bass equalization
- Thread starter jarvislky
- Start date
There is not hard and fast rule when it comes to EQing your sound, as it is a matter of personal preference.
I don't believe in the "one EQ setting fits all" approach, thus I will only provide you some simple tips:
1) Try to hear in your head the sound you want to end up with
2) Start with a flat EQ to hear the base sound of your guitar and the amp, as no two amps sound exactly the same, given many factors like year of make, venue acoustics, how hard it has been played over the years, etc
3) Play around with the individual EQ sliders (for graphic EQ) or knobs (for parametric EQ) to see what they do to the sound. Test the sound of the sliders or knobs at their extremes to see how they affect the sound, but only do it one slider / knob at a time. Always set it back to flat before you go on to the next slider.
4) Once you've more or less figured out what each knob does to your sound, you can slowly try and use the EQ to get the sound you want. Be patient with it, because you won't get it overnight. It takes a lot of time, I've been playing for 6 years and I'm still learning.
5) Enjoy your sound.
Remember, don't be lazy and memorise the EQ setting to use for every place you play at, because it'll usually sound different. the same amp in a different place may sound different. Hell, the same amp in the same place, on a different DAY may sound different. There are many factors in play when it comes to sound.
I don't believe in the "one EQ setting fits all" approach, thus I will only provide you some simple tips:
1) Try to hear in your head the sound you want to end up with
2) Start with a flat EQ to hear the base sound of your guitar and the amp, as no two amps sound exactly the same, given many factors like year of make, venue acoustics, how hard it has been played over the years, etc
3) Play around with the individual EQ sliders (for graphic EQ) or knobs (for parametric EQ) to see what they do to the sound. Test the sound of the sliders or knobs at their extremes to see how they affect the sound, but only do it one slider / knob at a time. Always set it back to flat before you go on to the next slider.
4) Once you've more or less figured out what each knob does to your sound, you can slowly try and use the EQ to get the sound you want. Be patient with it, because you won't get it overnight. It takes a lot of time, I've been playing for 6 years and I'm still learning.
5) Enjoy your sound.
Remember, don't be lazy and memorise the EQ setting to use for every place you play at, because it'll usually sound different. the same amp in a different place may sound different. Hell, the same amp in the same place, on a different DAY may sound different. There are many factors in play when it comes to sound.
exin
New member
+1 Rentabass ...
EQ-ing takes lots of practice and time to get used to it .. you must understand that what you hear on stage will sound different on the floor due to the way sound waves travel and stuff ... well, most of the time the play in an environment that's not really conducive acoustically .. that's why i hear different things on the stage and on the floor .. if you get a good setup you can replicate the sound properly ..
Understanding string physics will help you figure out how your string works in relation to EQ-ing .. your low E string vibrates at a frequency of 40++ Hz .. so if you want to bring up that range of the string you can try boosting 80Hz a tad ..
1. NEVER NEVER NEVER over EQ your sound ... like blast the frequency at a totally of 10db that kind .. learn to cut instead of boost.
2. Work from a flat EQ setting .. that's the best way to gauge what frequencies to boost and to cut .. learn to get used to the flat sound of your bass .. alot of the sounds we hear are usually coloured .. through the headphones and stuff ..
i gotten used to the flat sounds of my bass and i'm really loving it ... it's a bassist syndrome ..
you can try googling for tips ... it's a journey actually .. like Rentabass i'm still learning more and more about live EQ settings ... it's really a matter of judging the place and determining what EQ you really need ..
EQ-ing takes lots of practice and time to get used to it .. you must understand that what you hear on stage will sound different on the floor due to the way sound waves travel and stuff ... well, most of the time the play in an environment that's not really conducive acoustically .. that's why i hear different things on the stage and on the floor .. if you get a good setup you can replicate the sound properly ..
Understanding string physics will help you figure out how your string works in relation to EQ-ing .. your low E string vibrates at a frequency of 40++ Hz .. so if you want to bring up that range of the string you can try boosting 80Hz a tad ..
1. NEVER NEVER NEVER over EQ your sound ... like blast the frequency at a totally of 10db that kind .. learn to cut instead of boost.
2. Work from a flat EQ setting .. that's the best way to gauge what frequencies to boost and to cut .. learn to get used to the flat sound of your bass .. alot of the sounds we hear are usually coloured .. through the headphones and stuff ..
i gotten used to the flat sounds of my bass and i'm really loving it ... it's a bassist syndrome ..
you can try googling for tips ... it's a journey actually .. like Rentabass i'm still learning more and more about live EQ settings ... it's really a matter of judging the place and determining what EQ you really need ..
Colarndo said:
Sorry to burst your bubble but this is not true at all.
