How to EQ for Yamaha HS8 Speakers

TenorKeith

TenorKeith

Inspired
Hey guys,
I have an Axe III with a pair or Yamaha HS8 speakers, and I'm a little confused about how best to EQ for these speakers.
Some of the factory presets, like the two Rectifier ones, are really, really dark with these speakers. While others sound perfectly fine.
Then, I downloaded some presets from Leon Todd, such as High-Gain Favorites, etc. and these presets sound really BRIGHT to me, making me wonder what reference speakers he's using.

So I guess my question is two-fold:
1. Are the HS8 speakers actually flat, or do they lean toward certain frequencies?
2. How would you suggest I try and adjust these presets? Amp settings? IR settings? Place an EQ at the end of the chain?
Thanks!
 
i have the same monitors and i have the same observations. i suggest you listen to some music through them for awhile to get used to the way they sound. if you are trying to emulate a certain sound then it's as easy as listening to the tone and tweaking until you sound the same. i find that the speakers are fairly accurate. but the speakers may not be your cup of tea.

so what you do depends on several things:
1) if you are jamming and don't care about recording or accuracy of tone on other speakers then tweak until it sounds good.
2) if you are recording and care about how your tone translates on other speakers then you will have to get used to the sound of the speakers instead of eq'ing around them.
3) when using presets by someone else you will find a mixed bag of tone because of the speakers they make presets on or their personal taste in presets.
 
Speakers will not sound the same in different rooms, even using someone else's same brand as comparison.
You'll need to dial in your own monitors to your unique listening environment, usually done by 'Pinking' the room and using an RTA Mic to measure needed adjustments.

Then create or tweak presets to suit.
 
Last edited:
I have the same ones - mixing full songs, I made them too bass heavy, because I didn't get the sub speaker with them. I might do just that.
 
I had the exact same issue. Presets sounded dark and awful, or too bright. And even programming my own presets - one of the things I ran into was trying to make the HS8s bring out every frequency possible for my guitar. And let me tell you, it sounded fantastic when I was done! Then I brought it to a live environment and realized I was going about it all wrong. Too many highs, too many lows. My Xitones sounded fizzy and awful when playing with the band. So always keep in mind, what you hear on the HS8s needs to work with a band and other instruments as well. Having a full spectrum of frequencies popping out at you might sound nice on it's own, but it doesn't work as a collective and certainly won't work through larger speakers. And as others say, listen to other recorded guitar tracks through the speakers first and get used to them. I'm still learning myself here and always improving things. But at the same time, and from experience as well - don't get too lost in tone chasing. Find something that works for you and focus on playing music. :)
 
rushfan said:
I have the same ones - mixing full songs, I made them too bass heavy, because I didn't get the sub speaker with them. I might do just that.
Click to expand...

I just picked up the HS8S subwoofer myself some months ago, and it does help a LOT when mixing a full band. Didn't help me much for setting up my presets though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom