EQ on amp vs pedals-what’s the difference?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ม.ค. 2019
- A common query we get revolves around these questions:
-Why do I need eq on a pedal if my amp has an eq?
-How do I set my amp EQ if there EQ on my pedal?
-How do I set my pedal EQ if there is EQ on my amp?
-Too much EQ is confusing to me
Let's dive in and talk about it a bit, show the differences, and discuss why they are different and why having both can be more optimal (and more fun!)
Question for you:
What amp do you use (or amps) and how do you set your EQ?
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Question for you: What amp do you use (or amps) and how do you set your EQ?
Fender BDRI and/or VoxAC15. First step is to adjust the amp eq(s) to get the best clean sound, then I'll dial in the gain pedals on top of that.
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III. Clean channel only. Live settings are volume on 2.5 to 3, bass on 0, mid 6.5 to 8, treble 6.5 to 10. (Controls go to 12.) Bright switch and presence off. Using the Plexi-drive Deluxe with bass at 10:30, middle at 1:00, treble at 3:00 with the bass and treble switches off. Post-gain 2:30 to 3:00, and pre-gain at 2:30. Using a Gibson Les Paul Traditional. The sound guys and gals I have used usually compliment me on my tone being thick, and each note comes through clean, even when using the boost on the pedal for solos. The left side of the pedal never gets turned off. I just use the guitars volume control, which is set anywhere between 1.5 and 8, with 5.5 being the default setting used 90% of the time. Been gigging for 43 years and this is the best setup I've ever used.
it's always best everything at 1 o'clock. lets face it.
Marshall dsl15c and low bass high mids I like the nirvana sound lol
Marshall silver jubilee, presence 3, bass 6, mid 7, treble 7
As a pastor, I tell people: never apologize for taking time off for yourself. You owe yourself time first before anyone else. We're happy to have you back!
Good God. This video (and the previous TSC video) have been super revelatory. I knew some of this instinctually but being able to see it on a graph just makes that much clearer. I play guitar in a band where I use a Fender Blues Deluxe, the other guitarist uses a Vox AC30, and the bassist uses a Deluxe Big Muff going through an Ampeg. Dialing in our respective EQs to mix/blend tastefully with each other has been an ongoing battle -- and I think this will be a big help in solving that. Thank you Brian.
love when you explain fun nerdy stuff on your videos! right now i just have my humble katana, i usually go bass almost all the way up and adjust mids and treble depending on guitar, pickup, my current mood etc
Thanks again Brian. The info you consistently share is Gold. After studying each of your videos I feel like I need to start from scratch with my guitar tone. Have a great weekend brother.
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Brian, this came at a great time, as I work on my first pedal with an eq in it. Thank you for the info and the website. Keep up the great work.
The perfect video at the perfect time I spent a good part of my day youtubing equalization and frequency in relationship to guitar just to educate myself... love it
Hi Brian, I'm mostly using a Marshall JTM45 Reissue with a 2x12 Marshall G12M speaker cab. It's a fairly Bass rich amp especially with the channels jumpered, so I run my EQ as follows:
Presence 3
Bass 2
Middle 6
Treble 3
My comment regarding EQ is really to point out that our hearing range changes with age. Younger people say under 25, have a wider EQ frequency hearing spectrum than someone over 55, especially in the higher EQ frequencies. This presumably makes a difference to the preferences we find appealing and unappealing in pedals and amps.
Great video. Currently using an Orange TH30 as my main amp. It has a shape knob on the dirt channel and bass/treble on thr clean. For the dirt side, I typically run the shape around 9 o'clock. This cuts bass and treble while boosting midrange. On the clean I keep my treble slightly above noon and roll the bass back a bit.
I use a boost with a 3-band EQ up front to sculpt my preamp sound a bit more (typically cutting bass and boosting mids around 800hz and treble around 5K).
Nice video. I have an Orange Rocker 15 and mostly leave everything around noon with the gain around 12-1 o’clock. If I crank the gain I tend to switch it towards bass at around 9 o’clock, mids around 11 o’clock, treble up towards 1-2 o’clock. There’s no eq on the clean channel. I have an eq pedal but I just got an idea board setup and I think this video is going to motivate me to breadboard some of these tone stack circuits to try with the clean channel.
