How do you set your EQ?

[FallingUnknown]

When trying to dial in the perfect tone is it best to have your bass's EQ set all the way up (with pickup selection to your choice) and then do all of your EQ'ing on your pre-amp/amp head? I know by having EQ on your bass with some frequencies turned down you can't dial those frequencies back into your tone on your pre-amp (how do you add to overtones that don't exist?). Is this a good way to look at EQ? If not, explain the flaws in setting up like this.

[Rebop]

For electric bass I try to EQ everything as flat as possible then dial out frequencies I don't want. From there I boost very little (most likely just turn the "bass" knob up or down depending on the room) and usually just crank the volume instead of tweaking EQ any further. With an active bass I use the same settings on the bass every time and even mark the knobs so I know where to put them. On my Roscoe, I set up the knobs so that all the set screws point at 12 o'clock when my "preset" is dialed in. However, when playing my upright amplified, I get to be somewhat of a knob twiddler and tend to not follow my own rules of EQing.

[TBAR Shane]

Wait. So do you want to know how we set or EQ, or what we think of your approach?

I set mine with about flat highs, slightly boosted high mids, low mids a bit lower, some low frequencies boosted and some of them cut a bit. Than I use my bass' EQ to boost or cut highs/lows as I see fit. How much I boost or cut frequencies depends on variables such as the room, band, and style.

[colcifer]

AE (scoop) around two o'clock, bass all the way up, treble flat, mids and transparency to taste.

[wshines1892]

I set the pre-amp on my bass to middle for a nice flat response, and then I tweak on the head until I get it right about where I like it. From there, I can use the bass to tweak on the fly depending on the song.

As for the amp's eq, I generally start flat, roll on the low end until I start pushing some air, boost the low mids, set high mids a little further back, and then roll off the high end a bit. I have a notch knob, and at the moment it's set at about 1-2 o'clock, but that changes depending on the room.

[tdub0199]

Originally Posted by Rebop

For electric bass I try to EQ everything as flat as possible then dial out frequencies I don't want. From there I boost very little (most likely just turn the "bass" knob up or down depending on the room) and usually just crank the volume instead of tweaking EQ any further. With an active bass I use the same settings on the bass every time and even mark the knobs so I know where to put them. On my Roscoe, I set up the knobs so that all the set screws point at 12 o'clock when my "preset" is dialed in. However, when playing my upright amplified, I get to be somewhat of a knob twiddler and tend to not follow my own rules of EQing.

This is the way I do it as well, start with everything FLAT on both the bass and amp......

[RSJ4STRING]

For electric bass I try to EQ everything as flat as possible then dial out frequencies I don't want

+1

[FallingUnknown]

I play an active bass. Should I have everything turned up on my bass's pre-amp then cut/boost frequencies on my amp? It seems like the better option because you can't boost frequencies that don't exist. What I'm asking is what are the flaws in this way of thinking about it? Should I have my bass as flat as possible then EQ on my amp head or should I boost all of my frequencies on my (active) bass and cut from those frequencies?

[lowfreqgeek]

Originally Posted by FallingUnknown

I play an active bass. Should I have everything turned up on my bass's pre-amp then cut/boost frequencies on my amp? It seems like the better option because you can't boost frequencies that don't exist. What I'm asking is what are the flaws in this way of thinking about it? Should I have my bass as flat as possible then EQ on my amp head or should I boost all of my frequencies on my (active) bass and cut from those frequencies?

Yes, there are some major flaws. The EQ on your bass only covers a very narrow spectrum of frequencies. If you look at a bode plot of the response through the preamp with everything boosted, it would be anything but "flat". Furthermore, if you looked at a phase plot, you'd see that the phase of the signal was severely affected, which can add mushyness and smearing of the sound. After doing all that to the signal additional EQ on the amp is going to only make things worse.

Beside that, most preamps don't have enough headroom to handle the large amounts of boost - especially in the low frequencies. By boosting the bass 15dB or so, you really start running into headroom problems that can create unwanted compression in the least and distortion in the worst. Of course, that depends on the voltage output of the pickups and the rail voltage of the preamp, but most amplifiers have rail voltages of +/-15V - almost 2x that of an 18V preamp system.

You're right that you can't add to frequencies that don't exist, but the preamp on the bass is NOT adding those frequencies to the pickups; those frequencies you're adjusting on the bass' preamp are already there and can be adjusted at the amp just as well.

As has been stated, you should leave the bass "flat", adjust the amp to taste, then use the preamp on the bass for minor adjustments as needed. Need a little extra lows on a song, bump the bass-eq up a db or 2. Need more bite, turn up the treble a hair. Keep the changes small, unless you're after a specific tone that requires bigger changes.

Also, learn to use your hands to control the relative balance and shape of each note. Instead of boosting the bass control, learn to play nearer the neck. For more mid-range growl, play back more toward the bridge. Learn to use the pads of your fingers vs. the tips for different sounds. Everything will sound cleaner and clearer and more natural (less stuff going on to muck up the sound), and you won't have to rely on making adjustments to EQ while you're playing.

