Help dialing in live tone with MXR Bass DI+, Microtubes X & Compressor

[lord_mezry]

I recently started running my rig direct into a PA for live practice. Until now, I was using a Laney RB9 head with RB410 cab, so I'm still adjusting to getting a great tone straight to FOH with no amp. We play hard rock similar to RATM, Tool etc.

Here's my setup (no amp, direct to FOH):

• Bass: Ibanez SRMS806 (6-string multiscale)
• Strings: NYXL 32–130SL
• Tuning: Guitars are tuned down half-step (Eb standard)
• Pedals (in order for tone):
  1. MXR Bass Compressor
  2. Darkglass Microtubes X
  3. MXR Bass DI+
• No amp or cab — completely DI-based
  
  My Current Pedal Board setup:
  
  
  

I want:

• Clean, tight low-end that doesn't get lost
• Gritty, aggressive mids/highs that stand out in a loud mix
• Consistent tone across strings (especially the low B and E)
• A rig that works well on stage, straight into the board

Specific Questions:

• How would you set the LPF/HPF on the Microtubes X for this kind of tone?
• Should I still use the Boss EQ pedal, or rely on the Microtubes & MXR DI EQs?
• Tips for gain staging and blend settings in this kind of DI setup?

Would love to hear from anyone playing similar genres or using a similar setup. Thanks!

 

[Nuisance]

Response to your questions below: Keep in mind I am assuming you have zero control over your mix at the console. If you have control of that, there are much better ways to accomplish the steps listed below:

• How would you set the LPF/HPF on the Microtubes Xfor this kind of tone?
  • I would set the Low Pass based on your dirty tone, and how much high end you want to let through. The High pass filter will be HIGHLY dependent on your PA and the room, and what you want to accomplish with it. If you want to only reduce the tones you can't really hear anyway, start with it at about 40Hz. If you want to clean up your tone a little, try around 60hz. Again, this will be highly dependent on the room and your PA.
• Should I still use the Boss EQ pedal, or rely on the Microtubes & MXR DI EQs?
  • If the Microtubes and MXR does want you want (i.e. you are happy with the tone), pull the Boss EQ from the board. Keep in mind that mids are your friend.
• Tips for gain staging and blend settings in this kind of DI setup?
  • Strictly to taste. You're going to need to experiment.

In most cases, your sound engineer will manage EQ and filtering at the console. However, if the band owns and operates the PA and you have direct access to it, it's best to handle the majority of the EQ adjustments there—console EQ offers much more precise control. If you don't own a PA and are plugging into a different venue PA every week then feel free to do some EQ'ing on your pedalboard.

Also, keep in mind that cutting frequencies is generally more effective than boosting them. Your sound engineer will likely "slot" each instrument into its own frequency range, so the tone you hear out front (FOH) may differ from the one you've dialed in personally.

 

[Zbysek]

I am running similar setup myself (kind of).

I would set both HPF and LPF around noon (roughly).....i.e., LPF around 250Hz and HPF around 500Hz...

I would also recommend either moving the comp after the Microtubes X or, alternatively, getting crossed-over drive pedal which allows to compress lows only, such as DG Microtubes X7, DG Microtubes X Ultra or Tech 21 XB Driver. Such a pedal would replace three of your pedals (comp, MXR preamp and DG X).

 

[mellobud]

Do you have the "color" button pushed in on the MXR DI?

There was a thread that analyzed what that button did and it had a hpf and lpf effect as well as a scoop in the middle. I crank my mid knob on the pedal to bring the mids back in.