Love this type of video!!! One issue - once you turned down to protect the preamp, it was very low and hard to hear the differences.
Great video Brian. Thanks.
Hiwatt SA210 Custom 20.
Volume 1:00
Bass 1:00 - 3:00
Mid 11:00 - 1:00
Treble 9:00 - 12:00
Master to taste but typically 9:00 - 10:00
Blackstar Artisan 10ae
Clean channel
Volume on full
Tone 2:00
Master 12:00
Vox AC30SS
Tremolo channel
Volume 10:00
Cut 10:00
No Master Volume!
I totally dig the technical demos! Keep 'em comin.
Main Amp: Marshall 1987x Middle @ 3:00ish and everything else around noon
Small Amp: Marshall Class 5 1st gen combo Treble noonish to taste, Middle around 2:00, Bass always below 9:00 to sometimes total cut
those graphs answered a question I've had for a long time about so-called "interactive" EQ
Hi Brian, I use a Mesa/Boogie MarkIV into a Marshall 4x12 loaded with EV 12S & Black Shadow MC90 speakers, 8ohms. Mostly use the Lead Channel for heavy rhythms - Lead Gain 9, Lead Fat Pulled, Lead Treble 10, Lead Bass 0, Lead Mid 6, Lead Drive 7, Lead Presence 9 (& Pull Shift pulled). 5-band EQ on a rough "V" to scoop the 750Hz. Runs alongside a Marshall JCM 800 into a 2x12 loaded with WGS ET-65 speakers, 16 ohms. All controls at 12 o'clock, and a THD Hotplate to attenuate. Guitar into the High input. I used to run an overdrive in front of the JCM 800 but am not at the moment.
Great video! Using a 2525c, bass 7, mids 5, treble 4-5 and presence 6. Using thiss for my clean sound. use a ge7 when using the lead channel. Setting it as a upside down smile, starting and ending at 0, and a bit boost in the volume. Kicking in a ts808 for lead boost, but are waiting on a friedman golden pearl.
Fender Blues JR (first generation, with a Jenson Jet Falcon)
Bass : 6
Mids : 10,5
Treb : 4
cherrs - great video!
Live your videos, Brian. I have a Box AC10 that is simply killer. I put the bass knob at 10 o'clock and the treble at noon. I also have a Marshall DSL 40 with bass around 10 o'clock mid almost dimed and treble at 2 o'clock.
I'm using an Orange Rockerverb mach 1... in the loop from send to Eq to verb to delay to return. The chain I'm running in the front of the amp is in this order from guitar is, Ricochet, Bad horse wah, Naga Viper treble boost, Sparkle drive to front of amp. My amp is set pretty high on the gain level. As soon as I started using an Eq it was like lifting a blanket off the amp. It really opened up the sound with nice tight bass response. I'm very happy with my set up...so far. You vids are great !!
I run two amps through a ABY switch box, one amp is a Carvin X50B with a 4x12 cab and the other is a Marshall jcm800 4010 combo with a gain stacking a Nu-tube screamer and a Zakk Wylde overdrive and Wylde wah . The two amps are completely different sounds, but complements each other when played together. The Carvin I believe is a 5 band active EQ. Very full spectrum sound setup!
Great video very informative as usual. I'm using a Quilter Overdrive 200 - Bass 2.5 - Mid 8 - Treble 4 With a Triple Wreck going into it. It's a great amp with an equally great pedal. I use them to devastating effect for metal tones🤘
While the idea of comparing how an amp EQ vs pedals EQ work is great and I believe you did show some nice examples, I guess there's a lot more to it. Basically those two EQ's are completely different as far as placement in the sound chain goes, and the results will be different as well. It apples vs oranges really:
1) amp EQ usually goes right after the preamp and before the power amp section
2) pedal EQ is set at the pedal output (after the signal got distorted) then it goes into the preamp section of an amplifier.
Effectively, it is about 1) changing the sound after the preamp vs) 2) feeding the changed sound into the preamp. IMHO, you should've mentioned it.
A better comparison would involve placing _the_same_ EQ (yours EQuator - Advanced Audio Equalizer or say Boss GE-7 or an MXR) in the loop of the amp (after the preamp) and in front of the amp. You could even keep the overdrive in at all times. A para-EQ instead of a graphic EQ would increase the number of options, too.
