Are You a 12:00 EQ Kind of Guy?

  • Thread starter Thread starter SavageRiffer
  • Start date Start date
SavageRiffer

SavageRiffer

Banned
New member
Do you typically keep your amp settings around noon or do you use a different formula? It seems like you would traditionally set your amp at noon and then make adjustments, but these days I've seen some weird looking EQ's that don't seem to match the tone I'm hearing from these guys. I have seen Diezel, Friedman, Marshall, Fender, Bogner, etc... amps set very differently from mine yet seem to get a similar tone. I have seen some dude maxing out the bass or treble without either sounding too bassy or too bright. If I ran my Diezel with the amount of bass and resonance some of these guys use, I'd sound like boomy mess.

Then you got some guitarists who seem to have a very warm midrange tone that cuts like a bright Marshall, but is actually kind of dark. I have not been able to replicate this tone without sounding honky or nasally. Also, I see a lot of dudes using a lot of bass, but I never seem to put my bass past 12:00 (generally) or risk sounding too boomy.

I'm a bit perplexed about this and would like to develop a better understanding of dialing in amps. Generally, I'm looking at the volume too as I know this can have a big impact on how you EQ an amp, but a lot of these guys seem to be playing at relatively low, home volumes. What is your general EQ philosophy or formula?
 
Rezamatix":26293kdl said:
ALWAYS start at noon on a NEW amp that Im checking out. Diezel's for the most part sound fucking great at noon.
Then adjust for flavor.
MY SLO is a BRIGHT amp. so the presence is at ZERO and the treble is at like 11am. I have pushed the bass up a little and the mids down a little.

I generally like to see how it sounds set up mostly neutral and then go from there.
Click to expand...

How much does your recorded tone, home practice, and live tone differ?
 
Yeah, I generally start at noon and go from there with a new amp.
I think you see a lot more wacky eq curves at lower volumes due to the Fletcher-Munson effect. The ear is more sensitive to midrange at low vol. so you see the bass and treble cranked. I also think the fact that the speakers aren't really moving much air affects this too. As the volume goes up, the highs and lows tend to get dialed back, at least at my place.

But there are some amps where you just have to close your eyes and twist the knobs to get what you want, and not worry about where the knobs end up. The treble knob on the XTC blue and red channel comes to mind here, as well as the presence knob on the pre 2016 versions of the BE100.
The bass also ends up pretty high on my Helios. ( not crazy about too much "punch" or whatever it's called on the Helios )
YMMV
 
fusedbrain":3fe62i6r said:
Yeah, I generally start at noon and go from there with a new amp.
I think you see a lot more wacky eq curves at lower volumes due to the Fletcher-Munson effect. The ear is more sensitive to midrange at low vol. so you see the bass and treble cranked. I also think the fact that the speakers aren't really moving much air affects this too. As the volume goes up, the highs and lows tend to get dialed back, at least at my place.

But there are some amps where you just have to close your eyes and twist the knobs to get what you want, and not worry about where the knobs end up. The treble knob on the XTC blue and red channel comes to mind here, as well as the presence knob on the pre 2016 versions of the BE100.
The bass also ends up pretty high on my Helios. ( not crazy about too much "punch" or whatever it's called on the Helios )
YMMV
Click to expand...

Hmm, interesting. I generally think of it from the perspective of what sound the amp is putting out rather than what the ears are perceiving. Since ears operate on air pressure, it would make sense to first consider what how your volume is traveling to your ears.

How does what you hear contrast with what you pick up in a recording? If you're recording a miced amp at low volume then would the same principle still apply as it would with the midrange empahsis your ears would have, or would the sensitivity of the mic require a more balanced EQ?
 
fusedbrain said:
But there are some amps where you just have to close your eyes and twist the knobs to get what you want, and not worry about where the knobs end up. The treble knob on the XTC blue and red channel comes to mind here, as well as the presence knob on the pre 2016 versions of the BE100.
The bass also ends up pretty high on my Helios. ( not crazy about too much "punch" or whatever it's called on the Helios )
YMMV
Click to expand...
I find this more and more as the years go bye. Use your ears and not your eyes. Weirdly enough; I put my Marshall eq's at zero, then add from there. Always end up around 3(out of ten), then hit it with a boost. Perfect. You'd be surprised how heavy it sounds.
 
Ive never tried it.
I just start twisting knobs till I get the sound where I want it, then do minor adjusments afterwards.
Depends alot on the speakers, your room, guitar, etc..
 
How does what you hear contrast with what you pick up in a recording? If you're recording a miced amp at low volume then would the same principle still apply as it would with the midrange empahsis your ears would have, or would the sensitivity of the mic require a more balanced EQ?
Click to expand...

Technically, the mic has a flatter response at low volume than our ears, requiring a more balanced eq on the amp. But you can just move the mic around to compensate. This usually means moving the mic away from the center of the cone ( less bright) and hitting the low cut filter either on the mic pre or in the DAW.

