EQ'ing for the room

LowEnd88 · #1 09-06-2011, 03:57 PM

Some background:
My normal gig is in at a church, in a gymnasium. I go DI through the P.A. and the amp that I use is essentially my monitor. I just EQ that amp so that I can hear myself without creating alot of stage volume. The soundman worries about how I come through the mains.

I've got a gig coming up in about two weeks. We are the background music for a dinner that is occurring in a huge room with marble floors. We have been warned that reverb and delay (for the guitar) should not be used as the echo will kill all clairity. Only the vocals will be pushed through the PA.

Two questions:
1. Any recommendations on how to approach eq'ing for my gig in two weeks? We will not have much time for a sound check.
2. Any general 'rules of thumb' or personal experiences for EQ'ing in a room? Big venue, small venue etc.

Thanks for the help!

Kwesi · #2 09-06-2011, 04:00 PM

Call me simple but I just tweak the EQ till I think it sounds good. then hand the bass off to someone else and tell them to pluck it while I stand where the audience would be. If it sounds good, it is good.

JTE · #3 09-06-2011, 04:12 PM

Lots of reflection generally means:

A. Play really quietly
B. Don't use extremes of EQ, especially low end
C. It'll probably not sound so good to you, but it's the hand you're dealt
D. Turn down is going to be a better choice always than turning up
E. Drums? Again, play really quietly. Hot rods instead of stick might be appropriate (and I know that drummers don't like 'em but it's better than the snare echoing so much no one can tell where the back beat is).

John

AwkwardLoudness · #4 09-06-2011, 04:17 PM

Play a bass line into a looping pedal and let it repeat while you walk around different areas of the room. Make adjustments as needed.

There may not be any good EQ settings for a cavernous room with marble surfaces.

carlos840 · #5 09-06-2011, 04:20 PM

Keep it simple, dont over EQ and try to cut the problem frequencies rather than boost the ones you like..

Dont expect a great sound, a PAless gig is always going to sound like a PAless gig!

bertbass666 · #6 09-06-2011, 04:26 PM

Don't worry about it, whatever you do it will sound rubbish. I've played gigs where the echo was so bad that the sound is probably still echoing around months later.

lowfreq33 · #7 09-06-2011, 04:28 PM

You can also pick up a couple of small thick rugs to put under the amps and drums. It won't completely solve the problem, but it will help a little as far as the initial reflections off of the hard floor.

fourfinger · #8 09-06-2011, 04:46 PM

If you have a parametric EQ, this will help:

First, play a chromatic scale using low notes. Odds are, one note is going to BOOM compared to all the others.

Next, try to figure out what frequency is the BOOM frequency. To do this, set your parametric to BOOST, and then play your boomy note alternating with its neighboring notes for reference, while panning the center frequency up and down.

Listen for where the the BOOM sounds its worst. Whatever frequency your parametric is at, that's the frequency you want to change from BOOST to CUT and leave it there throughout the gig.

Cutting the BOOM frequency to near zero should give you a more even tone and let you play a little louder than you could have otherwise.

bobcruz · #9 09-06-2011, 04:57 PM

All the advice above is good. If you can get your amp up off the floor a few feet, that can help reduce the lowest frequencies which may help with clarity, plus help you hear yourself. If you're in a corner the bass can get overpowering really fast, so watch for that and reduce bass EQ as needed. Hopefully when the guests are all in the room that will help soak up some of the reflections.

James Judson · #10 09-06-2011, 05:21 PM

I own 6 gigable amps and 7 cabinets coupled with 4 basses and I mix and match constantly. Throw in room acoustics and you know that first couple songs are a scramble. I do some EQ on sound check but sound checks are rarely long enough to really dial in my sound. Soooooooooooooooo................................. I mostly dial in on the fly. Thats really the best time cuz the over all mix is whats important.

Good luck on the "on the fly" thing, it will take some time and patients.

And the other guys got it right.

Ooh one more thing. Get a wireless system so you can go out front and see/hear for yourself.

vin*tone · #11 09-06-2011, 05:29 PM

Send your signal to the DI PRE EQ and let the sound guy sort out the sound front of house. Make sure your stage sound is not overly bassy

will33 · #12 09-06-2011, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fourfinger

If you have a parametric EQ, this will help:

First, play a chromatic scale using low notes. Odds are, one note is going to BOOM compared to all the others.

Next, try to figure out what frequency is the BOOM frequency. To do this, set your parametric to BOOST, and then play your boomy note alternating with its neighboring notes for reference, while panning the center frequency up and down.

Listen for where the the BOOM sounds its worst. Whatever frequency your parametric is at, that's the frequency you want to change from BOOST to CUT and leave it there throughout the gig.

Cutting the BOOM frequency to near zero should give you a more even tone and let you play a little louder than you could have otherwise.

This^^

If you don't have a sweep knob, well.....do the best you can. Play closer to the bridge than you normally would....dial in less neck pickup on a 2 pup bass. Basically get a sound that's a good bit thinner and quieter than you like and it might sound ok out there. A trusted pair of ears or better yet your own out front helps.

And get the rest of the band to quiet the hell down, especially guitars and snare.

Edit: And cymbals.