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No one can help without knowing all the gear you use, know your playing style, and how you imagine it should sound in your head
Start without touching any of the controls. Turn to “gig stage volume”.
If it’s not enough bass, turn up the bass. If it’s too much bass, turn down the bass. Repeat for other EQ bands.
If it’s not enough bass, turn up the bass. If it’s too much bass, turn down the bass. Repeat for other EQ bands.
Plus, if you're listening closely, your rig will sound different from one venue to the next. Just one of those side benefits of bass playing ! !
Generally, the fat, deep bass you hear or sense is around 100-200 hz, and your bright mids are in the 400-800 range if your EQ is marked in frequencies. 1k and up is high-end articulation, pick noise or clicks, the air on top. These can and will vary depending on your signal chain (bass, effects, amp, cab, plus if you play with fingers, pick, slap), but those are the general neighborhoods for each.
Generally, the fat, deep bass you hear or sense is around 100-200 hz, and your bright mids are in the 400-800 range if your EQ is marked in frequencies. 1k and up is high-end articulation, pick noise or clicks, the air on top. These can and will vary depending on your signal chain (bass, effects, amp, cab, plus if you play with fingers, pick, slap), but those are the general neighborhoods for each.
Another thing to keep in mind which I'm sure has frustrated all of us, is that if your amp/cabinet aren't capable of handling the frequencies you are boosting, then it won't matter what you do with eq past a certain point.
That's why I'd argue the speaker cab is the most important part of the signal chain
That's why I'd argue the speaker cab is the most important part of the signal chain
As "Killing Floor" already said, is the way I do.
Since every instrument/bass has its own characteristics, no standard setting will do. I always start with a full flat setting on the amp.. Then I adjust what ever I feel it should and memory the settings. This procedure will be repeated with every instrument. Keep in mind, that a certain setting will usually not work in a different location, even the amp and instrument are the same. Thats why, I take the procedure every time from scratch.
Since every instrument/bass has its own characteristics, no standard setting will do. I always start with a full flat setting on the amp.. Then I adjust what ever I feel it should and memory the settings. This procedure will be repeated with every instrument. Keep in mind, that a certain setting will usually not work in a different location, even the amp and instrument are the same. Thats why, I take the procedure every time from scratch.
Good luck! Were it that we could just eliminate mud that easily. Some rooms are just going to be muddy no matter what you do. Sometimes your guitar and keyboard mates muddy things up and you can't do anything about it. Same with the drummer.
I think your goal should be something like, "less mud", or "as little as possible" maybe. But just thinking you can eliminate mud with a few right settings won't work.
I find 80-120Hz to add bottom.
200-400Hz to control boxiness.
500-700Hz for a fat mid boost or deep scoop.
1Khz for presence.
3K for treble.
5K for sparkle.
200-400Hz to control boxiness.
500-700Hz for a fat mid boost or deep scoop.
1Khz for presence.
3K for treble.
5K for sparkle.
Honestly I find a have to do a little tweaking for each room.
My own default EQ, Lo/Mid/Hi, is 7/7/4 (out of 10). But it very much depends on your gear, your style, and the rest of the band, so use your ears.
Lows give you the thick bassiness, but too much and it gets ponderous and muddy.
Mids cut through and give you definition and clarity, but too much and it can get honky.
Highs give you sizzle on top, but too much and it can get clanky.
The EQ story I've told a number of times: I arrived at that 7/7/4 as my default early on, and then joined my first gigging band. I was quite a noob. The guitarist, who was very experienced, asked at rehearsal one day if he could experiment with my EQ. I said sure, being a noob and figuring he might know things I didn't. So he fiddled with my knobs while I played and then said, "See, doesn't that sound better?" He had basically scooped my mids - the settings were now 9/2/7 or thereabouts. I said great.
So that weekend we have a gig and start playing, and he yells across the stage to me, "Can you turn down?" And I say, "Turn down? You sure?" I'm surprised because I don't have my volume up very high at all. And he replies, "Yeah, you sound real BOOMY!" I think, "Boomy? Hmmm." So I dial my EQ back to 7/7/4 and leave the volume where it is. "How's that?" "Great, perfect!"
Lows give you the thick bassiness, but too much and it gets ponderous and muddy.
Mids cut through and give you definition and clarity, but too much and it can get honky.
Highs give you sizzle on top, but too much and it can get clanky.
The EQ story I've told a number of times: I arrived at that 7/7/4 as my default early on, and then joined my first gigging band. I was quite a noob. The guitarist, who was very experienced, asked at rehearsal one day if he could experiment with my EQ. I said sure, being a noob and figuring he might know things I didn't. So he fiddled with my knobs while I played and then said, "See, doesn't that sound better?" He had basically scooped my mids - the settings were now 9/2/7 or thereabouts. I said great.
