Simple eq examples

[Little Dragon]

Reading the topic about JJB's tone shows a pic of him in front of an amp showing his eq settings. A quick look on Google shows numerous examples of guitar starting points but almost no bass ones. Maybe bassists are a bit secretive about it? I would be interested to see peoples base settings with their genre to try and understand the differences in sound.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Every model of bass has a different tone, every model of amp has a different tone, every model of speakers has a different tone, even strings have different tones, and every player has his own tone preferences. The only way to know what works best for you with your gear is to experiment.

[Lozz196]

Adding to Bills comments, I also find it can depend on the other instruments in the band too. My Precision is just “in the way” in my current band comprising humbucker guitar and keyboards, like they’re all competing for the same sonic space so the Jazz gets the job, sits beneath them nicely.

[Baloney Balderdash]

As already said every bass, strings, pickup(s), amp, speaker/cab and even EQ will sound vastly different with the exact same settings, so wouldn't make much sense to suggest general EQ settings that'll fit all, cause they by far most likely won't, then add to that personal preferences and it gets totally pointless. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[karlfer]

On 30/11/2020 at 22:55, Little Dragon said:

Reading the topic about JJB's tone shows a pic of him in front of an amp showing his eq settings. A quick look on Google shows numerous examples of guitar starting points but almost no bass ones. Maybe bassists are a bit secretive about it? I would be interested to see peoples base settings with their genre to try and understand the differences in sound.

Try looking at various bass head owner manuals, some will give you start points, for instance my Mesa Subway 800, linked below (think it's about page 14 on download).

https://mesa-boogie.imgix.net/media/User Manuals/070532_Subway_D800_171103-download.pdf

[barkin]

I'm not sure the position of the 3 tone knobs on my amp would translate very well to the 97 knobs on a GB Shuttle 12...  or vice-versa

Edited December 2, 2020 by barkin

[la bam]

On 30/11/2020 at 22:55, Little Dragon said:

Reading the topic about JJB's tone shows a pic of him in front of an amp showing his eq settings. A quick look on Google shows numerous examples of guitar starting points but almost no bass ones. Maybe bassists are a bit secretive about it? I would be interested to see peoples base settings with their genre to try and understand the differences in sound.

Years and years of tinkering and I discovered one answer....

Run everything flat.

If not happy, then work out what each eq dial/slider does.

If running flat gives a desperate feeling something is missing, then dial in from there. Only if essential.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

3 hours ago, la bam said:

Years and years of tinkering and I discovered one answer....Run everything flat.

The problem there is that pretty much nothing is flat. Just as with tone this applies to every link in the chain. If you did somehow manage to actually get flat response it would be as appealing as flat beer. Skunky flat beer at that.

[la bam]

13 minutes ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

The problem there is that pretty much nothing is flat. Just as with tone this applies to every link in the chain. If you did somehow manage to actually get flat response it would be as appealing as flat beer. Skunky flat beer at that.

...... flat according to your amp then.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The settings needed to get flat according to your amp is different with every amp, if it can be achieved at all. Even if the EQ controls are flat at 12:00 there's usually some voicing applied to the pre-amp that can't be removed or altered. I recall a big deal being made about flat response some years back. It pretty much went away when someone measured the response of a bunch of amps and found that flat response from bass amps was an elusive concept seldom realized. Having all the controls at 12:00 is as good a starting point as any, but there's nothing to be gained by leaving them at 12:00. If there were there would be no reason to have them at all.

Edited December 6, 2020 by Bill Fitzmaurice

[la bam]

58 minutes ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

The settings needed to get flat according to your amp is different with every amp, if it can be achieved at all. Even if the EQ controls are flat at 12:00 there's usually some voicing applied to the pre-amp that can't be removed or altered. I recall a big deal being made about flat response some years back. It pretty much went away when someone measured the response of a bunch of amps and found that flat response from bass amps was an elusive concept seldom realized. Having all the controls at !2:00 is as good a starting point as any, but there's nothing to be gained by leaving them at 12:00. If there were there would be no reason to have them at all.

Yes, my hartke flat is bass at 2, mids at 10 and treble 0.

[stevie]

Although not easy to achieve, my experience is that a flat response is desirable because then you know what you''re working with. If you want to add harmonic distortion or colouration, or accentuate or cut specific frequencies to get your sound, that's fine. But if your amp/cab is coloured to start with, you're stuck with that sound and have nowhere to go.

[Alec]

On 04/12/2020 at 16:41, la bam said:

...... flat according to your amp then.

I'm agreed on this being the best starting point.  Yes, of course it's not really flat.  If it helps satisfy pedentry, how about "default" or "zeroed"?

[BassmanPaul]

Just for interest who is JJB? 

[PaulThePlug]

Jean Jacques Burnell... The Stranglers

Edited December 16, 2020 by PaulThePlug

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, BassmanPaul said:

Just for interest who is JJB? 

😲

[bazzbass]

On 04/12/2020 at 23:42, la bam said:

Years and years of tinkering and I discovered one answer....

Run everything flat.

If not happy, then work out what each eq dial/slider does.

If running flat gives a desperate feeling something is missing, then dial in from there. Only if essential.

with my MarkBass Vintage 500 and Blackline 250 amps, I set all controls flat. I get that pure P or Jazz tone. Of course, live I usually have to adjust,in small rooms attenuate the bass a bit usually is all I have to do.

For a laugh,and ease of loading in and out by cab at an outdoor festival,I took my Elf and one 10" cab. The sound crew laughed at first,then at soundcheck were so blown away by it that they added a mic to the DI feed. Was thunderous , from such a tiny amp.

[BassmanPaul]

18 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

😲

Come on guy - I've been out of the country since 1973!! LOL

 

[BillyBass]

2 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

Come on guy - I've been out of the country since 1973!! LOL

 

So if people in Canada have never heard of JJB, who do you worship then?

That bloke from Rash with the big nose?

[Paddy515]

You could set every adjustment to zero, find the setting you like best for each adjuster singlely, make a note of that position, put it back to zero and move on to the next adjuster. Once youve done all, put each one back in the noted prefered position and see what the overall tone sounds like.

Edited December 17, 2020 by Paddy515

[PaulWarning]

I can spend hours messing about with EQ, my B1on pedal has endless possibilities, sometimes I think I've nailed the sound I want, come back a few hours later and realise I'm nowhere close 😠

[MacDaddy]

and as @alexclaber demonstrated at a Bassbash, how near the cab(s) is to the wall can make a difference too.

Plus, as we hear when someone posts an isolated bass track, what sounds great in the mix, often sounds pants soloed.

It's not easy is it? 😆

[MacDaddy]

On 30/11/2020 at 22:55, Little Dragon said:

Reading the topic about JJB's tone shows a pic of him in front of an amp showing his eq settings. A quick look on Google shows numerous examples of guitar starting points but almost no bass ones. Maybe bassists are a bit secretive about it? I would be interested to see peoples base settings with their genre to try and understand the differences in sound.

In my former band - pub covers band - my TechAmp Puma 500 usually had the EQ centred, then I would just adjust the 'Taste' knob to suit. 

[BassmanPaul]

On 16/12/2020 at 14:33, PaulThePlug said:

Jean Jacques Burnell... The Stranglers

Thank you. I now know who you are talking about. 

[BassmanPaul]

On 17/12/2020 at 13:28, BillyBass said:

So if people in Canada have never heard of JJB, who do you worship then?

That bloke from Rash with the big nose?

When I worship it surely is a little higher than Geddy! LOL