Your stage sound is your stage sound and you EQ to counter effects of the stage, room, band, cabinets etc. ... so that 1. you can hear yourself, 2. you do not disrupt stage audio balance.3. your colleagues are not aggravated by any sonic mannerism you have that disrupts their ability to peform (e.g. Many drummers need to feel trouser flap as opposed to tweeter bite)
The FOH takes whatever they take and whatever you give out of your preamp, or FOH may take a DI signal bypassing your amp or FOH may mic your cab. FOH EQ has nothing to do with how you EQ, and a good FOH person can counter a tone deaf bass player or other foibles of inexperience, idiocy, bad quality or badly maintained gear etc., with the right tools. FOH's objective is a balanced projection of amplified audio in the performance venue, accounting for room acoustics, stage width, room delay, PA limitations etc etc...
Ovid I was refering to a situation where the player gives his EQed signal(after running through tons of EFX & Pre-amps to the D.I) which is Post EQ/EFX to the D.I input. Therefore, the soundman has to make do with the sound, unless the signal is taken Pre-EQed.
If the Bass Guitar goes directly into the D.I w/o any EQ//EFX and places all his EQ/EFX from the parallel ouput from the D.I, than the soundman just has his Bass raw as it is. And the bassist can work on his amp sound from there.
Then there's the monitor mix. The soundman has total control over it, unless in a situation where you have the in-ear system where individual channels can be toggled to your liking.
It is true that a good soundman can turn bad sound into good sound, than have any of you have never complained about the sound man before or praised him?
How many good soundman are there? There are complicated situations where the monitor mix is bad, but the FOH is good, so musican critisises soundman but audience praises him.
There were situations I was in when the player switched EQ behind my back(on the Guitar knobs) without telling me, affecting FOH Mix.
If the Bass Guitar goes directly into the D.I w/o any EQ//EFX and places all his EQ/EFX from the parallel ouput from the D.I, than the soundman just has his Bass raw as it is. And the bassist can work on his amp sound from there.
Then there's the monitor mix. The soundman has total control over it, unless in a situation where you have the in-ear system where individual channels can be toggled to your liking.
It is true that a good soundman can turn bad sound into good sound, than have any of you have never complained about the sound man before or praised him?
How many good soundman are there? There are complicated situations where the monitor mix is bad, but the FOH is good, so musican critisises soundman but audience praises him.
There were situations I was in when the player switched EQ behind my back(on the Guitar knobs) without telling me, affecting FOH Mix.
Colarndo said:
This is precisely the point. There is no need to send a pre-EQ signal to front of house, particularly if your performance depends on EQ changes and effected sounds. You really want to send your performance tone to FOH. What's the point of having tonal modification if the more dominant sound, viz. FOH is not tonally modified as the performer intends?
FOH's role is to take a performer's tone and amplify beyond the stage.
That said, bad FOH and tone deaf musicians, exist and do not impinge on the principle of public address amplification.
A recording situation, might be one where you may wish to separately keep the performer satisfied, and print a raw signal. The idea that this needs to be the case in public address is mindless transfer of practice in a context that does not warrant such practice.
"There were situations I was in when the player switched EQ behind my back(on the Guitar knobs) without telling me, affecting FOH Mix."
And that is a problem? Is the guitarist the performer or is FOH mixer the performer? I think you need to radically rethink priorities here; tonal changes in music are always dynamic and a good engineer responds, either my pre planning, mixer automation or on the fly. Blaming the musician for affecting YOUR mix, .....I think enough has been said.
exin
New member
jarvislky said:
one point to take note of is that .. you shouldn't over EQ things .. that's my stand lah ... if you have decent gear .. most of the time your tone/sound will come out nicely ... just don't overwork the EQ and you'll do fine with your tone.
With that being said... i think you can refer to whatever 0vid said .. given the kind of effort taken to explain such stuff proves that he's really interested in explaining/helping .. thanks 0vid for the effort.
exin
New member
flat the EQ on your bass if you are using a active bass with onboard EQ ..
flat the EQ on the amp/head you are plugged into .. or the mixer whatsoever ..
after which just listen for your sound .. what do you notice? .. if you notice too much brightness coming out of your strings you can compensate by turning down the highs slight ...
if you want a fuller bass sound turn up the low-mid slightly .. don't overdo it ..
other than that .. check the settings on your head/amp .. some amps have a "deep" button function ... that MAY help but in a live band mix it may cause your bass to be muddy ..
if there's a "bright" function on the amp/head .. turn it off if you don't want the highs ...
flat the EQ on the amp/head you are plugged into .. or the mixer whatsoever ..
after which just listen for your sound .. what do you notice? .. if you notice too much brightness coming out of your strings you can compensate by turning down the highs slight ...
if you want a fuller bass sound turn up the low-mid slightly .. don't overdo it ..
other than that .. check the settings on your head/amp .. some amps have a "deep" button function ... that MAY help but in a live band mix it may cause your bass to be muddy ..
if there's a "bright" function on the amp/head .. turn it off if you don't want the highs ...
