POST A PICTURE

Macrocosmcwh · #1 11-19-2012, 09:41 AM

Post a picture of your favorite EQ settings on your bass amp. I am not sure if anyone has posted something like this... But I am always curious what others are using for notch, Gain, and various EQ settings... This should be fun!

Also please post for what style of playing your eq settings are for.

Thanks ahead of time TBers!

will33 · #2 11-19-2012, 09:45 AM

Depends entirely on the room you're playing in, or if you're playing outdoors.

In general, I'll cut a bit of deep bass and boost a tad of lowmids for fatness, but that's just a place to start. Turn knobs until it mixes right.

Macrocosmcwh · #3 11-19-2012, 09:52 AM

Oh I agree... But I am pretty sure out there that people have their "magic settings" The settings that make their rig POP... I am just curious what others is.

Bass_Pounder · #4 11-19-2012, 09:53 AM

There has been a ton of posts like this over the years, and all go nowhere.

Why ?

Because every amp is different. Different EQ center points, different tone stacks, etc.

What EQ setting work on ONE amp, can be total garbage on another.

scottfeldstein · #5 11-19-2012, 09:57 AM

I'm not at home so I can't take a picture at the moment, but... I run my GK MB500 more or less like this. These settings sound fairly flat to me. I've been thinking lately about taming the high mids and getting a warmer sound, though.

Macrocosmcwh · #6 11-19-2012, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

I'm not at home so I can't take a picture at the moment, but... I run my GK MB500 more or less like this. These settings sound fairly flat to me. I've been thinking lately about taming the high mids and getting a warmer sound, though.

Cool..... Thanks!

will33 · #7 11-19-2012, 10:29 AM

OK, so on my 400 and 800 RB's. As a clock face....

Gain 1:00
Bass 11:00
Lowmid 1:00 - 2:00
Highmid, treble and boost all at noon.

After the room fills with people, the highmid gets bumped to 1:00

Master to set overall volume.

Basically not all that much different than scottfeldstein runs his MB.

xUptheIronsx · #8 11-19-2012, 11:00 AM

on my Sans Amp RBI (using the clock-face comparison with 7 being "0"):

drive: 1:00
presence: 9:00
blend: 12:00
bass: 10:00
mid: 9:00
high: 11:00

I play in a 80's Crossover Thrash style metal band. Like a mix of early Slayer, Antrhax, DRI, Minor Threat, Testament, Iron Maiden, old Megadeth, Metallica, Nuclear Assault, SOD etc. etc...

people tell me I have a tone like a warmer Steve Harris?...like Frank Bello during the Among The Living days...

would probably be considered a classic "disco smile" where the mids are lower, but hat is b/c of the tone coming out of the pups on my J bass. When I use my P, I pump the mids up a bit more.

I have found that from room to room this set up usually works. If we play a room with more reflective surfaces,I turn the highs down a bit.

Macrocosmcwh · #9 11-19-2012, 11:07 AM

Awesome.... Any funk players out there? Perfect settings for slap?

RickenBoogie · #10 11-19-2012, 11:49 AM

EQ doesn't work like that. There is no "funk setting", vs "slap stting", etc. Style of play is technique. Amp eq is to get the best sound for a particular room, usually to CUT frequencies that get overwhelming in certain rooms. Many amp makers give charts with eq settings for rock, jazz, etc, but that's marketing. Your bass, technique, and many other factors, all weigh in, and finding the correct eq setting for any situation means understanding HOW eq works, and knowing HOW to dial in, (or out) frequencies that sound full and alive.

scottfeldstein · #11 11-19-2012, 12:03 PM

I say there's always one good starting place with for a slap EQ: drop the high mids. It will help get rid of the clank and all the noise from the fretboard. It'll really clean it up. I drop highs, too, and bump the low mids.

Mykk · #12 11-19-2012, 12:43 PM

These settings are 'home base' for my Mesa M-2000, different tweaks for different venues, rooms, stages... or my current mood.

MIA jazz, Active EMG's, Fender PRO810 (or Mesa 215EV). The tube section has three Tesla JJ 12ax7's, for high gain "Dirt" I flip the switch, crank the tube gain and send more bias to the FET channel.

This setting works well will most of my basses, granted I have three jazz style bases, a Precision/Musicman frankenstein and a Les Paul bass.

wcriley · #13 11-19-2012, 04:03 PM

I probably use different settings every night I play...and sometimes the settings change in the course of a night.
Depends on what I'm hearing from the guitar(s). Which bass guitar I have with me. What type of music I'm playing. Where I'm standing in relation to my speakers. How tired my ears are.

And more often than not: What kind of mood I'm in.

