EQ In The Loop Talk

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

This thread makes me think of when a woman asks "do these pants make my butt look big?" The answer is always "NOOO!" View attachment 31840

















j/k lickity........we all like what we like...........View attachment 31841

What if you like big butts?

 

[PLX]

While this may be true for you, I don't even own a mic.....let alone a true interface.....

Maybe in the future. The wife and I have a show idea we will need studio equipment for....so I guess in a couple years I may get there.

I also hate DAWs, and have been considering going back to an outboard recording rig....just because that's what I know ...and I don't have the time to transition into this full digital thing.

I will take all these under advisement and do my best to put these into practice in the future.

I mean...

ReaperDAW is free ($60 if you wanna register it)

Weigh-out the cost/complexity of buying and trying physical speakers and mics against IR's - that's a no-brainer.

I use probably one of the cheapest USB audio interfaces on the market.. a refurbished Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 I bought direct off the Focusrite website.

 

[Rock Chalk]

What if you like big butts?

See ......that's what I'm sayin'.......we all like what we like......

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

I mean...

ReaperDAW is free ($60 if you wanna register it)

Weigh-out the cost/complexity of buying and trying physical speakers and mics against IR's - that's a no-brainer.

I use probably one of the cheapest USB audio interfaces on the market.. a refurbished Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 I bought direct off the Focusrite website.

I actually have reaper.

I understand, and will do as you advise after the holiday....as I am saving for Xmas presents for the family.

I've also spent more than normal on a guitar this year....so that blew my budget.

I know all of which you say.... truly. The thing is....I see or hear no issue....and love the way it all sounds ...

I just have to accept that I opened this can of worms, and that no one else runs their rigs like I do.....damn autodidacts anyway!!!

 

[laxu]

Now that there's pics in OP, I went through the Laney IRT manual. I guess this is the IRT60 or 120?

The EQ seems a bit misleading as its labeling gives the impression it's active (cut/boost), but manual says it's just passive. So it's probably a pretty standard variation of a Marshall tone stack.

The Dynamics knob seems to be nothing but a relabeled resonance/depth knob, and Tone is most likely presence.

Looking at your EQ settings, the things you look to correct are excess bass and treble. So instead of the EQ pedal doing the heavy lifting, try just turning the bass and dynamics way down and see how that sounds. It's probably a lot gentler than what you have on the EQ.

You could try pulling the Mid Shift and see if that puts the mids closer to where you want so you don't have to cut a shitton of 1 KHz.

Finally Treble Shift might work well enough to broaden the range of the treble control so it cuts more highs. Pair that with Tone and see where that gets you with the EQ off.

Then use the EQ for smaller adjustments.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

Now that there's pics in OP, I went through the Laney IRT manual. I guess this is the IRT60 or 120?

The EQ seems a bit misleading as its labeling gives the impression it's active (cut/boost), but manual says it's just passive. So it's probably a pretty standard variation of a Marshall tone stack.

The Dynamics knob seems to be nothing but a relabeled resonance/depth knob, and Tone is most likely presence.

Looking at your EQ settings, the things you look to correct are excess bass and treble. So instead of the EQ pedal doing the heavy lifting, try just turning the bass and dynamics way down and see how that sounds. It's probably a lot gentler than what you have on the EQ.

You could try pulling the Mid Shift and see if that puts the mids closer to where you want so you don't have to cut a shitton of 1 KHz.

Finally Treble Shift might work well enough to broaden the range of the treble control so it cuts more highs. Pair that with Tone and see where that gets you with the EQ off.

Then use the EQ for smaller adjustments.

Thanks ...I know all of this...I have a lot of experience with this amp both live and recorded.

I just don't see the "heavy lifting" part......but I guess I dont have a clue

I use my ear.....and the feel.....and the tightness.....this is all I go for. It has to be there.

I don't like using the tone control.... because...I don't, honestly would like to remove it from the circuit...but that is a different discussion.

I will fiddle with all these next week.....

Thanks again.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

Also ..the speakers are predominantly Celestion G12-50


If you know, you know . Also have a cab loaded with eminence swamp things

And the stereo cab is ehx speakers.

Thanks again everyone, I hope im not coming off as defensive and that you all understand I appreciate all your experience.

 

[HomespunEffects]

I pulled mine off the shelf and it’s still set to my preferred setting for in the loop.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

I pulled mine off the shelf and it’s still set to my preferred setting fit in the loop.
View attachment 31844

Ever notice that the volume slider isn't at unity in the dentent position?

I have to run mine a couple db higher to match unity.

Also...if the cab doesn't output above 6k...why not cut it completely....this is my methodology... not saying it is correct..


But .....

My whole thing is about living in the guitar freqs ..and leaving the others for the other instruments.

 

[HomespunEffects]

Ever notice that the volume slider isn't at unity in the dentent position?

It’s an always on so I’m not sure it matters. Boosting it does introduce a small hiss so i leave it at 0.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

It’s an always on so I’m not sure it matters. Boosting it does introduce a small hiss so i leave it at 0.

I get that when I try to raise the gain.... but my decimator takes care of that.

Well thanks for responding.

Apparently now I have an existential eq crisis now.....full of self judgement and questioning my whole guitar ethos....but I did bring it on myself....that tracks.

My goal as a rhythm player is to occupy my own space....and have a foh/engineer tell me he/she didn't need any eq on my signal....and that all they had to do is adjust mic volume.....and that is usually the case......

