Sire V7 active EQ question

[uk_lefty]

One of the reasons I bought my Sire was to see how I'd get on with active EQ. I had 2 band active basses in the past and always preferred them passive. With the Sire I spent a long time playing it straight through to the amp with the amp EQ off and no EQ from pedals. However, I tended to just have a tad of bass boost, a tad of treble boost and leave both the mid knobs flat. 

I'm looking for advice on how you guys get something from these mid knobs? I've tweaked around a lot and not found a sound I like, but then again I don't know well enough how they interact with each other and with the bass and treble EQ. Any tips gratefully received. 

[Conan]

I've just got one of these basses, and I LOVE the mid controls! It just gives so much flexibility in terms of being able to make subtle (and not so subtle!) changes to the midrange of your tone. At the bottom end of the frequencies it is more of a bass boost/cut (far more usable than the actual bass control IMO, which is set too low and gives far too much cut and boost). You can boost nasal frequencies (should you want to) to get that odd Stanley Clarke tone, or (in conjunction with selecting the neck pickup only) boost the low mids to get pretty close to a P-bass sound (again, IMO).

It's early days for me as I only got the bass this week and have only used it at one (low volume) rehearsal, but there is a huge amount of potential in that preamp. That said, the passive tone is pretty decent too 

The thing is with preamps (especially three-band versions) is that everyone uses them differently. Some use them for a very definite "in your face" tone, almost like an effects pedal; whereas others use them in a very subtle manner to tweak their tone rather than using the amp. All IMO/IME of course.

Edited January 11, 2019 by Conan

[uk_lefty]

Thanks. I'm a novice with active EQ and the Sire is the first I've started to explore and enjoy but only with minor tweaks to the bass and treble leaving the mids flat. I've read the manual in more depth now so going to tinker a bit more.

I also bought a Stingray in the meantime so that has had far more outings and the Sire is relegated to backup or songs that must have a five string! 

[scalpy]

Picked up mine just after Christmas and used it NYE (a tad ambitious for my first foray into 5 string as it turns out!) But I've been experimenting with the tip Marcus Miller gives on the Chicago Music Exchange Video where you just leave the mid frequency selector in place then just boost the mids fractionally to bring out finger style. Works a treat, it's almost like he knows what he's doing. 

[Huge Hands]

I have one and mainly use it in passive mode, but I when I got mine, I thought the range between fully cut and fully boosted was massive, so even a slight turn made a huge difference.  I seem to remember someone mentioning a mod where you could change some resistors or caps and reduce the range of cut/boost so it was more subtle, but I never felt the need to do this.

[dave_bass5]

A bit late i know but i wanted to say that although i use my V7 mostly in passive mode, there is a trim pot inside the bass so that you can match the active volume to the passive one. 

I have mine set so its slightly quieter if all the knobs are flat, but when you boost the mids or low end slightly it brings the level up to match the passive level. 

[AREA]

I guess it is helpful to know the Midrange Frequencies on the Bottom Knob. It operates on Frequencies from 80Hz - 2Khz. Center Position is 600Hz

Edited February 17, 2019 by AREA

[uk_lefty]

Just as I was discovering the possibilities with the EQ I've had to put it up for sale!! I love a jazz style bass though and in future if circumstances allow me to have more than enough basses again I'd go for a Sire all day long, it's not the simplest EQ to use (hence this question) but it is the most versatile I've found.