Playing live with ES2

[sacredground]

Curious about how y’all are using the ES2 pickup live:

Using a preamp?
Replaced it with another pickup?
How do you like the tone?
EQ suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[RileyKendall]

Gabriel O'Brian over in the Facebook Taylor Guitars Owners Group is creating a video on how to properly EQ and get the best out of ES2.  I would wait for that before ripping out your ES2. 

[Edward]

ES2 live into a PA is a wholly usable guitar tone live.  One may prefer x over y, but the ES2 delivers a better than average acoustic guitar tone through a decent PA, and better still with a good DI that allows you to shape tone ...notice I did not say guitar amp, but that's my bias.

EQ: start flat with guitar controls at detent/noon. 
DI, start flat if it has tone controls.
PA or Console (and DI if it has gain control): be certain to set gain structure properly as the ES2 is a fairly hot preamp and can/will easily overdrive the input channel, yielding a harsh and grainy tone.  Start with EQ flat.

Tailor from there.  More often than not, scooping a bit of 500-900Hz helps with a more solid and less boomy bottom end; as does attenuating around the 1.2-2k neighborhood for less brassy mid-highs.  Just a wee bit of "treble" at the guitar knob (or 10k at a console/DI) can add sparkle and definition. 

It's a good starting point

Edward

[sacredground]

Thanks folks. I have an Avalon preamp which makes most anything sound glorious. Appreciate the thoughts on EQ and the ‘hot’ personality of the ES2. Tweak session tomorrow to see how it sounds.

Cheers!

[RyanR]

Edward,

After starting flat, do you primarily use the ES2 or the DI or the mixer to EQ the sound?  If you use more than one of them to EQ which one do you start with first?

Ryan

[ebick]

I use a Baggs Para DI.  Between the controls on the ES2 and the Baggs, I get great sound out of the 814!

[Edward]

Edward,
After starting flat, do you primarily use the ES2 or the DI or the mixer to EQ the sound?  If you use more than one of them to EQ which one do you start with first?
Ryan

Starting from flat EQ, all the above depending on what you're trying to accomplish.  Think about where the frequency center is on each device:

- Most mixers will have Bass centered at 100Hz and Treble centered at 10kHz (and some consoles will write it on the channel strip, eg Bass=80 and Treb =12k).

- The above is significant because EQ at the DI is centered on the frequencies more useful to the acoustic guitar.  So using a parametric (sweep EQ) you can "find" that mid-bass freq that lends to a flubby, boomy bottom, likely around 500-600Hz, so reducing here at the DI is better than attenuating the Bass at the board which is a very useful and solid 100Hz.  Not to mention the bass control on the Taylor is quite effective and useful.

- Same with the treble: the 10k knob at the console to a guitar is like "presence" or "air" whereas lots of that guitar top end you want to affect sits in the 3-4kHz zone.  So a bit dull or too zingy, go for the 10k at the console; but the "top end" tone of your guitar, go for the treble on the ES2 and/or the knob on the DI and listen carefully which is the "treble" tone you really want to adjust ...it'll be pretty apparent that each of these treble knobs will have their own tone (their own freq centers), so choose according to your ears.

- FWIW, this is one reason why I like the Baggs Venue: two parametric bands plus Bass and two Treb knobs ...powerful tool, this.  But other DIs are quite good, as well!

Hope that helps you a bit

Edward

[RyanR]

Edward,

Thanks that is actually quite helpful.

I've been putting an acoustic into a small mixing board for a while now, but never thought much about the actual values there.  In my case they are Bass=80, Mid=2.5K, High=12K.

Then I have 7 band EQ on my "plug in" guitar (it is a Martin OMC160GTE with a Roland preamp on it).  It has a 7 band equalizer.  At times it is kind of boomy.  Actually it is worse when I record.   So I need to think about which band that boominess (is that a word?) is coming from and fix it.  Probably I should start with the Roland Preamp; does not sound like bass control on the Mixer is the answer.  Leave it alone.

I don't use the high control on the mixer much (for reasons you identified) but I do find the mid- control on the mixer is pretty useful.

[Edward]

Hey Ryan,

Cool beans ...sounds like you've got a handle on it, so just go at it with ears. 

The "boomy" bass (especially in acoustic guitars) is often that flubby mid-bass in the 500-600Hz zone.  Try attenuating some of that in your 7-band while maintaining (or modestly raising, depends, really) the "Bass" which on your console is 80Hz (or alternatively, the 100Hz on your 7-band).  Careful here, though, as that zone is where low-end feedback can creep in (which is often where "notch filters" in DI boxes made for acoustics become helpful ...for just that freq range where those lower bass freq can begin to resonate and feedback into the system).  But this low-end feedback is highly dependent on your stage volume and proximity to house speakers or floor wedges.  Have at it

Edward

[RyanR]

Great stuff Edward, thanks.