How would you eq your bass in this situation

adam precision · #1 05-25-2009, 11:05 AM

I have a p bass playing along with acoustic guitars, slide guitar, banjo, fiddle and percussion (no bass drum). Its a small venue (with good acoustics) and we all play through the pa. Music is blues, rock, country covers. Johnny cash, bob dylan easy listening sunday music kinda stuff. I know a double bass would be perfect for this gig but i don't have one.
I'm having difficulty eqing the bass to suit the mix.
Any suggestions to help me would be much appreciated.

Deacon_Blues · #2 05-25-2009, 04:03 PM

Put on a set of labella flats and you likely won't need to worry about this.

Edit: if a double bass would be fine, try a piece of foam under the strings at the bridge.

BillyRay · #3 05-25-2009, 08:05 PM

What difficulties are you facing ? Bass too muddy ? Getting buried in the mix ? Too upfront/obnoxious ?

GregShadoan · #4 05-25-2009, 10:02 PM

I would be inclined to eq it flat, or roll off some of the low end.

edbutler3 · #5 05-25-2009, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deacon_Blues

Put on a set of labella flats and you likely won't need to worry about this.

+1

You didn't say what kind of strings you are using, but if they aren't flats you should definitely give flats a try. You've got a lot of instruments all fighting for space in the upper midrange, so getting the bass to focus way below that will enhance clarity for everyone.

WalterBush · #6 05-26-2009, 12:05 AM

Don't eq anything. At most, roll the tone knob off a bit.

JimmyM · #7 05-26-2009, 03:37 AM

Ya, with "acoustic" amplified instruments, flat is always best IMHO, at least to start out.

adam precision · #8 05-26-2009, 04:55 AM

I'm using flats and they certainly help.
Yeah the bass just stands out to much compared to the other instruments in the lower frequencies withoud being loud. At the same time sounding muddy and slightly boomy in the mix (but not solo). I'll try a bass cut on the next gig.
Its hard to describe but the bass doesn't sound as natural or acoustic as the other instruments. Maybe a semi acoustic bass would help.
I should point out I used a vt bass pedal straight to the desk (flat with mids slightly boosted), maybe this didn't help either. Too much ampeg coloring maybe. I had to give the guitarist my normal DI.

I'll keep tweaking hopefully i'll get it before this fries my head

adam precision · #9 05-26-2009, 05:03 AM

and foam under the bridge, never did that before, must try that too.

fokof · #10 05-26-2009, 06:08 AM

Is the PA tuned correctly ?
How does it sound when you listen to a good sounding CD through it?

You're pretty much "alone" in this frequency sprctrum , so no need to EQ if your sound is OK. Must be a "ringing" frequency ( acoustics ).
Find it out and cut it on the PA.

My bet is on 160-200hz....

psgplayer · #11 05-26-2009, 08:19 AM

If you are all running through the board, you might get the engineer to tweak you a bit.

kingbee · #12 05-26-2009, 08:23 AM

Yeah, cut around 200Hz and that should remove some of the overtones that are causing the problem. I suggest cutting it very deep and then slowly bringing it back up until you have just enough warmth to give you the sound you want. You might also want to add a wide boost around 800Hz-1KHz to add a little more definition to the sound.

adam precision · #13 05-26-2009, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fokof

Is the PA tuned correctly ?
How does it sound when you listen to a good sounding CD through it?

You're pretty much "alone" in this frequency sprctrum , so no need to EQ if your sound is OK. Must be a "ringing" frequency ( acoustics ).
Find it out and cut it on the PA.

My bet is on 160-200hz....

Goodpoint about about pa tuning. An ipod was run through it after the gig and at the time it sounded a little 'off', now that you mention it.

I'm doing the sound myself. I only noticed the problem when i got my mate up to play bass for a couple tunes and i listened from the crowd.

Ironic i can get everything blending well apart from the bass!

Thanks for the tips and pointers. I'll give it a try again next Sunday and report back...

4Mal · #14 05-26-2009, 10:34 AM

In my acoustic trio, I use Godin Acoustibass and/A4 basses. The semi-hollow construction and piezo pickups provide something for the acoustic enviroment that you just can't get with a p or a J. Still, with a stock P you should be able to get in the neighborhood.

Flat strings and a pretty close to flat sound should be a good place to start - what I say flat sound - I mean using the EQ available to get the sound as close to flat as possible given the limitations of the venue and of the system. Sounds like you might have issues there one or more fronts...

fokof · #15 05-26-2009, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam precision

Goodpoint about about pa tuning. An ipod was run through it after the gig and at the time it sounded a little 'off', now that you mention it.

The first thing to do when you setup is to EQ (tune) the PA as well as possible , before the soundcheck.
On a well tuned kit , with good sounding musicians and good arrangements , everything should be flat , no EQing needed.

adam precision · #16 06-02-2009, 10:12 AM

Just a slight cut on the bass (around 100-125hz) and a slight mid boost got my bass sounding right with the band.
Some tweeking on the desks master eq was also required.

We must have sounded good because we got a one hour slot (interview and live playing) on a local radio station out of it.