[rockstarbassist]

Active circuits help certain basses sound why they do, which is why they're there. If you're like me and enjoy the combo of a properly paired preamp + pickups to a certain bass, there's nothing like it. I like the sound of my Haz-Labs preamps, so I always boost the B and T to taste and adjust my amp around that. Same goes for if/when I have basses with Mid Shifts/Selectable Freq points.
For me an amp is just a tool to make my bass sound louder and to fit the room. I could be happy just using my bass into a DI b/c it has tonal features that make it sound like I want it to, which IMO is the purpose of an "active" bass. I also don't like running to the rack to mess w/ my EQ on the Boogie each time I want something a tad different. Plus that freaks out soundguys and automatically makes them think you're turning up so you get cut even more from the mix you were barely audible in in the first place.
But if you have an active bass with onboard EQ just find out what the freq sweeps are and if those don't work from you but you like/want flexibility, find one that's more suited to you. That's why there's so many awesome pre's on the market. Something for everyone.

[BinkyBassist]

In my innocence, I used to EQ with bass and higs full and zero mids...

Right now, I start from flat. I boost everything in my bass (active electronics) except tone, at half.

On my amp, I boost my lows a little, a good tad the low-mids, a bit the hi-mids and a lot the highs (I like the brightness and the clank, although I hate annoying highs or hiss). If I had better EQ, I'd cut some low and high frequencies.

[JTE]

I start as flat as I can get it, and EQ from there. That means a passive bass starts with the tone and volume controls wide open, and an active one with the tone controls at the center detent (if they have one) and the volume wide open. The EQ on the amp is set so it sounds right. I like for the amp to sound good with minimal EQ so that I can use the EQ to actually "equalize" instead of tone shape.

John

[Skitch it!]

I E.Q. to the venue/space I'm playing in and try and tune it to the room, as soon as I have the best fundamental bass spread and top end clarity, I work with the mids for definition. I mostly play passives so I use an external parametric which I'm v.happy with and use the tone control on the bass a bit rather than the E.Q. section on the amp, but mostly my time is spent on the low-high mids.

I'd add that I like very simple E.Q. section's, the Ashdown E.Q. is straightforward, the external parametric has 3 control's, that's all I want to have to deal with.

[Jason P Bass]

I find it's best to have as many bands of EQ as possible. I like to use this:



It's stereo, so you can set each side independently and then switch between them as necessary.

For songs in a major key, use a smiley face. For songs in a minor key, use a frowny face. If you're playing surf music, make a bunch of waves (kinda like in the pic.) If you want a digital sound (like for techno or electronica) you have to set the sliders all the way up or all the way down (duh, 1 or 0, so it sounds digital). Can't go wrong.

[Dusty89]

Sometimes my graphic EQ seems to play tricks with my head. You can drive yourself crazy when messing with it for the first time. With that said, I like my EQ with the trebs medium/high, the mids high, and the bass low. Sort of a Jack Bruce frown, but with the treb side much higher. I like getting a scratchy, punchy tone. Also, I find that setting my EQ in a smooth,uniformed fashion seems to contour and round my tone out. I always liked this method more than just a bunch of knobs displaced in every high/low direction. However, Its all about what works for you.

[Bozendoka]

Originally Posted by lowfreqgeek

As has been stated, you should leave the bass "flat", adjust the amp to taste, then use the preamp on the bass for minor adjustments as needed. Need a little extra lows on a song, bump the bass-eq up a db or 2. Need more bite, turn up the treble a hair. Keep the changes small, unless you're after a specific tone that requires bigger changes.

Also, learn to use your hands to control the relative balance and shape of each note. Instead of boosting the bass control, learn to play nearer the neck. For more mid-range growl, play back more toward the bridge. Learn to use the pads of your fingers vs. the tips for different sounds. Everything will sound cleaner and clearer and more natural (less stuff going on to muck up the sound), and you won't have to rely on making adjustments to EQ while you're playing.

This. Took me years to figure out why all the knob twiddling wasn't making me sound any better.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

always better to take away than to add...

(depending on equipment that is)...

[sammyp]

i've been working with a mixing/recording technique i once was exposed to; 1st you dial back your bass a bit so you can clearly listen to your mids....once to get the mids where you want em, you bring your bottom back and you're ready to roll...

just picked up a classic rock gig so i'm finding i'm dialing in far more mids then i do with my country gig....

[D.A.R.K.]

I clear my mind of preconceptions, then play around with settings until it sounds good in context.

[Darth Handsome]

Originally Posted by lowfreqgeek

Also, learn to use your hands to control the relative balance and shape of each note. Instead of boosting the bass control, learn to play nearer the neck. For more mid-range growl, play back more toward the bridge. Learn to use the pads of your fingers vs. the tips for different sounds. Everything will sound cleaner and clearer and more natural (less stuff going on to muck up the sound), and you won't have to rely on making adjustments to EQ while you're playing.

This is excellent advice.