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Mixer settings when going direct

#2
I ask whoever's running sound (unless it's me; I already know) to leave the EQ flat, and tell me if the bass needs anything cut or boosted. It's worked out pretty well over the years.

I do the same thing with other bassists whenever possible.
 
#3
Same here....I run the board's EQ flat (I'm the soundguy, chief cook, and bottle washer), make any necessary adjustments on my rackmount preamp, and run the signal post-EQ. That being said, I do run the mixer output thru either a DriveRack or dual-channel GEQ for speaker management. I find I spend more time futzing with the vocals.

Riis
 
#4
It really depends on your setup. Also, as the sound guy, if you are sending a signal that is not working well in the house, some EQ may be needed. What sounds good on stage may not always sound good coming through the house. On a board with limited eq options like the Mackie, I would leave it pretty flat. Work as a team with the sound man to get the sound right in the house. That is what the crowd is hearing. Be nice and willing to compromise and you will both have a better outcome.
 
#5
As a soundman and bassist, I always keep the EQ flat for bands that I'm mixing and I ask the soundman to keep the EQ flat when I'm playing. I only ever really touch the EQ when it isn't sounding good in the house, and even then that's once in a blue moon.
 
#6
The function of channel strip EQ is to shape the sound so the whole mix sounds good. If the signal coming to the FOH is too bassy to sit in the mix, cut the lows. I send the FOH a signal that's pre EQ because I know my cabinets don't sound anything like a PA cabinet. Why would I presume that the EQ I need on stage while standing three feet in front of an Eden D410XLT is the same EQ that'd be needed to make my bass sound right 60 feet back from a stack of EV 18's, 15's and horns?

Now one thing with Mackies however, is that the first gain stage has some built-in EQ that's tailored for making vocals with an SM-58 sound good. Bypass that stage by using an XLR to 1/4" adaptor (don't need a transformer) so you're plugging into the 1/4" channel input (not the TRS patch point, but the line in). That's in Mackie's owners' manuals and it's a flatter signal. Start with as flat a signal as you can and EQ to make the band sound good.

BTW, most of the time with using my Eden WT-400 pre-EQ DI (my amp was modded at the factory to give me a pre/post switch, the original was post-EQ only) or using my SansAmp BDDI, they wind up setting the EQ flat with occasionally just a touch of highs trimmed.

John
 
#8
It depends on a lot of factors.

As a lot mentioned , EQ may be needed to sit the bass in the mix.
Maybe you have an incredible tone to your ear in front of your amp , but it doesn't necessarily means it will be OK in the mix. (generaly speaking)

It also has A LOT to do with room acoustics.
Same band , same PA in another room , it often is world appart.
The guy may need to tweek your EQ if the PA's and monitor'S EQ isn't enough. Nothing wrong with that . That's what it is for.

But idealy , everything should be flat , but we don't live in an ideal world.:bawl:
 
#9
i just tell them that i like whatever's coming out of my amp and mix it similarly in the house. sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. i really have no control over that. but i do make it very clear that i don't like being scooped and i don't like treble past 5k.
 
#10
Yeah, I've been blessed by mostly working with sound techs who LISTEN to how I set my rig, and use that as the template for what they gotta do at the board. Worst was a guitarist I worked with (great player, wonderful person, and excellent band leader, just don't let him mix). He figured since I played bass, the correct channel setting was to cut the highs and boost the bass. He didn't do much, mostly just nudge those two knobs. For his guitar channel he'd nudge the mids and highs, etc.

When we were gigging enough to have our own sound guy, this guitarist found out that they started with the board flat every night, and generally did very little EQ.

John
 
#12
MNAirHead said:
A graphic eq is to match the spectrum to the room... it's not to control tone.
Click to expand...
If you have a ringing frequency , say @ 160hz and the Room & monitors EQ are already @-12db , what would you do ?
Don't forget that if you always cut only at the FOH EQ , it's all the mix that is affected.
When facing trouble with certain frequencies you have to cut it at the channel too or else , you cut it for everything.

IME & IMHO
 
#13
JTE said:
The function of channel strip EQ is to shape the sound so the whole mix sounds good. If the signal coming to the FOH is too bassy to sit in the mix, cut the lows. I send the FOH a signal that's pre EQ because I know my cabinets don't sound anything like a PA cabinet. Why would I presume that the EQ I need on stage while standing three feet in front of an Eden D410XLT is the same EQ that'd be needed to make my bass sound right 60 feet back from a stack of EV 18's, 15's and horns?

Now one thing with Mackies however, is that the first gain stage has some built-in EQ that's tailored for making vocals with an SM-58 sound good. Bypass that stage by using an XLR to 1/4" adaptor (don't need a transformer) so you're plugging into the 1/4" channel input (not the TRS patch point, but the line in). That's in Mackie's owners' manuals and it's a flatter signal. Start with as flat a signal as you can and EQ to make the band sound good.
BTW, most of the time with using my Eden WT-400 pre-EQ DI (my amp was modded at the factory to give me a pre/post switch, the original was post-EQ only) or using my SansAmp BDDI, they wind up setting the EQ flat with occasionally just a touch of highs trimmed.

John
Click to expand...

That is the first time i have ever heard of the flatter signal. :confused: I have owned 6 Mackie boards and don't ever remember reading that in an owners manual.
 
#16
I keep it simple. I keep my bass' settings on 12 o' clock and change the eq settings on my monitor to my liking. The house sound is the soundman's responsibility - I'm not going to prescribe to him what it should be - there are just too many changing dynamics (number of people attending, instrumental or vocals too, congregation singing with, etc). That's the last thing I want to worry about...
 

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