Rig EQ

[progmanjum]

1. EQ Bass Only
2. EQ Amp Only
3. EQ Both
4. Plug and Play.

[AmadeusXeno]

It kinda depends on which bass I'm using, but for the most part I EQ on the bass and amp so I picked both.

[DBCrocky]

Both. Depends on lot's of factors. EQ Frequencies and Q will likely be different, so bass boost on the bass will be tonally different than on the amp, for instance. Also, if you are using effects, do you want the EQ before the effect or after? If you are using a DI to house PA, do you want the EQ on the PA or just the amp? Finally, in the middle of a song, much easier to make a tone fix on the bass than on the amp.

[seanm]

I am basically plug and play.... but since the poll is so open, I had to vote both.

80% of the time I leave the amp flat. But if the room is boomy I kill the lows. If the sound is thin, I sometimes engage one of the contours. So I don't touch the amp unless I have to, but I can't say I never EQ the amp.

Same with the bass. There are two songs I will roll off the tone for... and even then sometimes I don't bother if I am too distracted. So > 4% of the time.

[Corporate Boy]

I definitely change the EQ on my bass all the time. In the music I play, controlling the EQ from my bass allows me to tell the story of the song better. I do a lot of improvisational music, so adjusting my EQ on the fly results in a "chance" outcome that I must react too. Being able to touch the edge of "boominess" to for a breif moment only return to agressive mid-range might inspire a different direction in the music.

I never understood the die-hard "leave the EQ flat" concept. I have explored doing that and I must admit that it changed my approach to setting my base EQ settings. I'm not an EQ expert, but I really believe there is a wide range of tonal variety that can be experimented with. If you play a long show with a wider variety of songs, then you can change your "color" throughout the night. If you are playing one style of music all night and you just need to sit in the mix perfectly without much change, I can see setting and not adjusting it through the night, but even then I still wouldn't necesarilly leave it flat unless if you really like your sound and it fits the room perfectly.

[Jazzdogg]

I EQ BOTH my bass and amp to create "my sound" and to accommodate the venue.

[AdamR]

My amp is set with the eq defeated and my basses are passive but Im using a Bass driver as my eq.

[T. Alan Smith]

I EQ the amp to the room and the bass to the song.

[sammyp]

i have no active basses so .....

with my basses i'm generally pretty flat on bass and treble but taking out some low mids and adding a shot of upper mid

this seems to be consistent whether i'm slumming it with my fender rumble or living the high life with ampeg at a backline gig.

[msb3671]

My bass is a P/J, and I run it P full, J half 99% of the time. Tone up full. Running this to my amp provides a constant for me to EQ the amp based on the room. I try to let my fingers and dynamics do the rest.

[maxgrant]

I used to play with everything on the bass turned all the way up and I'd EQ the amp however it sounded good. Then I started learning that rolling the tone knob, especially on my Jazz basses, gave me some headroom I could use during the show if I thought I couldnt be heard enough. I also consider pickup selection a form of EQ since the bridge and neck pickups have strongly differing characteristics. So lately I have begun rolling off that bridge pickup to get more midrange. I then EQ the amp to the room so I don't have to reach over and screw with it, and use the knobs on the bass during the show.

I also have learned that most of the buttons and knobs on my amp (currently either a Behringer b450 or a Trace Elliot Commando that I use at practice) sound warmest and best when left flat, and all that tone-shaping crap is turned off. Mids are super-important for the voice of the bass.

[john grey]

There are just too many variables (room acoustics, bass / PUP design, cab / design) for me to say categorically I would eliminate one entirely and continually.

[Russell L]

I usually just eq the amp, but sometimes I mess with the bass knobs, too (passive basses here).