What amps still have graphic EQ’s?

[Metalmongrel]

Hey all,

I’ve been searching for my first new amp in 25 years and I’m having trouble with a lot of their EQ’s. Many of them have a “bass” EQ knob where the center frequency is centered on 60Hz or above. This is way too high for a 4-string, let alone a 5 string with a low B.

I’m unable to find very many “knob” Eq’s that are centered even on a low E string (about 43 Hz) these days.

The only place I’m seeing EQ’s that give you the ability to control very low (30hz-ish) are on amps with graphic eq’s Like the Phil Jones m500 [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] .

I know graphic EQ’s on the amp may seem old fashioned to some, but how many amps still offer them? I’m not finding many. How are you EQ’ing very low frequencies (30-40hz)?


Thanks.

 

[LanEvo]

I came to suggest Phil Jones Bass, but I see you’ve already discovered them. They all have a very powerful EQ section that’s also very “musical” if you know what I mean. Can’t go wrong.

 

[Wasnex]

Hey all,

I’ve been searching for my first new amp in 25 years and I’m having trouble with a lot of their EQ’s. Many of them have a “bass” EQ knob where the center frequency is centered on 60Hz or above. This is way too high for a 4-string, let alone a 5 string with a low B.

I’m unable to find very many “knob” Eq’s that are centered even on a low E string (about 43 Hz) these days.

The only place I’m seeing EQ’s that give you the ability to control very low (30hz-ish) are on amps with graphic eq’s Like the Phil Jones m500 [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] .

I know graphic EQ’s on the amp may seem old fashioned to some, but how many amps still offer them? I’m not finding many. How are you EQ’ing very low frequencies (30-40hz)?


Thanks.

The bass EQ is typical shelving so to say its center at 60hz is not accurate. 60hz may be the knee for the filter or 60hz may be some arbitrary frequency where the boost and cut is measured. The treble control is also typically shelving

Here is a graphic that should give you an idea of what shelving means.

As far as current amps with graphics, this is no longer a very popular feature, but I can think of some amps that were recently discontinued such as the Mesa M9 Carbine and Mesa Strategy, and also the Ashdown Retroglide.

The Retroglide is a bit unusual in that it only has a graphic. Usually amps have regular tone controls and a graphic that can be switched in or out of the circuit.


It looks like the Hartke HA series is still in production.



The only current production amp I can think of is the Ashdown Retroglide.

 

[Andy Walhor]

Markbass S.T.U. Amp 1000

 

[Downunderwonder]

You are mistaken in your efforts. Coming from the school of old you will be familiar with the Ampeg 810. It rolls off response below 70hz and produces insignificant 40hz. All the booty of a low E is harmonics.

 

[Wasnex]

You are mistaken in your efforts. Coming from the school of old you will be familiar with the Ampeg 810. It rolls off response below 70hz and produces insignificant 40hz. All the booty of a low E is harmonics.

Also it's become popular to use a high pass filter (HPF) to roll of some of the low frequency garbage.

 

[Downunderwonder]

How are you EQ’ing very low frequencies (30-40hz)?

right out of it. 5 string basses get HPF at 60hz.

 

[HearNoStevil]

It's sad to see graphics go away.

However, with so many people complaining even on this site that they don't know how to use a graphic (really??? c'mon, it's about as simple as dropping the kids off at the pool) the manufacturers read this as feedback and have gotten rid of the feature, figuring most bassists are too stupid to use them.

The same people who can't figure out a graphic are the ones who see a parametric and run screaming like a scolded child.

At least when graphics are set flat they actually are flat; so many people nowadays scream "everything has to be set at noon!" even though 9 times out of 10 those settings aren't even remotely flat. It's just mindboggling how nonsensical that is. The amp has to be set with everything set at 12 noon, but they max out the active eq settings on the bass itself. I just don't get it.

That's probably why so many bass tones nowadays are so generic and invisible and boring as hell. The knobs are there to turn; find your individual voice.

 

[jnewmark]

Big thread on Graphic EQ not that long ago.
Question and Opinions about Graphic EQ's on Bass Amps

 

[scottfeldstein]

Amen to those pointing out that you don't need (or even want, IMO) frequencies below 50 or 60, even with a low B. Just give me that first harmonic and I'm good. Psychoacoustics is a wonderful thing. HPFs all the way.

Having said that, I do like a graphic EQ. My Carvin has one and I love it. What I love about it isn't that it has nine sliders going from 50 to 5 k. What I really dig about it is the switch next to it labeled "GRAPHIC EQ IN" with a blue light above it that turns on when it's in the IN position and off when it's in the OUT position.

