Eden Mid Frequency EQ Help

[bigthemat]

Hey y'all,

So I recently got an Eden that I'm a big fan of, but having a little trouble dialing in a good stage tone. When playing on my own of course it sounds awesome, but the couple of gigs I've had with it, I'm either too boomy or it just sounds off.

I think the issue is the semi-parametric mid frequency eqs. All my other amps either have 3-4 dials, or a graphic EQ. I'm a bit lost with what mid frequencies I should pick, and whether to boost/cut them. At my most recent gig I asked the sounds guy what he though, he adjusted the mid mid to 500hz, but then he was called away and that was that. Setting that mid at 500 made a big difference, but still not sure on the others.

I tried searching and couldn't find any threads on this, but any help would be appreciated. TIA

 

[johnpbass]

IMO, 500hz is a good starting point. I like adding a little boost at 800hz to cut through a bit more in a band setting. I also like to cut in the bottom end, say around 40hz. IME, settings that sound great when you're playing alone do not work well in a band mix.
Also, be careful with the Enhance knob. That actually acts as a mid scoop and will make you less heard in the mix.
Hopefully others will weigh in as everyone has their favorite EQ settings. The Eden EQ is super powerful and small tweaks go a long way.

 

[jdaunt]

Also, be careful with the Enhance knob. That actually acts as a mid scoop and will make you less heard in the mix.

That's exactly what I came here to say! The Enhance knob turned up sounds great when you're by yourself, but you completely disappear in a band mix if it's above around 10 o'clock. My experience with trying out enhance kind of sounds like what you're describing, so it may be as simple as that.

 

[MuthaFunk]

Depending on your cabs the old Eden tone was simply to set everything flat and dial in a bit of enhance. Typically nothing past 9:00 or 10:00 on the clock face.

With all the power in the Eden EQ it’s very easy to overdo it.

 

[bigthemat]

Depending on your cabs the old Eden tone was simply to set everything flat and dial in a bit of enhance. Typically nothing past 9:00 or 10:00 on the clock face.

With all the power in the Eden EQ it’s very easy to overdo it.

It's from 1999 according to the handwriting on the back of the amp

 

[Swipter]

Depending on your cabs the old Eden tone was simply to set everything flat and dial in a bit of enhance. Typically nothing past 9:00 or 10:00 on the clock face.

With all the power in the Eden EQ it’s very easy to overdo it.

This. I never put enhance past 0900, and maybe I wouldn't use that much. The way I played back then the compressor knob was more important.

 

[JTE]

I've used a WT-400 since October 30, 1997 (I still have the warranty card!) I generally have the Enhance all the way off. The bass and treble shelviing ones are generally flat, maybe a bit of bass boost. The three semi-parametric EQs have a slight boost for the low/mids around 125 or so, the middle one is either flat or a slight boost around 500 and the last one is used to tame the highs in the room. The first five years were generally using an Eden D41XLT where it all wound up essentiall flat. Since the I've gigged less but use smaller cabinets. Combinations of an Avater 2x10, Avatar 1x12 and a Epifani 1x12. Depending on the room, the gig, and the bass I do sculpt the sound a bit more.

The best way to figure this out is not so much to find a sound when you're playing alone (and you don't want to be messinig with experimenting while at rehearsal or on stage) but to spend time playing with them to learn what they sound like. So just play somethings and twist the knobs a little bit to see what happens. The three mid controls may be daunting if you are accustomed to Fender or an Ampeg style treble/mid/bass control set up. But they're pretty simple. The top knob sets the frequency that the control will be centered at and the bottom knob sets how much boost or cut is applied. It's like having a three-band graphic EQ but you can select the frequency the knob affects. They'll interact becuase the frequencies overlap, so just do one at a time first. The point is to get your ears accustomed to what happens when you change the frequency from 100 to 150 with the same amount of boost, so turn the lower knob to a bit of boost, and twist the top knob to hear how that affects the sound. If you find an area that's really nice or really annoying, then move the boost/cut to work on that. Do that across all three and then learn how the bass and treble knobs impact the overall tone.

 

[mbrain]

I've used a WT-400 since October 30, 1997 (I still have the warranty card!) I generally have the Enhance all the way off. The bass and treble shelving ones are generally flat, maybe a bit of bass boost. The three semi-parametric EQs have a slight boost for the low/mids around 125 or so, the middle one is either flat or a slight boost around 500 and the last one is used to tame the highs in the room....

I've owned a WT400 and pair of D210XLT's since the late 90's too, with the same experience. First, never ever (even on a bet) use the enhance unless you're playing alone. Second, a little bump (literally a click or two) in the bass and/or around 200 hz typically gets me there. Third, I always pull the gain knob to disable the on-board compressor (which I despise, not to put too fine a point on it). I suppose this should come with a disclaimer--my Modulus and Lakland both have a Bart NTMB preamp, and I often boost the bass/mids a little on-board and sometimes roll off the treble slightly.

I write primarily to relay a comment I once read on Eden's forum in its heyday. A prominent user suggested that the WT series really opened up with some ridiculously unusual settings. I think his advice was to crank the bass, low and mid knobs (I'm talking 10 of 10) with the frequencies set as low as they would go, and cut the high and treble knobs to zero. Obviously, you're going to want to start with the master low if you try this because Eden's eq section has a ton of gain. I vaguely remember it being different, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.