This would show a bit better how the EQ alone can shape the sound.
Anyways, keep up the good work. Looking forward to more vids from you.
Peavy Transtube 112 EFX Low 2 Mid 5.5 High 10, I recently put a Korg AX10 in the loop and set it as tonally transparent on eq mode and it has cut high gain noise by like 90%, changed my life.
I mainly use an early 70's Music Man 65 watt combo 1x15 w/ EL34s. Lots of headroom! I like to set the EQ around noonish (Depending on the guitar) with a clean guitar sound and then I'll adjust my pedal EQ/Tone controls to taste. Of course that can change too once you start stacking!
Yes Really good clear & concise explanation .. cheers ..My old muso pals used to ask me how come no matter what gtr or amp I played I always ended up sounding pretty much the same ? ( not always meant as a compliment ) lol .. But I never understood what I was doing .. But I did get to where I wouldn't let anyone mess with my gear .. One night .. I got on stage to discover someone had put all my tuning pegs in a straight row .. Which is how I came up with my theory that Jimi used to use The Star spangled Banner as a way to tune & check his guitar ( yes of course it was a tribute too .) But That's how I got out of the fix I was in Huge feedback & harmonic tuning until I got it all singing & being Scottish & in front of a crowd of rowdy Bikers I used " Oh Flower of Scotland " at the end .. Lol I love your ability to explain it so even an old low tech muso like me can understand it .
Laney GH100L
Bass -8
Mids- 7-8
Treble- 3-4
These all of course depend on the cab and the room.
Great video, thank you!
I use an AMT Stonehead, and my main guitar is tuned to D standard. The Eq is primarily dependent on genre, but for thrash, I leave everything at noon on the crunch channel, for anything heavier I either use lead 1 or lead 2, boosting them, using the voicing option to cut out the treble, while adding treble in the tone stack to make it sound slightly fizzy. Mid's and bass, is to taste, along with adding a little bit of resonance, and presence.
Hi Brian, my process is simple. I first adjust Treble to the point that it is starting to have an effect, repeat with the mods & then the base. All then are a sweet flat tone. Picked this from Matt Schofield
Great video! I hope I run into you at NAMM. I usually run my Seymour Duncan Convertible loaded with all normal modules with bass, middle and treble all at 1 o’clock as my dry amp. Then I run my Fender 68 modified Deluxe Reverb as the wet amp. I usually run the custom (bassman tone stack) at 6.5 treble and 5.5 bass or the vintage channel (regular Deluxe w/bright cap removed) at 7 treble and 4.5 bass.
Hey Brian,
I have two combo's. One being a 1962 Selmer Zodiac tremolo MKII which I recently recaped and played around with different values - thought it lacked low end. Now it's very nice with treble on 5 and bass on 6. I use a boss GE-7 to boost a little 200-400Hz.
My other combo is a Matchless DC-30 "clone" that I just build using the Bugera BC-30 as a platform. Janked out all the Bugera pcb's, transformers etc. Using the Ceriatone DZ-30 layout as template and having original schematics for the DC-30 as well as original power, output and choke transformers. And it sounds beautiful going thru a 70's rola-Celestion 50w and a new Cannabis-Rex from eminence. Gain to taste and trebel on 6-7 bass on 5. The EF86 channel is a different beast. I find myself having the tone set to 2-3 and boosting the preamp with the full-drive 2 using CompCut mode with little to no overdrive but lots of tone to simulate a form of trebleboost.
Anyways, really enjoy your videos. So thanks for that ...
Nice video! I generally run my Micro Terror and Micro Dark with the tone at 10:30. On my red stripe Peavey Bandit, I like to crank each tone knob to 10.
1976 Acoustic Control Corp M125 combo, is the amp I'd like to use the most. Unfortunately, it's too loud for everyday use. I set it with the bright switch engaged, bass at 10/11 o'clock, mid at 8/8.5 o'clock, and treble at 1/2 o'clock. I don't know if it's just me or just my amp but I like the tone of them pushing the mids on the five band eq that the amp has. It's hard to get a clean tone out of this amp but the overdriven tone is fantastic.
The amp I play most often is my Fender Blues Jr. Again I'm a little treble heavy setting it around 2 o'clock and the bass/mids around noon.
