Double Bass EQ pedal for DB?

[Jay Corwin]

I'm only speaking from my own experience in live settings. What recording engineers do with signal in the studio is none of my concern.

 

[Martin Spure]

Stacking too many EQs can definitely result in unintended and undesirable sonic degradation. It can be hard to detect this degradation as gear tends to modify the sound in more than one way. You may not even notice the degradation, as it can be subtle, while positive changes tend to be more obvious. However negative changes can be cumulative, meaning they get more severe as more pieces of gear are stacked. Eventually you may reach a point where the degradation is fairly audible. Once you recognize it, it becomes easier to hear and you may wind up eliminating multiple pieces of gear to eliminate it.

I am not saying you shouldn't continue stack gear, only that someday you may understand what all the fuss is about.

I agree, at a certain point you will hear degradation, f.ex. If you stack 3 hardware pultec’s, just to mention an extreme example.

But usually, when people are raising concerns of ‘too many knobs’, in an EQ context, we’re often talking about 1 preamp going into a built in preamp/EQ section on a bass amp.

If this is such a no-no, wouldn’t the recommendation for all outboard preamps be to always connect directly to the return on the amp (if there is one), thus bypassing the built in one ? What if my amp doesn’t have a return ?

In most cases, an outboard preamp’s output will go into the head’s instrument input. Some may try to connect directly via the return and be happy with it - or maybe do not hear any difference.

In this common use case I do not believe there’s any detectable degradation, live or in the studio, unless one does not know what the knobs do, or the outboard preamp is of poor quality.

In that context, the ‘knob anxiety’ displayed by some here, aren’t rational.

 

[Martin Spure]

I'm only speaking from my own experience in live settings. What recording engineers do with signal in the studio is none of my concern.

EQ’ing is EQ’ing…regardless of the setting…the principles are exactly the same.

FWIW, the example I described with the Ischell C3, is in fact my Live setup. Logic Pro on my iPad IS my outboard preamp. And it works and sounds just as good as my hardware Acoustic Box II preamp, which has been relegated to backup.

 

[Jay Corwin]

EQ’ing is EQ’ing…regardless of the setting…the principles are exactly the same.

FWIW, the example I described with the Ischell C3, is in fact my Live setup. Logic Pro on my iPad IS my outboard preamp. And it works and sounds just as good as my hardware Acoustic Box II preamp, which has been relegated to backup.

I think we'll have to respectfully disagree. To each there own.

 

[Wasnex]

I agree, at a certain point you will hear degradation, f.ex. If you stack 3 hardware pultec’s, just to mention an extreme example.

But usually, when people are raising concerns of ‘too many knobs’, in an EQ context, we’re often talking about 1 preamp going into a built in preamp/EQ section on a bass amp.

If this is such a no-no, wouldn’t the recommendation for all outboard preamps be to always connect directly to the return on the amp (if there is one), thus bypassing the built in one ? What if my amp doesn’t have a return ?

In most cases, an outboard preamp’s output will go into the head’s instrument input. Some may try to connect directly via the return and be happy with it - or maybe do not hear any difference.

In this common use case I do not believe there’s any detectable degradation, live or in the studio, unless one does not know what the knobs do, or the outboard preamp is of poor quality.

I usually don't start noticing the degradation until at least 3 - 4 pieces of gear have been stacked.

Ideally you buy an amp that is capable of giving you the tone you want. However, adding a preamp with additional tone shaping could get your closer to your tone goals. Whether the preamp will work better plugged into the instrument input or effects return will vary with the specific pieces of gear and the type of sound that is desired. It should not be a surprise if two people disagree on which way sounds best. IMHO they may both be correct.

However, sometimes a person will stack several pieces of gear and think it sounds great; at least until they bypass it all and plug straight in. Sometimes the result is like removing a blanket. I.E. suddenly the sound is much more clear and open.

...the ‘knob anxiety’ displayed by some here, aren’t rational.

IMHO it comes down to this. Some people appreciate lots of knobs and like to tweak. Others prefer set-it-and-forget-it, and the fewer the knobs the better. IMHO both are rational.

From the perspective of a set-it-and-forget-it type, perhaps the need to fiddle with the controls would be seen as irrational.


For the record I consider myself more of a tweaker .

One of my early loves (inspired by Stanley Clarke):

The 672A includes 8 bands of parametric EQ and 12db/octave variable HPF and LPF that can be configured as a 2-way crossover.

 

[Martin Spure]

Well, to each their own. I don’t believe in set-and-forget when it comes to EQ, as one will invariably need to tweak it, in order to cater to the various rooms/venues and context of the live performance. That’s what (correctional) EQ is for; we’ve all experienced a room, where our bass just sound like crap. Set-and-forget won’t help much in those situations, I’m afraid..

Naturally, the more items in a signal chain, the more the risk of ‘artifacts’, I completely agree. I’m talking specifically about multiple EQ’s and maintain, that having 2-3 EQ’s in your chain will not degrade your sound, if properly gain staged.

A few months ago I got to try the excellent Grace Felix preamp with my rig for a doubling gig. As the BG was active; with both instruments, in fact, the chain is 3 preamps stacked. No degradation in the sound here and I’m sure that’s how most people use their outboard EQ’s

 

[Jay Corwin]

In most cases, an outboard preamp’s output will go into the head’s instrument input. Some may try to connect directly via the return and be happy with it - or maybe do not hear any difference.

This might be true in the bass guitar world, but no rule of thumb in the UB. There are definitely guys who run their external chain into the returns on their head. I would be one of them. I do this for the very reason we were discussing, to avoid overlapping preamps, gain staging issues, etc. My heads might as well not have a brand name on them, because I'm only using the power sections anyway.

Again this is just what works for me - but it also gives the ability to send the exact same signal to FOH that I'm sending to my cabinets. In addition it's been helpful when playing on supplied backlines, which are often not upright friendly.

 

[Yamarc]

What about a Broughton messenger? Would that be a good preamp / DI for double bass? New to this world…