Scott... Love your lessons, bro, but you just made a 4 minute video in 17 minutes flat!

I remember it like it was yesterday. A BIG revelation it was. Mid 1990's we were playing a big stage and the backline was not of our choosing, but still top notch. I walked out on stage for sound check and there was a big Ampeg rig for me, solid state, classic SVT. Plugged in the Precision, flat EQ, up volume... wow, what a sound! Added just a tad low end - and that was it. Perfect! I was in love. To me, that's a mark of a great bass amp; flat EQ, plug & play and it sounds great.

My thoughts are: It always depends on the band you playing in. I play in three bands and for every one of them I need a complete different setting. And never set up your amp without the drums. Let your drummer play a basic beat and dial in. (A pretty bass tone on its own often gets eaten up by the drum frequencies.) In general: dont step on each others frequencies and dial your amps in together. What drives me nuts are musicians,who are unflexible when it comes to dialing in an amp. Even when it sounds like garbage in the mix. (I'm looking at you, guitar players;-))

I just gotta say, I love the way the videos have become half vlogs / half lesson. I've been reading a lot of comments that disparage the 'vlog' content solely because Scott isn't getting to what the title of the video is referring to within the first few minutes. I totally understand, some people just want a quick lesson, and I certainly do sometimes too. But when I do, I go somewhere else. Scott's videos to me are an awesome way to ease in to a subject, see the sights, general life updates, and I think it's great. I love how the channel has evolved, compared to the earlier stuff, this stuff is loads more fun to me.

As a retired Engineer I always start out Flat and then play different Basses to learn the voice of the amp on the Speakers. I use an Ampeg Pro 4 with a discontinued Ampeg Bass HiFi speaker Cab with 4 10" special speakers and a Horn tweeter that I have tested to work up to 19Khz fairly flat. For most work Flat is best but playing in Church I have to roll off the highs a lot due to round wound strings sounding too FUNKY. LOL.... Jazz or Rock is best with the Low and Highs rolled back a bit to bring out the mids to punch through the mix so you are not buried by the other instruments. I get buried a lot so I have learned to turn a deaf ear to the Bass Haters. lol The video has excellent audio on my system. Keep up the good work Scott.

THANK YOU!!! EQ has been a major source of insecurity as a bass player. I have always considered it one of my “dirty little secrets”. Have been afraid to ask for many years. More of this please!

My default is low/bass at 1 o'clock, low-mids at 3 o'clock, and everything else flat. Gives me that classic '70s beefy p-bass tone.

When playing out, your EQ setting can vary depending on the room's acoustic characteristics, such as hard surfaces or carpet and curtains, parallel walls, open interior doors, even the audience can affect sound absorption or reflection.

I recently watched a video with a very good advice to guitarists > Don’t EQ your gear on your own, setting it how it sounds when you’re on your own, with quiet all around it’s not good when the band play together, but EQ with the band on! I think the same applies for us bassists.

This was probably the vid that put me on the path. My head is set completely flat no matter what. I used my pedal board to color my tone. If I need a tiny bump somewhere then I go to the head just a tiny bit. Thank you again Scott.

anyone watching these vids just because this guy is awesome

I have always found, that the bass EQ was properly adjusted, when the girls in the metal chairs smiled!

I play through my G-K MB210-II about 90% of the time. I set it at 10:00 Low, 2:00 Low mid, 12:00 High mid, and 9:30 High for my fretted US Music Man Sterling, itself set flat with a SLIGHT mid boost, and flat for my fretless Jazz (88 Japanese Jazz Bass Special neck, Warmoth Dinky J body with EMG GZR P pickup), volume and tone wide open minus a smidge unless I cut the tone for a thumpier upright-esque thing. I vary the gnarliness with the boost control. I find just about anything sounds pretty damn good with some rather minor tweaks from flat, it would seem your ears aren't terribly unlike my own. Excellent video, this kind of stuff seems to be pretty rarely covered and I can't imagine why.

Thanks for this very informative lesson...I'm one of the guys who has a problem with setting my eq up to 11 on low end etc....your tips help me greatly! Thank You!

Always good to adjust to your other band members. I prefer to scoop my mids and boost the lows but the guitar player in my band uses a very bass-heavy tone so I’ve learned to dial the mids up to just below 12:00 and not boost the bass farther than 1:00 to dial in a tone that gives us both space in the mix. Also I prefer to boost the treble frequencies, I feel like the highs really accentuate different articulations and help make each note stand out more. Great video and great advice

good info, i have been preaching this for over 20 years now in the german platforms and my educations...good to see you well, Scott!

