• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

How to you set your active bass controls?

DeepSouth

DeepSouth

Aug 6, 2008
85
75
#1
In 2020 after many many years of only playing passive basses I got to fooling with active basses.

My Ibanez EHB 5 string is getting the most love right now.

When I first got it I wasn't to impressed with the sound.

But then I saw a video where David Ellefson said he cranked all the controls wide open and explained why he does.

So I tried it was quite surprised and liked what I was hearing.

Now I usually leave everything wide open and use the mid freq control to do the bulk of my tone shaping. Its amazing how much tonal variation there is to be had with that knob.

I'd never heard of running the controls wide open so it makes me wonder if that's a common thing and how others use their active basses.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ellery and cool breeze
#2
Would it be an oversimplification to say "I do what sounds good?"

Because I think that's about all there is to it.

Unless the preamp is very strongly voiced, you should be able to re-center by adjusting volume and/or gain and get your tone controls back to a point of being usable, instead of just being pegged all the time. To me, the whole point of an active EQ is adjustability.
 
  • Like
Reactions: equill, FrenchBassQC, JohnnyChatter and 6 others
#3
Wow, Dave must go through a lot of batteries.

Generally, @dwizum is right - the tone controls are there to shape the sound to suit the ears. Cranking everything wide open is like driving around town with the accelerator to the floor. It might work, but it’s not the most flexible or efficient.

Remember that every instrument is the sum total of its components and construction. A mahogany chambered bass with an overwound humbucker by the neck will probably need treble boost and bass cut. Conversely, a heavy ash Jazz with a Q-Tuner at the bridge will likely need a bass boost, and perhaps mids as well.

In summary - it depends.
 
  • Like
Reactions: One Way, Gormsgade, Reedt2000 and 1 other person
#5
I typically use 2-band preamps...because that’s what I wound up getting.
I would basically boost the bass about 1/4 turn from center detente and use a mix of treble boost or cut together with a passive tone control to taste. I never dime all the controls. I did once to see what it would sound like...sounded like going through a gain pedal.

I am actually considering doing a future build with, get this, passive controls...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Reedt2000 and ctmullins
#6
"How do you set your active bass controls?"

I set 'em with my fingers like I always do.

...Really couldn't help that... :)

DeepSouth said:
...the controls wide open so it makes me wonder if that's a common thing...
Click to expand...
I've not really heard of folk doing that, so probably not many others. Then again, I haven't met everyone, either LOL.
If you like it, keep doing it.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Reedt2000
#7
Setting them wide open won't fare too well on a Bongo :) .

My experience is the opposite of yours. For many years I played ONLY active basses. I used to push the bass and treble a bit, and use mids in accordance with the room I was in. A while back I switched to passive basses, and doing that actually opened up a whole new world for me with ACTIVE basses...

In an attempt to get passive bass sounds out of my actives, I started considering about a 3rd of the way up on all tone controls, flat. And it worked! Doing that has gotten me sounds out my basses I never knew existed. Especially on my Musicmans. I can now get them to sound like Fenders, or just about anything I want - when I do that. It It gives me a much broader palette to work with.

And getting back to the Bongo, I could have to do some SERIOUS re-EQing on my amp if I were to attempt turning it all up. I can't imagine that being a desirable sound in any way, either. Maybe I'll give it go next time I have it out :) .
 
  • Like
Reactions: equill, MonetBass, Killing Floor and 2 others
#8
I try to keep an open mind - and ears.
For years, I would leave everything "flat" under the assumption that it's on me do dig what I need out with the fingers. That approach works great on some basses - others, not so much. (I have to remind my logical self: those EQ knobs might actually be there for a reason!)
If I had to generalize, I would say I usually like to boost the lows a little - when it just sounds & feels better when I do it. (But I don't overdo it!) Then I boost or cut treble to taste from song to song.
While auditioning drastic EQ changes, I suggest you compensate for level. We tend to perceive louder as "better" but that doesn't necessarily mean the hotter option is actually best in context.
FWIW I tried a new 2-band axe with both knobs cranked and found that to be a bit ridiculous. (But I have to admit, I've never tried that on the old 3-band Warwick, yet. Something new to mull on this evening's practice session...)
 
#9
IMHO maxing out the bass's tone controls is a recipe for disaster, but YMMV.

I usually run the volume wide open and set the Bass and Treble to the center detente. On most basses I prefer to favor the bridge pickup slightly, but on my #1 (a Yamaha TRB6P) I have always preferred to slightly favor the neck pickup. The piezo is set in phase and blended to taste, normally anywhere between 1/2 and 3/4 full on.

Depending on the amp I may change any or all settings. I usually try to dial in my sound with the amp, but if the amp is not flexible enough to get me all the way there, I will use a little bit of the bass's controls.

If a song requires a different sound, I tend to use the bass's controls.

If I am running ampless, I will run the bass's volume control at 2/3 to 3/4, so I have some range to bump my volume mid-show if I can't hear and the audio tech is not paying attention.

It's important to be mindful that any changes you make on the bass will effect all of the mixes you are feeding. So I would suggest checking all of your tones during sound check, and being somewhat subtle when you make unplanned changes mid-show
 
  • Like
Reactions: MonetBass and DeepSouth
#10
Thx for the feedback all. Gigs will be starting up again for me in the next few weeks and that will be the real test.

I noticed today when I decided to plug into my Tech 21 Dug pedal by B string was overloading something if I even slighting started digging in.

More experimenting to do!
 
#13
Really depends on which bass and what I'm trying to accomplish with it. IMO the whole point of on-board EQ is to shape as needed. Like, if you're looking for a scooped tone, up the bass and treble and drop the mids. But how much one does so depends on which bass. On my Ray, if I'm going to slap (which I'm not very good at) I only need to back off the mids to about 25% and bump the other two up to about 75%. That is, unless I've just put on new strings, in which case for the first couple weeks gotta run the treble a bit lower than normal. However, on my BB, when I'm trying to get that Peter Hook sound, I max out the bass and treble and keep the mids at center—so 2 of 3 wide open. I have a Sire, too, which has an 18V preamp and I rarely run anything wide open because that thing really changes the world, especially the bass knob.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MonetBass
#15
On my EBMM basses with 3 band I’m a little past center on lows and center or slightly over on highs. Mids I start below center and +/- the mids to suit the room. Usually it’s a slight scoop.
With my East preamps I keep highs flat or slightly past center but I don’t usually pull the bright boost. The para mid is negative to the low mid nasal and the lows are slightly forward. So again a shallow scoop.
 
#16
Reminds me of that thread, a Roscoe thread, where someone posted about going to a Jimmy Haslip clinic and Jimmy did the same thing on his Roscoe - dimed all the knobs.

The poster was a bit taken aback, gainstaging, no control, yadda yadda yadda. Then he went home and tried it with his Roscoe and said it really copped Jimmy’s sound!

I don’t do that, I leave them at center-detent most of the time. But whatever works for you! And Jimmy Haslip and Dave Ellefson.

There are a lot of ways to do it. Thank goodness!
 
#18
To me the whole point of an active bass is to have additional tone shaping. At times when I've had to play in a very live room with a tile floor I might turn the bass control most of the way down. Or if I'm in a really dead room I might want some additional treble. I have a drummer friend who has a 30 band graphic eq as part of his home stereo. He pushes all the frequencies all the way up "because he likes the way it sounds". To each his own.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MonetBass and Element Zero
#20
I leave em flat. preamp on the board and my head for tone shaping. depends on the song, bass, desired sound to determine how I have the pickups blended / configured. I usually set volume where I roll full on and then just back it off a hair. all preference really. do what works best for you and your situation
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back