I use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe mainly, and since I find it has a good presence and is really brilliant I usually leave the treble control at noon, mids between 1 and 2 o'clock and set the bass between 10-11 o'clock and 1 o'clock depending on the ambient response. I leave the presence control generally set aroun 10 o'clock (a bit less actually)
That guitar science calculator is sooooooo cool! Thanks for the tip!
I use a Kemper with the stereo outs running to 2 old NAD amps a 7125 and a 7140
The 7125 pushes a vintage 30 in an open back cab I built.
The 7140 pushes a EV-12L in an open back cab that I built.
I run the bass pretty heavy on both amps and dial back the treble to 10:00. Sounds Amazing.
By the way before the Kemper I was running a Two Rock Studio 50/15 as a pedal platform.
My board at one time had 4 of your pedals on it... Thx !
My longest running primary amplifier has been the 65watt Egnater Renegade.
I use basically most of the full EQ range depending on what I need tone wise.
I.E.
If I want tighter low end I'll dial the bass back
If I need more pick attack/front end drive I will turn the midrange up.
Finally the treble to control the overall presence in my tone.
Cheers :)
Guitar: Orange Micro Dark, I set the volume generally around 9 o'clock, shape around 10-11 o'clock and then gain goes between 12 and 2 o'clock without pedals or with my Big Muff gain on the amp goes at 11-ish o'clock.
Bass: Orange Crush 100, volume varies as does gain but treble is generally around 4 o'clock, mids either way up around 4 o'clock or about 11 o'clock depending on whether I'm playing alone or with other guitarists (and if so, how many), then bass between 2 o'clock and 4/5 o'clock depending on whether I want a deeper more metal sound or a higher/mid-ier more melodic sound which mostly depends on my playing.
EDIT: Guess I should mention my muff settings since it's not been disconnected from my Micro Dark since I got it. So, volume is generally around 9 o'clock because I don't want (generally) too much of a volume difference, but then tone is between 11 o'clock and maxed out and I generally max out the sustain knob. (It's an EHX Big Muff Pi).
I play a Crate Palomino V32 class A combo mainly for small venues. I have a 1974 Marshall 100 watt super lead for larger venues. the Palomino has a really nice clean sound and very usable distortion channel.. They only made this amp one year and is a great sounding amp somewhere between a Vox AC and a marshall JTM445. Most people discount this amp as a cheap amp but it rocks. I keep the treble about 4, mids about 6, and bass about 3-4. The boost has a midrange bump and the distortion channel is a little dark at high gain. My marshal is set about 4 on treble 6 on mid and 3 on bass and 4 on presence. I had a master volume mod so I can use the amp; it was so loud it was unusable in any club. I like my sound edgy but not too distorted and loud enough to work the speakers
Awesome video!
Im a beginner, so Im still just trying to figure out how to find a suitable tone and set my amp, but its amazingly helpful to learn the difference on how each part of the gear works.
I know in the end its personal preference, but could you elaborate a bit further on the occasions where you'd prefer to use the pedal's settings over the amp and when just the amp? As in, what particular kind of sound/tone a person could be looking for that each option would fit in better?
Thanks anyways, very informative content, straight to the point, what a great format (:
Opening myself up for ridicule here, but during COVID, I sold my Mesa Boogie Mark IV, and Mark IIb. Replaced them with some old Solid State Peaveys, a Renown, Renown 400, Special, Special 130. I also bought a couple of their tube amps, an Ultra, and a Heritage VTX. Now, I have to say, I think these Renowns sound freaking AWESOME. Also, I don't need tubes, which are completely unavailable now anyway. These Peaveys are incredible pedal platforms. The Renowns have built in parametric mids, which I find incredibly helpful. In terms of EQ, I have the bass at 2, mids at 4ish, with the parametric slightly to the left, thinning the mid a tad. Also, I LOVE that these amps can combine the overdrive and clean channels. I can get a super fat 2 amp sound. I can total nail SRV, Trower, Angus, Ted, Stones, Neil, Rev. Billy G, etc. I stack ODs and throw an MXR 12 band in the effects loop, and use it for subtle nuances. I fought those Boogies for years. I do not regret selling them and with the tube insanity these days, I am glad I am not affected by the shortage.
