Cranking The Bass Knob

[JimmyM]

Even JimmyM is doing that.

Indeed I use an HPF. But it's for the PA, not the amp. I use it to mimic the low end that I get out of my 810e and B-15 cabs in the PA. And I certainly don't use it like a lot of people on here do...to squeeze out every last bit of available clean volume out of their 2000w amps

 

[craigie]

This thread gives me a good excuse to post my Soundcraft ui12 EQ curves I came up with for direct bass. Top one for electric and bottom for DB or funk bass. Sounds good recorded or with headphones or a 12” monitor speaker but haven’t tried it with the full PA. This was born out of the need to get more gain from that channel.

 

[Al Kraft]

Lost a little high end over the decades but I can still hear down to 20 hz no problem

Even with some age and profession related hearing loss, I can still feel my pants legs flapping and rib cage rattling with some serious low frequency content...I may occasionally miss out on the articulate, airy upper register nuances, but there's no question about whether there are low notes sufficiently motivating the dance crowd.

 

[Stumbo]

^^^THIS!!!

There's a reason amplifiers come with knobs! Turn them until you like the sound!

I turn them until it sounds good on stage and FOH.

 

[Wisebass]

the flat EQ society

another great band name

Wise(b)ass

 

[MJ_Sotti]

To qoute the esteemed philosopher Young MC...

“Reception's jumpin' bass is pumpin'
You look at the girl and your heart starts thumpin'
Says she wants to dance to a different groove
Now you know what to do G bust a move“

So there

No where at all does he mention eq levels

 

[mesaplayer83]

I feel better about cranking the bass knob when I have a HPF in the circuit somewhere. There are simply some amps where this would not be a good idea IME (e.g. GK RB with 5+ string button engaged, older SWR gear, etc.).

Agreed - IME, G-K amps like the 700rb-II and 1001rb-II can be really rough on speakers without some compression or HPF...

 

[Dave Hill]

Indeed I use an HPF. But it's for the PA, not the amp. I use it to mimic the low end that I get out of my 810e and B-15 cabs in the PA. And I certainly don't use it like a lot of people on here do...to squeeze out every last bit of available clean volume out of their 2000w amps

Get a rig that can put out some bass.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

At the end of the day, there are rules of thumb and heuristics, but sometimes you have to make EQ choices that are overall benenficial. The wisdom of EQing with your ears, not your eyes certainty applies here. Sometimes EQ decisions are very unintuitive and that sometimes means boosting lows, significantly. I recall a room I used to play without PA support. It wasn't a large room by any means, but it was a black hole for low-end. I had to crank the low-end, so much I would keep my head on the floor for fear of it vibrating off of the cabinet. But when I was out in the room during soundcheck, it sounded very balanced and distinct in the mix and was never overbearing.

 

[Xandrell]

Some of us are using a HPF so that you can sculpt a bump in the lows and not extend into the infrasonic area.

I'm not comfortable talking about human papilloma virus bumps in the lower private area.

 

[JimmyM]

I'm not comfortable talking about human papilloma virus bumps in the lower private area.

Well who is? But it has to be done.

 

[MJ_Sotti]

Well who is? But it has to be done.

yep. "it need to be"

 

[BadExample]

Is it more comfortable or less comfortable to talk about if you got 'em?

And an HPF can help?

 

[AngelCrusher]

This thread gives me a good excuse to post my Soundcraft ui12 EQ curves I came up with for direct bass. Top one for electric and bottom for DB or funk bass. Sounds good recorded or with headphones or a 12” monitor speaker but haven’t tried it with the full PA. This was born out of the need to get more gain from that channel.

View attachment 2958467 View attachment 2958469

To answer your unasked question - yes, we want soundclips.

 

[chadds]

.......besides it keeps the reconers in business.

 

[JimiLL]

.......besides it keeps the reconers in business.

So now the bass knob is for economic stimulus? Well at least something is....

 

[Munjibunga]

I am going to admit something that may get me raked over the coals...I love cranking the bass knob! Didn't always...took me a long time to warm up to the idea. But now I'll turn the bass up all the way if I need to. Gotta be judicious about it sometimes...don't want to overcrank the lows in a dark sounding room with a lot of natural reverb or anything dumb like that. And mids are still important if you want some note definition as well. But over the past years, I've gotten less shy about warming up the room real good, and I think it's working out great, and I don't get why so many people on here tell bass players not to do it. The lows are what people mostly hear out of your bass in a mix. Might as well let them have it.

There. I said it. I do something considered wrong by conventional TB wisdom, and I do so unapologetically. Take that.

You wouldn't have to if you'd use an amp bigger than 50 watts.

 

[lowplaces]

Just took a look at the Ampeg pf-50t manual.

Yep there it is. One of the suggested settings shows the bass control dimed for "Rock"

Seems like I saw a demo video .. might have been an Ampeg rep. He dimed the bass control to demonstrate the Motown sound.

 

[Passinwind]

You wouldn't have to if you'd use an amp bigger than 50 watts.

Or just maybe, some folks wouldn't need a 500 watt amp for a lounge gig if they actually used the tone controls on their cute little toaster. Not that I'd know anything about that.

 

[SactoBass]

I accidentally had the bass knob cranked once and it made my friend’s wife vomit.

A successful test!