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Topic: Is It Me? Or Does My Tone Change |
Mark Edwards
From:
Weatherford,Texas, USA
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 10:36 am |
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Okay guys, one minute I sit down at my steel, and it sounds like every string is being held down by a weight, sounds muted, very draggy, no tone etc...
The next time I sit down, I can't believe my ears, the tone is so good, I wish it could be that good all the time.
Now remind you, my settings on my amp stay the same, I don't change strings very often, and my position is usually the same, Is there a secret out there I don't know.
When I'm playing and my tone sounds good, I attempt to see what I'm doing right, and attempt to emulate exactly what I did before, but can't seem to get it back. what's up with this. Can someone please explain. |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 11:27 am
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Mark - How old are your ears? Mine are over 52 years old now. I notice the same thing you do. I think its just our ears not functioning the same way every time we sit down at our guitar.
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Larry Strawn
From:
Golden Valley, Arizona, R.I.P.
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 11:41 am
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Mark,, Lee,,,
Thank Ya'll!!! I thought it was just me and was afraid to say anything! Now I'll just take into consideration how old my ears are getting, and just keep on having fun. 
Larry |
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Jim Gorrie
From:
Edinburgh ~ road works congestion capital of The World.
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 11:46 am
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. . . OH, Yes, Yes, Yes -- please somebody tell me that it's MY ears that are not functioning properly and that it's NOT the way I play this steel contraption  ! !
How many more are in this club ? ? ? |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 12:02 pm
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| It's related to what you were listening to before you sat down to play. Car radio? You sound bad. Television? You sound okay. Home stereo? Now you're in the ball park. |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 12:06 pm
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| There's a current thread in the Electronics section that is about the same thing. Look over the responses on that thread. |
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Greg Cutshaw
From:
Corry, PA, USA
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 12:08 pm
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I've noticed this a lot. I mostly play with the same equipment in the same setting. Sometimes when I first start playing, it sounds so bad I just turn it all off and walk away for awhile. Agree with B0b it might be preconditioning or something about your state of mind. It always takes a few minutes of warmup to get "that" sound flowing anyway. Regardless of what anyone in the crowd thinks, it's no fun to play when YOU don't hear an enjoyable tone.
Greg |
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Marco Schouten
From:
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 2:03 pm
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With me, it's not just tone.
Some days tone is not so good, pick the wrong strings etc.
Next day: great tone, never miss a string, my fingers fly over the strings. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 2:06 pm
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| Mark, what kind of volume pedal are you using? |
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Rick Garrett
From:
Tyler, Texas
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 2:13 pm
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With me that happens EVERY time I set down to play. Only difference being that within about ten minutes or so tone's back again.
It's like pickin' in the frikkin' twilight zone or something.
Rick |
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Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 7 Jul 2006 2:34 pm
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| Try starting out with a set pattern of fingering exercizes at the start of your session. I've found that each time I set down to the steel, it's like "I've never done this before...". The exercizes help find a new beginning. [This message was edited by Ray Minich on 07 July 2006 at 03:35 PM.] |
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Lefty
From:
Grayson, Ga.
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Posted 8 Jul 2006 4:45 am
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For me my mood affects the way I play. I know professionals face the same thing, and have to try and perform on a consistant basis, but everybody has good and bad nights (If I could just sound like Buddy E. on a bad night, I would be eternally happy).
I practice early in the morning (after coffee) and this is when I am the most alert, and seem to play the best. I practice through a J-Station and headphones, so there is little variance in tone. The variance in tone comes form my fingers. Playing though an amp ocassionaly is important as it is much different. It takes me a while to adjust my 53 year old ears.
Lefty
[This message was edited by Lefty on 08 July 2006 at 05:45 AM.] |
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Rick Nicklas
From:
Verona, Mo. (deceased)
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Posted 8 Jul 2006 5:29 am
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I've noticed that I get a wonderful tone before the band starts to play. When everyone fires up I think they drowned out my lows and mids. All of a sudden it sounds like I have nothing but highs. In between songs I play a little to check my tone and it is back the way it was.
I also noticed that the tone of the whole band changes on different nights in the very same club. I may be far out on this, but I think it has something to do with the barimetric pressure and humidity changes throughout the day.
