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HPF Tips?

CallMeAl

CallMeAl

Dec 2, 2016
6,852
15,705
Ithaca Ny
#1
Hi all!

Was about to post this in the hpf megathread, but thought I might get more help in my own thread. (If there is a thread already please LMK; it was hard to find anything on hpf that was NOT the megathread :laugh:)

I just ordered my own Broughton always-on HPF, and anxiously awaiting its arrival. I am looking for some general guidance on operation, "hpf 101" if you will. I'm not only a hpf noob, but totally green to anything in between my bass and amp that's not an instrument cable... so be gentle :smug:

Where do people generally set theirs? I've read "use your ears," and that makes sense to me.... do I make adjustments for each room I'm in? e.g. We play some real echo chambers, winery dining rooms with stone, glass, wood, high ceilings, and very little fabric. Then there are the bars where a lot of sound gets soaked up, and we tend to play louder. Then there's outdoors. Different settings for each venue? Does stage/total volume make a difference?

Any strong feelings on putting it before the amp's input VS using the FX loop?

Anything I'm forgetting, or should be aware of?

I'm playing a P bass, rounds, Fender Rumble 100 v3 combo. I have recently learned the Rumble has a built in fixed 2nd order hpf.... not sure how that comes into play; but I'm pretty sure the Broughton will allow me to be more aggressive if needed.

TIA!

Oh yeah, pic, or I didn't order it ;)
20190621_224141.jpg
 
Last edited:
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#4
OP,
There are no settings on the HPF so if you need to, go to the picture of the High Pass Filter ($95 model) to understand where your settings are. I've got mine set around 10:30 which should be about 30Hz. I had my 'revelation' earlier this year when even at low volumes I could here the difference of tone without the rumble (which I never thought I was creating).
 
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#5
There's no one magic setting that will work for everything when trying to dial in a HPF. My suggestion is to always start with it all the way down (20-ish Hz or whatever), and then dial it up until you can start to hear it take effect, then back it off a little from there. The tendency (for me anyway), is usually to dial it up until you hear it start to cut low end and then leave it at that. You may initially think that everything sounds cleaner, but IMO once you start cutting audible frequencies you're stealing too much energy from the signal, and it tends to make things a little dull and lifeless. If you're trying to fix a boomy stage or room, you may not have a choice, but for regular use err on the side of less-is-more. It's still working by filtering out sub frequencies and inaudible garbage, even if you can't tell. It's definitely a set-by-ear and by-room situation.

I take it from your self-described pedal-n00b status that you aren't using any other pedals, so that at least takes care of the question of where to put the HPF in the chain. :p

Do you ever play gigs with the bass going through a PA? Or mostly just relying on your amp to cover the room? If the former, you may want to think about whether you're putting the HPF before or after the DI feed to the mixing board. Do you want to cut all that low end out before it gets to the mixer, or only for yourself on stage? My typical rule of thumb in that situation would be to give the soundguy as much as possible to work with, ie. minimal HPF on the signal to the board.
 
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#7
Lowest usable frequency on the E string is about 40hz. Everything below that is just color/rumble.
You can double that and remove the first harmonic so 80 hz works as well.


This will sound backwards. If you drop tune, you can actually set the hpf higher without damaging the sound. When I drop d I hpf at closer to 60hz.
 
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#9
I typically start around 40-60. We use a 100hz hpf for everything on our board (including keys) which we all go through, but I disable it on my channel and use the Broughton (excellent choice BTW). We also go lower for the kick, but I forgot the setting. I suggest playing with it to get it where you want it, you should be able to clearly hear when you’ve cut out too much low end. It could also need tweaking depending on the venue.
 
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#10
NKBassman said:
Do you ever play gigs with the bass going through a PA? Or mostly just relying on your amp to cover the room? If the former, you may want to think about whether you're putting the HPF before or after the DI feed to the mixing board. Do you want to cut all that low end out before it gets to the mixer, or only for yourself on stage? My typical rule of thumb in that situation would be to give the soundguy as much as possible to work with, ie. minimal HPF on the signal to the board
Click to expand...
We put the bass in the PA for the bar and outdoor gigs.

I don't know if I have an option as to sending the hpf through the line out- the rumble amps send everything out the line out, Including fx loop, EQ, even the master volume.

We do our own PA so BL is the sound guy!


Spent said:
Broughton (excellent choice BTW).
Click to expand...
All @Stumbo ! :)

Spent said:
It could also need tweaking depending on the venue.
Click to expand...
NKBassman said:
It's definitely a set-by-ear and by-room situation.
Click to expand...

This is kinda what I thought, since IME some rooms are fine and some are... not. But I see some responders giving me specific numbers, so I thought maybe it could be personal preference, or rig-specific.
 
#12
Drop1 said:
Lowest usable frequency on the E string is about 40hz. Everything below that is just color/rumble.
You can double that and remove the first harmonic so 80 hz works as well.


This will sound backwards. If you drop tune, you can actually set the hpf higher without damaging the sound. When I drop d I hpf at closer to 60hz.
Click to expand...
I gave specific numbers as a reference. For instance, open E has no useful material below 40hz so theres no reason to go any lower unless your drop tuning. No sense in asking your cab to play lower when theres nothing there but noise and rumble.
 
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#15
Nighttrain1127 said:
You can put the HPF in your effects loop and it will keep all that junk that you don't want out of everything. The trick is as mentioned above you will hear when it starts working So you can leave it there or back it off a bit to taste.
Click to expand...
I'll do whatever sounds best, but I kinda like the idea of having it tucked away behind the amp in the FX loop.
 
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#18
20190627_123213.jpg


First pic is open E. Everything below 40 hz is optional. Lots of cabs dott even play that low. No sense in ever setting the hpf below 40hz if you are tuned to E. Raising it above 40hz can be useful.
Pushing up to 80hz can really tighten things up in a bass heavy room. Tuned to E I'm always hunting the sweet spot between 40hz and 80hz.

20190627_123519.jpg


Second pic is open B. Most of the time I'll start at about 60 hz and remove some fundamental. Most cabs are pretty useless that low anyway (B's fundamental is about 30hz) but somewhere between 30hz and 60 is what I look for when playin a 5 string.
There are just starting points based solely on tunings.
 
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