So that weekend we have a gig and start playing, and he yells across the stage to me, "Can you turn down?" And I say, "Turn down? You sure?" I'm surprised because I don't have my volume up very high at all. And he replies, "Yeah, you sound real BOOMY!" I think, "Boomy? Hmmm." So I dial my EQ back to 7/7/4 and leave the volume where it is. "How's that?" "Great, perfect!"
Its all in the set up of your bass and the way you hit the strings. Then the amp settings hardly matter by comparison.
Rubbish in, rubbish out, or biggest rubbish eq'd/amplified.
Most amps if set up neutrally are plug in and play.
Passive takes a tad more work, but mostly EQ imo, is 'overrated' or overused/abused.
Rubbish in, rubbish out, or biggest rubbish eq'd/amplified.
Most amps if set up neutrally are plug in and play.
Passive takes a tad more work, but mostly EQ imo, is 'overrated' or overused/abused.
FullumMusic
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D
I only changed settings at soundcheck. Then you know how the room might sound. When people pack the room, oh well
if there were one "perfect" eq setting, then the eq wouldn't be adjustable.
eq settings will change based on multiple things. things including (but not limited to) the room, the crowd, your bass, your play style, your amp, your cab & your bandmates will all contribute to where you need to boost / cut certain frequencies. in addition, the sound you want to hear will determine where you want your settings to be.
there is no way to tell someone how the eq "should" be set. an understanding of your equipment in terms of what adjustments are available and where those adjustments sit on the frequency spectrum is critical in you setting your eq to where it needs to be for a given situation.
it's a lot of trial & error and being familiar with your own rig.
good luck
kgb
eq settings will change based on multiple things. things including (but not limited to) the room, the crowd, your bass, your play style, your amp, your cab & your bandmates will all contribute to where you need to boost / cut certain frequencies. in addition, the sound you want to hear will determine where you want your settings to be.
there is no way to tell someone how the eq "should" be set. an understanding of your equipment in terms of what adjustments are available and where those adjustments sit on the frequency spectrum is critical in you setting your eq to where it needs to be for a given situation.
it's a lot of trial & error and being familiar with your own rig.
good luck
kgb
Every situation is different, but this is where I start:
I cut everything below 40, most sound systems can't reproduce it anyway. You could take this higher, somewhere between 60 and 120. This will remove mud and make room for the kick drum.
I cut everything above 4-6K, that's not your space, don't play in it.
I like a mid bump somewhere between 300 and 700ish to help with punch.
I play around at 2k, I may remove some if I'm using new stainless steel strings to remove some of the clangyness, or I may add some if my tone is too dark.
For me specifically, I like to add some at 2.6k because I have hearing loss at that freq and it makes it sound more accurate to how others will perceive it, but I don't do that live.
I cut everything below 40, most sound systems can't reproduce it anyway. You could take this higher, somewhere between 60 and 120. This will remove mud and make room for the kick drum.
I cut everything above 4-6K, that's not your space, don't play in it.
I like a mid bump somewhere between 300 and 700ish to help with punch.
I play around at 2k, I may remove some if I'm using new stainless steel strings to remove some of the clangyness, or I may add some if my tone is too dark.
For me specifically, I like to add some at 2.6k because I have hearing loss at that freq and it makes it sound more accurate to how others will perceive it, but I don't do that live.
Going really heavy in the lows sounds great when you play at home by yourself or you are soloing. It gets in the way when you play live with a band. Low mids is where the bass plays well with others.
The most important EQ lesson I have learned is
don't find your tone alone in your bedroom.
You have to dial it in with the band playing
Solo tone does not matter at all.
The second most important EQ lesson is
audible trumps everything else
Obsessing over sounding like your favorite recording
Is generally fruitless
You should think about how you want to sound
but use it as a compass direction for your knob tweaks
Not a hill to die on
don't find your tone alone in your bedroom.
You have to dial it in with the band playing
Solo tone does not matter at all.
The second most important EQ lesson is
audible trumps everything else
Obsessing over sounding like your favorite recording
Is generally fruitless
You should think about how you want to sound
but use it as a compass direction for your knob tweaks
Not a hill to die on
I can't believe I'm the one to say this, but- a high-pass filter will go along way in reducing the stuff your cabinet is not capable of reproducing while maintaining the lower notes that you want and that it is capable of. This is a different function than what an EQ provides. There are a number of pedal options. If you directly feeding FOH and monitoring from there, most modern boards will have a variable high-pass filter on each channel. Beware the high-pass switch though! It's generally going to be a fixed frequency that will utterly gut/neuter your bass tone!
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
Use a variable high-pass filter!!
Absolutely! I consider a variable high-pass filter so essential that I will not consider gigging without one. I have two different FDeck HPF/Pres, which are excellent, and I am fortunate that my Acoustic Image Focus has a variable high-pass filter built in. It's the first knob I turn in an effort to tailor my rig to each venue.