Great cat. Glad he has an owner who appreciates him.

Wow, Scott. 8:30 into the video before you actually start talking specifications. Come on Bro, get to it.

When I was just starting out playing live, the old timers would always preach that the shortest, purest signal path produced the best tone. Like using the shortest speaker cord and instrument cord, I kind of look at EQ the same way. Flat is the least affected, purest signal path. Small adjustments may be needed for instrument and room, but keeping it simple has always produced the best tone for me.

The dog photobombed (videobombed?) almost the whole time during the car ride... Hahaha I love George.

Scott, you gonna laugh, but... Your red headcover , i mean that cap, doing pretty EQ too. Right on your ears 🙂

WHY DOES THIS CHANNEL HAS ONLY 465K SUBS!??? and god damn 34.000 views...You deserve sooooo much more...

What I'd really like to know is what frequencies the EQ's are centered on. Also common to have Bass and Treble as shelving controls adjusting everything below a particular frequency for Bass and above a particular frequency for Treble. I have a number of Eden amps with their multiple semi-parametric controls covering each octave on the bass, a shelving Bass EQ set at 30Hz and a shelving Treble EQ adjust everything from 2KHz up. My big Eden amp is a WT500 that was upgraded to 800-watts bridged into 8Ω. I bought it from David Nordschow (also known as David Eden) when he left Eden to start DNA. He used it for designing all the Eden cabs from 1999 until he left Eden in 2009. I typically set everything flat and then boost the low mids at 250Hz up to 1:30 (picture a clock-face). I'm using an '82 Jazz with 70's era pickup spacing so it's a little brighter than the 1965 Jazz that I bought in 1966 and toured with in the early 70's. I run both volumes and the tone all the way up. This setting gives me a really clear, clean, and full sound. My bass has good sustain probably due to the all maple neck. In the 5-pc group I played with for years, you could always hear me distinctly without needing to drown everyone else out with my bass level. I also have a DNA-800 amp that was actually built for me by David Nordschow when his factory was out and waiting on parts. I actually boost the bass on that one up to about 1 o'clock as well as boosting the low-mids to 1:30 and run everything else flat. There are no semi-parametric controls on that DNA amp. The Bass is set at 35Hz and by boosting it to 1 o'clock it gives me the same sound that his Eden amps do set flat. The low-mids are centered at 500Hz, which is higher than I set it with the semi-parametric controls on the Eden amp but it still has a great sound. I run the high mids (centered at 2KHz) flat and also the Treble, which adjusts everything above 2KHz. I get basically the same sound out of it that I get out of my Eden amps but it only weighs 4.8-lbs instead of the 36-lbs my big Eden amp weighs in its rack. As a bit of a side note, I did a recording session at a pro studio in Seattle in 2019 and couldn't use my amp and cab because of too much bleed over into the drums, which were in the same room with me. So I used my WTDI, which is a stompbox DI with a built in Eden WT preamp. It has just one mid EQ and it will toggle between 500Hz and 2KHz. I ran it at 500Hz and boosted it to 1:30. I'd had a conversation with the sound engineer telling him I didn't want a bunch of compression on it because I wanted to be able to control my dynamics. After the 3-hour session was over they had me go into one of the isolation rooms to listen to the playback of the raw recordings. They then played a few samples of the songs we'd recorded. It sounded absolutely GREAT to me and I told them so. They told me they didn't add any compression on it or even make any EQ adjustments. The only thing they adjusted was the level. I was quite please and then the owner of the studio and the sound engineer came into the main room to see what the DI with preamp was that I was using. The owner asked, "doesn't Eden want to sell amps anymore?" basically

Scott, you are so right! EQ should start flat and tweak those knobs in small increments. My default setting is nearly flat. I trim the highs -5%; low bass up +5-10%; low mids +5-10%; mid flat; upper mid down between 5-25%. The upper mid is the knob that moves the most on my amp. I scoop it out for a nice funk groove and dial it up to flat or +5% for Jaco, Chris Squire or Geddy riffs. I really love having a fat low end. But, I have to exercise a bit of control to avoid that awful "farting out" low end garble at higher volumes. So, what works well at 10-45% volume may need adjusting at full stage volume. Having two cabs is also a key to getting my tone. I have always preferred the tone I get at 4 ohms over 8 ohms. Currently, I'm running 350 digital watts into two 1 X 12" neodymium cabs. If I need to play more quietly I can always disconnect one of the cabs and drop back to 250 watts at 8 ohms for practice. But, the tone at 4 ohms is fuller, fatter and more well rounded than the more brittle 8 ohm tone.

