Question: is 400 hz the "mud" frequency?
Why the question?:
I have a fretted 5 string Washburn XB925 and a fretless 5 string Washburn XB925. The fretted is strung with Conklin Snakeskins and the fretless with Status Tapewounds.
The pickups are Bartolini W4C Dual Coil Humbuckers.
The preamp is the NTCT 3 band with the MCT-W3C Mid Boost Module. (According to the Bartolini web site.)
There are 4 dip switches in the control cavity. When I got the basses, I set them all to off thinking I would get the "un-eq'd bass sound" (except for the mid boost). However, with all the dip switches off, the E and especially the B string are very "muddy" - the notes are not distinct and the notes are very "boomy".
However, setting dip switch 4 to on cures the mud and boom. This switch is a "61 khz shelf" All 4 switches give a "10dB boost and 400 hz passive cut". Haven't tried the other switches - I prefer a "darker" sound - which, I assume the 61 khz shelf yields. (The other switches or combinations of switches boost various frequencies.)
My combo amp is a SWR Baby Blue and I use a SWR SM900 for my big rig. A thread reply on TB stated that SWR eq's their amps so that flat there is a mid boost at 400hz. So, perhaps, the combination of the Bartolini mid boost module and the SWR amp double boosted the 400 hz frequency? And with dip switch 4 on, the effect of mid boost module is neutralized?
Another TB thread stated that the mid frequencies are from 400 hz to 800 hz. Does this mean that boosting 400 hz (rather than lower frequencies) too much creates mud and indistinctness on the lower pitched strings? Why would a "mid" frequency create low pitch mud? To add to my confusion, I like the sound of my Skjold 6 string with the Skjold/John East electronics with the mid frequency selector tuned to the lowest setting and the mid volume turned all the way up. So, I having trouble making sense out of all of this.
I've read reviews of basses that stated the low end was "muddy". Does my experience mean that it is possible to eq mud out on these basses? Or, is this result unique to the Washburn with the Bartolini electronics?
Guess I really don't have to know the theory - "let your ears be your guide" - however, thanks for any insight.
RJM
