Is an EQ pedal absolutely necessary?

[stratovani]

There are four places where my bass tone can be adjusted - my bass tone knob, my Boss BB-1X Bass Driver pedal with a high and low knobs, my amp with a hi, mid, low, and phat knobs, and finally at the mixing board before the audience can hear me. Is an EQ pedal overkill at this point?

 

[Obese Chess]

I don't think it's necessary - I'm not a seasoned pro in these matters but the only reasons I can see an EQ pedal being useful are

1. You want to adjust your EQ at a particular point in your signal chain by putting it between two other pedals

and/or

2. There's a very specific frequency you are trying to adjust that is not covered by those other devices.

 

[pfschim]

as Obese Chess mentions, unless you are trying to EQ a very specific frequency range, you already have plenty of EQ options and your overall tone can easily get bogged down with too many preamps stacked up.

 

[Acidic Pool]

I've been thinking about getting one and setting it as a "scooped slap tone override" kinda thing, so I can just jump right into that from my normal mids-heavy fingerstyle tone.

 

[Jason Stock]

I've been thinking about getting one and setting it as a "scooped slap tone override" kinda thing, so I can just jump right into that from my normal mids-heavy fingerstyle tone.

You certainly can do that for a quick "change" to your sound.
Just remember with any effects (pedals, rack mount) to make sure it works for the sound and the sound in the room. If you are using PA support in a room, make sure your FOH engineer/tech hears it during sound check and is aware, or if you are doing your own mixing (as I do mostly now) that everything works for the sound in the PA.

 

[Groove Doctor]

Do you have quick swaps of basses during a gig? Then maybe.

A parametric or semi-parametric EQ pedal would be much more useful, but do you even need it? You really need to know what you’re doing to get the most out of it.


A variable HPF would be more beneficial for your signal chain. The combination of boosting the bass shelf EQ whilst using the HPF to cut the lowest frequencies let’s you sculpt a very nice mid-bass/upper-bass freq bump to suit the band/room/bass rig.

 

[31HZ]

I use EQ pedals to allow me to quickly shift my sound and/or volume, but I also like to have a rackmount parametric EQ in my rig to dial in the room by notching out problem frequencies.

 

[GreggBummer]

I used an EQ pedal for several years to help tame some of the "boom and mud" from the bass. Now, I use an HPF pedal. It does a better job. However, If I found the need switch between to completely different sounding instruments in the middle of a set/show- the EQ pedal may be the better tool. However, I would use a multi-channel preamp like a SANSAMP BDDI for a situation like that. A decent EQ pedal is about $100. The SANSAMP is about $200 and has a lot more to offer on a gig with multiple EQ requirements.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

There are four places where my bass tone can be adjusted - my bass tone knob, my Boss BB-1X Bass Driver pedal with a high and low knobs, my amp with a hi, mid, low, and phat knobs, and finally at the mixing board before the audience can hear me. Is an EQ pedal overkill at this point?

On my Eden heads, have a 3 band parametric EQ, and so does the Mesa WD-800. Most amps today don’t and either have limited midrange controls, and or a baked in sound. Why good midrange control is important is those frequencies are mostly what you can hear when playing in an ensemble.

This assumes your rig is your personal monitor on stage. Properly used, allows you to have good stage presence without killing the house, or overpowering FOH support which is easier to do than you think. As for amps that have “baked in sound”, either you like them or not, of which leads to much discussion here on TB.

But when you think about it, your sound is your responsibility, not an engineer (apologies and certainly no disrespect intended to agedhorse) somewhere. Being able to shape your sound to fit various acoustical environments, different types of ensembles, genres, and other musical projects is as important as the instrument you play.

Areas where an EQ may be superfluous is in the studio going straight to the board, or live using side fills instead of a personal monitor. In that case, make sure what you are getting from the side fills isn’t eliminating your band mates ability to hear what they need.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

There are four places where my bass tone can be adjusted - my bass tone knob, my Boss BB-1X Bass Driver pedal with a high and low knobs, my amp with a hi, mid, low, and phat knobs, and finally at the mixing board before the audience can hear me. Is an EQ pedal overkill at this point?

No. An eq pedal is not necessary. No pedals are necessary. If they were, they'd come with the amp/bass.

 

[MIMike]

The only time I ever use an eq pedal is when encountering problematic rooms while playing an upright. Much less so since getting a magnetic pickup for my upright, but that is all I ever used it for. Like stated earlier, you don’t necessarily shape your sound with one, you dial out specific frequencies that cause trouble.

 

[SteveC]

I’m gonna say no.

 

[Frunobulax]

EQ pedal is the only pedal I own. Think I've used it twice in 15 years...

 

[707GK]

I like having an EQ pedal with different frequency points than my amp, so I can tune to the room if needed, but you don’t need an EQ pedal. Usually the HPF works better for that anyways.

 

[40Hz]

“Less is more” as the saying goes.

IMO You’re best off doing all your EQ settings in one place. Or do your main EQ settings in one tonestack and only use a second EQ for fine tuning.

In my case I use my amp’s EQ to set my core sound and use an outboard EQ or (and that means ‘or’ and not both) the preamp (if it’s an active bass) for final tweaks. Or sometimes vice-versa depending on the sound I’m after.

This is not the only way to do it. But I found it’s the most efficient and logical way to do it for me. YMMV.

 

[J-Mags]

It's only necessary if there's something in particular you're trying to do and you can't do it with the EQ options you already have. I wish I had one to deal with 135-150 HZ which tends to fall between the knobs (when you back off 80 or 250 it takes out too much of the good stuff). But I know I'd rarely end up using it.

 

[RattleSnack]

No other necessities except bass guitar and (maybe) amp.
Yet, parametric or semi-parametric control can be usefull. I have one, for wide range of mids, on my onboard preamp (Sire).

 

[Ric5]

There are four places where my bass tone can be adjusted - my bass tone knob, my Boss BB-1X Bass Driver pedal with a high and low knobs, my amp with a hi, mid, low, and phat knobs, and finally at the mixing board before the audience can hear me. Is an EQ pedal overkill at this point?

I really like my bass EQ pedal. I like the volume control. I put the pedal at the front end of the pedal board.

 

[Jazzkuma]

I have honestly never felt I needed more than 1 eq in my chain live since its either my amp or a pa/mixing board.

When recording I dont even have any eq going in before the DI.

 

[Killing Floor]

It’s necessary to buy some pedals. Doesn’t specifically need to be an EQ. But you must consume pedals of some kind.