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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Okay - for years, I've used a '71 Ovation Balladeer with just an undersaddle Fishman pickup (aftermarket). No onboard controls; I just set the EQ and effects on the amp (first a Peavey Ecoustic, and later a Roland AC 60 acoustic chorus) and it was great. Really mirrored the actual mellow sound of the guitar quite well.
The last few years I've also been using a couple of guitars with preamps, using different tunings and whatnot. One has an OP30 and the other has a Fishman Sonicore. The sound has always been problematic. I get a good sound out of them, but it takes a LOT more work than the "set it and forget it" approach with the Balladeer. I realize there are a lot fewer links in the sound chain when the guitar has no onboard controls, but still, it would be nice not to have to work so hard.
Even though I've been playing live for over 40 years, I'm still something of a Phillistine when it comes to using guitars with preamps, so I'm always on the lookout for advice. My question is this - is there a systematic approach to EQing a guitar with a preamp? Set the amp first then the guitar? Zero out the amp and EQ the guitar? Zero out the guitar and EQ the amp? And, God forbid, what if you throw an effects box/pedal into the chain? | |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | One approach is the "DiMeola method": if you like the acoustic sound of your axe set the onboard EQ flat and tweak ONLY the amp and effects. That way, you can set it and forget it. On the other hand, if your axe has am intrinsic weak spot, you may want to adjust the onboard base EQ a bit. | |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | If you are going to be swapping guitars in a live situation, and don't have a programmable eq on the amp... then you're pretty stuck setting the EQ on the amp for the guitar with the non-adjustable preamp, then adjusting the preamps of the other guitars to match.
Modification "A" we'll call it.. Get an EQ to use with the non-adjustable guitars. There are several out there, and many quiet enough for live. In this scenario, start with the amp flat then adjust each guitar preamp, or inline eq as applicable. You can then set and forget to some extent. Do a final "overall" adjustment on the amp depending on the room and where the amp is sitting and such. One really loose rule I use is that if I have to make a major adjustment to the EQ on the guitar, like one of the pots all the up or down, I set it back to 0 and make an adjustment to that range on the amp, then try again.
The less EQ you have to apply (plus or minus) the better, but obviously unless you have a separate amp for each guitar, you'll need to find a happy medium. Adding an inline EQ like a Boss/Roland GE-7, MXR 6-band or Behringer EQ700 gives you the most flexibility with the least fiddling. | |
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EQ using amp AND pre-amp