Having said that, I find it hard to get a really good recording of an amp without getting speaker excursion. With most amps, if I start with the amp's tone controls dialed in at band volume (LOUD), I can put the mic right at the point where the dust cap meets the cone and it comes together pretty quick. In this situation, 9 times out of 10, the eq on the amp ends up being pretty "traditional".
Also, more often than not, the gain is lower for recording as well.

Basically, what Rezza said above about recording, live and home practice sums it up pretty well.
 
My Diezel VH4 started at 12:00 and had very small adjustments from there. Started the same way with my Carol-Ann but every bit of the dial is usable on that thing, and it is much more sensitive to pickup/guitar choice. My Mesa Mark IV.... totally different story. Pull all of the knobs set the bass to nearly nothing then start tweaking and pray you don't bump something or accidentally push in a knob before playing.
 
Depends on the amp and circuit design. Some tone stacks... I'll start with b/m/t maxed out. Some I'll start at zero. Some I'll start at noon. Some I'll start with the mids maxed and the b/t at zero. Doesn't matter where you start. What matters is where you end up. And I don't EQ with my eyes. It's about how it sounds, not what the amp looks like with the dials set to where you think it looks cool.
 
I've tried the "start at noon" thing on my Diezel Hagen and for me it only works for the EQ, but not for the gain, at least at low volumes. At the moment, my entire EQ on channel 3 (heavy rhythm) is around 1 -2 o'clock, with deep at 1 o'clock and presence at 2 o'clock. Gain is at 2-3 o'clock, when I turn up the volume it can be dialed back.

On the Friedman JJ, the manual actually advises a different approach (which worked really well for me, both at high and low volumes):
"We recommend starting the amp on the normal dirty channel with the Bass on 10, the Mids at around 6, the Treble at 5 and the Presence at 5. Set the Gain around 8 and then bring the master up to 5 and use the global master as your overall volume."

On the Mesa Roadster I used to own, it was necessary to adjust the EQ without looking at it, as it ended up in way different positions than what you'd expect.

So it really depends on the amp.
 
Usually lower the bass a bit, boost mids a good chunk and treble a bit.

Pres to taste.

Gain as low as possible. Most people play with way too much gain, especially live because they don't realize how little gain you need when you have two guitarists.
 
As a rule of thumb simply to choose a starting place noon is perfect because it is halfway through the pot sweep and allows the same amout of adjustment in either direction.


ANYTHING else is foolish. Every tube amp has a different frequency center for each knob, active vs passive, and have different amount of eq effect.

Clock positions as "go to's" are completely pointless as no two amps sound the same or get the same results. Two amps of the same type can also sound different with the same settings.
 
I do start at noon for bass/mids but I dime the presence and run treble at 0. Always sounds best/more bite that way to me in a Marshall, so that's how I set the eq with any new amp. If it's too shrill I can always twist a knob lol.
 
Rezamatix":352y8vn9 said:
SavageRiffer":352y8vn9 said:
Rezamatix":352y8vn9 said:
ALWAYS start at noon on a NEW amp that Im checking out. Diezel's for the most part sound fucking great at noon.
Then adjust for flavor.
MY SLO is a BRIGHT amp. so the presence is at ZERO and the treble is at like 11am. I have pushed the bass up a little and the mids down a little.

I generally like to see how it sounds set up mostly neutral and then go from there.
Click to expand...

How much does your recorded tone


, home practice,


and live tone differ?
Click to expand...



Recording - Way different. Almost ugly sounds, but that really depends on the type of song and approach.
I find that what the mic hears is a lot different than what we perceive so less gain , less bass, more volume , less presence for a recorded tone.

Home practice - Im always scooping a Little midrange out at low volumes so it feels "big"

Live tone - Midrange!. Im all about strong mids and less gain live, the most important thing for me live is to sit right on top of the bass and always be heard, since I have been playing the SLO out live for the last couple of shows, this hasn't been a problem, that amp ALWAYS cuts thru. But I really dial in my eq at LOUD volumes and then back off the master for the show, that way I know if I need to lean over and turn up its only gonna get better :) (this happened recently...after a line check the whole band kicked in on the first song, and i was way lower than i should have been , quick reach over during an open chord and it was BAM!! heres the guitar!! motherfuckers!!!! ) :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:
Click to expand...

Great information. Thanks a lot. When I play at low volume, I noticed it sounds best the mid-shift on my Shiva which scoops the mids a bit. I'm going to try what you were saying about recording. That's probably why my recorded tone sucks.
 
^^^Mids mids mids. I dial my stuff at home a little scooped compared to live. I always end up putting more mids back in when I play out. Our ears hear the truth in the mix lol.
 
No. Very few amps are designed to sound great with eq at 12:00 that way based on the specific cab, room, guitar, pickups, etc that way from the factory.
 
I start at noon at my amps and adjust from there. Some amps just react differently. Like my SLO, I run my mids almost maxed out and it fills in the sound and makes it a sonic sledgehammer. I wouldn't do that with anything else I own but sounds amazing with that amp. All to taste I suppose
 
Depends on the amp. For my XTC classic, noon works pretty well for me. For the mesa heartbreaker (essentially mark series) it does not work well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top