I'm only using a Mesa Boogie .50 Caliber+ I modified myself according to my needs (among others, I added two potentiometer EQ controls: one for 520 Hz and the other one for 1000 Hz). My EQ for rhythm parts is set like a small reversed V shape and no EQ for solos (I love the mids). My rhythm EQ is set that way: when I switch it off, the volume gets louder for solos.
Top rig
64 custom blackface deluxe reverb. At home by myself with the volume around 3 or 4. I run the bass at 10 and the treble around 7 or 8. Depending on the guitar. I usually run it with a klon or tubescreamer pedal. In a band context...I run the bass at 3 or 4 and the treble around 6 with the volume around 6 or 7. Seems the higher the volume goes the more bassy it gets.
That's right with Fender amps. The louder you get, the lower you have to set the bass. Most of the time on 0.
Good observation guys. Some people don't realize this phenomenon and tend to despise loud fender type amp circuits at band volume. And some type of drive that shoves off some low end certainly helps as well.
The MesaBoogie Dual Rectifier is a great example of this principal. Cheers :)
Blackstar HT1 - it has minimal EQ so I'm heavily reliant on the EQ on my pedals. By switching between a couple of overdrives set low-gain-high-volume, I can dramatically change the tone I'm getting. I use a Hotone Blues to get a good SRV type type, or a Marshall Jackhammer to get a nice classic Marshal tone (or as close as I can can get to either with a 1W amp into an 8" speaker)
Great video Brian.
I run a hot rod deluxe pretty much flat, with small adjustments to bass and treble depending on the guitar (strats and les Pauls, mostly). Volume around 3 and a bit of drive (again, depends on the guitar). Reverb around 4.
Cheers, man
7😊😊😊😊
Thanks for the demo and the theory. The graphic representation of frequencies and how they were affected by the tone controls was interesting. Good job !
Roland Blues Cube Artist 212, everything at noon; sweet glorious tone for days.
Carr Viceroy, Fender DXRV handwired rebuilt blackface, Suhr Hedgehog, Peavey Classic 30, Fender Twinolux EC, VOX AC30 HW2X, Morgan AC20 Deluxe, Brunetti Singleman 16, everywhere the same, EQ mostly at noon except with my old Mesa Boogie MK III Simulclass 75. This beast has a special EQ that needs attention and has a Graphic EQ too.
I use a Vox mv50 clean as a pedal slave and it only has a treble/bass pot, I usually use them more as a presence/depth technically just adjusting it slightly, mostly to complement the different room sizes when I'm gigging and as a "preamp" I started using a Blackstar LT Dual and a Boss 7band graphic eq before the pedal as a mid boost. It's really cool and the vox is super small, I usuall just travel with one guitar case when II go giggin'.
Fantastic content!! Thank you very much, we love you!!
Fascinating video man awesome work.....now can you explain level and gain effects at different positions in the signal chain 😂 I run deluxe and a 2203 low bass mids cranked treble and presence never past 1 o’ clock but to taste depending on guitar
Hi. Vox ac15c1. Bass 10oclock treble 2oclock. Tone cut 2oclock. Great vid!
My Swart Mod 84 has a single knob for tone and It generally stays around the noon position but it also has a tone selector switch for low, middle, and high. It most often stays in the middle position.
Everyone needs a respite. Good to hear you again. Happy New Year and... "Where's the uni-vibe?" (says the cat).
I've used a Carlsbro 50 Top non-mastervolume for years now, simple, bulletproof and lots of Oopmf! Four knobs, Treble, mid, bass and Volume, toneknobs at 12, volume dependent of venue.
Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb or Super Reverb , much of how I set the EQ is dependent on what guitar I'm playing that night . Most time I try to get a good balance of the strings across the guitar and then adjust what pedals I might be using for tone for each effect .
Your vids are awesome, man. thanks!!! Cheers.
Hotrod Delux 3 with bass, mids and treble set at 7. I have a Strat and Les Paul
Brian, I asked a question on your FB group but I think a great video idea for you would be to cover how amp in a box style pedals respond, vs the actual amp they replicate. Like a fuzz into your plexi drive vs fuzz into an actual plexi.
Peavey Rage. Gain set to "I can't hear how bad I am". Tone set to "awful". It makes a suitable tonal bedding for my delusions. 🤪
Anthony Dallarosa -I grew up playing the Rage. Damn fine amp for the day...
