Amp settings

[Hey_Pauly]

Any rule of thumb for what the low, mid and high should be set to?

[thodrik]

Whatever you preference, or if you want to fit in on bass forums:

1. 'I set everything flat'
2. 'I eq to suit the ambience of the room'
3. 'I bump the mids a bit, mid scoop is for amateurs'
4. 'Everything up on full, that way every frequency will be heard equally. Then turn up master volume to taste.'

[Hey_Pauly]

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1506292724' post='3377734']
Whatever you preference, or if you want to fit in on bass forums:

1. 'I set everything flat'
2. 'I eq to suit the ambience of the room'
3. 'I bump the mids a bit, mid scoop is for amateurs'
4. 'Everything up on full, that way every frequency will be heard equally. Then turn up master volume to taste.'
[/quote]

I should have known, to each his own.

[CameronJ]

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1506292724' post='3377734']
Whatever you preference, or if you want to fit in on bass forums:

1. 'I set everything flat'
2. 'I eq to suit the ambience of the room'
3. 'I bump the mids a bit, mid scoop is for amateurs'
4. 'Everything up on full, that way every frequency will be heard equally. Then turn up master volume to taste.'
[/quote]

Ha. I'm a mixture of 2 and 3. Initially mix so I can hear myself on stage (which often means bumping the mids a bit) then with the freedom of my wireless system go out into the audience area and hear what I sound like from there, adjusting to the room as I go along.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote]Any rule of thumb for what the low, mid and high should be set to? [/quote]Where it sounds best.

[grandad]

Quote, "mid scoop is for amateurs".

I much prefer a little mid scoop.

[Osiris]

Start with everything flat (knobs at 12 o'clock, or graphic sliders in the centre of their range) and go from there. Make subtle changes and try to avoid anything extreme I.e. don't fully cut or boost any particular frequencies. And remember to cut as well as boost too, sometimes you can add what's missing by removing part of what's already there!

As for cutting the mids, it sounds great when it's just the bass in isolation, but it makes the bass harder to hear when playing with other musicians. If you're in a band, go for a sound that blends with the other instruments even if the bass doesn't sound very sexy on its own.

[Lozz196]

I follow Bills advice on this - I know the sound I want, so wherever the amps settings are to get that.

[dannybuoy]

About mids... I've been practicing using the DI out from my Darkglass head mixed with my new band's old album tracks into headphones. It has two distortion types, the mid-heavy VMT and the scooped B3K.

After constantly hearing on forums that you need to boost mids to be heard well in a band mix, I went for the VMT mode first. However I found that I was then battling for the same frequencies as the guitar. B3K mode, which has a natural bass boost, mid-mid cut and hi-mid boost, just slotted into the mix perfectly. Now I understand why bassists and recording engineers love the Sansamp BDDI and Darkglass B7K so much.

Another thing - some amps, like the Orange Terror Bass, are flat with the mids maxed and bass and treble off. It's worth finding out what type of tonestack your amp has and if anyone has posted any measurement graphs online.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Hey_Pauly' timestamp='1506288574' post='3377704']
Any rule of thumb for what the low, mid and high should be set to?
[/quote]

My rule of thumb is to buy an amp that sounds "right" when all the controls are at 12 o'clock. As long as slight adjustments, 1 click to the left or right, covers it then the amp is right for me. Any extreme EQing means I bought the wrong amp.

So my answer to the OP is 12 o'clock.

[xgsjx]

I don't have a "Mid" on my amp, just Bass & Treble. The knobs are on guitar & vocals.

[la bam]

Personally I always start with the following on a 3 band eq then adjust.

Bass around 10 o'clock.
Mids around 7 o'clock.
Highs around 10 oclock.

Then turn your volume up.

Then adjust to taste. You'd be surprised how often you don't need your bass even at 12 o'clock when the volume is up.

If you're happy it's bassy enough and the highs are coming through enough (if not alter as desired), then if required move the mids to get a sound you're happy with.

