Trying to better understand EQ in the Spider App

[clfnole123]

When it comes to the specific EQ section when creating or modifying a tone how are low, low mid, high mid and high frequency range and gain determine?  Is this done for the overall amp itself or specific to each song or tone?  I watched some of the demo videos with Dan Boul and he mentioned he added EQ to presets.  Just trying to learn more about this and how they come up with specific numbers for example something like Low Shelf Frequency 125 and Low Shelf Gain -5.1 dB?

 

Thanks in advance.

[ADBrown]

The EQ is applied to the whole preset and settings will vary between presets. EQ can help shape a tone by either boosting or cutting certain frequencies. For example EQ shaping might help add life to a flatter sound, tame muddy bass, or tame piercing highs  Determining which frequencies to cut or boost and by how much will vary, and is best judged by ear - though some background knowledge will certainly come in handy. Here's a chart you can use as starting point for reference. Check out the presets that do use EQ and experiment with turning the EQ on and off to hear how it affects the tone. 

 

[clfnole123]

16 minutes ago, ADBrown said:

The EQ is applied to the whole preset and settings will vary between presets. EQ can help shape a tone by either boosting or cutting certain frequencies. For example EQ shaping might help add life to a flatter sound, tame muddy bass, or tame piercing highs  Determining which frequencies to cut or boost and by how much will vary, and is best judged by ear - though some background knowledge will certainly come in handy. Here's a chart you can use as starting point for reference. Check out the presets that do use EQ and experiment with turning the EQ on and off to hear how it affects the tone. 

 

So then the specific frequency and the + or - gain is all by ear?  There is quite a bit of variation in those ranges. I was thinking maybe people were using additional software to make those determinations. Rather impressive to be able to do that purely by ear. 

[ADBrown]

3 hours ago, clfnole123 said:

So then the specific frequency and the + or - gain is all by ear?  There is quite a bit of variation in those ranges. I was thinking maybe people were using additional software to make those determinations. Rather impressive to be able to do that purely by ear. 

No, I should have phrased "best judged by ear" as "use your ears to judge what sounds best" - instead of going strictly by numbers. You will still need to have knowledge of what frequencies contribute to what type of sound, which is why I posted the reference chart. It's a combination of applied knowledge and using your ears. For example; if you hear your tone has a loose low end, you may want to try cutting frequencies on the low end to tighten the sound. You could use a piece of software to get a visual representation of EQ changes made to a preset, but ultimately you are still using your ears. Hope this helps!

[clfnole123]

On 6/22/2020 at 2:52 PM, ADBrown said:

No, I should have phrased "best judged by ear" as "use your ears to judge what sounds best" - instead of going strictly by numbers. You will still need to have knowledge of what frequencies contribute to what type of sound, which is why I posted the reference chart. It's a combination of applied knowledge and using your ears. For example; if you hear your tone has a loose low end, you may want to try cutting frequencies on the low end to tighten the sound. You could use a piece of software to get a visual representation of EQ changes made to a preset, but ultimately you are still using your ears. Hope this helps!

 

So I was watching two PEQ tutorials for the Spider V Remote on YouTube that were posted by Matt Ball.  He recommended generally making boosts for the various amp models available.  That said I had two questions I was hoping you might be able to help me with:

 

1) For example for the Low Frequency on a Fender Twin he selected 195 Hz but on a Mesa Boogie it was 176 Hz.  Do you think that is a general guess within a range for Low of say 150-250?

 

2) In a couple of cases the Frequency for Low Mid was lower than Hi Mid but in other cases it was the opposite.  Why might that be?

 

Thanks again for your help. 

[ADBrown]

19 hours ago, clfnole123 said:

1) For example for the Low Frequency on a Fender Twin he selected 195 Hz but on a Mesa Boogie it was 176 Hz.  Do you think that is a general guess within a range for Low of say 150-250?

 

2) In a couple of cases the Frequency for Low Mid was lower than Hi Mid but in other cases it was the opposite.  Why might that be?

 

Thanks again for your help. 

1. I would guess he started in that known low range (150-250Hz) and came up with 195Hz or 176Hz based on using his ear or perhaps thinking about the application of each amp model. For instance, a Mesa Amp is often used for metal/hard rock, perhaps in a drop tuning, usually playing chugging low notes on the guitar. For that style of playing it makes sense to accentuate lower bass frequencies. A Twin is usually cleaner, so for most situations, the bass probably doesn't need to be as deep or boosted as a high gain amp. He also may have played the amp models through an EQ analyzer, and decided what to boost or cut based on that visual readout. 