 

[Chris Chong]

I had the x for awhile, and felt that i prefer to have LPF full clockwise and HPF full counter clockwise, i.e. max coverage for both LPF and HPF. that was after I watch Amos's YouTube demos. but I soon realise I wanted the clean High freq blend in with distortion instead of cutting off at 500Hz, and settled with the other 3 siblings…

 

[tshapiro]

I'd like to offer a different perspective to getting the results you want. Granted, you may not like some of it, but, in the long run I think you'll find it helpful. I used to have a pedalboard similar to yours. A lot of what you're likely looking for (Clean that cuts, distortion with grit, etc.) is going to come from a very clean signal chain so the detail doesn't get washed out. So, before you look at HP/LP filters adjustments, you may want to look at reducing the buffers which, as I look at it, you have a lot of in your path. Again, likely not what you want to hear, but probably valuable in the long run… You could use a Darkglass Microtubes Effects unit (which sounds better than the pedals), and consolidate the Line Selector, 2 Dirt boxes, Compressor, DI Box, and tuner. That would go from 6 to 1. I'd switch the Cry Baby for a Morley Bad Horsie 2 which operates very similar but has much clearer buffers… put it at the beginning of your chain. Instead of the Boss Multi Overtone, maybe something true bypass like a TC Electronic Sub n Up. In the end, you'd have much fewer buffers, fewer EQ stages, a uni-level compressor that's designed to work with your Darkglass distortions, you could have 1 clean and 2 distortion presets, and an overall cleaner and more detailed signal which would really help the edge on the distortion so it cuts through. Could look something like this…

 

[Wasnex]

How are you monitoring? Sorry if missed it.

Here's an important thing you might be missing. The channel strips on mixers only have one set of tone controls. The sound you need in your monitor is likely to require different processing than your sound in the house mix. IMHO the channel strip should be adjusted to make you sound great in the house. The resulting adjustments won't necessarily make you sound great in your monitor.

So my suggestion is to take care of yourself with the advice and consent of your audio tech. This basically means you should use your pedals to dial in the sound you want to hear in your monitor. As long as it's not so extreme that the audio tech can't work with it, then your golden. Let the audio tech worry about the house mix.

Another bit of detail about the channel strips. The signal that is routed back to your monitor uses an Aux Send. This should be set to Pre fader. This allows the audio tech to adjust your balance in the house mix without screwing up your monitor mix.

The Send on many digital mixers can be taken off the channel at several points along the signal path. You will need to consult with the mixer manual to see what the options are. The biggest split IMHO is pre or post EQ. If the send is configured post EQ, every change the audio tech makes to your tone will impact your sound in you monitor. If the send is configure pre EQ you get a flat sound and the audio tech's tone adjustments have no impact. Given your pedals, I would suggest having the send configure pre EQ.

There are ways around these limitations. One way is to dual assign the bass to two channels on the mixer. One channel is used for the house mix and the other channel is used for your monitor mix. I have worked with several system that had all of the channels dual assigned. Channels 1-32 were use for the house mix on fader level A. The same inputs were dual assigned to Channels 33-64 on fader level B, which was used for the monitor mixes. If I am not being clear Channel 1 and Channel 33 share an input, Channel 2 and Channel 34 share an input, Channel 3 and Channel 35 share an input, etc. Additionally since the board I used distributes the channels across two fader levels, each pair or channels is located at exactly same place on the mixer. Select fader level A and the first channel is 1. Select fader level B and the first channel is 33.

While splitting a board like this can be extremely useful, it can also be confusing and labor intensive. I would only recommend it if you always work with the same audio tech and system. Also the audio tech will require a certain skill and knowledge level to be able to grasp and use this sort of setup.

As far as how to adjust stuff? To get a sound you need to experiment and learn how everything works. Then it's simply a matter of fiddling with the controls until you get what you want. However beware of what we call bedroom tone. Basically if you dial in a sound seems incredible when you play by yourself, it will tend to get lost in the mix when everyone is playing. In generally a good sound for the mix will have less low and more mids and highs.


With an HPF dial it up till the sound start to thin out too much. Back it off a bit and your done. Setting an LPF is similar. Dial it down until the offending sound is sufficiently filtered.

To some extent less is more. If one EQ does what you need, then get rid of the second EQ. Small EQ changes are usually better than big changes. For effects opt for slightly drier than you want, rather than slightly wetter.