Hi Scott, that's an interesting little amp. It sounds good. Thanks for sharing. I'm happy to be a lifetime member of the academy. There is so much great content there.

And kitty is cute! Glad you have a new friend! :)

I love it when we get to see your dog George (and cat, now)

6:38....everything everybody does wrong 8:30 ...set it flat. Thanks

I just became a bassist from an acoustic guitar, this is nice, hope it helps me get a better tone

as a mixing engineer and bass player I wholeheartedly agree.. settings flat - amps are designed by experts in controlled conditions to engineer the best sound quality at the flat setting.. use your tone settings on your bass to dial in your sound

If Scott was a real teacher/professor at a school. He’d be one of the coolest 😎

Scott! I dialed you in to see the amp, mate! And you’re getting into a car? I’m an American. Don’t you realize how short our attention spans are? But Americans are also team players so I watched it to the end and was glad I did!

I've noticed it also depends on the room.. Rooms with lots of fabric need a little more treble...lots of glass/metal..less so. Also making surr that the cone of sound coming from the amp is reaching your ears helps, (like if its far back enough or you use an amp stand like me lol) otherwise its just going past your legs and out

Hey George 🐶🐾 I usually run my eq pretty flat and dial what I need on my Stingray eq but it depends on the situation. It’s different if your just in a practice, low volume setting or balls out gig setting. Just go easy. A little goes a long way.

Waiting (not so) patiently for the Gary Willis master course!!

Home EQ versus live band EQ is what I'm going over with one of my students today. Hopefully he listens

EQ at least for me is so circumstantial and it depends song to song. I don't like to have a single tone that I always play with and I find that it adds so much more to the music and gives the guitar some room to be more free in their own tone.

Each amp has a character, the flat setting gives that “designed” character. Always done the (basic) tone setup fairly much as you do here. Though, will then move on from there for different styles that need different emphasis.

Hey Scott, i love this post and like yourself, i start out flat and take the edge out to make it sound smooth and i love your acres of woods at your new place, and i bet its beautiful there when it snows.....thank you Scott for everything you do......Ernie Flanagan..

Most of the modern generation of bass amps are pretty much voiced to sound great with everything at midnight. Maybe roll off some lows in certain rooms. Shape your tone with a little high mids and rock on. Concentrate on important things like impressing the band leader with your professionalism, etc.

it really helped me because i use to crank them up and when i tried what you say it gave me the perfect tone i wanted thank you Scott

Cool video Scott. I always leave my amp flat and tweak the EQ setting on my bass to get the sound I want.

Good on you for looking after the cat.

Never set your EQ without your band. What sounds great in isolation NEVER works with a band. Mine sounds awful in isolation but thunderous with the band.

Thanks for the video Scott, I have always wondered wich is the best way to EQ the bass, should I use a flat and EQ in the amp? or EQ in bass?? what is better??

I agree on the matter of EQ: SET IT FLAT AND THEN PLAY WITH IT

A number of bass amps still have a "graphic EQ" on them and I COMMONLY see the sliders set in that Smiley face shape.....and left that way for all time. As you've made so wonderfully clear, Scott, "Flat is where it's at". The best EQ, dials or sliders, is used VERY sparingly. Boosting that 60 cycle slider on a Graphic also EATS all the power your amp has by asking it to reproduce the frequencies which nobody benefits from hearing. Scott is Bassilicious.....and a Very "Cool Cat!"

Hey Scott! Great info on the EQ settings. I also think it would beneficial if you could give some insight on how to EQ amp settings if you are going direct to front of house. I know there is lots of debate over Post/Pre signal, but I think your thoughts would be really interesting. Apologies if you’ve already done that video, I missed it if so.

Scott! I've been loving your channel for quite some time now! You've helped me take my bass skills to a new level; for sure! Though, I do have a request, if you'll catch this message. Let me explain... I play bass in a (Stoner)metal band and I'm finding most of our songs have the same sound. How as a bassist can I take these heavy and repetative riffs and make them very awesome in the same way your funky bass riffs in which seem to have no end?! Love to hear from you and see what answers you have! Hope you see this and respond with a sweet video soon!

