basic eq setting

[archie84]

hi everyone. iv been playing bass for about 3 years now and been gigging. im finding it hard to set the eq. im basicly cluless. im getting plenghty of low deep bass but when im playing mid neck on the a and d strings im finding it hard to punch through the rest of the band. what should i adjust. are there any simple articles out there to explain to a clueless non tecknical person. lol thanks

[Mudpup]

Push the low mids and mids a bit is the general answer - or, if its just boomy, cut the bass and crank the volume.....
Depends on your rig though of course - some setups are punchy, some are smoother

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='archie84' timestamp='1466859383' post='3079409']
hi everyone. iv been playing bass for about 3 years now and been gigging. im finding it hard to set the eq. im basicly cluless. im getting plenghty of low deep bass but when im playing mid neck on the a and d strings im finding it hard to punch through the rest of the band. what should i adjust. are there any simple articles out there to explain to a clueless non tecknical person. lol thanks
[/quote]

Sometimes it's not specifically your EQ that's at fault. Instead, it's the guitarist or the keyboardist getting into your sonic territory. Mid-neck bass on A and D strings is bottom end of the guitar. Is guitarist playing with a bass loaded sound?

[discreet]

Try your EQ flat, which usually means everything at 12 o'clock. Sometimes it doesn't mean that however, in which case search TalkBass for 'Flat settings for XXX amp' - XXX being your amp, of course. When that's done, wind up the volume to where you want it. Make adjustments as necessary. As said, pushing the mids a little can cut through the mix. What you don't need is loads of low-end sloshing about. This will make everything sound muddy and boomy and is... not good.

But remember that the bass sound that is best in the mix for your band will probably sound horrible when you try it at home playing solo. A mix is just that, a combination of sounds. Individually they can sound terrible, together they can be sublime.

Edited June 25, 2016 by discreet

[BassBus]

I had this problem in acoustic setting once. Playing in a trad folk session with a cajon player. A lot of my notes on the DB were exactly the same frequency as his drum and I just couldn't hear my bass. Not much you can do in that setting but follow what's been said above. Also remember that every room you play in will be different acoustically so be prepared to change settings each time you play.

[Japhet]

Check out your strings too. They lose their mojo after a while and start sounding dead and dull.

[JapanAxe]

The trouble with setting your bass control high is that it only boosts notes low down on your bass. As you have discovered, this does not help when you venture up the neck. Mids are your friends! Rather than boosting any particular frequencies, knock your bass control back a bit (say 10-11 o'clock) and raise your overall volume - see how that sounds.

[Lozz196]

Adding a little bit of gain, rather than a completely clean sound can help on this as well.

[Painy]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1466865633' post='3079451']
Adding a little bit of gain, rather than a completely clean sound can help on this as well.
[/quote]

Definitely. I find that if my tone sounds good solo it is often a bit lost in the mix but a touch of subtle drive from my Bass Soul Food pedal adds a lot of harmonics and presence to the sound which really cuts through and actually gives much better note definition.

[lojo]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1466861300' post='3079420']


Sometimes it's not specifically your EQ that's at fault. Instead, it's the guitarist or the keyboardist getting into your sonic territory. Mid-neck bass on A and D strings is bottom end of the guitar. Is guitarist playing with a bass loaded sound?
[/quote]

Yes, check the guitarists amp and dail out his bass knob , do the same with keyboards or on the mixer , also make sure the vocals are not set with low bass or everything bassy going into the mic (which is not just the singers voice) will get re amplified

Edited June 26, 2016 by lojo

[PaulWarning]

has been mentioned already, but worth repeating, cut is better than boost, so cut the low fequencies, anything below 100Hz, then you can boost the volume without getting all boomy,

[lefrash]

I cut everything below 50hz (I use a graphic EQ on a zoom ms60b) and it clears things up quite alot - I know its counter intuitive to cut bass on a bass guitar, but apparently most frequencies under 30hz are inaudible anyway Everything else is normally pretty flat though.

[discreet]

[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1466937228' post='3079788']
I cut everything below 50hz (I use a graphic EQ on a zoom ms60b) and it clears things up quite a lot - I know its counter intuitive to cut bass on a bass guitar, but apparently most frequencies under 30hz are inaudible anyway Everything else is normally pretty flat though.
[/quote]

Absolutely. Most of the perceived low-end 'power' of electric bass is around 80Hz - 120Hz anyway, so you're really only losing inaudible frequencies that interferes with the kick, messes up your stage sound and uses up valuable headroom for no good reason.

Edited June 26, 2016 by discreet