Hope you’re not just showing off
Using a Quilter MicroPro "12 bass at 11 o'clock mid at 3 o'clock treb at 3 o'clock on a brown setting with a limiter 2 o'clock to create tube like sag. This amplifier takes pedals extremely well especially on the clean channel set to a more of a fender classic tone.
Carvin V3M bass 4 mid 3 treble 5. I have the presence control at 3ish. That’s my bedroom setting with a 1x12 open back cab and v30 speaker. If I’m garage rocking, the eq varies depending on the other instruments and the acoustics of the room.
TL;DR: Laney Ironheart, goose the bass and roll off the treble a little: then do the rest with my guitar's volume and (active) tone controls. Versatile and easy. :D
I'm rocking an IRT Studio 15, and I run that into a custom 4 speaker cab with Celestion Classic Leads and some OEM-grade 10" speakers in an X-pattern. The cab wasn't my idea - I picked it up in a trade - but it's been a freaking *revelation*. Quite good.
I bump the bass a little on all channels, and ease off the master tone control to roll off some highs. I really like active EMGs, so I keep the guitar's tone around noon, and boost it up to full when I need something really bright and cutting.
Really fun rig: covers everything from ambient cleans and light, low-gain rhythms to big-time chunky metal and soaring leads. I'll sing the praises of this amp to anyone who stops to listen: I went through a bunch of different heads & combos before settling on this (Bunch of Line 6 modelers, Orange Tiny Terror, Blackstar HT, and a Peavey JSX 120 head) before settling on this beauty. Since I'm recording more than playing live these days, its USB recording (one line post-power amp, one totally bypassing the amp for reamping) really makes my life easier.
Love your videos...always informative and interesting.
What do you think about the fender machete?
That’s what l have. I run the amp pretty much at noon. Love it. Extremely underrated amp fender just marketed wrong unfortunately and now that they evh. Well probably never get another one.
Using a Two Rock Sensor, I set the EQ so it's balanced and not harsh when it's set pristine clean. My pedals I change for for what flavour of OD I am using, eg TS has a mid honk so I adjust the tone control to prevent high mids and highs from sounding ice picky or harsh. Distortion EQ is essential to sound balanced with the amp. I always have my Tumnus with the treble control around 1 o'clock, John Mayer in a box!
I use a fender fm212r for gigging and recording. I tend to just leave the bass and mid at 5, sometimes I drop the bass to 4 depending on the room), then I have my treble set to about 3 or 4 -I also keep the gain at 3 on the overdrive setting, all to simulate an old “darker” British amp going into light/crispy breakup, then pushing it into overdrive with a rangemaster style booster at the end of my chain. While it could be argued it’s the same drive sound as if I just turned the gain up on the amp, using the booster makes rolling off the guitar volume clean up the sound better, the volume doesn’t drop as much and it doesn’t sound muffled/overly compressed.
I use an EHX Magnum 44 with a Legend 1518 speaker sitting in a closed cab somebody built for me. The Magnum 44 just has a bright switch as tone control, which is enough for me. Takes all kinds of pedals pretty well and has a nicely saturating preamp.
Thank you, Brian!
Thank you for this vid sir. Great topic.
I have a 100w superbass replica (no MV) and generally set the eq with the gain low and guitar knobs way down. Staying close to barely audible keeps a clear line between audible/inaudible thresholds, and your ears don’t attenuate during the process. Generally, raising the volume to normal levels just means taking some bass and maybe presence out. YMMV
Also if you want the best JCM or plexi pedal check out PAL (800 or 959). Dude’s in South America (Brazil I think) and sells on Reverb. Johan Segeborn has demo’d the PAL 800. I’m just as stoked on the plexi version. Fantastic pedal is fantastic.
I mostly play a Randall RM50 head. I usually start with all EQ in the middle. The exact controls EQ depends on the preamp modules I am using. Then depending on what I need I will adjust. If there is a second guitar player or keys I may EQ around them so I can have a frequency that I can hear myself in (and others can hear me). Use amp EQ to get your baseline amp tone to fit in the mix before pedals. Use pedal EQ to taylor that pedals tone to remain in the mix.
1st : Roland Blues cube hot. EQ all about noon,
Still experimenting with it for low volume and pedals.