Thanks, Scott. I instinctively use the same default EQ as you. Glad to have my 'ear' confirmed. :-) I have a 2-band EQ on my bass as well, and do a similar default setting there (rolloff the treble a bit and nudge up the bass a bit). I wish I could bypass that on-bass EQ entirely, but it doesn't have that option and I'm not ready to try cutting wires and soldering (I've got no backup bass).

I EQ my amp the same way. I've always held to the the saying the simple is best, and I come from a classical background, so I completely agree with the fact tone come from YOU, not your gear.

good call on the headroom mate. Guitar players have it easy: Buy tube amp - crank everything - play hard.

I love that Gergie is almost new gear days

A snadge is my happy place, thanks scott

Great advice, I would have liked for you to also add some advice about the onboard preamp and after you set the amp head flat, how to get the best sound with just the onboard preamp boosts and cuts before even touching the dials on the amp head.

Hi Scott, thank you for your lessons. Looking forward for a video about bass cabinets: what config to choose? 1x12, 1x15, 2x10? which one is your favourite? and what about combo like 1x15+2x10? Thank once again and all the best!

Excellent tutorial Scott! Thanks so much...

Nobody has mentioned room acoustics..vital to understanding bass eq.

I love the coincidence I just got my new amp and I was about to go crazy on the EQ.

Hello George

That being said, Scott's sound engineer always puts a locked cage around the amp, so Scott is not able to fiddle with the controls during a gig.

My default EQ setting for bass is flat. Especially if I have an active preamp in the bass. That way if I need more or less at the time I can make adjustments on the bass. I usually also have a compressor always on to even things out when slapping or tapping. If I need more or less of something, I'll make subtle adjustments as to not sacrifice clarity of the notes. Too much low frequency will muddy up the tone.

Any chance you'd be able to throw together a lesson (or point me to it on the academy - I'm a member) that goes into a ton of detail about specific plucking technique and whatnot for getting different tones? I know the general stuff like pluck near the bridge for a more jazzy sound, or towards the neck for a fatter one - but things like how you really get that punchy growl that a lot of punk rock bands have, or how to get a completely attack-free tone, etc.

Not all amps are flat with the knobs at 12:00. The only way to really know is measure it. This can be done with your computer (PC) and a program that sweeps a full range signal into your amp and graphs the output. You do this and adjust the knobs until you get a flat graph. Now you are at a flat frequency response and can tweak from there. Also, don't forget to figure the frequency response of the speakers. The amp may be set flat, but most likely the cabinets are not.

Good to know that I have the best practices already! This all remains true for a fixed-band or parametric EQ; those just take a bit more patience to fiddle with.

love your videos and truly appreciate your teachings.

George is actually the best dog

These amps sound great but are way overpriced. For the price this costs one could get a full tube amp such as a Mesa Boogie or Aguilar, that in my opinion sound far better than this one. For 30% of the price you can buy an Aguilar AG700 which is a killer head in every aspect.

Really good lesson! Thanks Scott!

UBass in the background FTW.

Hi Scott. You roll the treble back, do you also turn the tweeter/horn off? Or down pretty low. What the point of the horn/tweeter. I always turn my tweeter to zero as I find it gets too harsh and would imagine blow my ears out (ringing) at high volumes.

I’d like to see a video on higher end basses. Such as what your opinion is on Foderas, Sadowskys, Mike Lulls, Pavels, etc. I currently play a Fender elite and interested in saving up for a Fodera, that said, I’d like to know what your opinion on such basses are. Are they overrated, worth the money, etc. It’d be much appreciated 🤙

Just turned around and glanced at my 800RB. Bass is at about 2:00, and that's the only EQ set. That said, I also typically run through a Sans Amp Bass Driver Programmable that has my finger sound, pick sound, and then overdrive... But that's mostly just to dial in a wee bit of grit and to tame the treble when I'm using a pick.

I think it gives you more flexibility to take out first what you have too much of or don’t like about your sound before you boost anything. The boost approach can sometimes get out of hand and you find you don’t have enough of what you want to get the sound you’re looking for. Take the nasty bits out first and add volume. If that doesn’t do it, then add the frequencies you need more of.

Hello Scott, have you ever thought of making a video where you show how to eq/set your sound in a rehearsal/live sound situation? Sometimes It's hard to get a clear sound that sounds good in a mix when playing louder and It would be nice to have some tips regarding this topic. Cheers!

I agree with much of what you say. And I certainly understand your stance on headroom. However, I do have a 200 watt Trace Elliot Elf sytem, and while I've yet to take it out live in my case (I'm between bands at this time), I've seen quite a few testimonies online from guys who are either working pros in the bars and clubs or studio pros who gig on the side, and they all say that this 200 watt system is surprising. Your thoughts, Scott. I'd be interested in hearing what you think. For what it's worth, I work first on my chops, but I do love my Trace Elliot.

Let me see if I understand.. if I turn up the EQ in the low-mid or somewhere else, my bass sound may cut through in the mix better? Cool, thanks for that earth shattering tip. My playing will never be the same.

Awesome stuff... thanks Scott!

Do you have heat in your place?

Im new to bass playing. U only talked about the bass and treble. What does mids do? I play in a funk band. So how do i set them? Love the sound marcus miller gets from his bass

Hey Scott, you mentioned that a bunch of players you know would set the amp flat. You tend to use slightly the same settings. My question: do you roll the tone of your bass up to 100% at these amp settings?

Guiiar player here trying to get proficient on bass. I really appeciate this video. I use my Headrush amp/cab sims for my recordings. Can't afford a live rig right now. So I am so happy to see the amp is setup flat. I do the same with my mini-rectifier for my guitar. Start flat and then minor adjustments to the eq. I prefer that because I use a para or graphic eq to dial in my tone in the signal chain. The only thing I wish you would have gone over is how you set your eq on your instrument. My bass (Ibanez SR type) has a 3band eq. Do you approach the eq the same way on your bass?

Thanks for the video, Scott! Would be cool if you would do a similar video about tube amps, wouldn't be surprised that they have their own intricacies... or do they?

The EQ knobs are volume knobs for varying frequencies. If you turn up the bass to get more bottom when you’re playing high notes, your E string notes may be too loud. I set the eq to have an equal balance of volume throughout the range of the bass so no matter where I play the volume is the same and no notes are lost. People who set the amp flat are relying on the tone of the bass (and yes, their playing).

Fan tastic stuff. Time to join!

Awesome amp video! QUESTION: What are some good ways to mic a bass amp? And what are some good microphones to use?

how about some sort of context for the EQ like genres?

Pls stop recording while driving. With love, your Closed.

congrats on your well-deserved new place!

When it comes to EQ, I have my mid scooped, my treble full and my bass full, which might sound a bit shitty but I play in a metal three-piece and the treble of my fingers hitting the strings makes me stand out from the overdriven guitar and blasting drum kit. I’m going for that Steve Harris/Geddy Lee mutant tone haha :)

FUNNY STORY! I played with some guys in Fort Walton Beach Florida a little over a year ago. I took my Ampeg rig but they said they already had an SVT4 amp in the space. So I plugged in and set everything flat on the EQ as I normally do. The guy who owns the house kept throwing out a bass player's name (Brian) who would come to the same space and play. After two weeks of going to this place and seeing how the EQ was set on the amp, I said to everyone, who in the world sets their EQ like this? So I heard the last name (Marshall). Brian Marshall, who's this? I look his name up on Wikipedia. Turns out to be Creed/Alter Bridge bassist Brian Marshall. Lots of variables when setting your bass EQ.

Wow, I am absolutely in line with your "Default Settings" and you are so very spot on with your explanation of things... Love it and you really rock that bottom end... Bass On...!!!

Hi Scott, don't you think that just advising tweaks on hi and low are dependend on type basses and amp specifications? The bass and treble dials of one amp could have different range specs then the other, and a p-bass requires a different setting then a stingray. Also I regret that your channel seems to get more and more commercial, because I really liked it.

Helpful, but it would be useful to do the same with the controls on the instrument? And how the two interact. Love the doggy!

Hi Scott, as always love your work.... If I may add a little to this. Understanding appropriate gain structure will underpin any EQ that individuals are using. And more importantly, how gain will effect your EQ is a great subject - potentially as a add on to this lesson? cheers Rob

I like my treble boosted a lot as I play flatwounds with fingers and also have a crappy 15W practice amp - and it sounds awesome this way!

I’m watching this while high and it feels like the video was spliced and it keeps playing over and over the part of him talking but he never gets to the EQ info. Am I tripping??

What about active bass electronics (EQ)? Parametric pedals? Are these preferable in terms of adjustments instead on amp-based EQ?

I usually have a smidge more bass (2-3db), probably 6db of mid boost (1000hz) and take out some treble (2.8k) by about (2-3db), lots of mids for chord clarity when playing soft and breakup when i start ragging on it, the hi mids out to take out some of the string smacking on the frets. Thats just me tho, versatility is everything.

Scott could have a channel for bass stuff and one for just vlogging and id watch both 👌