Macrocosmcwh · #14 11-19-2012, 04:40 PM

I am just wanting a good overall setting... I dont play out... I play for me... So its the same room every time. I am just clueless when it comes to notch / gain... tweeter horn or no horn... I would like to be able to have a good base for my bass... Then adjust the sound from my instrument itself. I am finding that the room that I play in has its own natural frequency and my sound becomes muddy. Yet if I make the sound bright it looses bass. I am using an acoustic B450 combo unit. Before I go out and get a different amp... I just want to make sure I am getting the best out of the sound.

If any of you gurus could describe how you adjust a new amp for the room you are in it would be great! Do you start at "0" on all of the settings and adjust treble first or do you start with mids.... I would be interested to see your "setup" technique.

once again, as always thank you for your guidance.

scottfeldstein · #15 11-19-2012, 04:56 PM

Is that what this is about! I don't know. Try this. Turn the notch filter off. Turn the 40 Hz knob to about 9 o'clock. Turn the 120 and the 350 to noon. Turn the 800 to 10:30, the 2k to 9 and the 5k to 11.

I just made that up. Bet it sounds awesome when you crank it up.

Do you play with a pick or fingerstyle or slap?

lustersilk · #16 11-19-2012, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xUptheIronsx

Slayer, Antrhax, DRI, Minor Threat, Testament, Iron Maiden, old Megadeth, Metallica, Nuclear Assault, SOD etc. etc...

Sounds like a good time to me

Macrocosmcwh · #17 11-19-2012, 05:02 PM

Fingerstyle and learning slap... I was a cellist who two years ago became a bass player... or at least trying to become one... Not to bore you with all the details but I had a "breakdown" half way through my degree in cello performance and completely walked away from music "NEVER TO RETURN..." HAHAHAHA But playing bass (get ready for cheese) makes me happy again. I may have no real idea of what I am doing... But I am making music again... But unlike my cello... which by virtue of it being made in 1906 sounds amazing all the time... with no settings necessary. So when it comes to electronics... I am pretty clueless on how to make a good base for my bass. =)

On a side note... Thank you Scott for taking the time to fill me in.... I know this thread seems.... "POSTED A LOT" But it helps me to understand the mind of a professional bass player.

scottfeldstein · #18 11-19-2012, 05:09 PM

I love that story! So here's everything I know about bass EQ. (It won't take long

)

1. Bass is a midrange instrument. Usually nothing below 50 Hz is worth having. Just mud.

2. If you want to sound like a huge rock star, get a "smile" EQ: dipped in the middle, higher on the ends. (Add a little dirt, too.) This also works well for low volumes and playing by yourself.

3. But if you want to actually be heard in a mix, find a midrange frequency to lift up. Suddenly you're audible!

4. Middy EQ settings work well for finger style.

5. Take out the high mids for slap. It reduces some of the junk noise from banging your strings around on the fretboard.

6. If you find yourself pushing your rig to the limit, drop some lows. You'll find that you have a bit more headroom then.

Macrocosmcwh · #19 11-19-2012, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

I love that story! So here's everything I know about bass EQ. (It won't take long

)

1. Bass is a midrange instrument. Usually nothing below 50 Hz is worth having. Just mud.

2. If you want to sound like a huge rock star, get a "smile" EQ: dipped in the middle, higher on the ends. (Add a little dirt, too.) This also works well for low volumes and playing by yourself.

3. But if you want to actually be heard in a mix, find a midrange frequency to lift up. Suddenly you're audible!

4. Middy EQ settings work well for finger style.

5. Take out the high mids for slap. It reduces some of the junk noise from banging your strings around on the fretboard.

6. If you find yourself pushing your rig to the limit, drop some lows. You'll find that you have a bit more headroom then.

Ok what is "Notch" ?? what about gain and volume.... ??

I have also found that when I play with my Steinberger or my Lightwave that the sound is really "punchy"... I like that... However it is not so punchy on my other instruments. Now I do understand that the instrument will change the sound, but how can I bring that out?

scottfeldstein · #20 11-19-2012, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macrocosmcwh

Ok what is "Notch" ?? what about gain and volume.... ??

I have also found that when I play with my Steinberger or my Lightwave that the sound is really "punchy"... I like that... However it is not so punchy on my other instruments. Now I do understand that the instrument will change the sound, but how can I bring that out?

Your amp has a notch frequency knob..but it also has a switch to engage or disengage it. Disengage it, is all I'm saying.

The "punchy" sound you're talking about is likely midrange frequencies, maybe even high mids. Bumping those up will produce that sound, even on instruments not naturally inclined to produce lots of it.

Man, you have some nice basses. Why not get a better amp to go with them?