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How can I EQ better to cut through the mix?

Poor Tom

Poor Tom

Apr 12, 2008
612
1
39
Palm Harbor, Florida
#1
I play in a rock band with my only bass: a Lakland DJ4 jazz bass. I feel like I get lost in the mix a lot, especially whenever I try to play notes on the D or G string. My EQ on my Hartke HA2500 is set to a frowny face configuration, so the mids are boosted.

Is the problem the fact that I am using a passive jazz in a rock setting? I really dislike the p bass sound whenever I play them in a music store solo, but maybe it would cut through much better than my jazz in a full rock band setting?

sigh, my DJ4 cost me a lot, and I love the feel and sound of it when I am alone, how can I make it sound better in a band setting?

thanks guys!

edit: its a frown not a smile. ;(
 
#2
Poor Tom said:
I play in a rock band with my only bass: a Lakland DJ4 jazz bass. I feel like I get lost in the mix a lot, especially whenever I try to play notes on the D or G string. My EQ on my Hartke HA2500 is set to a smiley face configuration, so the mids are boosted.

Is the problem the fact that I am using a passive jazz in a rock setting? I really dislike the p bass sound whenever I play them in a music store solo, but maybe it would cut through much better than my jazz in a full rock band setting?

sigh, my DJ4 cost me a lot, and I love the feel and sound of it when I am alone, how can I make it sound better in a band setting?

thanks guys!

p.s. hope this is the right forum
Click to expand...

So your amp's EQ is set in a smiley configuration but your mids are boosted? Please explain this further. I've always been under the assumption that the smiley face config. is scooping the mids, not boosting them.

As far as your bass is concerned, I do know that I get more head room from my active bass than my passive one. I always use an active bass when playing live or in a loud situation. My passive works in the studio pretty nice. A P bass will be OK but if you don't like the sound of it you may want to try a bass with some soap bars like a Lakland 55-02 or a Stingray with the MM pup. maybe get something with a coil tap switch so you can get the tone you want in different rooms. There's plenty to choose from when you're talking about pickup configurations.
 
#5
Mids and mid-bass. Smiley EQ just isn't going to cut it, you want boosts between 600Hz and 1200Hz or so. Maybe a boost around 150-300Hz also to get that mid-bass going.

The main thing to remember is that if it sounds like crap by itself, it's probably going to sound ok in a mix. That rule applies to pretty much every instrument. Bass needs to be too mid-rangy. Guitar needs to be too thin with no bass in it. Etc.
 
#7
i play a fender jaguar bass (only use passive setting), so it's pretty similar to jazz bass setup. I had the same problem and was able to fix it by doing the following.

1. My amp has semi-parametric mids, so I set the low-mid to a pretty high boost and sweep the frequency until I hear the bass start to cut through obnoxiously and then I back down the gain a little. Usually end up somewhere around 400hz.
2. I do the same thing with the hi-mids and usually and up around 800hz, give or take.
3. Leave bass control flat or slightly cut to avoid clashing with the kick.
4. Boost the highs if necessary to bring out some extra attack.
5. Play with a pick if appropriate or you feel like it.
6. Use an outboard compressor. This has actually been the biggest factor for me. I use a Symetrix cl150 and mess with the attack and release until the notes really get punchy. (Slower attack, faster release).Then I sort of slam the open E and random fretted notes and mess with the threshold until the loudest notes are hitting about 10-12 db of gain reduction. Make up gain to bring the level back up. Ratio normally between 4:1 and 6:1.

After all this, the bass seems to sit really well. Oh yeah, make sure your guitarists don't have the lows on there amp boosted to much. It's kind of similar to what I do when I'm mixing. Hope this give you some ideas to try.
 
#8
The thing that is bugging me is the fact that you die on the G and D strings. Try adusting your pickups to balance the strings. That means bringing the the G and D side of the pickups closer OR moving the bass side further. This should help.

Nothing wrong with your choice of bass. You might want to change the strings as well, older roundwound strings have been known to die out.
 

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