What Does Guitar Amp EQ Do? 2 Rules to Help You Sound Better NOW!

Question of the Day: What else would you like to know about EQ?

Outstanding vid. I am 73 years ancient and this makes so much sense to my generation. Something as simple as head room is so enlightening

What if the amp has just a Tone knob instead the BMT EQ?

Thank you.

The frequency adjustment hand gestures made this video for me.

Cut before boost, cool advice.

Underated channel
Good job!

Unless it's a baxandall-style tone stack, amp EQ knobs are (most often) NOT volume knobs. They cannot ADD volume to a frequency range; they can only subtract.

as a newbie, I've struggled with EQing, so appreciate the lesson!!

Thanks, that was clear and to the point.

If you didn't make that Spinal Tap reference you know someone would... probably me 😅

Just fyi, the headrush pedalboard and frfrs go to 11… (the company is eleven..😉)

Great vid mate

thank you - i hsve an Crush 12 and i thought i made a mistake buying it - the jury is still out but your tips give me encouragement - maybe this orange box and i will get along down the road when i figure it out -
PS - I work with horses for a living - an old Cowboy told me a long time ago -
" Sometimes - most of the time - less is more - "
this has helped me with a young horse more times than i could ever count - and even more with one that has a little age -
Have a Geat Day 🐴⚡🎸

Wow probably the best Guitar EQ video that I have come across. Straight forward and easy to understand :) Well Done.

is a dark sound the same thing as a muddy sound?

really good video bro.. very good
thx

This is not the right way to think about tone controls. Turning up a treble control does not turn the treble up. It turns it down less. You are not boosting anything ever. Tone controls are only subtractive.

What setting is best for reggae?

brilliant explanation. So simple and easy to understand. Thanks for making the video.

Thanks a lot, its very helpful info!!

Is each EQ knob at 0 when it's all the way down, or at the 12 o'clock position?
I tend to start at 12 o'clock and adjust, but I'm not sure if that's right.

I want to have smooth distortion sound but my guitar is buzzing on playing any note. Please suggest

Helpful! This is stuff that a lot of folks don't even realize they're missing.

A few questions about amp EQ. First, some amps have a presence knob in addition to bass, mid, and high. What is the best way to approach the presence knob? Second, with the four EQ knobs, do they generally affect a specific range of frequencies? If so, what are the frequencies? Does it vary by the specific amp?

This is just what I need. thank you!
I played a gig yesterday and it didn't sound just like what I wanted.
I tried to adjust every knob and it got harsh, ran out of time before the show started, a little bit dissapointed with the tone I created myself.

My blackstar core 10 amp doesn't have the bass and mid and treble nubs
It just has an eq nub. how can i set something like 3/8/8 eq ?
I don't have those three nubs to set this :|

5 minute music. Looks at video length. Hey wait a second!

Good job, keep it up. I will be be working with the EQ that came with GT 8

I have trouble describing sounds.

Great video mate! I make music for a living and have always gone off the "if it sounds good, it is good" rule. I always struggled to understand EQing as a musician but this video definitely demystified this perpetual "random knobs situation" for me and helped me view this from a much clearer perspective. Also, (Cut before Boost) Brilliant method! and makes total sense! I'm learning new stuff about music everyday and I love it! Keep up the great work. -Robbie Aaron

great video man!

Can you do a video on what it actually means to put instruments in their ideal frequency range when mixing. I don’t understand it.

Thats a cool tip....

Guitar amps use subtractive Eq. Which means that with the bass, mid, and treble knobs at 10 the amps Eq is flat.

actually the best tutorial for EQ....thank you <3

Hi, great video, whats the difference between mids and prescence??

This is great advice. Thanks.

For your typical gigging situations, here the cardinal rules for great guitar tone:
1. Forget stacks! Use a combo amp. 12" speakers sound the best.
2. Don't aim it at your ass! You hear forward, not backward. Put it on the floor in front of you aimed up like a vocal monitor. Put a mic on it. You will hear your tone even at lower wattage.
3. Don't dime out the guitar! Those volume/tone controls go up AND down. Learn to use them.
4. Corollary to #3: Turn your amp all the way up. That's right. Master volume all the way, but input volume at half (probably). Also all tone controls at half (definitely).

Very simplistic but it's true.

Thank you.

Now i now even less...

Thanks for you tip on cut before boost! Interested in opinion on adjusting tone with gain. I've noticed that for best sound it's not the same. Link me your video if you have it, or if you make it. Most people don't realize there's a tone on you overdrive or distortion pedal and what it's for! God bless!

This isn't how EQ works in all occasions. It's a good explanation for 75% of the amps out of there but it isn't correct.
Old designs like Fender and Marshall have passive EQ that is subtractive so as you say this is correct. The EQ knob is a volume control for that frequency.
However for old amps with a presence control it isn't quite true as the presence is in the output section and uses a positive response to boost/cut frequencies.
Modern design amp circuits have bandaxall EQ that boosts and cuts the frequency range through power control (boss katana).

Therefore the best way to EQ an old amp is to run everything flat out and then reduce frequencies.

The best way to EQ a modern design is to put everything in the goldilocks position and manipulate from there.

One thing I find very important is to actually shut out most of the frequency range and then apply one of the portions only - so focus on the treble let's say, with the mid and bass and presence completely off. Have a listen to the timbre of the treble range and adjust so there is nothing annoying present. I remember the position of the knob and then apply the same system for the bass control making sure I play low notes a lot. Then I put the treble and bass back in together where I remember they were and I start manipulating mid and presence into the mix. With the mid and the presence I actually feed them in with a thought as to how much mid 'punch' and presence 'air' I need for the job in doing / room or space I'm in.

Also, don't forget digital EQ is totally different and quite shit., the output stage of a digital bus equalisers a broad spectrum of the sound and doesnt really attack it at the source like a preamp on a tube amp (fender/marshall) or solid state (Roland jazz/blues or boss katana) does.

Thank you for posting 👍🏻

Something that many people don't understand about eq'ing, is that you can't boost something that isn't there, which is why your advice about "cut b4 boost" is sound. You can't boost something that may not be there, so (as you said) you cut first.

Have to cut Bass ALWAYS on these modern gainy amps

Boost before cut good tip thank you