Lets talk about amps & tone, and chasing a "sound"

[tonemonster]

We all know about "chasing our tail" with guitar tone, twisting knobs, trying pedals, etc...... it can drive a guitarist nuts. What I want to know is....... why the hell can I play an amp one night, and I just think I have the greatest sound on earth, and then 3 days later I turn the same amp on, without touching a setting, and it sounds completely different??? I have NEVER understood that phenomena. It just does not make ANY sense to me. I cant figure it out. some days, certain amps just sound better. they just do. and how can an amp sound great one day, and sound like shit the next? what changes? our ear? our attitude? the air? I mean can atmospheric pressure, humidity and temperature have THAT much effect on the way the sound travels from the speaker cone to our ears?? or is it all in our heads?

I remember reading guitar mag articles about guitarists having this problem when recording in the studio. spend 5 hrs finding a great tone, start recording. go home, come back and it sounds like crap the next day without touching a knob.

talk to me people. I wanna hear your thoughts, opinions, theories and frustrations.

[Nightbat]

I blame Imps

[Axegrinder87]

I believe it's all mental.

[Jack Napalm]

I believe it's all mental.

Mental Rules!

[Twitch]

I think its in our heads. It has to be. None of us just like one tone in particular. Its like which black tshirt to wear each day, the one with Megadeth or the one with LOG on it. Theyre both great tshirts, but while yesterday was a Lamb of God kind of day, todays a Megadeth kind of day. Its a mood thing I think.

Another thing Ive noticed about this phenomenon is, if you continue to play the "crappy" tone that was gold yesterday, your ears will adjust back to it after a while. Their are some environmental factors as well. Where were you standing in relation to your speakers yesterday, etc.. Another thing, when you tune a string, you subconsciously hold the tone in your head and you dont lose it even though your playing a different tone on the string youre tuning to the first one. Its in this same fashion I believe you dictate how you hear the tone of your amp. You hit that first chord, and you were just in that perfect spot in relation to the speaker, you play a few more chords standing there then begin to move about the room. What you actually hear is different than what you heard at first because of your relation to the speakers has changed as youve wandered around the room, but your perception of the tone hasnt changed since you played that first chord and started moving because thats not all youre paying attention to now. You said "fuck yeah that sounds good" with that first chord, now your just jammin out and not paying real close attention to the changes in the sound do to the environmental variables.

[Axegrinder87]

I had a friend growing up who would bring his amp over to my house, and swear his amp sounded so much better at my house. Of course, I played it the whole time....

But yeah, environment means everything, especially with an open back cab.

[Mr Sandman]

For me, a new set of strings will solve that `it just aint` gonna happen` dillemia 100% of the time...

It might just be all in my head, but that`s what works for me.

[markD]

i found, a long time ago, that as long as i can have an amp with the mids bumped in the 500K range and speakers with a fuller frequency response i am happy. when i used to play marshall amps i was always experiencing the "messed up tone" phenomenon. it got a tiny bit better when i tried boogie amps. i could bump the mids with the graphic. once i stopped using crappy celestion speakers, i noticed my tone was MUCH more consitent - even with my JCM800.

these days, EVERYTHING in my tone is about the mids. i use 500K pots in all my guitars. my rivera amps have the mids centered at 500K. i use EVM12L speakers because they have a wider frequency response and give me a truer sound - the celestions sound all brittle. shoot, i even run my amp EQ with the mids boosted, and i allow the volume to add back the highs and lows.

my EQ goes:

lows - 3
mids - 6-7
highs - 4

surprisingly, it makes for a good, singing tone that is very consistent. i haven't had to re-adjust my amp for YEARS!!! hahaha, in fact, i wouldn't be surprised if my knobs were frozen in place!!!

i always use open-back cabs, too. i even cut the backs in half on my 4X12 cabs. i find that when the sound can "escape" it is "better".

[wilkinsi]

Tonemonster, you've got way too many guitars and amps.

[Trussrod]

Some of this has to do with our ears/hearing, but I haven't had this issue as often after I bought a hybrid modeling/tube amp. Early on I noticed my preference for the 6505 model on my amp. Sometimes I switch to the JSX or Mesa models, but I always make my way back to the 6505 simulation.

[petez0r]

i have this prob with every amp i own..except my markV. i dont believe its in my head, although i used to.

[jgcable]

Here is my take with 35 years of experience playing live. I have never not been in a band since I was 15.
Anyway...
Modeling amps. Consistant every time every day. If you dial in a great bedroom tone it stays. Same with studio or live. The key is to dial in the tone in the environment you are playing in. For example.. if you are playing live you need to dial in a modeling amp with the band live at rehearsal.
Solid State amps. Extremely consistant live or at home. Very rarely do I have an issue with an SS amp day to day or week to week.
Tube amps. Depends on what you amp you are playing and the tone you are looking for. In my experience, the more expensive the amp is and the less outboard effects you use the more consistant your tone will be. Also, if you go with a proven combination you can't go wrong.
Bogners sound fantastic every time regardless of the room, studio or arena you are playing in. Diezels also sound incredible. So do Cornfords and Matchless. Fender amps always sound like Fender amps regardless of the day. Take a strat, a tube screamer and a Fender Twin and your tone will stay consistant day after day for years. Take a Les Paul, a Marshall JCM800 with a Marshall cab and your tone will be straight up Marshall day after day, year after year.
Now.. on the flipside... take an Engl Powerball with an Avatar bottom and a G Major with an SD Charvel with EMG's or SD's in it and you will have inconsistant tone. Take a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, some pedals in the loop and a Marshall bottom and a John Suhr strat and you will have inconsistant tone. Too many variables. Now.. take that same Mesa rig and use a Mesa bottom and no effects and your tone will be more consistant.
When it comes to consistancy you can either pay for it or you can simplify your rig to get it.
I play live out of a Randall RM100, a Marshall bottom, an Intellifex in the loop and a wah out in front. My tone is very consistant and has been for almost 5 years now. I also have a 5150-II rig and it sounds different every day.

[veemagic]

I still subscribe to the old adage "the tone comes from your fingers", and if thats true then it would make sense that stuff sounds different on any given day. You sound how you feel, and how you play. Of course you need to finds stuff that gets you where you want to start from, but everything else comes from the nubs!

[tonemonster]

I understand the feel coming from the fingers, but not the actual tone. I mean you can influence how the guitar sounds with how you manipulate the strings and pick them, but I am talking about the actual tone of the gear. the amp, and the pedals, and the guitar.

[nor]

It's your fingers. And your gear. And your ears.

Hope that helps!