EQ question Gt-10 B with Hartke Kilo combo

[MorningFatty]

What's up guys, just joined Talkbass in hopes of solving a live sound issue i'm having. I play on a Fender Jazz delux, Hartke Kilo head attached to an 8X10 Ampeg cab, I'm also using a BossGt-10b pedal.

I'm running through a double EQ. One on the pedal and one on the hartke kilo. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I should set each EQ. Im looking for a punchy, tight and versatile sound that gives the audience that BOOM that fills the room but doesn't sacrifice the intricate runs and slapping that I intermittently throw in.

My band "Morning Fatty" gigs anywhere from dive bars to large festivals so the volume level is never consistent. Thanks in advance!

 

[Downunderwonder]

Vaguely flat, loud, with a kick in the low mids? Tweak away. The trick is to get out in the room with the band playing and eq for that. Trouble with 8x10 is you get a hot highmid + highs zone in the centre and a relatively rumbly tone to the sides, whatever you do.

 

[MorningFatty]

I noticed that, it's also great at pushing the sounds to the audience, but seems half as intense for my stage volume. I have a really hard time hearing myself sometimes when tapping and doing fast runs. For tonight's show I tried setting my kilo EQ to boost lows and kept mids and highs at about %40 . Then I switched my gt-10b pedal the exact opposite EQ. Thought it might balance each other out and make a nice sound.....that was not the case :/

 

[AdamR]

Loose the pedal. Its over kill. The Kilo has enough flexability. Dont boost your lows it turns to mud. Boost the mids, Low mids for punch, Hi mids for cut. Try putting the graphic eq in a frown shape.

 

[Gearhead17]

I agree on losing the pedal. The Kilo head already has enough tone controls. You need to learn what each knob does on the amp. Adjust each knob one by one and learn what it does to your tone. Adjusting two sets of EQ will drive you nuts and likely result in what you are already dealing with - notes lost in the mix.

 

[AdamR]

Looking at the frequencies on the Killo I can tell you I would start by cutting the first slider and leave the second flat.

 

[MorningFatty]

Thanks boys! I know the tone is way better without the pedal. I will lose some cool octave and funk wah slap stuff I do with it, but overall only using one EQ will be better

 

[joelb79]

Combining EQ's is not the way to get punchy tone. Learning how to make the string do what you want the tone to sound like is how you get punchy tone. If I could give you one solid advise, it would be to not grab an EQ slider if something sounds off, but attack the string differently. use a pick. Use a mute. Palm mute. Pluck near the neck pickup or the bridge pickup. Pick near the bridge with a mute. Learn how to make the string sing out the tone you want before you grab a slider on the EQ at all. The best way to get punch is play more staccato.

But here is some sage advise: Take out the 31hz completely, boost lightly somewhere from 50-80hz cut around 100hz, boost around 150-200hz to shape the lows for more punch. Then you can use the "bass" knob on the preamp to shape the overall ammout of lows you need. This will make the bass boost seem more controlled and help you sound punchier.

31hz is not audible on an Ampeg 810. All this does is increase the excursion of your speakers without offering up volume. Good for loosing punch but adding wub wub wub.
50-80hz is safe to boost as long as the cones do not loose control. This is a good boost region.
100hz is the loudest frequency and also the muddiest. Worth cutting because there is so much energy here already. You also compete with the kick drum right here so let that kick come through more to increase your OWN perceived punch.
150-200hz is where the throaty harmonics of your lows come from. These frequencies can add some punch depending on your pickup choices. Perhaps not so much with a single pickup bass.

The body of bass guitar is generally from 250hz to 350hz. typically this is cut some to make your entire tone sound wider. This is not something you want to do too much of if you like a punchy tone.

But seriously.. one EQ is enough, the Hartke one.

 

[Vince Klortho]

Thanks boys! I know the tone is way better without the pedal. I will lose some cool octave and funk wah slap stuff I do with it, but overall only using one EQ will be better

Is there a way to disable the EQ in the pedal? At the very least, try running it with all settings flat and see how that works for you.

If I am not mistaken, you can also disable the EQ on the Kilo. Isn't there a button on the front panel for that?

 

[MorningFatty]

Thank you for the info Joel, very helpful. I'm starting to dislike the pedal sound compared to straight out of the hartke, the problem is there are a few auto wah effects I use for a daft punk cover and also an octave drop that kills it. I kind of need it now, just have been tweaking with cutting certain frequencies like Joel was mentioning.