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TONE CONTROL SECTION
The Workingman's 4004 Tone Control section is a five-band set of level slide controls centered around
the frequencies 80 Hz (Bass), 160 Hz (Low Mid), 400 Hz (Mid), 800 Hz (Hi Mid) and 3KHz (Treble). Each
control can cut or boost its band a maximum of 15dB. Each slider has a flat (center click) position that
defeats its function. In this position, the band is inactive. For each EQ control, sliding the knob down
from the center "click" position will reduce or cut its designated frequency. Sliding the knob up will
boost its designated band or frequency.
BASS CONTROL
The Bass control (band 1) itself, as stated above, works in a range that will be useful under most "nor-
mal" conditions. Its musical use might be thought of as a "fatness" control. Leaving the Aural Enhancer
in a position lower than 12 o'clock will not boost the extreme bottom so much as to make indistinct the
working of the Bass control. The overall "punch" of your instrument, from your low E-string on up about
two octaves (midway up the G-string), will be determined with this control. With passive instruments, this
will be straightforward. With active instruments having bass-boost controls, more exploration will be
worthwhile. (Some active tone circuits have boost-cut controls such as MTD, Sadowsky, etc. Others such
as Music Man, may be straight boost controls).
MID RANGE CONTROL
The Mid Range (bands 2, 3, & 4) control operates in a crucial area for most instruments. Many basses,
particularly with roundwound strings, can have a very "honky", or nasal, sound. Dropping the Mid Range
control can go a long way toward smoothing out your tone. We suggest, though, that what sounds best
when your listening to your tone by yourself may not be what works best in a band or recording.
Sometimes that objectionable quality may be just the right "hair" on your note to still have an audible
presence in the track or on stage.
TREBLE CONTROL
The Treble control (band 5) operates in a tonal area that extends through and beyond the usual Treble
control range. The Transparency control "kicks in" at a much higher frequency. Boosting the control will
open up the sound of a dull instrument, particularly in conjunction with a tweeter, should you have one
in your speaker system. However, this is also the range of string rattle, finger slides, pickup clicks, etc.
Again, we recommend you experiment with the control alone with your instrument while finding your
tone, and listen again in a band context, both near to and away from your speaker system. Qualities like
punch, fatness, presence and bite can be fairly well spread out. Treble, despite the broad dispersion of
most tweeters, is a very directional quality. Spend some time exploring what you can hear in this area
as you move around.
AURAL ENHANCER
The Aural Enhancer was developed to bring out the fundamental low notes of the bass, reduce certain
frequencies that can "mask" fundamentals and enhance the high-end transients. The effect becomes
more pronounced as the control is turned up. The result is a more transparent sound. Listening to a
passive bass with the control set all the way down, and then turning it all the way up, can be likened to
listening to the bass suddenly become "active".
WORKINGMAN'S 4004 • 5
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