Amp setting up

[LITTLEWING]

Every room at every gig is different and it’s always fun (NOT!) EQ-ing for 15 mins or more. 

What’s everyone’s ’start from scratch’ strategy? I personally put everything on flat and turn the bass knob nearly all the way down and get the best tone with my bass with small adjustments of mids and trebles and then adjust bass and stage volume accordingly during a couple of complete band soundchecks. I seem to find too much bass ruins everything and simply swamps everything with boomy mush.

[EJWW]

Interesting approach... I tend to leave everything flat but, if anything, back off the bass a bit. 

 

I can't imagine reducing the bass to zero though

[chris_b]

IMO rooms are less of a problem when you have a good signal chain and sound worse when you are trying to put too much bass in your sound.

 

I buy amps that sound good with the controls at 12 o'clock and run them through good cab(s). My sound is more low mids than bass, so even the worst rooms only need a minor EQ change, that's 2 mins max.

[BassAdder60]

I tend to use the same settings all the time .. LOUD !

[Bluewine]

I have just about everything set at the mid point or 12 noon.

 

Blue

[bassman7755]

55 minutes ago, LITTLEWING said:

Every room at every gig is different and it’s always fun (NOT!) EQ-ing for 15 mins or more. 

What’s everyone’s ’start from scratch’ strategy? I personally put everything on flat and turn the bass knob nearly all the way down and get the best tone with my bass with small adjustments of mids and trebles and then adjust bass and stage volume accordingly during a couple of complete band soundchecks. I seem to find too much bass ruins everything and simply swamps everything with boomy mush.

 

Adjusting the amount of bass using on stage sound is likely very missleading, suggest a radio/long lead/looper to hear what its like out in the room.

[Jackroadkill]

I start with everything at 12 o'clock and go from there. If it's a turn-up-and-play type of gig I don't worry about my tone very much, but if there's a decent PA, an good engineer and a real soundcheck then I'll be a bit more fussy.

[Dad3353]

Most rooms will change once the public get it, so, unless there's a dedicated FOH operator, it's pretty futile looking for precision. We play bars and cafés, mostly, so the amp is set with a 12 o'clock EQ, end of story. It works for us. I don't re-tune my bass drum, either, for the venue. It'll be what it'll be, or whatever the FOH person makes of it, if there is one. 

[fretmeister]

I start with the bass tone at about halfway so I’ve got some movement available. Then on the amp everything at noon and then cut the bass as I get louder. And I’ve always got a HPF in the path to help tame the mush. 

[Happy Jack]

12 o'clock throughout, and only tweak stuff if I really need to.

 

It doesn't matter; nobody is listening anyway. 🙄

[lozkerr]

I usually start with mids up from 12 o'clock, treble up a little and cut the bass until the B string doesn't sound like mush. The HPF sounds like a good idea - I must try that.

[Franticsmurf]

If I'm using backline I'll start off with the settings for the last gig and adjust accordingly. I'm starting from something that worked last time and while, as has been noted, all rooms are different (and sometimes change during the evening), I have find it easier to work towards the sound from a known starting point. 

 

If I'm going into the FOH (as I do with one band), my settings on the board pre-amp are pretty much fixed. I adjust the bass using the shaping knob on the Digbeth and work with our regular FOH man to get the right sound. 

[Lozz196]

All of my gigs are with shared/provided backlines so my Sansamp with its always the same settings goes FOH, I then just adjust whatever amp I’m using for on stage sound. As long as that’s not too boomy all is well & good.

[bass_dinger]

6 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

12 o'clock throughout, and only tweak stuff if I really need to.

 

It doesn't matter; nobody is listening anyway. 🙄

This - both the serious advice, and the quip about nobody is listening. 

 

If someone with authority and knowledge tells me it is too bassy , or loud, I will make changes.  

 

But often that is using "Lee Sklar's Producer Switch" - make a change to something that others can see, but most of the change comes from using a different playing technique. 

 

That way, I still have (say) the volume to compete with the band and the congregation, and it is available to me simply by digging in harder, or playing over the neck pickup rather than the bridge. 

 

 

[Boodang]

I prefer a bridge pickup, mid heavy tone, so room boominess not such an issue but I do think a mid heavy tone is easier to eq for a room. I used to use a compressor and an SWR baby blue semi parametric pre amp, but now I use an xr18 with a Fairchild comp and Pultec mid eq. If the room eq is proving difficult I've got a fully parametric eq at my disposal but to be honest it's rarely necessary. 

[casapete]

My onstage settings rarely vary, with everything centred tone wise. However, last night for instance

(at the engineer’s suggestion) I turned down the lower mid control a touch and quite liked it! I do

prefer a rounded sound onstage, but have found that what often sounds a bit more ‘middley’ at

soundcheck sounds just right when the theatre is full, so a good compromise. 

I think I’ve reached a point using the same amp/cab/bass combination for so long that if anything 

altered too drastically I would feel uncomfortable. Sounds a bit sad but it just suits me as it is. 
Occasionally get to use something else and I manage okay but prefer my own rig. 

[Jackroadkill]

3 hours ago, lozkerr said:

I usually start with mids up from 12 o'clock, treble up a little and cut the bass until the B string doesn't sound like mush. The HPF sounds like a good idea - I must try that.

 

Yes, a HPF's at the top of my shopping list, too.

[MacDaddy]

Nah, no need for tweaking it's all in the fingers innit‽

[Mykesbass]

5 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

Nah, no need for tweaking it's all in the fingers innit‽

You seem to be ignoring tonewood. I only play in rooms with oak joists.

[la bam]

Usually I just run Amps flat with a little mid boost. 

 

If that ever doesn't work Laney have the best one dial trick there is. It's called a tilt dial. It takes whatever your favoured eq settings are (ie what you like in a good room) and tilts them either basswards or treblewwards. It keeps your eq across the spectrum and just subtly tilts it if it's too bass or not bass enough for that room. This is much better than adding or cutting a specific bass eq etc. If not, the usually dials are there if needed, but the tilt does a great job. 

[King Tut]

1 hour ago, la bam said:

Usually I just run Amps flat with a little mid boost. 

 

If that ever doesn't work Laney have the best one dial trick there is. It's called a tilt dial. It takes whatever your favoured eq settings are (ie what you like in a good room) and tilts them either basswards or treblewwards. It keeps your eq across the spectrum and just subtly tilts it if it's too bass or not bass enough for that room. This is much better than adding or cutting a specific bass eq etc. If not, the usually dials are there if needed, but the tilt does a great job. 

A lot of old Trace amps have a similar feature!

[MacDaddy]

33 minutes ago, King Tut said:

A lot of old Trace amps have a similar feature!

 

Tecamps do too, the 'Taste' knob which scoops or adds mids.

 

 

[Dad3353]

I've been offered a tilt cab; does the colour matter much..? 

 

[la bam]

4 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

 

Tecamps do too, the 'Taste' knob which scoops or adds mids.

 

 

 

This tilts the whole eq. Ie if its too bassy turn to treble side and it will shift everything accordingly. I've never had to mess with it for more than 1 minute without finding the perfect setting. It takes all the hassle out of messing with 3,4,5 different dials or sliders and gives you a great tone. 

[uk_lefty]

The only rooms I've had to EQ for have mainly involved cutting bass because there's a big hollow stage that makes it sound boomy. I don't do extreme EQs anyways, I'm always everything centred and either bass and treble up,I'd slightly cut, or for the semi hollow and the fretless basses it's treble and bass flat and mids boosted. I tweak from there but it's rare that I'd need to.