Bass "Equilizers" :O (bass, funk, jazz, amp)

[jimmythehappinessninja]

Ive had my bass guitar for about 4 months now, and theres these four knobs on my amp that are labelled "equilizer". . At first I thought each knob adjusted the volume of 1 specific string, but it seems thats not how it works . I feel dumb :P Is anyone able to explain to me what these knobs are for?

[mr dave]

it's all good. basically the 4 EQ knobs control the tone of your instrument as it comes through the amp.

i'm assuming you have bass / mid bass / mid high / treble knobs. or something along those lines.

there's a 'proper' technical way of setting the EQ for the amp itself but that requires messing with possible really painful feedback and i'm not 100% on the 'proper technical method'

the way i use the knobs is to colour my sound. basically set them all pointing straight up and consider it to be your 0 point. if you find that you sound too bassy and muddy turn up the bass end knobs (towards the right). on the other hand if you find that you have too much high end you might want to turn down the treble knobs (to the left). if you notice that you're sound is distorting and clipping you'll also want to turn down the EQ knobs. basically, just play around them until it sounds cool and doesn't distort. if you have a 'clip' light that comes on when you play it means your sound is breaking up and you probably want to tweak your EQ a bit.

in short the EQ knobs are like the tone knob on your guitar only split between 4 knobs (in your case) to better adjust the tone.

[jimmythehappinessninja]

Aha, thanks. My E string sounds a lot less like a low growl now

[mr dave]

great to hear hehe.

[thebassistX]

yes depending on the style ur playing u can set ur eq up differently too

for ex.
funk you would want more treble and less bass to get that "pop" sound

where as in jazz you probably want more bass to give a strong solid bass line