krispn

Yup that's pretty much what I do. There's loads of chat about frequencies and there are some useful 'markers' as to what characteristics are contained in and about certain bands - boomy, punchy, hollow, zingy, sharp, clanky etc. Think of it like spice in food. If something needs more salt you add a bit of salt right? Why continue to eat a bland meal when the salt is just sitting there? Too busy eating to add a touch of flavour? Some folk like more salt than others - personal preference right! Better yet think of it like a pizza - We will all have an idea of what we like sonically just as much as we know what we do and don't like on a pizza! It's the same food but we all have our take on it. My experience last week was a new bass which has hot pick ups and to my ear quite a bit of lows so I pulled the bass and low mids on the amp to 11:00 assuming noon was flat on the eq - on my pedal board I carry a a semi-parametric eq pedal and had that set up to shape the bass how I like from playing at home - I used my rudimentary knowledge of eq to set where I thought it might be most useful but fine tuned it with my ears. I couldn't say for certain what frequencies the EQ is set at but I have a rough idea and it's where I think my basses work in the band and to my ear. It sounded great on the day and I was pleased and more importantly it took less than a minute to set it then forget it. I had a bass playing mate (and some members from the other bands who were playing after us chip in too which was useful) in the audience who gave me some reassurance that the balance was good, the bass nice and punchy and sounded cohesive - The guitar/fiddle/vox were all into the PA so I was tryin to keep up with the drummer, still be heard but not over powering. So basically if you want more 'sparkle' add treble if you want more 'bass' add more bass sure and for most of us we're limited to what our amps are set at. I'd be hard pressed to hear and then say that an amp with lows fixed at 40Hz is less useful than one with lows set at 55Hz especially if the issue of too much lows remained an issue as in the above post but this is where the mids can come into play. A golden rule of EQ is subtractie EQ in small doses often fixes an issue rather than boosting other frequencies but as with most things the rules go out the window and what works, works!

It does have the GB vibe about it doesn’t it! I can only comment on the mid selector and the frequencies are definitely a nod to Ampeg - The eq advice above still stands in relation to the mid selector so hopefully it’s useful to someone. Give it a try next time you’re out and let us know how you get on!

The eq selector looks like it’s based on an Ampeg 5 way selector - the listed frequencies look familiar. I know not all Ampegs have the same eq switches but I’m pretty confident that’s where they set them on the 5 ways on their amps and preamps that I’ve had experience with. Also features the Ultra High and Ultra Low buttons. The T model does appear more BG like but the M controls do seem Ampeg inspired. It’d be fair to assume the Bass and Treble are set to an Ampeg spec of 40Hz/4kHz (like Fender) but honestly it won’t really matter as they’re fixed unless you’re boosting them loads - the biggest impact will be where you set the mid switch and by how much you boost or cut to get your sound sitting in/cutting through the mix. If it’s based on the Ampeg amps it might be worth knowing that they have a +10dB boost/-20dB cut on some of their “Pro” heads. As an aside if you’re boosting 220Hz and switch the dial to 800Hz it should be very apparent in a band mix or bedroom as it is not a subtle shift! That is unless you leave the mid volume at unity gain. Moving the selector but not actually boosting any or enough dB will likely be too subtle and even a bit pointless as it won’t be having a great impact and certainly nothing at the volume of a gig with ear plugs. Just apply the eq’ing basics and it’ll all fall into place pretty quickly and self evidently. I had my first gig back a few weeks ago. New to me bass, not my own amp with no idea where the eq points were, open air venue, hadn’t had a rehearsal or gig in 18 months and it was our dep fiddle player who I’ve not gigged with in about 2 years - she has her own way of doing some of the songs and does a couple which we only play with her😳 Just knowing what type of sound I like and a bit of educated guesswork and lo and behold It was grand😁

Bloody double post again - keep automatically hitting quote instead of finding edt

I guess folk have paid more or similar prices for 'off the shelf' basses without the voodoo and treatments and don't bat an eyelid. If it's inperceptable differences it's hard to justify the additional cost for sure and possibly why Yamaha don't have such an esoterically priced model in the new range? I think the BBP has some of the treatment and they're much less expensive comapratively. A quick look at Bass Direct and the new cost of a Lull, Dingwall, Elrick, Spector MTD etc are 3k+ and they don't have any special treatment? I'd begin to be feeling hard done by that they didn't have some voodoo for that money and a noisy bridge pick up!

It was the wood treatments and the ‘Made in Japan’ angle I think?

No coincidence that it’s available in Oct 😂😂

Dual lock is quality stuff and I’ve just recent used it on my board

Watch the Amos Heller ADAM demo. Very well explained and the best tones I’ve heard from it but most of Amos’ DG demo’s show them in a very positive and versatile light.