You see my amp has a full-time, always on 5-band EQ: Bass, treble, and three sweepable mids in between. I set these pretty flat, maybe tweak the bass or treble depending on what bass I'm using or what room I'm in. That's the EQ I use for most of my set. But when a slap song comes up on the list, I switch in my graphic EQ to cut out some of the janky mids and to boost some of the lows and highs. Then I flip it off to go back to fingerstyle.

If I ever got rid of this amp I'd have to get an EQ pedal to serve the same purpose. I can't see myself using the EQ controls on my active bass to do the same thing. I abhor the idea of changing my signal before it hits my compressor pedal.

 

[Scotty4string]

The Peavey Headliner 1000 has a graphic eq and is a good sounding amp. The low slider is at 40hz.

 

[Killing Floor]

There are a skajillion graphic EQ pedals. So you can still have sliders if that's what you need.
Apart from the fact that a knob and a slide are the same mechanism I know everybody gets comfortable with one or the other. My wife got really crabby about her new car not having an option for a CD player.

 

[Scotty4string]

You are mistaken in your efforts. Coming from the school of old you will be familiar with the Ampeg 810. It rolls off response below 70hz and produces insignificant 40hz. All the booty of a low E is harmonics.

This is true. Also, my Ampeg 212av rolls off at 70hz. The Ampeg SVT VR, however, has a bass knob that the manual says is at 40hz. This seems like a good combination, to me at least.

 

[TNCreature]

Hartke A series is the only one that springs to mind.
My old Ampeg B2re had one, but that amp was horrible.

 

[Element Zero]

right out of it. 5 string basses get HPF at 60hz.

Nice and tight. I can dig it. My amp has an adjustable HPF and I generally run around 40-50. When I’m in dropped A I’ll bump it up a bit.

 

[JimmyM]

Ampeg SVT 3 and 4 Pro.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

(really??? c'mon, it's about as simple as dropping the kids off at the pool)

Maaan... I need to go to your pool.

Whenever I take the kids to the pool the parking lot is loaded already and the classes before are just starting to trickle out. This can get frustrating as three distracted parents try to back out at the same time causing a block.
Then the, "You go." "No you go." thing starts happening and now my kids are late.

Then we finally get into the building and everyone else for the class are late trying to rush as people from the other classes that had let out are not in a hurry, taking their long showers. The dressing room is loaded and chaos.
"WE JUST NEED A 15 SECOND RINSE!"

This is worse than the parking lot.

Once they are finally in the pool, you can sit and relax but that place smells and is a bit hard to breath.

Then a repeat of the above when class is over.

 

[micguy]

Amen to those pointing out that you don't need (or even want, IMO) frequencies below 50 or 60, even with a low B. Just give me that first harmonic and I'm good.

This gets said a lot around here, and if you're playing through a bass amp, I would agree, as the cabinets that bass amps come with don't do well when fed really low frequency stuff. Yes they produce mud, but it's NOT the 30 and 40 Hz stuff that's the source of the mud, it's the speaker's inability to deal with that that produces mud.

However, if you play gigs with capable PA's, you can make good use of 30 and 40 Hz stuff, and in those situations rolling that off is not necessarily a good idea. You can still high pass, sure, but at 20 Hz, so you're getting rid of subsonic stuff, but not your fundamentals.

 

[scottfeldstein]

This gets said a lot around here, and if you're playing through a bass amp, I would agree, as the cabinets that bass amps come with don't do well when fed really low frequency stuff. Yes they produce mud, but it's NOT the 30 and 40 Hz stuff that's the source of the mud, it's the speaker's inability to deal with that that produces mud.

However, if you play gigs with capable PA's, you can make good use of 30 and 40 Hz stuff, and in those situations rolling that off is not necessarily a good idea. You can still high pass, sure, but at 20 Hz, so you're getting rid of subsonic stuff, but not your fundamentals.

I'll take your word on it. In the Before Times I used to do maybe 6-7 gigs a year. Most of them were the outdoor patios of my town's restaurants. Maybe one or two of them would be a big stage in Minneapolis or Milwaukee with a full range PA. My attitude toward the FOH tech is if you want something to flex your subs on, get it from the kick drum. Still, I usually can hear myself shaking the entire venue than I can from my own stage amp. So I guess they're getting what they need somehow.

 

[micguy]

My attitude toward the FOH tech is if you want something to flex your subs on, get it from the kick drum.

Kick drums are typically tuned in the 60 to 80 Hz area (I've done a lot of FOH with good PA's). A lot of kick drum mics are tuned (resonate) in the 70Hz area). The real low stuff comes from the bass.