Settings a combo amp for good sound.

[kennyisnotdead]

I just started playing again and want to do this right. This is one of the things on my list I never understood.

Q: I have a Peavey bass combo amp 1x15". It has alot of stuff at my level I do not need. Is there essentially a cookie cutter setup for the Low, Mid, Mid Shift and High settings?


thank you in advance.

[Rattman]

Yeah.. if you don't mind giving it a try before you find your own EQ settings. First.. pls don't fall into the 'smiley' EQ trap (i.e.) scooping the mids in favor of boosting bass and treble freqs. You'll be better off with a 'flat' EQ. Does your Peavey have a 7 or 9-band slider EQ? If so, all the better to set that flat EQ up with. Besides, boosting bass freqs really eats into your 'headroom' reserve power quite badly. The mids help your bass to project thru the mix. Just give it a try. Enjoy.

[JKT]

Originally Posted by Rattman

Yeah.. if you don't mind giving it a try before you find your own EQ settings. First.. pls don't fall into the 'smiley' EQ trap (i.e.) scooping the mids in favor of boosting bass and treble freqs. You'll be better off with a 'flat' EQ. Does your Peavey have a 7 or 9-band slider EQ? If so, all the better to set that flat EQ up with. Besides, boosting bass freqs really eats into your 'headroom' reserve power quite badly. The mids help your bass to project thru the mix. Just give it a try. Enjoy.

I agree that this is always the place to start. Negative EQ-ing
is always gonna get you a better sound initially, particularly if you're not working with gobs of power. There is always a surprising amount of low end there when you remove excess mids and highs first.

JKT

[Marcury]

It depends a lot on the bass you are using and the sound you are after. Rattman is right; start out with all of EG flat. In other words at 12:00. Play like this for a while (at least a couple of hours) with the tone knob(s) on your bass flat as well. this will get you used to the sound that your instrument and hands produce. From there start to work first with the tone control(s) on your bass to learn what effect it has. Once you're comfortable that you know what tone works fro you on the bass star with the tone controls on the amp.

BTW if you have an eq with sliders flat is in the middle.