2. I like to keep my frequencies in order of Lo, Lo mid, high mid, high, but these can cross over each other. It's no issue if they do. A hypothetical scenario could be that you boost the low mids and find improvement in tone, but also need to cut something below it to eliminate muddiness. Hope this helps!

[clfnole123]

21 hours ago, ADBrown said:

1. I would guess he started in that known low range (150-250Hz) and came up with 195Hz or 176Hz based on using his ear or perhaps thinking about the application of each amp model. For instance, a Mesa Amp is often used for metal/hard rock, perhaps in a drop tuning, usually playing chugging low notes on the guitar. For that style of playing it makes sense to accentuate lower bass frequencies. A Twin is usually cleaner, so for most situations, the bass probably doesn't need to be as deep or boosted as a high gain amp. He also may have played the amp models through an EQ analyzer, and decided what to boost or cut based on that visual readout. 

2. I like to keep my frequencies in order of Lo, Lo mid, high mid, high, but these can cross over each other. It's no issue if they do. A hypothetical scenario could be that you boost the low mids and find improvement in tone, but also need to cut something below it to eliminate muddiness. Hope this helps!

 

Really appreciate the assistance with this.  One more thing if you don't mind.  In trying to craft a tone similar to a song I have researched rigs different guys used and scoured the web for various settings to try and what not.  One thing I found is the Tonebridge App which has presets for various songs and they typically have 10-band EQ settings in each song with frequencies of 31.25Hz, 62.5Hz, 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, 4kHz, 8kHz and 16kHz.  If I wanted to try to use those settings for the PEQ in the Spider V Remote app, which only has the 4 frequencies (Low, Low-Mid, Hi-Mid and High), which out 4 out of the 10 might one want to try?  Not saying this would work but was thinking to try to see how it might sound.

[ADBrown]

I would look at the 10 band EQ and see if every one of the frequencies is being used to shape the sound. If only a couple of areas are EQ'd then you can translate that to Spider V's PEQ. In an instance where more than 4 bands are being EQ'd it will likely involve some guesswork and going by ear. Try to visualize the EQ curve created by the 10 band EQ and then try and and recreate it the best you can in Spider V.

[clfnole123]

On 7/14/2020 at 9:57 AM, ADBrown said:

I would look at the 10 band EQ and see if every one of the frequencies is being used to shape the sound. If only a couple of areas are EQ'd then you can translate that to Spider V's PEQ. In an instance where more than 4 bands are being EQ'd it will likely involve some guesswork and going by ear. Try to visualize the EQ curve created by the 10 band EQ and then try and and recreate it the best you can in Spider V.

Another question for you. I have some tones I have worked on for several songs and some I feel quite good about but a few are close but sound a bit “muffled” like someone put something over a speaker. I feel like the tone would be right if I could lift off the muffle. Would I correct that in EQ or PEQ?

[bruce9432]

What sad is that I have no idea how to work this thing, Line6 always comes off as if just professionals use this stuff. I bought it for wireless, figured out the tuner, but the rest is arcane and nebulous.

[gtrman100]

On 8/25/2020 at 11:50 AM, bruce9432 said:

What sad is that I have no idea how to work this thing, Line6 always comes off as if just professionals use this stuff. I bought it for wireless, figured out the tuner, but the rest is arcane and nebulous.

You know you can work this amp very simply- just twist the knobs on the front! Twist the knob under the display to scroll through the presets. Twist the knobs and get the amp sound you like when the lights are white. Push the effects button and the lights turn to colors and turn the knobs to add effects. If you like what you hear, just press and hold the button under the display- press it again to save the sound.  Spider V's do have many options, but you can use it very simply if you want. Then take some time and explore other options if you like- it's easy to get some very good tones.

Also, if you're connected to a computer using the usb port on the amp, go to Customtone and try some of the presets others have made.

[gtrman100]

On 7/17/2020 at 8:15 PM, clfnole123 said:

Another question for you. I have some tones I have worked on for several songs and some I feel quite good about but a few are close but sound a bit “muffled” like someone put something over a speaker. I feel like the tone would be right if I could lift off the muffle. Would I correct that in EQ or PEQ?

You can use either or both. I usually use the tone controls on the amp to get the sound I'm looking for. If you're in Full Range mode, you can try changing cabinets and mics. Then fine tune it using the post eq. I prefer the classic mode and usually can get good tones by starting with an amp model that's in the ballpark of the tone I'm looking for.