So the sound hear from the cab is mix ready so to speak....maybe I'm wrong for this

 

[FuzzyAce]

I was never a big user of GEQ for live use. Probably should have in hindsight, especially when working with bigger bands with keyboards and another guitarist. In a trio you can get away with a bit more eq range, and a little more bottom end. Recording is a whole other deal though, much more cutting and a little boosting of frequencies going on. Depends on the context though.

 

[HomespunEffects]

… now I have an existential eq crisis now.....full of self judgement and questioning my whole guitar ethos....but I did bring it on myself....that tracks.

I may not have helped but i hope I didn’t throw you deeper into the abyss.

When I had a Mesa Dual Rectifier I had to use a more extreme setting because i was trying to make the amp into something it wasn’t. Switched to Marshall and subtle tweaks were better because I already liked the tone.

I’ve spent a couple years with no effects except a touch of reverb. Give that a try for a little while and then come back to adding the EQ to the loop.

 

[likitlikeyoulikeit]

I may not have helped but i hope I didn’t throw you deeper into the abyss.

When I had a Mesa Dual Rectifier I had to use a more extreme setting because i was trying to make the amp into something it wasn’t. Switched to Marshall and subtle tweaks were better because I already liked the tone.

I’ve spent a couple years with no effects except a touch of reverb. Give that a try for a little while and then come back to adding the EQ to the loop.

This touches on another reasoN for why I do what I do.....this amp can be very versatile if you know what to do with it.....and I can make it do many types of things ....but not without the eq.....

It helps it be an amazing clean amp.... excellent mid gainer...and amazing High gainer.....so yeah ...I am the problem.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

EQ nerd checking in. I love getting into fine tuning with EQ, mostly when recording, and in live band mixes that require carving out space for all sound sources involved.

If I'm shaping a sound like a distorted rhythm guitar, I need to have some 120-160 coming through for palm mutes, but not so much as to blow out everything else. I would emphasize this area by gently cutting the frequencies around it before boosting.

I too like to scoop out some low mids (250-500) depending on the amp sound or whatever genre I'm going for. Sometimes just a dip around 250-350 will do.

500-900 area to me is all about shape of the mids, the "vowely" tones, almost like a man's chest voice compared to the higher nasal qualities of the voice (which I consider as the higher midrange).

1k to 5k is the most sensitive area to the human ear. In this area, small moves can make big differences. I'm not so quick as to mess with this area unless there's something obviously harsh and grating. This is the area we need to cut through to be audible and intelligible. 1k is one of my favorite areas to emphasize if not too harsh, really helps to cut through and leaves more of the upper midrange for vocals. It can be different for every amp, room, group, or situation.

Speakers can and will extend beyond 6k, just not as prominently. The Greenbacks and the Creamback I play through are affected by higher treble moves.

Beefore all of this I'd want to use an amps controls (big strokes) to get the tone mostly there, and use any EQ strictly for cutting (small strokes).

I've spent a lot of time from 2019-2022 creating and customizing cab IRs with multiple EQ layers, even comparing pink noise between speaker sources to match what I hear from a cab to what is coming out of a full range system. For fun.

 

[la szum]

I really do appreciate all the info from everyone.

So it seems I'm coo coo for co co puffs and my ear is farked .... apparently been doing it wrong for over 15 years....

It's just weird, because I've never had any complaints, actually the opposite....but I suppose I am now going to start from square one and do some tweaking and see what I deduce.

Thanks again for all the advice/criticism/info.... I am truly thankful.

Session ace Tom Buckovac (as you may know) has said repeatedly that in a recording situation (the ultimate fitting
into the mix scenario) he uses a Boss EQ more than any other pedal. That it is indispensable and instrumental.

I am sort of alt-V/scoop the Mids, because it is like the everyone does it default mode with Mark amps that have
a GEQ. Not that I don't know about it, or not that it doesn't sound good. It does... in certain settings. I just think
there are a LOT of great sounds still out there for us to hone in, but not if we do everything everyone else does....
just because everyone else does it.

 

[laxu]

Ever notice that the volume slider isn't at unity in the dentent position?

I have to run mine a couple db higher to match unity.

Also...if the cab doesn't output above 6k...why not cut it completely....this is my methodology... not saying it is correct..


But .....

My whole thing is about living in the guitar freqs ..and leaving the others for the other instruments.

There's still some things going on above 6K. To me those are the sizzle frequencies that help you cut through in the mix, where you don't hear them, until you remove them.

I'd also add that the guitar and pickups you use will influence what you need to do. For example my Kiesel AM7's Kiesel Lithium pickups have some scoop at the low mids so they are very bright and clear out of the box, where you might want to bump low mids a bit and cut the highs more. By comparison my Skervesen Shoggie is thick, fat and midrangy so it needs more highs and less bass/low mids.

 

[GreatGreen]

Session ace Tom Buckovac (as you may know) has said repeatedly that in a recording situation (the ultimate fitting
into the mix scenario) he uses a Boss EQ more than any other pedal. That it is indispensable and instrumental.

I am sort of alt-V/scoop the Mids, because it is like the everyone does it default mode with Mark amps that have
a GEQ. Not that I don't know about it, or not that it doesn't sound good. It does... in certain settings. I just think
there are a LOT of great sounds still out there for us to hone in, but not if we do everything everyone else does....
just because everyone else does it.

To be fair, with Mark amps, scooping the bejesus out of the mids in those amps is really more like setting them back to being flat, as Mesa Marks are like the most mid-focused amps ever.

But yeah once you kind of let go of any preconceived notions about what your EQ curve "should look like" and you just start dialing with your ears, you find that EQ can do a LOT, and it's can be so much more than just being some mid scooping appliance.