been acquainted with that has that feature are the Glockenklang heads.

Mesa M-Pulse 600 has an EQ bypass... and I can hear a difference between the flat EQ and bypassed EQ

IronMaiden · #15 06-13-2010, 12:02 AM

I have a SWR Marcus Miller preamp and the flat eq sounds exactly the same as bypassing the eq section.

4-string · #16 06-13-2010, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

this is a big problem with gear talk on the internet...things that don't matter get blown up into things that people think really do matter.

+1.

naturalkinds · #17 06-13-2010, 07:56 AM

A strange place to express discourse nihilism about technological esoterica is on a thread devoted to it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The only thing that matters is the musician, and the sound comes from your fingers, and the Little Mark II sounds a lot like an SVT.

Subtleties disappear in a mix or a real world, but it's frustrating to hear members disparage those interested in these finer differences on account of the fact that subtleties disappear in a band setting. Some of us, you know, are interested in design features of amplifiers, like EQs that can be disengaged from an integrated systems. And a forum on amplifiers thread seems like a very rational place to discuss it.

But yeah, yeah, yeah. If I'm worried so much about sound, I should probably go start practicing, or... [insert your overly-espoused TB truism here].

Mr. Foxen · #18 06-13-2010, 08:17 AM

Don't forget that pedals with true bypass can degrade the signal too.

thudfromafar · #19 06-13-2010, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturalkinds

A strange place to express discourse nihilism about technological esoterica is on a thread devoted to it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The only thing that matters is the musician, and the sound comes from your fingers, and the Little Mark II sounds a lot like an SVT.

Subtleties disappear in a mix or a real world, but it's frustrating to hear members disparage those interested in these finer differences on account of the fact that subtleties disappear in a band setting. Some of us, you know, are interested in design features of amplifiers, like EQs that can be disengaged from an integrated systems. And a forum on amplifiers thread seems like a very rational place to discuss it.

But yeah, yeah, yeah. If I'm worried so much about sound, I should probably go start practicing, or... [insert your overly-espoused TB truism here].

+1