Edited September 25, 2017 by la bam

[Painy]

On my old Trace Elliot head I press the pre-shape button.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='la bam' timestamp='1506360486' post='3378230']
Personally I always start with the following on a 3 band eq then adjust.
Bass around 10 o'clock.
Mids around 7 o'clock.
Highs around 10 oclock.
[/quote]If that works for you fine, but the response of every amp is different, as is the response of every bass and every speaker. That's why there is no rule of thumb.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Hey_Pauly' timestamp='1506288574' post='3377704']
Any rule of thumb for what the low, mid and high should be set to?
[/quote]

Depends on your bass, depends on your amp, depends on your cabs, depends on what sort of sound you want, depends on what the rest of your band are doing.

[LITTLEWING]

I take the bass down to about a quarter then turn the volume up until it's level with the band, get a comfy sound that's not too harsh or glassy then bring the bass up until it fits in the mix. Last of all play a number with the whole band and adjust the final volume to suit the mix and the ambience of the room we're in.

[dmccombe7]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1506331791' post='3377882']
My rule of thumb is to buy an amp that sounds "right" when all the controls are at 12 o'clock. As long as slight adjustments, 1 click to the left or right, covers it then the amp is right for me. Any extreme EQing means I bought the wrong amp.

So my answer to the OP is 12 o'clock.
[/quote]

Think that's probably about right for me when using my GK 1001 Head & Berg HT322 cab.
When using other variations i find i need to use more EQ to get what i want.
Ampeg head with Orange cabs i need to cut the higher mids slightly and boost the low mids a touch. Its the weirdest setting i've ever had to find.

Dave

[PaulWarning]

if there was an ideal setting, amp manufacturers wouldn't fit EQ, I cut the bass under 100Hz and maybe boost slightly around 2.5K Hz, but also use the Bassdrive sim on the Zoom B1on, but it depends on a whole host of things, but I think a good rule of thumb is cut what you don't want instead of boosting what you do, if you want a trebler sound cut the bass frequencies and visa versa

[T-Bay]

[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1506360578' post='3378231']
On my old Trace Elliot head I press the pre-shape button.
[/quote]
Works for me too, seems better than any setting I can manually dial in for some reason.

[Conan]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1506362592' post='3378246']
Depends on what the rest of your band are doing.
[/quote]

To me, this is the biggest factor. Different sounds work in different bands. Competing with a Hammond organ and a couple of Les Pauls through Marshall stacks is not the same as a polite, clean, jangly Telecaster through a small combo. Obviously

[Delberthot]

My amp and cab are my monitor and sit at ear level. I set the controls on the first gig I did with them and never touch them - same with my bass. The only thing I might adjust is the volume depending on the size of stage.

In the bad old days when I was carting around a pair of 37-45kg cabs and they sat behind me on the floor I generally spent the entire night fiddling with the controls on the amp and the bass

In fact this might be a reason why I don't have GAS for anything. In the past I was never truly happy with my sound so would change everything regularly striving to get a decent sound but now I have that sound I'm sorted.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Delberthot

[Dan Dare]

Adjust to suit, using your ears, not your eyes. Every amp reflects its designer's preference (and many are engineered to sound good at low/showroom levels to encourage you to buy). There is no universal "flat" setting, whatever the position of the knobs says.

[Marty Forrer]

Depends entirely on two things, the sound you want to hear, and what your amplification is. For example, when I had SWR I had to boost the lows and reduce the highs. With my current (and forever) rig of Quilter BassBlock and Barefaced cabs, I leave everything dead flat.

[bazzbass]

if you're using heavy distortion you'll want a different EQ than if you're playing reggae or jazz or motown or.....

in the pub gigs I had bass at 10 mids at 12 and treble at 2 to cut thru the 'crowd' a bit better, depending on the room acoustics of course

but now i like bass 10 mids 2 treble 10