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EQ Question
Hi all,
Can anyone give me advice. How do you deal with EQ when there are similar controls on three - or more devices in a chain. So, for example, My amp has EQ controls, my LR Baggs has EQ controls and my guitar has a Baggs pickup with EQ controls. Do you use a combination of all three to tweak or do you run flat EQ on some devices and not on the others. It kind of baffles me. |
#2
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The rule I was taught is that a bad signal only gets harder to resolve farther down the signal chain. I usually start with all EQ flat, adjust the first in the chain, then make adjustments as necessary at each step. I usually find that I only need it at the first EQ point in the chain.
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AGF rules say I must tell you that I'm a KoAloha Ukulele sponsored artist. |
#3
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EQ Question
My way of doing it when using my Taylor (no eq on the Guild) is this:
I start with the controls on the guitar flat, so the bass and treble (and mid if there is one) are neither cut nor boosted. I do the same on the mixer - or in your case, the amp. Then I dial in the best sound I can on the preamp (in my case a Tonebone Pz-pre). Once I am happy with the sound from the guitar through the floor preamp I then tweak the eq on the amp or mixer to adjust for where we are playing and for the mix of instruments, if any. I am usually wary of having two units working against each other - I don't really want to cut a frequency on my preamp and then boost it at the amp or desk! Finally I use the guitar's on-board eq and volume for small changes between songs - I might bring up the bass a little on a fingerstyle piece, the reverse when strumming hard and when a bass player etc is part of the overall sound. Others may chime in here and start at the guitar, but on the whole I find I can get better fine control from a separate preamp and use the guitar for individual song changes. And remember - it's almost always better to cut over represented frequencies than to boost weak ones. Boosting frequencies eats into amp power and headroom whereas the reverse can help give you a little extra reserve volume if and when needed.
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Gibson ES-335 Studio 2016; Furch OM34sr 2015; Fender MiJ Geddy Lee Jazz bass, 2009; Taylor 414CE 2005; Guild D35 NT 1976; Fender MIM Classic 60s Tele 2008; Fender US Standard Strat 1992; G&L ASAT classic hollowbody 2005; Ibanez RG350MDX 2010(?); Ibanez Musician fretless, 1980s; Seymour Duncan Tube 84-40; Vox AC4TV; Ex-pat Brit in Sweden
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#4
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EQ Question
Joe does have a point in that anything further down the chain shouldn't have to fix a bad sound from the beginning. The trick is in knowing what you are eq'ing for: in my case I am pretty happy with the Taylor's flat sound (I wasn't but the body sensor had stopped working for some reason, now it's ok), so I use the preamp to dial out the infamous neck pickup mid and cut under 80hz (unless you are deliberately thumping the guitar those frequencies aren't needed). I use the guitar's controls to make changes between songs, though on the whole I tend to leave it alone.
And of course, it's worthwhile remembering that just because you have 3 sets of eq in your signal chain doesn't mean you have to use them all!
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Gibson ES-335 Studio 2016; Furch OM34sr 2015; Fender MiJ Geddy Lee Jazz bass, 2009; Taylor 414CE 2005; Guild D35 NT 1976; Fender MIM Classic 60s Tele 2008; Fender US Standard Strat 1992; G&L ASAT classic hollowbody 2005; Ibanez RG350MDX 2010(?); Ibanez Musician fretless, 1980s; Seymour Duncan Tube 84-40; Vox AC4TV; Ex-pat Brit in Sweden
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#5
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Thank you for the replies - both make sense so I can experiment.
Because what has been baffling me, and this ties into my original question, are the actual frequences as well. I understand that acoustic guitars operate within certain frequences but from what I can tell from videos - but not fully understand - is that there seems to be certain 'trouble frequences' particularly mids that are best cut or boosted. Does anyone have any good sources for me to understand this aspect. |
#6
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EQ Question
Washy, unfortunately there is no one correct suggestion to your question. The frequencies will change, mostly with each pickup type. For example, the K&K pure mini is inherently bass and low-mid heavy, so most people find their tone when cutting frequencies between 500-800Hz. Problem is, this frequency range can vary with each guitar, venue or signal chain.
The best thing to do is to spend 1-2 hours playing around with the EQ capabilities that you have to see what works and what doesn't. If you have any parametric EQ features, here's a great video posted by another forum member, Dakedi, of how to easily find the offending frequencies, then cut them out. EDIT: This video was posted by AGF Member "Dakedi" in another thread, just reposting it here where I think it's applicable.
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AGF rules say I must tell you that I'm a KoAloha Ukulele sponsored artist. Last edited by joeguam; 10-22-2014 at 01:28 PM. |
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Thank you for that video - very informative.
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#10
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*lol* while we're not taking credit ... I can't take credit for the technique ... I think it's probably as old as parametric eq's
Jan
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Jan |
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#12
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One important caveat is "the less the better"
You can very easily squeeze all the life out of your sound with too much EQ.
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Jan |