Was fiddling around with my amp and experimenting with the mids. I think my ear hears 300Hz the most in my setup.
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What mid freq do you choose to control when doing your basic EQ?
- Thread starter Guiseppe
- Start date
I like a little bump around 450 but it really depends upon the gig, the room, which bass I’m playing and whether or not I’m using my own amp and cab.
For fretless I also like a bump around 700-800.
For fretless I also like a bump around 700-800.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,012
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Depends on the bass the cabinet the room and the goals.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
There are no 'absolutes', unless you're talking about smoothing out (cutting) or accenting (boosting) a specific area in your sound, often with a specific instrument's tendencies in mind. For me, that's most applicable on upright, and I do that at the preamp, not at the amp itself. The amp itself is used to tune to the specific needs of the room. An electric bass's onboard preamp also accomplishes the same thing for me - whatever pre-shaping I want before I hit the amp (so it's also reflected in the FOH if we have support) is dialed in on the bass, so it's echoed out front.
For the most part, I believe that EQ's main function is to allow you to get the tone you are after in any given environment or musical setting, as I truly feel that it's our job as bassist to first and foremost "serve the music". I see too many guys getting locked into the "this is how I get MY sound" type of mindset. "I set everything flat, then add a little this, cut a little that, and after that, I never touch the EQ". Or the infamous "I always want my EQ controls set flat". We should always strive to serve the music first. If that means your'e doing a gig that calls for a dark, muted sound, then thtat's what you should give it. If the gig is more jazz oriented and calls for a clean, slightly Jaco-ish tone, then that's what you should give it.
Then there's the variable of the acoustic properties of the venue you are playing in. Every room is different, and if your'e playing without PA support, then it's important for you to have a good working knowledge of how to compensate for the room in order to get the tone you are after in any room you play in. Your EQ is there to help you accomplish these goals, so it's important for players to have a good understanding of how different frequencies serve different tonal goals. Typically, I like put the frequencies into general ballpark categories and use them as a starting point for setting my EQ.
BASS - I put bass into 2 categories, deep lows and bass.
DEEP LOWS: 40Hz to 60Hz. These are good for adding some rich low end body to your tone, but keep in mind these frequencies are very hard on your drivers, so it's usually best to keep the heavier boost to lower volumes and roll them off as your volume increases. Don't be afraid to cut here. If you are in a boomy room, or on a raised stage and your tone is sounding a bit muddy, try cutting here to clean up your low end.
BASS: Around 80Hz to 100Hz. These are great for adding some thump and punch to your tone. One of the best ways to clear up a muddy tone in a club is by reducing the deep lows by maybe 6dB, and then adding a bit of bass around 80Hz.
MIDS - It's generally accepted that there are three areas for mids to reside, Low Mids, Mids and High Mids.
LOW MIDS: 250Hz to 400Hz. Honestly, I almost never feel the need to adjust my low mid frequencies and can probably count the number of times I've boosted here in the last 40 years on one hand. It's also really easy for player to just destroy their tone by improperly messing with this area.
MIDS: 400Hz to 500Hz. This is a really great frequency band because a few dB boost here can really help the audience hear your note definition more clearly. Think Sadowsky's Will Lee preamp mid switch. I typically never cut these frequencies and leave them either flat, or boosted a few dB.
HIGH MIDS: I have a couple different bands of high mids I tend to use, 800Hz and the 1.5kHz to 3kHz area. Yes, I still consider 3kHz to be more high mids than a true treble. Typical one wouldn't be boosting around 800Hz as this can make your sound a bit nasal, but cutting here is critical for getting a great slap tone along with some bass and upper treble boost. For some rock players a bit of boost in the 1.5kHz to 3kHz area can be great for adding some crunch and bite to your tone. Think Geddy and Squire like tones. Also great for a P-bass with a pick.
Treble: Let's call this treble, brightness and air.
