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Topic: Tone Sucking Room |
Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 23 May 2006 7:16 pm |
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Some years ago, my buddy built a practice room in the attic, over his garage. It's an odd-shaped room, kinda L-shaped. Lots of amps and guitars line the walls. Racks full of guitar cases, recording equipment, stuff on the walls, and lots of clutter. I have never, ever been able to get a decent tone in that room. For a while I played an Emmons push/pull through either a Nashville 400 or an Evans FET-500. Could never dial in a decent sound. Later, a Mullen guitar through the same Nashville 400 and Evans. No luck. Tonight I played my Mullen through a Fender Steel King. Terrible sound. I've also played both of those guitars through Fender Twin Reverbs, both black-face and silver-face. I just cannot produce a decent sound in that room. It sounds like there is a pillow behind the amp and another one in front of it. No "fidelity". That certainly makes for an unsatisfying practice session.
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Lee, from South Texas
Down On The Rio Grande
Mullen U-12, Excel 8-string Frypan, Evans FET-500, Fender Steel King
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Ward Skinner
From:
Mission, TX * R.I.P.
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Posted 23 May 2006 8:37 pm
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Lee - with the exception of the L shape that sounds eerily similar to my music room. Clutter, stuff on the wall, you know with a little tone sucking going on.  We really need to get together sometime soon. |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 23 May 2006 9:42 pm
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Try putting a, taller than your amp,
hinged V made from plywood, across from your amp.
With the point aimed back toward you.
This could help add some reflections and difussion of sound.
Experiment with the angle, or even turn it around; point away from you.
A cheap possible aid to your problem.
It seems the resonant nulls and nodes in this room
are directly or inversely tuned,
to the main frequencies you like from your amps.
[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 23 May 2006 at 10:43 PM.] |
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Billy Carr
From:
Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)
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Posted 24 May 2006 1:51 am
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| I use a amp stand that is sitting either on my left or right rear, right up on me with the speaker aimed directly toward me. Usually I'm using a NV-400 and that prevents not being able to get a good tone from a amp. Also keeps the volume down. I've found that some rooms are not music friendly, so to speak. Especially when everything is bouncing off of the walls and nothing sounds right. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 24 May 2006 5:29 am
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I forgot to mention that on one leg of the "L", the ceiling is slanted, following the roof line. The ceiling goes from about 8 feet in the middle to about 4 feet at the wall.
I'm thinking that between the carpet, the people, and all the "stuff" that's in the room, the room is pretty dead. Also, when you have a room that small, with drums, bass, two guitars, and steel going all at the same time (along with a small p.a. system), plus the fact that the amps are around the walls, facing in at each other, it can't be the optimum set up for the free flow of sound and frequencies.
Lee |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 24 May 2006 7:02 am
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I don't bother trying to get a good tone at rehearsals. The room is always so much smaller than any real performance venue. I don't want to spend precious rehearsal time mucking with amp settings instead of learning tunes.
I don't bring my full rig to rehearsals anyway.
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 Bobby Lee (a.k.a. b0b) - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Williams D-12 E9, C6add9, Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop S-8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6 or A6) My Blog |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 24 May 2006 7:45 am
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Lee, try my V suggestion,
sounds like thr room is even deader
than I thought before.
Peaked ceilings usually help the sound.
Carpet often kills it, especially SHAG![This message was edited by David L. Donald on 24 May 2006 at 08:45 AM.] |
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Bill Mayville
From:
Las Vegas Nevada * R.I.P.
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Posted 24 May 2006 12:34 pm
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A mullen thru a Steel Kink? Terrible sound.You may have the stock pickups then, on the mullen. Sometimes they have to go.10-1's are much deeper and fix the (light sound ) mullen has.Running thru a S.King has a gorgeous sound suitable for recording.
I have a Jackson guitar coming.I only hope it dials in with the S.king, like the rest of my Guitars.Mullen and my twin sound very good together.The twin just has no power for out and about.The sound has to go one way with a twin.All clockwise or the other way. What happens it the impedience splits up and divides, and part go CCW the remaining go Clock wise.Then you have the sound of distortion with heavy volume.Yes.That comes from Jeff Newman.
By the way. The Mullen Plays very nice.
Getting a good sound took awhile, 10-1's took care of that.The guys here in Vegas love their's.Can't wait for the Jackson.
Bill
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Bill Mayville
From:
Las Vegas Nevada * R.I.P.
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Posted 24 May 2006 12:40 pm
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Sorry about the Kink in Steel king.
My fingers are getting around faster
the filter I use to have.
Bill |
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Andy Greatrix
From:
Edmonton Alberta
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Posted 24 May 2006 1:40 pm
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| Another thing that can suck tone away is if the electricity is not up to snuff in the wall outlets. If it is below, you will lose highs. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 24 May 2006 2:15 pm
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Bill - My Mullen has a stock pickup. I get a great sound on the bandstand. I also get a great sound in my practice room at home. I'm totally happy with that. It equals the sound I get with my Evans FET-500. My beef is with the sound I get in this small, odd-shaped practice room at my buddy's house.
As I mentioned in my original post, I had the same problem when I was playing an old Emmons push/pull. It's the room, not the guitar/amp combination.
Lee[This message was edited by Lee Baucum on 25 May 2006 at 08:32 PM.] |
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Robert Porri
From:
Windsor, Connecticut, USA
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Posted 26 May 2006 5:43 am
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Sounds like you may not solve the practice room problem easily.
2 thoughts. I like the amp stand idea. (The "V" could also help.) In my small practice room loaded with "stuff", I was getting too much of a sort of uncomfortable attack sound from my N112. The easiest solution in my case was simply pointing the amp down a bit, propped up in the back about 2 inches. That sounds like the opposite of what you would need to do. So try pointing the amp up towards you if you haven't already, or maybe set it up on a chair or something.
Also, you mentioned a PA. Have you tried miking your amp or possibly even just going through the PA in rehearsals? You may have access to some decent EQ.
I also liked bOb's thoughts about just not worrying about it in a given practice room. As long as it sounds good where it counts, the gigs.
Bob P. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 26 May 2006 6:28 am
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b0b's idea is the easiest and the best, and that's the route I've been taking for several years. It's just frustrating.
Another problem is the fact that my amp is about 10 inches away from me, to the right of my guitar, because of the cramped quarters. I'm sure the guitarist on the other side of the room hears more of the true tone of the amp than I do. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 27 May 2006 9:51 am
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| It's the room, not the guitar/amp combination. |
So then, do you want a solution? Park the car(s) in the driveway and use the garage for practice - not the dinky, cramped, little upstairs room.
"You can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd..."[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 27 May 2006 at 10:52 AM.] |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 27 May 2006 2:45 pm
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| Ah. The Roger Miller school of thought. |
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