EQ settings ?

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EQ settings ?

Postby pauldb38 » Thu Jun 29, 2017 8:26 pm

Hi folks

I have just found in my garage of bits a alesis eq 230 i had forgotten about , just wondered if i could use this for the the early shadows tone if so what eq settings as it had loads ?

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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby dave robinson » Fri Jun 30, 2017 1:05 am

Hi Paul, without having it here set up into an amp it's difficult, as I would need to hear the sound without it.
That said I can give you some useful tips. Firstly as a starting point take out everything to the left of 100hz. That is every slider down to tha bottom. Do the same at the other end, brining down everything after 6k. Non of those frequencies are needed in the lead guitar sound on those early tracks. The 6.5k and the 4k may need dropping too. The magic is in what you have left and boosting 1, 2 & 3k will get you towards the sound you are seeking, but by how much depends on the sound of your amp.
You may need to reduce 100 & 200hz too. Try pulling some of the others out before 1k and the tone should sweeten.
That's just a rough guide, I would recommend you experiment by moving the sliders around whilst listening as you strum. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but it's a 'play and listen' game. :)
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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby cockroach » Fri Jun 30, 2017 2:05 am

Those things fascinate me! :D

Trouble is, you could spend so much time fiddling with it- (especially that particular unit which I would guess was probably meant to be used with a contemporary PA system), you might not get much actual playing done!

I once had an amp with a built-in 5 band graphic EQ- I used it a lot to modify my guitar sounds- very useful, as I was in a band at that time which played a very large range of material- literally every style from trad jazz era standards from 20's/30's to the then current Top 20(late '70's/early '80's)!

I swear this is true - around that time, I was once playing a friend's Gibson Les Paul Custom with that amp, and I could make it sound like Mark Knopfler's Strat on Sultans of Swing....

These days, I'm not bothered so much about getting exact tones to match records etc but to me a graphic EQ is a very useful tool to do this, and much easier and cheaper than endlessly swapping pickups in and out of the guitar, chasing the chimera of the perfect tone...
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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby dave robinson » Fri Jun 30, 2017 10:29 am

cockroach wrote:
I swear this is true - around that time, I was once playing a friend's Gibson Les Paul Custom with that amp, and I could make it sound like Mark Knopfler's Strat on Sultans of Swing..


Yes you can, I have done that myself, it's all down to knowing which sliders to position where. ;)
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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby cockroach » Fri Jun 30, 2017 3:38 pm

dave robinson wrote:
cockroach wrote:
I swear this is true - around that time, I was once playing a friend's Gibson Les Paul Custom with that amp, and I could make it sound like Mark Knopfler's Strat on Sultans of Swing..


Yes you can, I have done that myself, it's all down to knowing which sliders to position where. ;)


David- we can now expect to hear those famous words (from a hitman contracted by the guitars makers, amp makers, effects makers and pickup makers etc)

'Of course, you realise that now I'm going to have to kill you...'.. :)
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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby dave robinson » Fri Jun 30, 2017 5:41 pm

cockroach wrote:
dave robinson wrote:
cockroach wrote:
I swear this is true - around that time, I was once playing a friend's Gibson Les Paul Custom with that amp, and I could make it sound like Mark Knopfler's Strat on Sultans of Swing..


Yes you can, I have done that myself, it's all down to knowing which sliders to position where. ;)


David- we can now expect to hear those famous words (from a hitman contracted by the guitars makers, amp makers, effects makers and pickup makers etc)

'Of course, you realise that now I'm going to have to kill you...'.. :)



No need 'roach, you'll probably shuttle off your mortal coil before you get perfection.
By the way, I'm not claiming to know the exact co-ordidates, there are too many influences i.e. Guitar, Echo, Amp, even personal perception of what it is. :idea:
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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby dave robinson » Fri Jun 30, 2017 5:48 pm

The truth is, these graphic EQ machines are great, but most people do more harm than good by using them, unless you happen to be a fully skilled audio engineer, with an understanding of what you're doing.
Nowadays my Strat through any decent echo into a Vox AC 30 or similar, will achieve within 10% of what any listener would accept as the sound of early Hank Marvin. For some reason, I hear guys in the local Shadows clubs getting closer than ever they were a few years ago. I guess people are learning, including myself. :)
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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby pauldb38 » Fri Jun 30, 2017 6:36 pm

Thanks for the advice everyone i'll have a play , think the unit maybe a bit overkill for what i want but its something to play with. I have a fender front-man amp and a Allesis Q20 with charlies hall patches. When i'm practicing i usually try and play to the 20 greatest Hits just so i know i'm playing it right. But the tones don't seem right. Yes i'm trying to get a close sound to the album. Its all fun and a challenge lol.

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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby Iain Purdon » Fri Jun 30, 2017 7:49 pm

dave robinson wrote:Nowadays my Strat through any decent echo into a Vox AC 30 or similar, will achieve within 10% of what any listener would accept as the sound of early Hank Marvin. For some reason, I hear guys in the local Shadows clubs getting closer than ever they were a few years ago. I guess people are learning, including myself. :)

I'm sure Dave is quite right here. There is no reason that suppose that a young guitarist and an EMI engineer all those years ago cleverly invented the lead guitar equivalent of the Coca-Cola formula. They simply hit on a sound they liked and that was it. In each subsequent recording the sound was not quite the same thanks to random differences.
As I see it, any equipment ought to get you close provided you know how to set it up and, crucially, how to play the instrument. I'm sure players are getting better at mastering it because it's been the subject of so much interest and study. But I don't subscribe to the theory that it has to be guitar X with strings Y and pickups Z, using effects unit P and amp Q. Within reason, I think anyone who tries hard enough can get there with whatever gear they have. Just my theory :)
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Re: EQ settings ?

Postby anniv 63 » Fri Jun 30, 2017 10:23 pm

Recently I saw a Glasgow Street Busker I know, getting a very impressive Shads
Sound
Equipment? well
American Strat with Texas Special Pickups
Bridge/ Neck option (he gets a great Bert Weedon tone onthis p/u combination
Behringer Echo Pedal (he swears by this!!!)
Battery AMP Laney I think
Oh yes and finally he remade some UB Hank b/ts himself as he thought the originals
in some cases could be improved especially for street playing style!!!
So there you go!!!
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