Tweaking \"Tone\" Of Patches - advice needed...

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• guitar3456

  April 2009

  I think I've posted this before but couldn't find using search..
  
  Part ONE
  
  RULE #1: Everything sounds different in a MIX or Live work. Why? because you have instruments competing.
  
  RULE #2: Everything changes from venue to venue.
  
  RULE #3: Everything changes with Volume.
  
  RULE #4: Gain complements Volume and Efx Levels. IOW, you may want to Dial down X effects and or amp gains etc since the venue will accommodate the higher volumes, and in about 99% of every case, the potential for having the same sonic landscape (W H D) of a room are not going to match your practice space.
  
  RULE #5: FOH MIX and stage mix are 2 different animals. Not every stage mix is going to suit the players, but what matters is the FOH system. I've proven this time and time again with the bands with \"attitude\" about their stage sound. So I record the FOH mix and let them hear the differences in both....what THEY like, and what actually sounds great. The vast majority of players then have more appreciation for the tweaked FOH vs their stage sound which is crucial... but sometimes what benefits them is not helping the FOH.
  
  
  
  This all applies to any guitar amp or modeler in use. The mistakes often made with amps or modelers are the \"tweaks\" are performed at home usually at relatively low volume. Go to rehearsal or the Gig and most notice major changes.

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• guitar3456

  April 2009

  Part TWO:
  
  What to tweak:
  
  Follow the simple outline of the processor. Make it a point to understand and appreciate the device layout of all \"blocks\" and routings. In the case of the GNX4 etc, Compressors, Stomps, Pickup Sim, Pitch, and Wah coat the front side BEFORE the preamp models. THIS is very important since the blocks active BEFORE the preamp can affect GAIN, VOL, EQ limits as well as CAB voicing if used.
  
  Always start with the basic amp sound. Disable all other effects. Set the gains of the preamp Nominal.. If the gain is too drastic, try a model with less gain. This will give the amplifier more room to do it's job.. otherwise it's like taking a RAT pedal diming it and putting it on the front end of your amp.. might sound cool at 1w, but at 15 or 30W it's insanely high... squealing and other issues.
  
  EQ- Set your amp to a clean channel. Not all amps are flat EQ at positions like 12:00. Why is this? Because again, Flat response is based on conditions of a room.. so amplifier manufacturers don't really have a \"flat\" position relative to the tone controls.. they are ranges of boosts and cuts primarily just like any other EQ.. both parametric or multiband. The condition also changes with the voicing of a particular cabinet. Some speakers may not resolve higher treble and others will. Some cabs will resolve Bass freq, but not do too well on mids. Some will be Mid enhanced, but not have as much low end.
  
  Again, considering the amplifier used, some will seem brighter in a room that has tile or concrete floors. You may dial up the treble or presence when the room is carpeted or has low drop ceilings. Bass and mids pretty much follow the same rule as those conditions apply.
  
  Most already know that a guitar amp and speaker combination will and can be colored by any signal feeding the amp. Vary the speaker and the same amplifier responds differently both to the source input and it's own voicing scheme. This is why Full Range systems that are much more transparent are being commonly used by many players these days.. especially since the growing popularity of wireless and In Ear Monitoring systems.
  
  That said.. to use with lesser transparent rigs you have to appreciate the factors and limits as well as the contributed enhancements provided to the front end or return side of any traditional guitar amp.
  
  Start with a lower gain on your model.
  
  Do not drive with a compressor if you do not have too.
  
  If you have a Stomp enabled in your preset.. observe the TONE settings applied to the stomp since they will alter the range of the preamp model used.
  
  In the event you want to limit the gain of the preamp model, go ahead and enable Compression but set it with a Lower Threshold *40-50, and a relatively low ratio 2:1 etc. This will act as a gain limiter... BUT.. also appreciate the input signal is Now going to be limiting the range of the gain and as well as EQ within that amp model. So it will be a matter of experimentation as to what works better at stage type volume.
  
  Also try disabling the GATE before testing these gain attributes. The Gate will cut off the signal to the EFX and finally at the output and may attribute to the \"choppy\" sound many describe no matter what pedal board or even rack processor is used.
  
  EQ- eq is used to FINE tune after all the other steps are observed.
  
  Tips-
  
  GNX etc are parametric eq's.. not like multiband. They have a broader range among the bass, mids, treble.
  
