First off, welcome to TalkBass. Second, anything anyone says about me in here is generally going to be a lie. Third, I have almost 34,000 posts, so don't argue with me.
Now that we've got that out of the way, I have to say "none of the above" in response to your poll. I mean this in the most loving way, of course. I prefer a pretty even response across the frequency spectrum, with maybe just a little enhancement of the high mids and a touch of bottom if necessary. The low mids will give you a "boxy" sort of tone so I usually leave them at noon - no boost. By boosting the high mids just a tad, it gives the note its identity pitch-wise. Adding too much bottom makes the tone boomy and decreases the intelligibility of the pitch. Adding treble adds string noise and I generally leave it at noon.
Of course, this all depends on how your amp sounds set "flat" (everything at noon). Some amps add color - for instance a low-mid bump, which may be intentional to give the amp a vintage character. I've gravitated toward amps that have a good full-range response with minimal bumps in a given frequency range when set "flat." In the past, I used Eden amps, which require very little EQing to get a very nice tone. I also had an Aguilar DB750 which was a fabulous amp with a bit of low mid emphasis. Nowadays, since I've gone to mostly micro amps, I favor Gallien Krueger MB-series amps and own three of them. I am a noted fanboi of Jim Bergantino, and his soon-to-be-released B-Amp is a game changer (see the B-Amp at NAMM thread).
It's not particularly useful to list how your EQ is set since we don't know what your amp sounds like set flat. Generally speaking, you're going to have problems with a bass amp (not necessarily your Marshall guitar amp) when you start cranking the EQ past about 2 o'clock or below about 9 o'clock. A good practice with a true bass amp is to set everything at noon, then boost and cut a little at a time to get your tone. Things tend to get out of control when you crank the EQ too much in either direction. On most bass amps, your current settings would not result in favorable results. Also, keep in mind that boosting EQ on any band adds gain to the signal, and too much of that can lead to an overdriven power section in the amp, and ultimately damage your speakers from overload, especially if you're pumping up the bottom. BTW, FYI your current settings have a name - it's called "smiley face." (On a graphic EQ, the faders create the shape of a smile.) That means that the bass and treble are boosted with respect to the mids. It sounds good in the bedroom, but it doesn't work at gigs. You need some mids in there to define the pitch and "cut through the mix." Again, I prefer high mids for this purpose.
Which brings up another issue - the cabinet. Cabs, like amps, can have an inherent coloration so they will necessarily affect your tone for better or worse. Again, as a Bergantino fanboi, I have gone to all Bergantino neo cabs. They typically have a fairly consistent response across the spectrum, with only minor variation in tonal character. I've owned and liked 410 cabs by Aguilar (GS series), Glockenklang and Eden - all are superb cabs, but too heavy for an old fart like me to be lugging around.
Finally, if you want to play fingerstyle, lose the glove and clip your nails. Aside from the weird appearance of wearing gloves, it's going to impede your progress as a player. You certainly don't want to wear a glove on your fretting hand, either.
All spoken in the interest of concord, sanguinity and sincerity.
Now that we've got that out of the way, I have to say "none of the above" in response to your poll. I mean this in the most loving way, of course. I prefer a pretty even response across the frequency spectrum, with maybe just a little enhancement of the high mids and a touch of bottom if necessary. The low mids will give you a "boxy" sort of tone so I usually leave them at noon - no boost. By boosting the high mids just a tad, it gives the note its identity pitch-wise. Adding too much bottom makes the tone boomy and decreases the intelligibility of the pitch. Adding treble adds string noise and I generally leave it at noon.
Of course, this all depends on how your amp sounds set "flat" (everything at noon). Some amps add color - for instance a low-mid bump, which may be intentional to give the amp a vintage character. I've gravitated toward amps that have a good full-range response with minimal bumps in a given frequency range when set "flat." In the past, I used Eden amps, which require very little EQing to get a very nice tone. I also had an Aguilar DB750 which was a fabulous amp with a bit of low mid emphasis. Nowadays, since I've gone to mostly micro amps, I favor Gallien Krueger MB-series amps and own three of them. I am a noted fanboi of Jim Bergantino, and his soon-to-be-released B-Amp is a game changer (see the B-Amp at NAMM thread).
It's not particularly useful to list how your EQ is set since we don't know what your amp sounds like set flat. Generally speaking, you're going to have problems with a bass amp (not necessarily your Marshall guitar amp) when you start cranking the EQ past about 2 o'clock or below about 9 o'clock. A good practice with a true bass amp is to set everything at noon, then boost and cut a little at a time to get your tone. Things tend to get out of control when you crank the EQ too much in either direction. On most bass amps, your current settings would not result in favorable results. Also, keep in mind that boosting EQ on any band adds gain to the signal, and too much of that can lead to an overdriven power section in the amp, and ultimately damage your speakers from overload, especially if you're pumping up the bottom. BTW, FYI your current settings have a name - it's called "smiley face." (On a graphic EQ, the faders create the shape of a smile.) That means that the bass and treble are boosted with respect to the mids. It sounds good in the bedroom, but it doesn't work at gigs. You need some mids in there to define the pitch and "cut through the mix." Again, I prefer high mids for this purpose.
Which brings up another issue - the cabinet. Cabs, like amps, can have an inherent coloration so they will necessarily affect your tone for better or worse. Again, as a Bergantino fanboi, I have gone to all Bergantino neo cabs. They typically have a fairly consistent response across the spectrum, with only minor variation in tonal character. I've owned and liked 410 cabs by Aguilar (GS series), Glockenklang and Eden - all are superb cabs, but too heavy for an old fart like me to be lugging around.
Finally, if you want to play fingerstyle, lose the glove and clip your nails. Aside from the weird appearance of wearing gloves, it's going to impede your progress as a player. You certainly don't want to wear a glove on your fretting hand, either.
All spoken in the interest of concord, sanguinity and sincerity.
Last edited: