ConnorGilks
Experienced
I'm trying to improve the live sound of myself and my band and was trying to think of how to EQ things so the guitar leaves more room for the bass, while also giving more clarity to the guitars. Here's what I'm thinking:
I tried a High Pass at about 90Hz for fun (since that's what is usually done when recording) and it was clearer, but there was no punch to the tone and quite a gap in the frequency spectrum between the bass and the guitars. It also really lost the low notes when the whole band was playing together.
My band tunes to Drop Ab, meaning our lowest note is - correct me if I'm wrong - just shy of 52Hz (51.91Hz to be exact). Now I understand that every note has harmonics above the fundemental, but what about below? Is there any reasons I shouldn't cut everything below, say, 40Hz? Isn't it all just useless mud that I could leave to the bass guitar to fill up?
Now obviously to an extent this depends on how I EQ the note, since the Q of the pedal/multieffects unit I use might suck down some of the 52Hz range if I do it at 40Hz... what about 30Hz? I tried a High Pass at 30Hz just now at medium volume on my main patch by myself. It certainly felt clearer and less muddy. Was it missing something? Yes and no. It still felt thick and powerful, but there was a very subtle something different from it in the low end, but as far as I can tell taking it out just made it clearer, not any less fat.
So I guess this leaves me with this:
1) That "something" I cut in my guitar tone, where does it come from if I'm cutting well below where my guitar range ends? Let alone the frequencies my guitar cab would support decently.
2) Is there any reason not to EQ out anything, say, 10Hz lower than the lowest note any of us have on our respective guitars?
3) How else do you EQ things (for guitar AND bass) live to leave room in the mix and bring out clarity?
Our guitars are always mid heavy with not a lot of bass to try and leave room for the bass guitar, but it never sounds as good as some other professional bands who just use real amps and little to no outboard gear beyond that. Obviously there's a sound guy helping them out, but even when I was at the sound check for Periphery BEFORE any EQ was done by the sound guy their live sound was still better than my band's, as well as most local bands. Since we don't have a sound guy I'm trying to think of what else can be done to improve our live sound on our end (compression, EQ, etc.) which we have more control over now since both guitarist have flexible digital units now.
I tried a High Pass at about 90Hz for fun (since that's what is usually done when recording) and it was clearer, but there was no punch to the tone and quite a gap in the frequency spectrum between the bass and the guitars. It also really lost the low notes when the whole band was playing together.
My band tunes to Drop Ab, meaning our lowest note is - correct me if I'm wrong - just shy of 52Hz (51.91Hz to be exact). Now I understand that every note has harmonics above the fundemental, but what about below? Is there any reasons I shouldn't cut everything below, say, 40Hz? Isn't it all just useless mud that I could leave to the bass guitar to fill up?
Now obviously to an extent this depends on how I EQ the note, since the Q of the pedal/multieffects unit I use might suck down some of the 52Hz range if I do it at 40Hz... what about 30Hz? I tried a High Pass at 30Hz just now at medium volume on my main patch by myself. It certainly felt clearer and less muddy. Was it missing something? Yes and no. It still felt thick and powerful, but there was a very subtle something different from it in the low end, but as far as I can tell taking it out just made it clearer, not any less fat.
So I guess this leaves me with this:
1) That "something" I cut in my guitar tone, where does it come from if I'm cutting well below where my guitar range ends? Let alone the frequencies my guitar cab would support decently.
2) Is there any reason not to EQ out anything, say, 10Hz lower than the lowest note any of us have on our respective guitars?
3) How else do you EQ things (for guitar AND bass) live to leave room in the mix and bring out clarity?
Our guitars are always mid heavy with not a lot of bass to try and leave room for the bass guitar, but it never sounds as good as some other professional bands who just use real amps and little to no outboard gear beyond that. Obviously there's a sound guy helping them out, but even when I was at the sound check for Periphery BEFORE any EQ was done by the sound guy their live sound was still better than my band's, as well as most local bands. Since we don't have a sound guy I'm trying to think of what else can be done to improve our live sound on our end (compression, EQ, etc.) which we have more control over now since both guitarist have flexible digital units now.