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  • #1

    Dialing in your sound

    I get my rig set up with the perfect tone and then wherever I take it it sounds like crap and I have to spend a ton of time trying to dial it in again. Is this a common thing?

    It seems like it is especially hard to get the clean sound down.

    I use a 7 band EQ for my clean channel only. What if any difference would there be in running it in the front of the amp instead of the FX loop?
    Madness Reigns......... In the Hall of the Mountain King!
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  • #2
    Re: Dialing in your sound

    Different volumes, rooms, etc will make for tone difference. What sounds good in your bedroom might sound awful where your band practices. I say keep the eq in the fx loop, it does more to the signal there. Bottom line there are tons of variables beyond your equipment that has an effect on your tone. What specifically is it lacking when you take it out somewhere?

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    • #3
      Re: Dialing in your sound

      I used to have the same prob with a Peavey 5150 I had. Sounded different everwhere I played. I finally ditched it. I'm not bagging on 5150s, I think I had a lemon.

      M

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      • #4
        Re: Dialing in your sound

        As common as the cold my friend..

        Tweek where the amps sits ....move the amp then again adjust to taste [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ...that's the game!!
        "Bill, Smoke a Bowl and Crank Van Halen I, Life is better when I do that"
        Donnie Swanstrom 01/25/06..miss ya!

        "Well, your friend would have Bell's Palsy, which is a facial paralysis, not "Balls Pelsy" like we're joking about here." Toejam's attempt at sensitivity.

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        • #5
          Re: Dialing in your sound

          When I took it to the basement for the first time for practice, it sounded a lot muddier and it also seemed like it wasn't half as loud as it is in my room.

          The clean sound was a lot more trebely than usual also .
          Madness Reigns......... In the Hall of the Mountain King!

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          • #6
            Re: Dialing in your sound

            Hey Bill,

            When I take this thing out for the first time, Do I want to dial it in to sound the way I want it to come through the PA or do I want to dial it to sound good to me where I am at on stage.

            I noticed that the sound is different whenever I bend down and listen as opposed to being up over top of it , or even if I go a few feet to the side of it.
            Madness Reigns......... In the Hall of the Mountain King!

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            • #7
              Re: Dialing in your sound

              I definitely recommend listening thru the PA and adjusting accordingly...it may not sound as good to you, but it'll sound killer to the audience if you do it that way. What amp are you using? If you want an instant cure to get rid of muddiness, buy a BBE Sonic Maximizer.

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              • #8
                Re: Dialing in your sound

                I have a BBE. I actaully got it sounding pretty good after awhile of fooling with it, but not to where I had it in my room.
                Madness Reigns......... In the Hall of the Mountain King!

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                • #9
                  Re: Dialing in your sound

                  Well of course it will sound different when you put your head to the speakers then walked away ...do you have a slant or straight bottom?

                  What I would do is get the tone dialed up to your liking at home at approx. the same volume you would normaly play ...this will get you in the ballpark..

                  Then when you get to the gig ...fire it up see what it sounds like ....adjust slightly from there only if you need to....walk away to about where you'll be standing most of the time then adjust Volume , mids or teb/pres. from that point.

                  Your amp is basically a stage monitor for you and the band for the most part..

                  Different room , drummers , another guitarist is all major factors in tweeking a cool live tone ....which is ALWAYS different than what you hear coming out of your amp in the bedroom..

                  Now only if we could get those super cool "Bedroom Tones" ...really loud where we really need it!! [img]graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

                  [ August 27, 2003, 11:13 PM: Message edited by: horns666 ]
                  "Bill, Smoke a Bowl and Crank Van Halen I, Life is better when I do that"
                  Donnie Swanstrom 01/25/06..miss ya!

                  "Well, your friend would have Bell's Palsy, which is a facial paralysis, not "Balls Pelsy" like we're joking about here." Toejam's attempt at sensitivity.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Dialing in your sound

                    I used get a varying sounds from my cab because of how it placed on the stage. If I have my cab on the floor, washed to the side or especially against the wall.. it can change the dynamics of the stage sound and how it sounds to you and the rest of the band greatly. Some stages are really "live" high ceiling and such, others are dead as an insulated cube or really boomy as they're in a corner, low ceiling.
                    As Bill says, your cab is your monitor. I started using an amp stand to get the cab off the floor, you would not believe how much it cleaned up stage sound in some rooms. I direct it so the throw is within 3-8ft.. from where I'll basically be standing depending on the stage. I usually use a 4x10 or a 2x12, sometimes switching to a 4x12 for larger rooms or outdoors so a stand usually isn't a big deal. It gives me a more consistant sound and I tweak alot less.

                    [ August 28, 2003, 10:47 AM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

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                    • #11
                      Re: Dialing in your sound

                      I have a straight cab. So once I get it sounding like I want, will the sound man do anything to get it like that thru the PA or is he gonna do what he wants with it [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
                      Madness Reigns......... In the Hall of the Mountain King!

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                      • #12
                        Re: Dialing in your sound

                        I really work close with sound guys, sometimes I'll pester them every break asking how it sounds and if there's anything they would think to do differently. Sometimes I just do cordless and go out for myself. If you're a warmup or playing a gig with a contract for hire.. yeah, utimately you are at the mercy of the guy running the system and his order of priority; which usually is kick drum, snare, rest of the drums, vocals, bass, keys,... guitar is usually a bottom feeder, or your entire band is also.

                        I don't think any soundperson wants to make his mix sound like ass unless he's for the competition...but if he thinks you're guitar sounds like that in the first place, or you piss him off by being to loud.. you're gonna lose priority in the mix except for maybe the last few bars of that kickin guitar solo you just played. [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] I usually can clearly tell when I'm comin thru the fronts and when I'm not or if the mix sucks and that definitely changes how things sound on stage. There have been times where I'll stipulate it's my sound guy or we don't do it. Anyways, I found the sound coming out of the speaker seems more consistant when it's on a stand or a case cover than on the floor.

                        [ August 28, 2003, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: charvelguy ]

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                        • #13
                          Re: Dialing in your sound

                          I second getting your own soundperson and keeping him/her around!

                          You can have the best sounding tunes in the world..and it will sound like CRAP badly mixed!

                          two biggest problems I have noitced-
                          1.Bass WAYYYYYYYYYY too loud! You want the showgoers to feel the bass, but not mud out the sound. This also applies to kick drums.

                          2.Inaudible keyboards-this really kills black and Symphonic metal bands.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Dialing in your sound

                            I dunno how it's generally done out these days, but a friend of mine just started getting his band playing out, and he ended up doing all the sound himself. They bought their own PA gear, mixer, lighting etc, and he sets it all up, and they set up the sound beforehand. They'd started out with a sound guy, but he was really doing some screwy stuff, so they ditched him and taught themselves to do it hehe. They seem much happier to be doing it themselves, and they don't have to rely on anyone else with it at all.

                            Stu

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                            • #15
                              Re: Dialing in your sound

                              Small clubs or lounge/house acts can get away doing that. Typically the guy who owns the system will dial it in and have the option of getting a guy who is trainable with a good ear instead of a set in their ways know it all charging all your gig money.

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