Gain Separation Low/High frequencies

S

Spencer

New Member
I might have missed an earlier thread about this (I swear somebody mentioned it before) but I was wondering how I could go about adding gain to the higher frequencies while keeping the lower frequencies clearer with less saturation. I'm wondering how I could emulate the girth and grind settings like on this Randall Satan amp Randall Satan - 6irth 6rind 6ain demonstration - YouTube

Is adding a geometric/parametric eq before the amp block and boosting the highs or cutting the lows before the gain stage the same thing?
 
Spencer said:
I might have missed an earlier thread about this (I swear somebody mentioned it before) but I was wondering how I could go about adding gain to the higher frequencies while keeping the lower frequencies clearer with less saturation. I'm wondering how I could emulate the girth and grind settings like on this Randall Satan amp Randall Satan - 6irth 6rind 6ain demonstration - YouTube

Is adding a geometric/parametric eq before the amp block and boosting the highs or cutting the lows before the gain stage the same thing?
Click to expand...

Yes. The key is reducing bass before and adding it back after. This is becoming more and more the trend as amps get more and more gain.

The reason for this is that when a frequency distorts it produces overtones. The lower frequencies will produce more overtones in the audible portion of the spectrum whereas the overtones from the higher frequencies will be out of audible range. Reducing the gain of the lower frequencies will prevent the generated overtones from cluttering the audible spectrum. We hear this clutter as "mud", "fartiness", "woofiness", etc.

So you reduce the gain of the lower frequencies by cutting them before the distortion and then boosting them after the distortion to restore the tonal balance.

Many high-gain amps do this intrinsically. A common method is to use a high-pass filter near the input and then boost the bass in the power amp via a Depth circuit.
 
NMG said:
Cliff is there a specific parameter in the amp block to do this?
Click to expand...

"Cut" and ADV->"Low Cut Freq"

From the wiki: "Low Cut Freq controls the amount of lows the amp sim sees. It's a blocking filter at the input (before distortion). Ranges from 10-1000Hz, with the lowest setting basically letting all the lows you feed it in. The main practical use for this is to tighten up a tubby bass end. Somewhere between 10-150Hz is generally where it will sound best for standard guitar tones. It's an adjustable version of the Cut switch on the PRE page."
 
10-150hz is a little conservative, this control can be used as high as 500hz with excellent results for high gain sounds.

I typically start around 240hz as it is the second harmonic of my lowest fundamental.
 
Spencer said:
I might have missed an earlier thread about this (I swear somebody mentioned it before) but I was wondering how I could go about adding gain to the higher frequencies while keeping the lower frequencies clearer with less saturation. I'm wondering how I could emulate the girth and grind settings like on this Randall Satan amp Randall Satan - 6irth 6rind 6ain demonstration - YouTube

Is adding a geometric/parametric eq before the amp block and boosting the highs or cutting the lows before the gain stage the same thing?
Click to expand...

Here's some good info:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/cliffs-notes/80951-power-pre-eq.html

I always add Pre-EQ and adjust it before adjusting any of the Amp EQ. Pre-EQ really helps with the feel too. Experiment by adding a graphic EQ before the Amp Block and try increasing & decreasing different frequencies to see how they affect your tone and feel. You can use a Parametric EQ & try cutting with Low Shelf at 160 Hz & boosting with a Peaking between 600 Hz to 2K Hz. You can shape your tone and feel, so much with Pre-EQ.
 
Where does the amp block EQ page sit in terms of distortion? Could low end be added back here instead of at the power amp?
 
Would it be worth splitting the input signal into two paths, one with a highpass and one with a lowpass?
They could then be treated differently (different amp/gain etc) and then recombined later on in the signal path?
 
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