12
SETTING YOUR EQ
The frequencies that you’ll need to boost or cut are dependent upon your
instrument, playing style, speaker cabinets, and venue. Extreme settings of
boost or cut are unlikely to be necessary or helpful. We are frequently asked
to provide suggested settings for various styles of play. We have discovered
though, that most of our endorsers tend to set their EQ generally flat, using
varying amounts of the Enhance Control to achieve their sound. In fact, a
number of our recording artists tell us that their standard recording set-up is
to have the Enhance set at approximately 9 or 10 O’clock and the tone
controls set flat.
We encourage you to experiment with different settings to obtain the sound
you desire. We have included some EQ panel diagrams at the back of this
manual to help you record your settings.
Enhance
– Once you’ve set your gain, you can move on to setting your EQ,
beginning with the Enhance control, or Magic Knob, as some call it. The
Enhance circuitry adds very low bass, upper mids and highs while scooping
out a bit of low middle. The more Enhance effect you dial in, the greater the
boost (and cut). As with all of our EQ controls, a little goes a long way.
Slowly bring the Enhance control up while playing. If you turn it up close to
12:00 on the dial and still don’t have your sound, stop there. Return the
Enhance to OFF or leave it at no more than 12:00 and work with the EQ
section.
Using the EQ Controls
– Before you begin to twiddle knobs, let’s talk
about a few things. Excessive boosting of one or more EQ frequencies may
cause an overload in the EQ section. If this happens, the EQ Clip light will
engage. This is a
Very Bad Thing
and needs to be corrected immediately.
If EQ clipping occurs, you can either decrease the boost or decrease the
Input Gain. Remember, too, that our EQ controls are active, and are meant to
turn both ways – not just UP! This means that you can enhance a certain
frequency spectrum either by boosting that frequency or by cutting the
adjacent frequencies. This latter method has the advantage of maximizing
potential headroom.
