Predominant Low End EQ

Terry Stidham · Post by **Terry Stidham** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:18 pm

When playing through amp (Roland KC 550), or, PA speakers (QSC K12) sound is muddy and way heavy on the low end (programs A001 Acoustic Piano, D113 Silky Digi EP, for example). I can turn the bass all the way off on the amp with no luck. I've reloaded these programs from disk, still no luck. Sounds great through headphones, sounds terrible through speakers. Could it be an output issue? Does anyone else have this problem? Thanks!

Post by **Sharp** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:43 pm

And what do you hear when you plug the headphones into the L then R Output sockets.

Other than the fact that the sound will be mono, do hear somthing wrong with the bass there ?

Regards
Sharp.

Terry Stidham · Post by **Terry Stidham** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:20 pm

Thanks for the quick response. Volume is significantly cut at left and right outputs compared to headphone jack. Left output is louder than right. Can't really discern if bass is a problem at the lower volume. I can hear more bass on the left side but it may just be due to the overall volume being louder on the left than the right.

Post by **Sharp** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:47 pm

Left output is louder than right.

HOw about clarity. Do you feel the sound is very different from each socket.

Can't really discern if bass is a problem at the lower volume

You really need to come to the conclusion on this and decide if the sound is wrong or not.

If you are unable to tell, try going back into your Roland AMP but only use one cable into the L and then try that in the R and see if you can hear a big difference between them

Regards
Sharp.

Terry Stidham · Post by **Terry Stidham** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:16 pm

Rolland KC550 is currently unavailable, I'll try the left and right ouputs separately and respond as soon as I get the opportunity, thanks!

Terry Stidham · Post by **Terry Stidham** » Mon Aug 06, 2012 11:49 pm

Tried left and right outputs separately through my home system in lieu of Roland KC550 (currently unavailable). No noticiable difference in volume between left and right outputs. Still noticiable difference in low end between speakers and keyboard headphone jack. Not as excessive however as the Roland KC550 or the QSC K12's.

Terry Stidham · Post by **Terry Stidham** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 2:14 pm

No noticiable difference in left or right output volume with the Roland KC550.

In an effort to eliminate the muddy overbearing low end tone (A001 acoustic piano) I've tried running a Mackie 1202 mixer between the Triton and QSC K12 speakers. I get some relief when I turn the low end eq on the mixer all the way off and the midrange eq all the way up. Does anyone else have this problem with the Triton Classic? Thanks!

billbaker · Post by **billbaker** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 2:49 pm

Not so much triton problem, but a known problem with the Roland KC amp series, pretty much... put kindly their low end is very efficient.

Where they fall short is their high end, depending on the piezo horn for their "sparkle", which is known to fail, leaving only that big ol' 15" speaker to do all the work. The result is either distortion (high end crackling) or an absence of highs; thus exaggerated lows.

That low end bias should be apparent on all your sounds, but you may be hearing it more noticeably on the piano because you have a clearer expectation of how a piano program should sound than you do a more "synth-y" program.

If you still think the piano only is unnaturally slanted toward the low end of the spectrum, look to the insert effects (EQ and some reverb setting can boost low end) or master EQ (roll back the low end boost to "0") and see if that helps the problem.

Since the sound in your (presumably flat-response) headphones is good I would not expect the 1/4" outputs to be changing the signal to boost low end - again looking like an amp rather than keyboard problem.

So you might want to compare the KC with a JBL EON or other full-range powered PA speaker. PA speakers tend to have a much flatter and more even response than guitar amps (which can boost and distort low/mids on purpose) and, unfortunately, some keyboard amps.

BB

Terry Stidham · Post by **Terry Stidham** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 4:14 pm

Thanks BB for the quick response and for your helpful suggestions.

I've heard similar reports regarding the Roland KC550.

I primarily use the Triton for piano sounds however the problem appears to be uniform accross the keyboard. I've been able to reduce the bass by adjusting the program eq and master effects, however, the overall sound suffers as a result.

After no success with the Roland I purchased a pair of QSC K12's running left and right straight out of the left and right keyboard outputs, still with terrible results. Are you familiar with QSC K12 PA speakers? They have no onboard EQ adjustment so I've been trying to compensate with a Mackie 1202 mixer. Any additional ideas or comments? Thanks again for your help!

billbaker · Post by **billbaker** » Tue Aug 14, 2012 12:31 pm

Terry,

Must admit I'm not familiar with the QSC's, except to say that they (QSC) have a great rep for building good gear. Lucky you.

Do you have the frequency specifications for your speakers?

I ask because I think there's a tendency to over emphasize bass in full range speakers that are DJ rather than PA oriented -- makers want to build something that doesn't require a sub and so they skew the response to bump those under 200 hertz frequencies. That these speakers have 1000w power rating makes me think that producing the "club thud" frequencies is no problem -- unless that's what's bugging you. In a venue with lots of bodies that's (low end) also the first frequency absorbed though, so maybe having a bit of boom is not so bad.

A couple more questions:

Does this low emphasis happen at gigs as well as in your rehearsal space?
Through any sort of amplification?

You've played through several types of speakers, from headphones, 15" (KC), 12" (QSC) to, I'm assuming, full range (gig) PA. Is everything but headphones too boomy? There's a phenomenon called bass linking where the floor will actually become a resonating surface like a soundboard. Try elevating the speaker (if you're handy with a jigsaw you can carve the sides of a milk crate to make a cradle for your speaker).

You might also want to put a serious (3 band per octave) EQ between your mixer and the speakers rather than depending on your small mixer's limited EQ section. Leave the keyboard's programs "normal" then tailor the response of the speakers using the EQ to match your headphone's "good" response.

A good set of studio headphones are built to have a flat response, as are studio monitors - that's not usually the case for most powered speakers. Using an analyzer (white noise/pink noise) and EQ could let you find an ideal EQ setting for your gear.

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One final and rather sobering thought. Have your ear's checked by an audiologist. The high end perception is the first to be lost.

BB

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