the Rumble is it's own thing eq wise, I find I have to cut low, some low mid and preamp!
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Anyone Else Turn Off Low-Mids?
- Thread starter Pluckoff
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Yes, but specifically for Rumbles. The low-mid band on the Rumble preamp is, to me, a cut-only control. I've always found it to be unpleasant when boosted.
Compare that to something like the low mid on a GK preamp, which sounds nice and musical when boosted.
Personally, I’ll cut the bass frequencies before I cut any of the mids. I find that low mids usually only need to be cut if I’m in a position in the room that makes the instrument sound boomy and often that low mid cut comes with a corresponding boost in the high mids
Way early on I was told that in most situations, if someone is complaining about the bass being too loud, it can usually be traced to excess mids. I’ve never worried about numbers or knob position because every place you set up will be anywhere from a little to a lot different than the place before, so I just twiddle knobs and noodle until I get something I like, but it almost always winds up with mids being my lowest settings.
I run my RB800 preamp with the contour engaged and boost the low and hi mids. glorious.
i like what the contour does to the bass and treble, but I need that mid back in the sound.
i like what the contour does to the bass and treble, but I need that mid back in the sound.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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I drop them considerably. It cleans up the track substantially.
I don't do that but understand what you are saying. Nothing wrong with your approach if it gets the desired result. Can you provide a clip of what it sounds like?
Cutting or boosting a frequency and how good that sounds in the mix is a product of what else is going on in song. If you have other instruments that are sitting in the "low mid" range, then cutting those frequencies on the bass (or the other instruments(s)) should make for a cleaner sounding recording with less mud. A lot of mixes would reserve that space for the bass guitar but no reason the low mid frequency range can't be occupied by another instrument. I look at the EQ curve to see where I might have too much going on, use my ears, and adjust EQ for individual tracks depending on what I want to hear.
Cutting or boosting a frequency and how good that sounds in the mix is a product of what else is going on in song. If you have other instruments that are sitting in the "low mid" range, then cutting those frequencies on the bass (or the other instruments(s)) should make for a cleaner sounding recording with less mud. A lot of mixes would reserve that space for the bass guitar but no reason the low mid frequency range can't be occupied by another instrument. I look at the EQ curve to see where I might have too much going on, use my ears, and adjust EQ for individual tracks depending on what I want to hear.
I always take 200-250hz down a little bit. Boosting these frequencies gives the perception that you are louder and “cutting through” but they’re actually very muddy and tend to overwhelm other instruments in the band. If you dial them down you can actually get a much cleaner, clear sound with good bottom end and a you can turn up louder without cluttering up the mix.
A good example of this principle is the legendary Sadowsky preamp. The bass and treble boosts serve to lower 300hz giving that clear, punchy sound.
When I use a Jazz over a P it's usually because of the "scoop" with the pickups dimed. So, yes I suppose you could say I cut mids that way! Some mixes call for "getting out of the way" a little bit in that area. I used to think J's were fiddly(compared to P's), but when you simply let them be J's and use that tool for that kinda job, they're equally plug-n-play.
Of course, a lot depends on the signal chain and personal prefs; but….
I tend to boost Lower Mids and cut Upper Mids. For my prefs, Lower Mids are where the funk is; upper mids are where the honk is. YMMV
Couple of examples. (Old vids, not great audio, but still illustrative)
I tend to boost Lower Mids and cut Upper Mids. For my prefs, Lower Mids are where the funk is; upper mids are where the honk is. YMMV
Couple of examples. (Old vids, not great audio, but still illustrative)
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Agreed but the Fender Rumble I had was a mud ball and a very poor bass amp. This could be the exception.
I had their 200w unit. I returned it after my first and only jam with it.
When I owned the Rumble 500 head, I kept the low mids all the way off. It was just too obese sounding otherwise.
I'll tend to boost my lows and my low mids, with the low mids around the 300-500 Hz area depending on the room. Then I'll raise the frequency on my HPF to where you can hear that I'm losing bottom end and then back off to where you can't really tell it's on. But the exact amounts and the exact frequencies depend on the room. I'll play with them until it sounds good out front. This is asusming that my amp is carrying the room.
If I'm going through the PA, then I give the board a pre-EQ signal from my amp's DI and adjust the sound on my amp so it sounds good to me, but at a low enough volume that I'm not interefering with the PA.
If I'm going through the PA, then I give the board a pre-EQ signal from my amp's DI and adjust the sound on my amp so it sounds good to me, but at a low enough volume that I'm not interefering with the PA.
^THIS
Sometimes I don't touch my EQ and other times I'm drastically cutting frequencies to make it work.
In the op’s case whatever the “low-mid” knob frequencies are on a fender rumble is what he’s referring to.
