What do the different dials do?

[CoopALoop]

Okay, so I have an amp with the following dials on it:

Treble
Middle
Bass
Presence

What does each one mean? What will turning each one do to the sound?

And what setting does each one have to be at to make the sound clean (1-10)?

I'm obviously a beginner. Thanks!!

 

[hrodbert696]

Hi, I'm pretty noob too, but I'll tell you what I know (or think I do):

When a string on your bass vibrates (and the signal goes down to your amp), it's not a simple wave pattern, but a complex one. There are actually several different tones (if that's the right word) going on simultaneously - harmonics. The Bass/Mid/Treble knobs enable you to shape your tone by boosting or cutting these harmonics. So for instance, if your high knob is turned up, you're going to get a tone that's "brighter" or "punchier" - but you're also going to hear more buzz and clank and the squeaking of your finger on the string. Turn the high down and the low up and you're going to get more "growl" and "boom" but you're also at risk of sounding "muddy." "Presence" is kind of hyper-treble, boosts the highs -- see Invalid Link Removed. There's no one ideal setting, it depends on what you want to sound like. Tool around with them until it sounds good to you.

Depending on the guitar, you'll have some of this control on your instrument as well as on the amp -- a cheap beginner's instrument will just have a knob to cut treble (besides the volume knob) and as instruments get more expensive they include more controls on the body of the guitar itself. The difference between this and the knobs on your amp is that you're shaping the tone before the amp gets it. Passive electronics will simply cut frequencies going down the cord (or leave them at full) while active electronics allow you to boost them as well.

OK, that's how this noob understands it. Any of the experts to clarify or correct me?

 

[Bootzilla]

Here is a post on what different frequencies sound like http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144312. How the dials effect the sound depends on the center frequency of the dials. The low has a low center frequency, the mid a middle center frequency and the treble a high center frequency.

You use those dials aka equalizer to shape your sound.

 

[Michael Campbel]

What everyone else said already, but ... try them out! Hear for yourself what they do, and pick out what you like.

That said, having an understanding of what they do is useful too; think in case someone asks you for a specific sound, you don't need to fiddle overly much to get it.

 

[Meyatch]

Adjust them as you see fit, personally I would start with
Bass - 5
Mid - 5
Treble - 5
Presence - 0

 

[CoopALoop]

thanks everyone! youre all very helpful and friendly! i'm starting to enjoy this forum...

 

[mambo4]

hrodbert696 is basically correct.

Each knob set in the middle of their range is a good start for a "flat" EQ, but keep in mind that any amp will color your bass tone to one degree or another.

Each knob has a benefit when used tastefully and a harm when over used, it is good to get your ears used to the effects.

Bass:
Good: more bass, boom, thump
Bad: Muddy, your playing looses definition.

Mid
Good: more definition, cut , aggression
Bad: can sound too honky/ farty

Treble
Good: more clarity, aggression, permissiveness
Bad: squeaks and clanks, electronic noise, can get too harsh

Please consider the GOAL of using these knobs: To give yourself a tone that CUTS IN THE MIX.
To achieve this, you (and your band mates) must understand your presence in the EQ spectrum. Imagine you're in a band with drums, guitars and keyboards, all making noise and filling up the Sonic space form the low 20hz tones to the high 20,000Hz ones. Your guitarist is not going to fill the exact same chunk of that space as you, but you will overlap quite a bit. This means your sounds will interfere with each other and each of you will have trouble hearing yourself. For beginners, this leads to "volume wars" with each guy turning up to hear themselves, only to drown out more of their band mates who also turn up.

The solution is to have each instrument adjust their EQ to "slot" themselves in a specific area of that 20Hz-20Khz range. Again, you need your band mates to be on board with this for it to really work. The room you play in will also effect this, but that's beyond the scope of my post

So keep that in mind, here are a few other points to consider:

-Your tone alone in your bedroom is NOT your tone in the mix. Adjust for the band, not your bedroom

-If you want a strong, clear , musical bass tone, don't boost the bass knob. Boost low Mids or Mids for a more defined bass tone.
The lowest frequencies , while boomy and thumpy and powerful, carry very little that the brain can identify as Musical Information.
The low mids are closer to what the brain can interpret as "music"

-More is not always better: Boosting will always color your tone, not always in a good way. Instead of boosting, one knob, consider cutting everything else.

-a good way to educate your ear on what each knob does: turn all the knobs to 0. Start playing and, one knob at a time, sweep the knob across its full range and back down, and Listen.

-once you get an idea what the knobs do, listen to your favorite bassists and think about what settings they might use. Different Styles tend to favor different settings.