because theres more than 3 frequencies in the known universe. some of us like complete control of the universe
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Why so many EQ options?
- Thread starter edbnuts
- Start date
because theres more than 3 frequencies in the known universe. some of us like complete control of the universe
Meh.
I do agree that some may use EQ "wrong" (I've seen maybe a handful of threads where folks would use several preamp pedals at once, cascading into each other, which seems counterproductive), but these devices have a purpose. You may need a wildly different EQ for a section of a song or solo (cue the EQ pedal), or you want to send a signal to the mixing board that's EQ'd differently than what's going to your amp's input (cue the preamp/DI pedal), etc. It's good to have options...if people don't know how to use them, or they use them in a way that adds noise or creates problems, it's up to them to learn from their mistakes.
Me? I used to be a tone fiddler, now I'm very much a "keep it simple" guy when it comes to EQ. If I pick a bass and amp/cab I like, my EQ pretty much stays flat with maybe some minor adjustments for the room. I still like my active bass, but most of the time I reach for my passive p-types. It just suits better what I do these days.
I do agree that some may use EQ "wrong" (I've seen maybe a handful of threads where folks would use several preamp pedals at once, cascading into each other, which seems counterproductive), but these devices have a purpose. You may need a wildly different EQ for a section of a song or solo (cue the EQ pedal), or you want to send a signal to the mixing board that's EQ'd differently than what's going to your amp's input (cue the preamp/DI pedal), etc. It's good to have options...if people don't know how to use them, or they use them in a way that adds noise or creates problems, it's up to them to learn from their mistakes.
Me? I used to be a tone fiddler, now I'm very much a "keep it simple" guy when it comes to EQ. If I pick a bass and amp/cab I like, my EQ pretty much stays flat with maybe some minor adjustments for the room. I still like my active bass, but most of the time I reach for my passive p-types. It just suits better what I do these days.
This is a solid approach and definitely only possible with two stages of EQ. This is what I do as well.
Then if I play with one of my Fenders I lose some flexibility because my onboard "EQ" is just a passive tone knob. So I might bring a preamp pedal if I need some drastically different tones, otherwise I use pickup selection, tone knob, and plucking hand position to vary tones, which works surprisingly well.
So it seems you have answered your own question?
Digging a bit further, what are the center points of your active EQ bands? What are the Q settings for your various mid EQs? The possibility that your various EQs are actually redundant is small because if they have different frequencies then they each actually provide slightly different control for you.
Which is another reason to have more than one EQ. The preamp pedal EQ is particularly flexible because you can turn it off when you don't need it.
I use preamp pedals to get the sound I know and love(or as close as I can) because mostly I dont play out my amp,even if I did,its very transparent to my ears(thats why I got it) and I like to add a preamp pedal in the loop.
If there is a good amp on site I wont bother with a pedal.
When I had an active bass I didnt use external EQ pedals at all.
I use EBS valvdrive and recently the GK Plex.
If there is a good amp on site I wont bother with a pedal.
When I had an active bass I didnt use external EQ pedals at all.
I use EBS valvdrive and recently the GK Plex.
Some people EQ their bass just so it can be heard over guitarists who take up the whole sonic spectrum. Some do it because they like "their sound" scooped or whatever. Some are trying to sound like someone else. I've heard of people boosting all the sub bass frequencies trying to make their tiny speakers reproduce frequencies they really can't do. They want to feel their notes as well as hear them and would rather buy a 1000W amp than a cab that's up to the job. Other people just read stuff in magazines and blindly follow.
I'm with you really. I hardly change my tone settings at all. More or less, I just roll off the tone when playing older stuff.
I'm with you really. I hardly change my tone settings at all. More or less, I just roll off the tone when playing older stuff.
I play guitar, also.
I like Boogies, with the 3 tone knobs and graffic EQ.
I use the on-board Hi-Mid-Low and pull options (currently play a .50 Caliber) to get my my amp sound.
I use the graphic to more or less tune to the room for my basic sound (the opposite, perhaps, of Hetfield).
I use the guitars EQ to adjust the guitars's sound.
I use pedals (not EQ's, but they work like that, some do have EQ options) for the song's parts. All of this is interactive and variable, but my main point it is - all of it is useful.
I of course use other amps, and adapt.
Bass is the same, except my PF500's EQ is to set first to the room and then to get the amp sound; I use a Linden pedal for more control of the amp sound.
Finally, I wanna note that I like these kinds of threads - answering the question forces me to think about what I am first doing instinctively.
I like Boogies, with the 3 tone knobs and graffic EQ.
I use the on-board Hi-Mid-Low and pull options (currently play a .50 Caliber) to get my my amp sound.
I use the graphic to more or less tune to the room for my basic sound (the opposite, perhaps, of Hetfield).
I use the guitars EQ to adjust the guitars's sound.
I use pedals (not EQ's, but they work like that, some do have EQ options) for the song's parts. All of this is interactive and variable, but my main point it is - all of it is useful.
I of course use other amps, and adapt.
Bass is the same, except my PF500's EQ is to set first to the room and then to get the amp sound; I use a Linden pedal for more control of the amp sound.
Finally, I wanna note that I like these kinds of threads - answering the question forces me to think about what I am first doing instinctively.
No, it is not wrong. Volume and tone controls do shape the sound. I've been playing passive instruments for over 50 years and I, though I've tried pedals, I've never found any that justified their cost. To me, they are the most useless way to shape your basic tone. Special effects is a different matter, but the material I play doesn't require them.
