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Behringer "Generic Eq Settings"...

T

TommyBassThomas

Jul 19, 2007
4
0
Littleton, Co
#1
Hello all! Iv been using my Behringer BX4500H, with Behringer 2/10 and 1/15 cabs for close to two yrs now, and have been generally very happy. A great starter rig that has played more than 80 gigs well. Im just not sure Im doing something right. I have played Classic Rock, Alternative, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, and Funk, with my Jazz and cant seem to find the best EQ settings that would cover most of these tones. Im looking for a "generic" setting. Any other users wanna make suggestions? (when I start making more money gigging, Ill get something more fashionable, but for now - Behringer rocks!)

Thanks to all...
 
#8
unclejam said:
why do yall say that? you (and i)know that you are gonna eq the amp to your tastes any way
Click to expand...

Yeah, of course you're right. A lot depends on your ear, tastes, and target sound.
With my Markbass LMII, I love the tone when eq'ed flat across the board; however, there may be a need for me to touch the eq, but I just have found that need yet.
 
#9
I have the same amp and flat sounds good to me but if your not getting exactly what you're looking for then try setting the equalization knobs a quarter turn clockwise. If that is going the wrong way then try all knobs counterclockwise from 12 o'clock. If that is an improvment then tweak from there. Once you get the sound you're looking for for a particular style then record those settings. It's hard to recommend a particular set of settings because the variable is the cabinet being used. I have an assortment (7) of different cabs and the sound will differ depending on which cabinet I am playing through.
 
#10
IMO, amplifier EQ is chiefly for two things: adjusting for bad room acoustics, or adjusting for the natural EQ of your cabinets. So the baseline standard is "EQ flat", only adjusted on a case-by-case basis to match specific rooms and cabs.

The reason I don't say amplifier EQ is for shaping the tone of your bass is because most soundmen want a pre-EQ DI signal, so tone-shaping is best done with an EQ onboard the bass, or in a separate pedal.

Additionally, when you have your EQ set flat, you are hearing "the sound of the amp", good or bad. Using the EQ can shape your tone into something more like what you want to hear, but it can't make a mediocre amp sound good. Whereas a good-sounding amp will sound good even when the EQ is set flat. Seems to me the better amps are designed to sound best that way anyway, and the EQ is provided more as a sales feature. I can't remember how many times I've seen posts saying they have a high-end amp or preamp with an elaborate EQ system, but they leave the EQ flat regardless because it sounds better that way (to them).
 
#12
I don't think any manufacturers head is actually "flat" with the controls set flat. They all preshape, the sound, usually in a smiley face curve, either to fool people into thinking their flat settings sound the best, or that this is their best guess for a starting place.

Checkout Fdeck's review of the Backline 600
Invalid Link Removed
It's not flat with the knobs flat, but it can actually be set "flat" by tweaking the knobs to other positions than flat.

Knobs are for tweaking, especially for different bands, music, rooms, etc.

To the OP, I'd turn down the sub-bass, and bass, and move the mid up a spec, turn the treble down, this will probably make it "flatter", and more generic for all music.
 
#14
Bongo is absolutely right - so is everyone else here.

EQ's are for (and elaborate EQ's are even greater for) adjusting for room acoustics. Every time you use your EQ to shape your sound, you change what it's going to do in the room you're playing in. Therefore, you can dial in a great EQ to get your bass to sound just the way you want it at home, then take the same settings to your next gig and it sounds like crap.

The bass enters into it when you realize that different woods enhance different tonal ranges - harder woods give more high presence and softer woods bring out the midrange more.

Leave the EQ flat on your amp head, and just use some of the boost on your bass' EQ. If you've got two pickups on it, you should get enough variance to suit your playing situations, or it's time for a modification. I stuck a Bartolini 3 band pre-amp in both of my inexpensive Brices and the control difference is incredible. The only thing I touch on my Behringer head is the "shape" control for different music "styles" (besides, all the treble control does is increase hiss). Or the "bright" or "deep" buttons for a little boost in either direction. The "shape" lets you control your mids.

The best sound I've ever got from either of them is going into my computer through a Mackie mixer, with just a little bass boost from the mixer eq. Any amp/amp head I've played them through (GK, Carvin, Behringer, MarkBass, Crate, etc.) makes them sound like garbage. Best sound ever - a 30 year old Polytone - NOTHING like it out there today.

When you upgrade, though, I'd be interested in securing your 2-10 and 1-15....:hyper:
 
#15
I'm not the most knowledgeable about EQ, otherwise I wouldn't ask this, but I'm currently using a cheap jazz bass with flats into a GK 2001... in order to get the big thump I'm after I use the amp's eq to essentially boost the bass quite a bit, boost low mids a little, and cut the treble some and cut the low mids even more. I do this to compensate for the fact that my gear probably wasn't meant for this sound. Is this wrong? Should I be going about it in another way?

(sorry, not trying to hijack, but the eq discussion is relevant, i think.)
 
#16
I used to think that EQ at the head/rack was useful for adjusting to the room characteristics. But I've come more and more to believe that one can usually reliably tell only so much about the way a room interacts in various zones with a source. One can, however, use local EQ to change the stage mix at least in positions they are hearing from, and sometimes that is useful.

Even a good soundman only hears the positions of the room he auditions, and the lower frequencies interact so differently in different spots that one could easily make it sound the way they want where they are listening to the detriment of other crucial areas.

I've probably done a hundred gigs operating by this philosophy, and rarely if ever do anything more than general EQ from stage just to get a decent local monitoring situation - or go out on the dancefloor and give a listen to my bass lines if there is no FOH. Again, only general EQ in almost any instance. I do value having a bass rig, and I've gone the "much like a PA speaker" route with my rig the majority of the time. There, any EQ that affects one would roughly do the same for the other, speaker positioning withstanding.

Yes, there are a lot of variables ; }
 
#17
ishouldbeking said:
I'm not the most knowledgeable about EQ, otherwise I wouldn't ask this, but I'm currently using a cheap jazz bass with flats into a GK 2001... in order to get the big thump I'm after I use the amp's eq to essentially boost the bass quite a bit, boost low mids a little, and cut the treble some and cut the low mids even more. I do this to compensate for the fact that my gear probably wasn't meant for this sound. Is this wrong?
Click to expand...

As a soundman I've run into this frequently, and if that's Di'd POST-EQ what it usually gives is a signal to FOH that is boomy, muddy, lacking in clarity and sparkle, and presence. Then I have to do compensatory EQ which never is as good as just having a more even signal in the first place. This is why most soundmen want PRE-EQ DI.
 
#18
Okay, lots of great responces here! I guess I didn't mention Im playing a Fender Jazz... Important info. Iv noticed the DI out is post "everything" on this head! Kind of weird. Well, Ill try flat eq settings this Sunday night at my next gig. It's a pick up gig, so I can screw around a little. Thanks all!
 

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