erikbojerik Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 When playing live, do you bass players actually use your on-board tone controls for EQ? Or do you use a floor EQ/effects unit? Or do you just let the sound guy deal with it? I'm a guitar player "crossing over" and building a bass; I already have a decent floor effects unit with 8-band EQ, so I'm trying to evaluate whether or not I really need those tone knobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 Dean's 3-band onboard for me. i love it. granted, i still mess around with the amps i use (i use three different amps depending on where and what i'm playing) just to get a "general" sound, but then i use the on-board to make major changes and tweaks. def. on-board. though i've been considering a floor eq for my passive peavey foundation. just to see if i like it. too expensive right now, but i might decide to make something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 definitely 3 band eq on board, allthough for next build I am considering making my own pickup, in which case I would go with simple volume/tone configuration on board. This next one be fretless, thus (at least in my mind) it should not need much tweaking to sound really badass. PEace, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 fretless + EQ = pointless. hell, you could set the amp's EQ flatline (on any amp, mind you) and that bass will have a wonderful sound. creepy thing about fretlesses, i'm telling you. i still don't get it. as long as there's a solid enough pickup in there and it's getting something to the amp, it will sound original and good. the bass i've been working on will definitely be a fretless, and i've been saving for a Carvin AC40 (acoustic) fretless for some time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 You forgot the option "EQ on the amp". I hate tone knobs!!! The one tone knob on my P-bass is annoying enough, I don't understand why people would want a whole parametric equalizer thing with 10 knobs on their basses (where's the "puke" icon??) you spend more time playing with the damn buttons then playing bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 To be honest, I have a bias already, but I'm not a bass player by trade so I really don't know how much you guys fiddle with your tone knobs in a live situation. And really, who ever fiddles with amp knobs in a live situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 ...I really don't know how much you guys fiddle with your tone knobs in a live situation. And really, who ever fiddles with amp knobs in a live situation? I do! I do most of my adjusting with the onboard EQ, but I do use several different patches on my preamp for different sounds, so it's definitely both. Of course, playing in an eclectic cover band means I may have to switch from Lee Rocker to Paul Mc Cartney and then to Sting or Lemmy, so it might not be the same for guys who play in a single genre. Even so, I can't imagine doing a "set-and-forget' show, or (Heaven forbid) letting the soundguy deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespresence Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 All or some of the above!?!?! I set up my amp and EQ on the amp for my "base" tone and then use the EQ on the bass for an initial set up. If it's a different sound I need I grab a different bass that's already set up for that song........much easier that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 All or some of the above!?!?! I set up my amp and EQ on the amp for my "base" tone and then use the EQ on the bass for an initial set up. If it's a different sound I need I grab a different bass that's already set up for that song........much easier that way way to go "Mr. I Have Different Basses for All My Different Settings." as a broke college kid, you learn very quickly how to get what sounds you want from ANY setup on ANY bass with an on-board EQ. most violent has been 80's "post-disco" during the day to a jazz concert that night. one bass, one amp. never touched the amp. hooah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 Hehehe...I know a guy who was kicked out of his band, one reason being that he was such a tone freak that it seemed like he changed guitars every other song...while...the...rest...of...the...band...waits. I'm also a tone freak, so I can understand at some level, but its not like you're in the studio. If you're in the Rathskellar with 100 other people it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between a LP and a Tele.... I also lean heavily on the preamp, but mine is separate from my "amp" amp. I play guitar out of the clean channel on a jazz amp, Yamaha 120W with 2-10s, that has 3 tone knobs all set at 12 o'clock and a flat parametric EQ. The only thing I'll touch is the volume (amp as monitor); Shure SM57 to the board. ALL my effects processing, including EQ, happens with a floor unit, which includes a loop to a Vamp2 for some things I don't have in the floor unit (phaser, tremolo, etc). I have different clean & dirty patches that are saved for my LP, Strat, 12-string Strat and acoustic, and some "special" patches. The only time I touch my tone knob is to roll off the highs slightly on the Strats, and I mean from 10 to 8....which I could probably do just by replacing the cap. So really, I use my floor unit as my tone generator and my Yamaha as basically a power amp/monitor. I have plenty more RAM left in the preamp for bass. Would I really need an on-board EQ in this situation? Does it really help with the amount of "thud" or "growl" you get from a bass, before the preamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespresence Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 way to go "Mr. I Have Different Basses for All My Different Settings." as a broke college kid, you learn very quickly how to get what sounds you want from ANY setup on ANY bass with an on-board EQ. most violent has been 80's "post-disco" during the day to a jazz concert that night. one bass, one amp. never touched the amp. hooah! Been there....done that....bought the t-shirt. Don't have to anymore and someday neither will you. I'm many years from college.....hoooa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dugz Ink Posted November 12, 2004 Report Share Posted November 12, 2004 I usually just set the controls on my fretless acoustic/electric and play. Most of the time I don't even adjust anything. I just plug her in and listen to people say "Daaaaam that sounds good!" (They're clearly talking about the guitar, because my playing varies between "rough" and "cat-in-a-trash-can". D~s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted November 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 Well...looks like most people prefer the on-board EQ. I like the simplicity of a single knob, but I may go with a 3-band if only to improve any future resale value (if any....). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Jabsco Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 I use mine all the time. I have a Bartolini 3 band EQ. Its so nice I would feel bad if I didnt use it. In a live situtaion I fiddle with it a little bit. For instance, (in jazz band concerts) when we play christmass songs, I kick the trebs up and mids down, bass on about 3/4. For somthing like Hatian fight song, I kick the trebs all the way down, mids half, and bass on full. sorry I couldnt come up with better examples. I find them all very usefull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StratDudeDan Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 For somthing like Hatian fight song Hooah! love that song! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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