TREBLE: 4kHz to 5kHz. This is where most of our instruments highs reside, so boosting or cutting here can greatly affect the overall edginess of your tone. I think of this as the "rock and roll treble" range.
BRIGHTNESS: 7kHz to 10kHz. This is where we start to add sizzle to our sound. Boosting here will add considerable brightness to your tone and is perfect for a bright sounding slap tone.
AIR: I'm calling this 12kHz and up. While there is very little information from our instrument in this area, this band can add some airiness and brightness to your top end. Think of it as treble for your treble. It's also critical for getting that sizzling Marcus Miller slap tone. Be careful here because this band can add considerable noise in cabs with tweeters.
Also, keep in mind that by boosting the bright and air frequencies, you are adding a lot more information in the same general region where the cymbal sizzle lies. So, while boosting here can sound cool onstage, it can also cause listening fatigue in yourself and your audience if used too much. I find that it usually provides everyone with a much better overall listening experience to keep the top end of my treble tucked in just under the cymbal sizzle.
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For me the goal is "natural" so I start flat and make slight adjustments as needed for the room. Beware people selling magic frequencies, because every stage and every room sounds different.
For fretless I like a bump somewhere in the 400-600 range if it's not inherent to the instrument and signal chain. It's where a lot of the character of a stereotypical fretless sound is. Emphasizing this area also lays bare how good your intonation is, you won't have low-frequency mud to hide behind.
I will usually bump my low mids by default.
I like all the choices on my streamliner, depending on the material
But everyone posting about it depending on the room has me rethinking my default approach.
Maybe it's time to start flat-ish and actually use my ears first.
I like all the choices on my streamliner, depending on the material
But everyone posting about it depending on the room has me rethinking my default approach.
Maybe it's time to start flat-ish and actually use my ears first.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
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- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
...and whether I am using it to add or attenuate. When I only have one parametric mid I will sometimes prioritize using it to eliminate a problem frequency rather than enhance something I want more of.
The quick and dirty (depending, as @agedhorse said, the rig and the room) . . .
100-200 hz for bass
400-500 hz for the 'boing' or grind in roundwounds
700-800 for edge on the highs
Lower than that in the deep end is courting the dreaded 'room rumble', and highs out past that only dogs are going to hear. I'm trying to hit an 'articulate fat' sound without flirting with the standing waves or having a hiss fit.
100-200 hz for bass
400-500 hz for the 'boing' or grind in roundwounds
700-800 for edge on the highs
Lower than that in the deep end is courting the dreaded 'room rumble', and highs out past that only dogs are going to hear. I'm trying to hit an 'articulate fat' sound without flirting with the standing waves or having a hiss fit.
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I usually push 150hz on the amp 3-6db for thickness and use my onboard mid control set at 400 to control gank level.
I always put a little boost (set at 1:30) at 250Hz when playing live. When recording in a pro-studio I'll set that boost at 500Hz. I'm using a passive Jazz bass with all-maple neck and the 70's era pickup spacing of 4" center to center. It's a little brighter sound than my 1965 Jazz was with the normal 3.6" center to center pickup spacing. Did a recording session in Seattle in 2019 where I had to use my DI/preamp stompbox because there was too much bleed over in the bass and drums using my amp. So I plugged in my WTDI, which is a DI with built in Eden WT preamp and compressor.
The mid control on it toggles between the high mids at 2.2KHz and the low mids at 500Hz. At the end of the session both the sound engineer and the owner of the studio came out of the control room to see what I was using that sounded so good. Sound engineer said the only thing he did to my signal was adjust the level to blend with the band. Didn't do anything to the EQ and didn't add any compression to these raw recordings.
He had me listen to a few tracks with some of his best headphones and man, my bass never sounded so good. So 500Hz for recording and 250Hz for live performances presuming my amps can address that My DNA-800 amp has the low mids centered at 500Hz. while my Eden amps have semi-parametric controls that let me address 250Hz.