Lovely bit of work making the bass your own. I’ve done that to a couple of basses and it’s quite satisfying. I’m saying that I’ve got a Hot P Seymour Duncan I’m not using if you do fancy something hotter as a pick up upgrade and a tone styler. I’ll be listing them in the next few days once I dig them out of storage boxes. Don’t worry mods I’m all paid up.

Oops double post

Aye the work in progress nature of it means I’ll not get too anal about a cable here or there for now only so many spare hours etc. I love a good mess about with pedals as I know you do but I’ve little practical application in my current bands which is the point I was making rather than you ‘dislike’ pedals. Your initial post was about the ideal gigging mini board for you and by your own admission you have got by with zero pedals for most gigs bar the use of the zoom more recently. If the gig doesn’t call for filter and synths it seems redundant to populate a board with them if they’re unlike to be used for a while. I know you like the VTDI and that’s a handy pedal for going direct to the pa etc if needed so might be a good addition too. At the end of the day it’s your gig so you’ll know what will be good solid choices for you.

@Al Krowyour ideal gigging board sounds like it would be the zoom and the wireless unit and maybe an additional drive. The rest of it doesn’t sound like it’s needed or isn’t really being used…(yet?) As @GisserD says the Boss Synth might be a wiser addition than the FI considering you’re not planning to do any programming etc for quite some time but again if the zoom is proving itself why complicate matters. Save the space and weight you know it makes sense 😀 I am aware of the irony in that I always encourage folk to try their gear out in rehearsals/live but after how many years I just don’t think of you as an effects guy and trust me I’m the same. Other than one or two units I don’t use much live either as I do t really need to. It’s like this 80’s thing… I like to be prepared to step up and fill out the sound but if I don’t have to then I’m not too fussed. Having to tap dance during a song will inevitably trip me up at some point while remembering the correct bass parts!

That needs a link surely.

You’re not the first to say it 😀 The Cali76 normally has a pedal playing piggyback so that helps out. Once I know what will be the final set up sorted I can make it fit… honest guv! Plus the C4 is just a loaner from a mate so not a regular.

My board (I only have one so it is, by default, a gigging board, creative board, amp-less board etc.) may look like this for the 80’s band. I’m contemplating swapping the Cali76 TX out for the HXStomp and using the C4 in its loop but I’ll get a play about with them both and the make a call as to what’s what. I’ve not wired the C4 up to anything yet as I’ve been trying it out solo’d. It has a lot for functionality and the octave patches I’ve tried are pretty close to the Zeus (which is an OC-2 circuit). I’d really need to try and program some similar sounding patches with fuzz and octave (or find some in the community files) and do a head to head.

I’d maybe have went VTDI and zoom and cut back on what looks to be a bit synth heavy- sounds like the zoom is already doing the heavy lifting in that front so much of the filter and synth is a tad superfluous in the gigging context. Maybe better suited to the home board which looks a bit ‘drive’ heavy. Maybe a balance of both drive and filter synth between each board would be more rounded i.e. if your not planning on doing anything with the FI for a while it’s pointless taking up gigging board real estate. I know where’s the fun but I know you don’t like to take out stuff you won’t need/gig light kinda thing. I’m not entirely sure I’ll need much synth myself beyond what I’ve said above - touch of octave and drive but the C4 will be fun and if I can load 3-6 individual sounds which compliment the keys I’d be happy. I only have the pedal on loan but I might be tempted if I actually need what it has to offer and it works in the larger context of the band. Looking forward to finding out. Covid has cause the first few rehearsals to be cancelled so far! Remind me what pedal is the Z synth emulating?

As someone who’s just been recruited to play in an 80’s band I’d be keen to know which tracks which pedals are getting used on with the pub band especially any synth heavy stuff. I’ve been playing around with a C4 synth pedal too so it might inspire some tweaks and ideas for my current set of tunes. Mostly it’s just octave and drive for pseudo synth stuff but the C4 will lwr me expand upon this where needed. Previously I’ve been using a combination of drive, fuzz, octave and some modulation in the HX stomp which has served reasonably well for my needs but the C4 is quite a step up.

I dig it

Just got my hands on one of these from a mate and looking forward to trawling the user patches for some 80’s flavoured sounds. Not sure that I’ll need that much as there’s a keys player but it should be fun to bust out a few ‘unexpected’ tones from the bass amp on the unsuspecting band😀

I did it!

Trapper is a cracking pedal and I’m very happy with it for my needs. Fender pedals in general are doing many great things with their wee touches and additional features. The comp/pugilist looks and sounds great for guitar too.

If the quad cortex can model pedals just set up a couple of the patches you use, model them then sell the board 😀 That way you can keep those patch’s for the occasional time they’re needed and if the QC gives you most of what you need for other sounds you’re laughing. I’ve no doubt DG could model any filter type pedal to be a reasonable facsimile with the amount of processing power it has - they appear to have a pretty solid approach to updates and listening to their user base. It’s a reason why I’m interested in the ADAM as a stand alone gig pedal. It’s pretty fully featured for my needs.