Platinum Pro-EQ: How Flat?

[eadg57]

I am considering the Fishman Platinum Pro-EQ (Bass) because of the many features which seem useful for strange room characteristics.

However, when the EQ is set flat and the other features set off, is this box really flat and transparent? (I'm trying to avoid a situation where I need to tweak EQ to un-do coloration introduced by the pre-amp.)

[Pat Harris]

I think it all depends on the pickup you're using. It's been my experience that on my bass, with a full circle pickup, the flat response is not desirable. But, it does a fantastic job of getting rid of the boomy, muddy low mids and a little compression while playing arco really smoothes over the buzz saw sound. I don't really hear any coloration in tone. It's just that other frequencies are brought into the mix because it's got more tweaking power than some standard amps. When using the preamp, I run my amp flat, and then tweak eq with the preamp.

-Pat

[Michael Case]

I use the Fishman pre-amp with a realist and it doesn't color the sound. You can also plug into the Fishman and then run it into the effects loop of your amp. This will bypass the amplifier's pre-amp. That way your only using the amp for power, most bass amps have pre-amps voiced for electric bass and they color the double bass sound in an ugly way.

[Phil Redman]

Originally Posted by Pat Harris

I think it all depends on the pickup you're using. It's been my experience that on my bass, with a full circle pickup, the flat response is not desirable. But, it does a fantastic job of getting rid of the boomy, muddy low mids and a little compression while playing arco really smoothes over the buzz saw sound. I don't really hear any coloration in tone. It's just that other frequencies are brought into the mix because it's got more tweaking power than some standard amps. When using the preamp, I run my amp flat, and then tweak eq with the preamp.

-Pat

This has been my experience as well. The Fishman gives you a lot of flexibility but doesn't really color the sound when run flat. The high-pass filter is especially useful.

Thanks,
Phil

[eadg57]

Thanks for these replies, which are reassuring.

I'm currently very happy with my Full Circle-equipped instrument and rig (AI Clarus, Eden CX110), but am thinking about a device to protect my sound, rather than create it.