  To add or emphasize bass: Adjust the bass freq control higher if you have too much bass, go lower if you need extended bass range. Start with the FREQ controls and then the LEVEL control as needed.
  
  MID control- This being parametric can influence the behavior of the Treble control. Typically a freq around 800-1.5 K depending on the guitar cab voicing can deliver the cutting thru frequency. 2.5 K and above is pushing into the limits of the Treble control and may enhance both treble and presence (Extended High freq).
  
  Treble control- The treble freq contours are better when around 2.5k for most guitar amps. That is going to limit too much treble but also allow some added midrange eq.. again.. these are parametric control adjustments so think about EQ as a this... For each selected Freq band, the FREQ is the center point of a mountain. When you adjust the FREQ you adjust the relative mountain position. Adjusting the LEVEL of that FREQ determines the peak range of the mountain IOW.. higher levels BOOST the peak and Lower Levels produce a \"valley\" or \"dip\" in the range of that particular frequency.

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• iliace

  April 2009

  \guitar3456\ wrote:

  I think I've posted this before but couldn't find using search..

  
  Stickey'd for future reference

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• guitar3456

  April 2009

  Part Three:
  
  With respect to EQ.. start a preset with the EQ OFF and see what your amp by itself sounds like with the processor. The reason being, is there may be stronger EQ than needed within a particular preset or model used which again changes from amp to amp... speaker cab to speaker cab.
  
  When the EQ is set to OFF, there are no Boosts or Cuts applied to the amp model. Often times, that is a great starting point.
  
  Cab Model- If using any cabinet model active on the amplifier, remember you now have an amp sim/cab voicing of \"xyz\" model feeding the input or your guitar amp>preamp>power stage> cab> speaker voicing. As you can see that is a lot of EXTRA blocks that can contribute or \"color\" the modeling sound. In some cases, users of 4x12s may find a 2x12 model swap works better than an actual 4x12 cab model when going through that additional 4x12 rig. IOW, you have a dark cab emulation now feeding the source amplifier and yet another \"darker\" cabinet combination. The reverse may apply if using a smaller combo. You can extend the range of the low end artificially by using a 4x12 cab model if needed. Again, this really depends on the speakers, guitar amplifier used and so many other user related variables.
  
  Now, when using with a recording, phones, or a more transparent rig, the tweaks and undoing of the cab models do not present as much as a problem. Usually the only major differences are in the PA system or the rig speakers/crossovers and amplification used. Yes, many rigs for PA's are not as transparent from one to the other. Some utilize high excursion and better drivers, better components in the crossovers, in the signal side of the amplifier etc.. IOW, will a powered QSC sound better than a powered Samson? Most of the time YES! And usually, any tweaks to the rig are going to be required by the user to accommodate the coloring attributes. Not nearly as much as a guitar amp rig, but in many cases.. yes.
  
  I'm sure a lot of us can remember the audio wars of the 70's and 80's and the amps with .000000005 distortion vs the other guys with .01.. Then of course they had budget speakers which did nothing for the Higher end receiver they owned. However the other guy with the .01 receiver had some nice sound with some AR, Sansui, JBL or other higher end speakers.
  
  And once again.. they all bought and tweaked an outboard EQ before realizing the relative position of the basic tone controls on the preamp. Then when they played one cassette or cd, then changed the song.. their eq's seemed \"off\" so they tweaked for that album. Now, had they set the basic tone controls for their speakers within the room, the EQ would not have too much of a big ole Smiley Face and the cd's would translate that system like they should.
  
  Then they moved to a new apt or home and the rig sounded different. Yes, it will since the room is now a different size, shape etc... so now you must adjust the rig again to accommodate the new room. IOW.. sonics change in every environment. Its like buying a house empty and then filling it up with furniture and carpet.. no more cathedral reverb... High freq EQ on your stereo rig may be bumped up a little and the bass cut back some.
  
  These same principals apply to the musicians on any stage.

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• Boydie

  April 2009

  I can't thank you enough for this!
  
  Not only should this be \"Stickied\" it should be printed in the front of the manual!!!!
  
  I did notice an immediate improvement at my last rehearsal after reading some of the comments
  
  I have upped the VOLUME level on my Valve combo and reduced the level coming out of my GNX2 (to almost nothing )
  
  Driving the amp in this way seems to have made everything come alive
  
  I will try the EQ tweaks at the next rehearsal
  
  Thanks agains

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