People are acting like this is a crazy question... I don't think it's crazy at all. In the hi-fi world, there are lots of people who won't let EQ anywhere near their system; they want to minimize the amount of electronics in the chain. And here we are, with on-board EQ, EQ on the amp, and possibly many EQs with pedals. It's not crazy to ask why; I used to wonder this myself.
But as I got to know my equipment better, it made sense to me:
* You want the amp dialed in to the room, so set the EQ there.
* You might want EQ on board the bass because maybe you want different EQ for different songs, and don't want to mess with the amp. (I'm going to argue here that a tone control is a kind of EQ.)
* You might want just EQ in a pedal because pedals give you more fine control over EQ than the 3/4 bands on your bass/amp.
* Effects pedals often have EQ because the effect itself interacts with the EQ. Instead of changing the EQ on your bass or amp when you switch the pedal on, you have it taken care of right on the pedal.
And so on. All of these are totally reasonable, and explain why you might have many EQs (or opportunity for EQs) in your signal chain.
But as I got to know my equipment better, it made sense to me:
* You want the amp dialed in to the room, so set the EQ there.
* You might want EQ on board the bass because maybe you want different EQ for different songs, and don't want to mess with the amp. (I'm going to argue here that a tone control is a kind of EQ.)
* You might want just EQ in a pedal because pedals give you more fine control over EQ than the 3/4 bands on your bass/amp.
* Effects pedals often have EQ because the effect itself interacts with the EQ. Instead of changing the EQ on your bass or amp when you switch the pedal on, you have it taken care of right on the pedal.
And so on. All of these are totally reasonable, and explain why you might have many EQs (or opportunity for EQs) in your signal chain.
In shaping tone for a particular song in between songs, which device stage in the signal chain is is adjusted? With lows for example, not all devices color similarly and in which frequency in the device's low band do you know to tweak? I imagine experience and device knowledge plays a big roll in making adjustments and there are many external variables to take into account on the fly as well.
The hifi world has different goals and criteria. It's relatively straightforward job is to reproduce already recorded music as accurately as possible. That calls for different gear and very different working methods - many of which don't apply or map very well to the music world.
It's a little more complicated for musicians. The live music/instrument world is out to create and sculpt tones and deal with constantly changing and often far from ideal listening environments. So the equipment and ways of doing things are, of necessity, going to be different.
I'll agree that the question isn't crazy. It's just largely irrelevant in the musician's world.
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Why are there more than 2 options for distortion?
Why is there Overdrive and Distortion and Fuzz?
Why are there Rosewood fingerboards when everybody (me) knows maple is better?
Why are there so many weird, fake menu items at Taco Bell? Nobody needs a taco wrapped in a quesadilla.
Why do drummers count 1,2,1,2,3,4 before the song starts? Do you need a 1-2 count before the 4 count?
Why are Ampeg amps 3X the weight of Mesa? Yeah, they sound good, but that's not because they weigh a lot.
Why do people drive golf carts when they aren't golfing?
Why are men's wrinkles called "distinguished"?
Why are crabs so delicious?
Why are all guitar straps stupid looking?
Why are Schaller S-Locks so big?
Why is Bootsy Collins so cool?
Why do people wear white shoes?
Why do key players think it's OK to have a keyboard tie?
Why does my wife print everything?
Why does MusicMan offer 2 band EQ when the 3EQ option sounds better to me?
Why are there clear pick guards?
Why do the Texans keep trading their best players?
Why do I wear a mask and speak through a plexiglass barrier but still have to touch the keypad with my finger?
Absolutely correct, agree with every word.
But I was in the hifi world for a long time before I started playing bass (my first and so far only instrument), so there was a bit of adjustment for me at first. "Why is there EQ everywhere?" was a question I, too, once asked.
Now I get it, have become one with EQ, and have even developed a preference for active basses.
(OK, technically for active/passive basses, which I still mostly play in passive... but I like having the active switch there when I want it.)
Sorry, but maybe read both the initial statement and my response to it again.
To help you; here the initial statement:
'Every bass has some kind of onboard tone shaping ...'
Here my response to this statement:
'Wrong' . ( as in: 'that's not so')
Ok?
Absolutely correct, agree with every word.
But I was in the hifi world for a long time before I started playing bass (my first and so far only instrument), so there was a bit of adjustment for me at first. "Why is there EQ everywhere?" was a question I, too, once asked.
Now I get it, have become one with EQ, and have even developed a preference for active basses.
LOL! I'm someone who absolutely does my best to a avoid multiple tone stacks since it can make it difficult to determine which is doing what in your signal chain. So if I have an active bass, or I'm using an outboard preamp, I'll keep the other EQs flat.
Standard strategy in the bass world with multiple EQs is to use one for tone sculpting and use the other for tweaks or remediation once you start playing. So I'll set my amp for my working sound and do the tweaking on an active bass since it's easier to get to. A lot of times as the room (hopefully) fills up you'll need to do minor adjustments on the fly.
One thing that gets missed in the hifi world is that an instrument amp isn't an amp like it is for hifi. An instrument amp is a musical instrument in its own right. And they're every bit as much a significant part of your sound as your bass. Play the same bass through an Ampeg, Mesa, GK, or Aguilar and you'll get a totally different sound. You need to see music performance from a systems perspective.
I know I've said this often enough that people here are probably tired of me saying it by now. But I'll risk it one more time:
"The Bass" = player + bass + amp.
Change any one or more factors in that equation and you have a different "Bass,"