2nd: Crate Vintage club 30, EQ- bass @ 11 o'clock, mids around 1 o'clock, treb around 11 to noon.
Usually play blues/classic rock, with some jazzy/ambient stuff to chill with.
ENGL Powerball 100, Bass = 12:00 (5), Mid = 12:00 (5), Treble = 8:00 (2). I use an Empress Effects parametric EQ in the effects loop and give all 3 bands just a little bump; it really does a lot to make the sound a bit clearer.
Happy New Year Mr. Wampler!
2019: the year I get either a Plexi-Drive Deluxe or a Paisley Drive Deluxe
I have other Plexi/JCM800 pedals - but none sound as good as yours. BUT - I don't have *anything* that sounds like the Paisley (kinda like Mr. Paisley himself).
I usually play through my AC30, although the EQ is only available on the top boost channel. I typically use the darker, normal channel with the preamp cranked. But when I do use the top boost channel, I set the bass to a little past noon and the treble right at noon for my tele and vice versa for my lp.
Gotta double up on you Brian b/c I've been using an ORANGE AD-15 for since they first started re-issuing, and it took me almost as long (plus a swap from the Vintage 30 to an 8ohms Greenback to find the sweet spot.
GAIN - 4
Bass - 6
MID - 7
HI - 8
MASTER - 6 NOTE - Just bought a Vox AC15C1 3 days ago. Since I use a Strat it's more glassy than chimey, but so far I've settled on Top Boost
MASTER - Vol 10:30/Tone Cut 11:00
TOP BOOST - BASS 1:30ish/Treble 10:45/Volume 10:00
Very cool explanation. Thanks man you rule!
Very informative. I'm puzzled as to why the native guitar amp tone circuit has that big dip in the mids. WRT to your demos, I found I liked the mids all the way up, and about 2 -3 o'clock on the trebles. Might reflect my old ears though! However, there is a lot you can do with the instrument's pickup choice and tone controls as well, which I like to think are the controls that matter most, as they are "at your fingertips" on the fly.
Blackheart Little Giant. Peavy 6505 mini and Fender deluxe reverb 68 custom deluxe.orange 212 v30s for the heads. With a soul food in front.
Brian, I use a (Sweetwater edition) Fender 65 Princeton Reverb RI loaded with a 12” cannabis Rex. I almost always run my EQ controls by turning each one back and forth until I find the point where I hear a more drastic “jump” than anywhere else on the knob. I Cant tell you why! Somebody taught me this a long time ago and I just like doing it LOL
Hey there! I own a Koch Studiotone 40xl head and if I wanna play with my Duesenberg (mahogany body) i set my BASS at 4, MIDDLE at 5-6 and TREBLE at 7
when I play my Charvel san dimas i set the BASS at 5.5, MIDDLE 6, TREBLE 5
We missed you !
I use a hotrod deluxe and I tune the eq for the guitar/room so I set my guitar on the neck pickup and turn the bass up till it sounds like it comes alive and the same process for the middle and bridge pickup for mids and treble
Using mainly my Marshall DSL100HR and various pedals including a 10 band EQ. I recently changed output tubes from JJ EL34's to Electro Harmonix EL34'S. The EH made my amp way more articulate and less bass saturated like the JJ'S. Also the JJ EL34'S wouldn't ever bias above 80mv(tried multiple sets same low bias) so I settled on 74mv but with the EH EL34's I'm at 86mv and the whole amp reacts so much better. It weird I've found after trying many preamp tubes the only combination that doesn't result is muddy distortion at higher gain is a jj ecc83 in v1 and 3 shuguang 12ax7b's in the other 3 positions. I've tried tung sol 12ax7, sovtek 12ax7LPS (the closest to sounding good but still distorted muddy low end at higher gain), and electro harmonix 12ax7's. But I tried them all before I got the EH EL34's that cleared up my amp and made it less bass heavy. So i might try them all again with the EH EL34'S . Basically i want my amp to be less bassy and more articulate. Maybe lower gain tubes which have higher power and better headroom? I want to find out why it sounds good with those 12ax7b's and a JJ but bad with the others so I know who to get that sound back in the future if a preamp tube goes bad. Any suggestions?
Wow perfect timing just got my first eq pedal(after playing guitar 16 years! Lol) and never realized what a difference it would make. Also how much it helps dialing in and fine tuning my tone.
