How Much is Too Much EQ?

[groovaholic]

EQ is like salt - a little bit is often necessary, but there's a wide range of opinions on how much is tasteful.

Somewhere between "bland" and "salty" lies "tasty" - and that's the goal.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I have a pro bassist friend of mine. I have seen him with Foderas, warriors, fenders, etc. He does not use a pedal. Nothing. He sounds fantastic. So too many can get in the way of a good sound.

 

[groovepump]

A useful question to ask about any gear is "what problem does it solve?"
If the T21 preamps are doing the tone-shaping job for you, then I'd ignore the EQ pedal recommendation.

Too many players think there's a universal recipe for tone, but thank goodness we've all our own styles and our own needs.

Amen. There is no universal, specfific must-have tone. Fir those of us who play out regularly, it's more important to get set-up, basic mix and mic-test, and get playing. I EQ to the venue, not some 45 in my record collection.

 

[Aidenn7]

No.. But if need freqs boosted or taken away.. It good to have in your gig bag.. I got whirlwind 10 band.. But with lots of bass playing.. It's what you don't play or have in the signal.. That makes it sound good.. That's my logic in bass playing..

 

[groovepump]

I have a pro bassist friend of mine. I have seen him with Foderas, warriors, fenders, etc. He does not use a pedal. Nothing. He sounds fantastic. So too many can get in the way of a good sound.

I only purchased a compressor last December. Used it once. Now it's collecting dust. I get a tone that makes me money with the EQ in the bass and amps I use. My preference is to minimise gear and expense. I want to get paid to play bass, not pay-to-play-bass. Just my preference...

 

[Geddyfleaharris]

Tell him to buy you that pedal.

Nice. I never thought of that! lol

 

[Geddyfleaharris]

Depends on whether your sound is missing something (in a practical sense, not just talking about personal taste). In my experience, multiple layers of EQ/preamps start to sound "weird" pretty quickly and I end up favoring the basics. Do you think you need something else in play?

No I do not think I need anything. I thought asking the question might trigger a moderately interesting thread. And it has in my estimation. Always good to see different points of view.

 

[Geddyfleaharris]

Thanks all. Great responses. I personally do not think I need or want an EQ pedal. Someone asked what my friend uses it for of which I have no idea. Someone else said, something shiny and new. I am usually a set it and forget type of player when we gig. I don't want, or need, endless tweaking.

 

[HelpImaRock]

I use the Spaceballs philosophy, "take only what you need to survive." My thing is getting my base tone from the amp and then adding pedals based on achieving a certain goal. The idea of dialing in one sound, countering that with a second sound, and then adding another EQ seems like overkill to me. That said, if you were doing that as clean, eq'd distortion, and the eq'd boost on top of that, it would make more sense.