EQ settings for 4003s/5

landon · Post by **landon** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 10:35 am

I gigged last night with my '01 4003s/5 MG, and had trouble dialing in that "perfect tone" or "the tone for me" and this particular bass. I could have been just a bad night for acousitcs. It did sound alot better when I stepped away from the amp. So that could be a factor too. Anyway, I have noticed the s5 seems to have a more bassy and darker tone than the 4001/4003/v63 ect. I was wondering is any 4003s/5 players here have come up with any good eq levels or tricks to get that well balance treble and bass sound, that has punch and good compressed clairity. I find I have to punch the midrange and cut the lows and highs to get a good tone with my 4003s/5. So the eq is in a sort of "frown Shape' But I lose some low end. I use a Hartke 2000 solid state amp with Carvin 2x10 and EV 1x15 cabnets. Also, I am thinking of getting one of those SansAmp rackmount tubeamp emulators for live gigs someday soon. Anyone worked with one of those??

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Feb 23, 2003 7:44 pm

The frown shape eq will give you that flat Paul McCartney sound ...

The 4003s5 is thicker sounding that a 4 string model because it is more massive ... so turn up the treble a little

I find the 4003s5 bass to be an excellent instrument ... I play through an ampeg b2r with 2x10 and 1x18 eminence speakers. I use a line6 pod for tone shaping. The b2r has an ultra mid which is a little different than the mid control on other amps ...

I set my eq for 40hz=0 80hz+3 150hz+12 300hz-3 600hz-3 900hz=0 2khz+12 5khz+7 8khz=0

on the bass I start with all the volume and tone controls all the way up and then I back down the toaster vol to 9 or 8 and then the bridge pickup can really growl ...

I have a friend who uses the sans amp with the Ric and likes it a lot ...

I have a 1990 4003s5 and it is my favorite bass ... I am a major tone freak .. and this bass satisfies my need for excellent tone ...

I have 9 basses ... various fender / musicman / rickenbacker 5 string models ... my 1990 4003s5 is the best of the bunch ... it has a nice tight b string, low action and great tone ...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 8:13 am

A simplier answer is set your eq the same as you would for a 4003 4 string but boost the treble a little more

landon · Post by **landon** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 4:18 pm

Thanks for the info, I will try that. I have a bass pod too, but I don't use it live. I love!! it for recording, so many choices to dial in. I like to keep it simple for playing live. Set the eq turn a few dials and your off..

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 6:06 pm

OK try these presets ...

Amp model - amp 360
Drive - 0 to 5
bass - 8
middle - 2
treble - 8
compress - 5
effects - rodent
tweak - 0

Then the same except for:

effects - large pie
tweak - 1.5 to 2

Also make sure the pod is set to amp mode and not direct.

I have found to make a patch hotter select a preset, push cabs and eq, then rotate the cabs button 360 ... it will usually make the same patch hotter ... I think this is a bug, but I like it.

landon · Post by **landon** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 7:54 pm

That sounds great, It's got that rauchy distorted rick tone. I also like it with out the effects. I use the Acoustic 360 patch when recording, I am always drawn back to it. I also use 8a- Tube preamp alot too. I feel I can get a great Squire/lee tone on that one.. I still have yet to use the bass pods full potential. Maybe I should start using this thing more for live stuff.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Feb 24, 2003 8:02 pm

I used to play my '68 Ric through an Acoustic 360 a long time ago ... super amp ... good projection of the bass sound ... that 1x18 folded horn cab was super ...

The pod has a steep learning curve ... patches that sound good for recording or headphones suck when playing live ... you have to experiment with it ... it can make a good amp great and an average amp good ... some sucky amps will still suck ...