The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 02-22-2018, 09:25 AM
MrErikJ MrErikJ is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 1,142
Default Cuttin' the Mids

Hey All,

Most of us use transducers or mags that exaggerate the mids a little bit and getting a good live sound seems to depend on cutting the right mid-freqs without hollowing out your tone. I'm curious, with your respective setups, which mid frequency you choose to cut, if any?

I find with my LB6 and iBeam that I generally cut a little bit at 1khz and then maybe a little bit of 700-800hz at the amp or mixer. That seems to pull some of the honk out of the pickups without going full-Metallica "smiley face" EQ.
__________________
Alvarez MC90
Guild GAD-50 w/Seymour Duncan Mag Mic
Taylor 352ce
Taylor 514ce

Zoom AC3

https://linktr.ee/erikjmusic
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-22-2018, 09:49 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: The heart of Saturday night..
Posts: 3,645
Default

for me it's different at every gig.
but a starting place for me is usually
to do a hp roll off below 200 usually
125-150. then i usually boost a bit around
750 then i do the sweep thing with a sharp
Q somewhere above that to find the offending
Frequency . The high end is boosted to the point
of sparkle then backed off a bit.
All this is a big YMMV. as all equipment and guitars and
rooms vary a lot.
i use a sunrise mag pup that has adjustable
pole pieces. i remove the high e and b string poles
cranked the g string down adjusted the d,a,low e to where i like it.
So it's kinda like an eq on the pup as well.

Last edited by varmonter; 02-22-2018 at 10:01 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-23-2018, 04:38 AM
Monsum Monsum is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 473
Default

If I cut only one band, it's usually somewhere around 600-800Hz with relatively wide Q. It could be reduced as much as 12dB but often 6dB is sufficient.
That said with some guitars (depending on a pickup and strings) I might go a bit higher, like 1-1.1kHz area. It depends whether a guitar seems to be muddy or with too much presence (and 'quack').

If I have two bands available on an EQ, that'll be around 500Hz one band, and the second closer to 1-1.2kHz.

I'm not afraid to experiment with even more radical dB reduction. I was successful with cutting middle range by almost 24dB with narrower Q.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-23-2018, 06:41 AM
leew3 leew3 is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 2,953
Default

I don't have a narrow band parametric eq. After much frustration with the dreaded neck pickup 'quack' on my Taylor ES system (2012) I turned the midrange on my Fishman Loudbox Artist amp down as far as it will go. It's like magic and my 814 sounds great again when amplified. Maybe I shouldn't have sold my Platinum Pro preamp with the spiffy parametric midrange eq after all!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-23-2018, 06:54 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Chicago
Posts: 11,282
Default Cuttin' the Mids

I think most folks shape their mid freq EQ in the range of 500 to 1000 Hz. If you count by 50 Hz increments, there are only 11 options to check with your parametric EQ. Most folks will check by boosting, to find the most annoying freq, and then cut. I think most pickups also need a bass boost, and 80Hz Low cut filter, and a presence boost around 4000 Hz.
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 02-23-2018, 09:33 AM
MrErikJ MrErikJ is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 1,142
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
I think most folks shape their mid freq EQ in the range of 500 to 1000 Hz. If you count by 50 Hz increments, there are only 11 options to check with your parametric EQ. Most folks will check by boosting, to find the most annoying freq, and then cut. I think most pickups also need a bass boost, and 80Hz Low cut filter, and a presence boost around 4000 Hz.
That seems to be how I'm EQing my guitar more and more often. I usually cut a little bit of the mids (around 1khz, maybe more or less) back to 10 o'clock and then boost the bass to 1 o'clock and then debate turning up my treble. Definitely depends on the room but that EQ setting on my PZ Pre (plus a low-pass at 80hz) produces a pretty clear and loud sound.

However, I am constantly boosting and running through my mid-range freq and debating which one to cut a little bit.
__________________
Alvarez MC90
Guild GAD-50 w/Seymour Duncan Mag Mic
Taylor 352ce
Taylor 514ce

Zoom AC3

https://linktr.ee/erikjmusic
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-23-2018, 10:55 AM
varmonter varmonter is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: The heart of Saturday night..
Posts: 3,645
Default

i generally can't get away with the 80hz low cut
it's just too muddy/BoomyBut that's my rig. i need
to cut it below 125. sometimes higher. could have to
do with the cajon and another acoustic and bass in the band
affecting my top. alone at low volume i can get it nice at those
lower freq. but loud and in the band not so much.
But everyone's rig and ear are different..
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 02-23-2018, 11:11 AM
noledog's Avatar
noledog noledog is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Florida's First Coast
Posts: 7,530
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
I think most folks shape their mid freq EQ in the range of 500 to 1000 Hz. If you count by 50 Hz increments, there are only 11 options to check with your parametric EQ. Most folks will check by boosting, to find the most annoying freq, and then cut. I think most pickups also need a bass boost, and 80Hz Low cut filter, and a presence boost around 4000 Hz.
+1...this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
**...the Cooltube is one of those exceptions in needing much bass boost as it has tons of low end and the onboard mid-freq-sweep cuts that work pretty good.
__________________
NOLE TUNES & Coastal Acoustic Music one love jam!
Martin D18 & 3 lil' birdz; Takamine KC70, P3NC x 2
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Acoustic Amplification

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:33 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=