Tips for using your Filter controls?

[rusty_the_scoob]

I just aquired a Starfire reissue with Dark Stars swapped in plus a Bartolini EZQ with frequency and Q control for each pickup.
 
I turn to you, the experts - I get what the knobs do in a general way, but what's the best way to dial in my sound?

[mike1762]

I set-up the neck PUP for a typical Fenderish type tone then pretty much leave it alone.  Then you can blend in the bridge PUP will all kinds of different settings for all kinds of different tones.  That's MY approach.

[David Houck]

I don't think there is a 'best way'.  You'll want to set up your filters in conjunction with adjusting the other tone controls on your rig.  So you may want to start with a 'flat' setting on your rig.
 
Personally, I like my bridge filter fairly open and my neck filter fairly closed; though I make minor tweaks to these settings pretty much every practice session.  My bridge 'Q' setting varies widely, sometimes fairly open and sometimes backed off a bit; while by neck 'Q' is generally fairly closed.  I favor the bridge pickup over the neck by about 60 - 40; in other words I use the bridge pickup for the main body of my tone and use the neck pickup to add low end.  And again, I'm constantly tweaking not only the controls on the bass but the controls on other elements of my rig as well to get a curve that's consistent to my ears throughout the frequency range.
 
But that's just me; others have significantly different approaches.

[rusty_the_scoob]

Interesting, thanks!  I do set my rig pretty flat although it's an SWR Redhead plus an Eden 1x15 (for now) so there's a natural mid-scoop to it that I don't fight.
 
What do you mean by open and closed Q?  Wide frequency = open and narrow frequency = closed?

[David Houck]

The Alembic filters are low pass filters, I think the Bart filters can be switched low, high, and band pass.
 
On an Alembic low pass filter the frequency range controlled by the filter is from 350Hz-6KHz.  So if it's open then all of the frequencies picked up by the pickups, up to 6KHz, are being passed through.  Any frequencies above 6KHz are rolled off.  If the filter is closed then only frequencies below 350Hz are passed through; anything above 350 is again rolled off.  (The rolloff rate is 12db per octave.)
 
For 'Q', I don't know how the Bart system works (I couldn't find much info on their site).  On my Alembic Series II, the Q controls are continuously variable from from 0 to 15db of boost; the boost is applied to the cut off frequency you've set with the filter.  So here when I said my Q was fairly open I meant that it was closer to the 15db boost, and when I said it was fairly closed I meant that it was closer to 0db boost.

[pasewark]

Hi Rusty,
Would you post a few pics of your newly acquired Starfire?

[rusty_the_scoob]

Gladly!  
 

 
The maple grain is nicer in person - not amazing but pretty good for being stained and buried in all that poly.
 
I think on the EZQs they have a frequency control, and the Q is more of a wide/narrow range control like a standard parametric, and there's strangely no level control...
 
(Message edited by Rusty_the_Scoob on July 09, 2010)

[tbrannon]

The neat freak in me wants to reach into my monitor and clean up the wires in that f-hole.  Gaaaaaah!!! =)