I run a jcm2000 dsl100 as my main amp. I gig with the clean channel driven by overdrive pedals. Eq is mostly at noon
Good info as always. I keep the suck knob at full like Raymond.
'74 vibrolux reverb.
With single coils: bright switch off, treble at 8, bass at 4 - amp doesn't have a mid control.
With humbucker: same treble and bass settings with bright switch on
Jcm2000 dsl50 into a 1960a cab loaded with g12m heritage greenbacks.
Bass-7.5
Mids-6
Treble & presence -4.5
I use a Fender Machete with all EQ settings close to noon (treble closer to 1:00). It has a very powerful active EQ. I sold my Empress ParaEq because I didn't need it after I got the Machete. Sadly, it's currently my only amp.
Hi Brian! I use my Fender Tweed Custom Deluxe with the tone control on 10 (it goes from 1 to 12)
Hot Rod Deville. Lucky 7's across the EQ.
I think EQ can also vary a lot depending on whether you’re jamming alone at home or a playing with a band… for example a bit more bass & a little less mids can give you a fuller sound at home when its just your guitar, but playing with a band it might help your guitar tone sit better in the mix to cut the bass and have a bit more treble & mids. But its all subjective. To my ears the Derek Trucks & Jimmy Herring approach to amp EQ settings works well, but may not work for everybody.
Oh no! Where oh where to place my reply?!? Anyway, Vox AC4-HW mostly. I tend to set the tone controls to zero when I'm finished and try to start afresh when I next use it. They could end up anywhere, depending on mood and guitar, but often though, very low on the treble and semi low on the bass. Or, I hit the "Hot" switch, which removes the tone circuit (kinda).
I'm currently running a Rivera Era fender concert, od dist eq in the front chorus phazer 3 delays 1 reverb in the loop. I haven't used my boogie since
What a great video! Thanks!!
Mainly play a Ampeg GVT5-110 (5 watt 1x10 combo, half power option, volume, Bass, and treble - Baxandal EQ - my first experience with this type of EQ). I also own a Fender Super Sonic Twin w/ Vintage 30’s. It was my first tube amp and Fender amp so I loved getting a “Twin Reverb” clean channel or “Bassman” voicing, plus a decent gain channel. Totally overkill but I got a good deal and wasn’t smart enough to by the right size amp at that point (20 watts would have been plenty).
For solo messing around at home (not wanting to wake the neighbors kid) volume between 9 and noon. Bass roughly straight up, treble up more (about 2 o’clock).
Where is the eq is can vary a lot depending on what room of the house I am playing in and if I am on a humbucker guitar, LP Junior style (Hamer XT), or my Fender Special Telecaster (stock pick ups, Texas Specials? Not as traditional as a Seymour Duncan Broadcaster but work for me).
Would like to try a bigger combo Ampeg also with a Baxandal. This video was very helpful to get some info on that style of EQ circuit and to see a general visual representation. I need to check out that website.
Have you spent any time with any of the Ampeg guitar amps?
I have 2 amps I use together, I have a Shaw Retro-Mod 15 and a Shaw Full-Tilt 30. I keep my tones just below 12'oclock and the low cut on the 30 at 4'oclock.
Boss Katana artist. I do 10-11 on bass, 2 on mids, 3 on tremble on my clean channel. That seems to take pedals best. I used the Matt Schofield eq method.
Cool video. Be cool o see you using the pedal eq's in conjunction with the amp eq's.
Using a hot rod Deville, experimenting using a variety of tone controls and run a Zen Drive and also use a Boss 7 band eq, trying to find my sweet spots
Deluxe Reverb 65.. Depends on where I'm playing, some places have basstraps, so I usually run Bass on 4/5 (ish) Treble on 6.
When there is no Bass traps, Bass 6/7 Treble 6 - Volume 2 to 4... to make others happy... 6/7 (ish) that's where I'm happy
Pro Jr - Volume 4/5 and Tone 7
I like effects with full EQ stacks in them, because I like my effects to be as transparent as possible. I just want the sound that I've set on my amp, but with the effect added, without dropping my bass out or boosting my mids or treble. With a full EQ on a pedal I can usually achieve that. I've got no love for TS style mid hump pedals or modulation effects that kill all your bass frequencies and don't give you a means to correct for it.