EQ & Signal Chain

[Dotneck]

I was playing plugged in last night...and switched to my JV-05E which has a B-Band in the side...which got me to thinking about the signal chain.

I had been playing the 00-70 (with a K&K) going into a Highlander PAMDI which went into the amp. The amp is a Genz Benz Compact 300 which has a 4 band EQ. The Highlander is a two channel mixer/DI/EQ which also has a 4 band EQ. The Highlander is handy because you can plug in two guitars and switch between them by muting one or the other. The JV-05E also has an EQ with sweepable mids.

So I started messing with the EQs on the three units. When you have control at those various points in the signal chain is it best to leave the EQ on the amp flat and EQ in the mixer? With the 00-70 with the K&K there was no control on the guitar so it made sense to use the control on the Highlander...but switching to the jumbo made me wonder what others do since this guitar also had an EQ on its own preamp..

Is a rule of thumb that applies to setting up your signal chain...

[unclrob]

I would run the guitar flat,run the mixer eq.I would then set the amp flat at first and then use the amps eq to fine tune the signal.

[Dale_I]

Not to disagree with unclrob, but I might suggest playing into flat mixer and flat amp first. Then you can run the eq on the guitar to get the best sound from the guitar. Once you have an acceptable base signal, you can tweak the mix eq to bring out the best from the base signal. I would then use the amp eq for optimizing the sound in specific rooms that you play in, since that dynamic will change based on location. Just a thought, but with three eq's, there are at least 9 possibilities.

[unclrob]

Dale that sound like a good way also.

[Dale_I]

I'm not sure there is a real right or wrong, as long as you get the sound you are looking for. At least, that's what the penguins are telling me (laff).

[unclrob]

There the one's that keep yelling at me to keep playing thru a mic.Right now I prefer my GHS A133 into my old Mackie board out to my Technical Pro powered PA,Its such a clean natural sound.When I play with the electric band I plug my active IBeam into my paridirect pre amp to my Mackie board out to my TP powered pa I set the EQ on PDEQ the board is flat.I still hate the sound of a pu in the guitar but then I don't really like the volumn we  have to play at nor the music but its money to pay the bills.

[rockstar_not]

There's a reason that EQ is 'first' in channel strips in a mixer - it's really where one should try to take care of tone issues - as early in the signal chain as possible for individual channels.  Same is true for your guitar - if there's unnecessary signal content going into the next thing down the line then you are asking the downstream units to do the work.  The Highlander is sending along that unnecessary frequency content and the GB then has to take care of it.

If you can take care of it on the JV then do it there.  Leave everything else flat.

If not then work with the next closest EQ down the line.