How many bands of EQ do you prefer?

[two fingers]

My favorite amp these days is the Walkabout. So I guess 5. The para mids on that amp really let you dial in just about anything you like.

 

[Qlanq]

The Shuttle 9.2 is the first amp I've owned with 4 band EQ.
I just use the mid section of it to get a cracking sound out of it.
And the valve section is cool for really pushing the mids too.

 

[lomo]

4, ideally including 2 sweepable mids.

 

[Groove Doctor]

At least 4 bands.

Mesa Walkabout & Thunderfunk.... You can make a radical difference to your sound when you know what you're doing!

Everything at 12 o'clock is sooo overrated.

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

For guitars 3 is more than enough. My orange terror amp has one tone control and gives me what I need from it.

For bass I'm happy with the four band on my amp. I've been eyeing up a boss geb7 for a while now as I have a spot on a boss pedalboard to fill, but I can't bring myself to be excited by it, it surely can't do a lot for my sound that my amps controls can't except in the couple of bands between 500 and 10k....

I tend to only tweak my low and high mids from noon.

 

[bikeplate]

No preference. I try to find an amp that's as close to plug n play as possible.

 

[beans-on-toast]

It depends on the application.

Bass and treble is usually enough, a mid is gravy. I just want to make a sound. Amps that have a graphic EQ I set and leave or bypass it if that option is available. I like simplicity because EQ can suck tone out of the signal chain.

Mixing is a different story. That's where parametric EQ's come in handy to deal with noise and enhance the tonal palette.

 

[bassliner50]

5 bands make the most sense for me. This was not one of the options in the OP.

 

[kevteop]

Just a resonant low-pass filter and I guess the tone knob on my bass but very rarely. I don't use the EQ on my amp at all. It's a Shuttle. To be honest I couldn't even tell you what EQ controls it's got.

 

[shawshank72]

4

This^

 

[rufus.K]

4

 

[nostatic]

Jaco only needed 4.

oh wait...wrong thread...

 

[DavC]

4 is nice .. but , for me , their center freq point is more important ..!

 

[JackANSI]

Like DavC said, where the controls are doing their job is (freq and q/width) important too.

I like 4 bands that include two para or semi-para mids.

After a certain point you have to wonder if an amp maker added more bands to be flexible, or because the amp needs them (too thick of a baked-in tone).

 

[Mike Arnopol]

I prefer shelving bass and treble with an additional 3 fully parametric bands. So many guys are put off by parametrics---it's a not-so-steep learning curve. Once you're used to it--you won't want to live without it. Especially as a bassist. Our interaction with the room IS our sound. Some of that interaction is funky. With a parametric you tame only the offensive stuff. or use a wide "q" to do general shaping.

Oh---and a good HPF is really useful. Not just a HPF---a GOOD one. One that you can't tell if it's in or out---unless you look at the cone and the excursion is a fraction of what it was without the HPF.

 

[JackANSI]

I prefer shelving bass and treble with an additional 3 fully parametric bands. So many guys are put off by parametrics---it's a not-so-steep learning curve. Once you're used to it--you won't want to live without it. Especially as a bassist. Our interaction with the room IS our sound. Some of that interaction is funky. With a parametric you tame only the offensive stuff. or use a wide "q" to do general shaping.

Oh---and a good HPF is really useful. Not just a HPF---a GOOD one. One that you can't tell if it's in or out---unless you look at the cone and the excursion is a fraction of what it was without the HPF.

Quick aside, what is a HPF that you would use? (Brand/model)

 

[Spector2112]

Three onboard my bass, (technically four with the pull mids selector), four on my GK.
1k is the only common freq between my onboard and amp, so i leave my onboard at 400.

 

[middy]

Two. I like to keep the mids as natural as possible, finding the right bass and cab, not goosing or cutting frequencies.

I like more top end than a flat eq provides, and I need to be able to tame or boost the bass for the room, so just bass and treble for me, thanks.

If I really need to boost or cut mids, that can be achieved by cutting or boosting both bass and treble respectively.

 

[JxBass]

Two.

 

[Mike Arnopol]

Quick aside, what is a HPF that you would use? (Brand/model)

Ummm---I didn't say that as a marketing tool. I don't know of the various HPF's available---only a couple. To me--they did what they were supposed to but the sound was compromised as well.
Now it's not a commercial product yet, but my eyes were opened by the HPF that Sonic Farm guru Zoran came up with.(on their new bass amp--which I am involved with). All of a sudden my 110 cab (with the hpf engaged) went as loud before fartout as my 112 (without a hpf) And the low end was punchier with much better impact. Makes sense--by removing the unwanted subsonics, your amp and speaker can do what they need to do.