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Rick
Kline U-12, Nashville 112 and 1000, Hilton Volume Pedal
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Mark Edwards
From:
Weatherford,Texas, USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2006 5:35 am
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Great responses! Okay guys my ears are 46 years old, and I play with a Goodrich volume pedal. As for BOB's response, maybe it's related to the precondition of noise after my wife is through screaming at me, which is quite often. Sometime her tone is off too. LOL...but all her amp settings are on one position (LOUD)...
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Bob Wood
From:
Madera, California, USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2006 9:22 am
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I have always found that playing in different places..., the tone coming from my amp does change. One night in a large hall, one tone. Next night in a small nightclub..., different tone. Also, and this has been discussed in quite a few different threads that tone is in the hands. Several of the pros that post here have said just that. A good example can be found in this post: http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum15/HTML/012555.html Watch the "You tube" video of Billy Mize playing. He plays in one spot and gets one tone. He then moves his right hand up to a different position and gets a totally different tone. In fact, he does it a couple of times. Just my two cents.
Bob |
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Ray Minich
From:
Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 11 Jul 2006 4:51 am
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| Quote: |
| I think it has something to do with the barimetric pressure and humidity changes throughout the day. |
I was a DJ in a club for about 10 years, 25 years ago. Same equipment, Crown amps, Altec Lansing speakers, bi-amped system, 2000 watts.
Some nites the system sounded clean crisp, pure, & delightful.
Other nites it sounded muddy, fuzzy, blah, bland, & just plain sick.
Could not "equalize" out the blahs either.
Same equipment (it was bolted down), same tunes, similar patron counts, different nites, different (subjective?) results.
For many years I've suspected humidity and barometer as the culprit.
Either that, or phases of the moon...[This message was edited by Ray Minich on 11 July 2006 at 05:53 AM.] |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 11 Jul 2006 7:36 am
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Mark, the reason i asked what kind of volume pedal you're using is because many people complain about pot-pedals "stealing the highs". In some cases, this is caused by the pedal being hooked up backwards, and in some cases, it's due to the pedal being wired wrong, internally. I've seen lots of schematics on the web for hooking up pots (for use as a volume control) that were wrong. There's three or four ways you can hook up a pot to act as a volume control in a guitar, but only one of them is "right".
Once, I played a guy's rig, and immediately noticed a problem with the tone. I simply bent over and swapped the wires where they went into the pedal. When he asked what I did to get such a good tone, I explained to him that the pedal's got to be hooked up right. In utter disbelief, he sheepishly admitted that he'd been hooking up the pedal wrong, relying on those silly "IN" and "OUT" labels on the pedal...for years! Turns out, the labels were wrong for the wiring of the pedal.
I think his joy over the new-found "good tone" overshadowed his embarrassment. I hope so, anyway. |
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Bob Hickish
From:
Port Ludlow, Washington, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Jul 2006 1:58 pm
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Donny
I just wanted to thank you for your reply
on this pot pedal thing ! I have a pedal I use in
my practice room , I have owned it sense
the early 60's and rebuilt it several times !
I don't use it on gigs for the very reason of
this post - Tone - ! after reading you reply
I thought what the heck ! I'll give it a try !
so in reversing the leads ! To my embarrassment
and joy ! Its top notch sound Again ! I was even
cursing Scotty for the last pots I put in it . - Sorry
Scotty -- You would think after 40 some years I
would have figured this out . I have always liked this
pedal and thanks to you Mr. Hinson ,
I can use it again .
Thanks Donny .
Hick |
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Gary Steele
From:
Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2006 2:33 pm
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| What kinda Pedal is it?????????????????????? |
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Bob Hickish
From:
Port Ludlow, Washington, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Jul 2006 3:24 pm
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| Fender tone & Vol |
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Wayne Franco
From:
silverdale, WA. USA
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Posted 11 Jul 2006 4:26 pm
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| I certainly agree that the enviroment you're playing in makes so much difference. I have found that in a band situation especially, Brad's black box really makes a difference on the clairity out front in every situation I've personally experienced. The comment about the volume of the band taking away the tone is right on. Loud band usually equals dimished tone of the steel guitar. All the more important to put a mic on the amp and send it through the sound reinforcement system. |
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Ray Uhl
From:
Riverside, Missouri, USA
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Posted 20 Jul 2006 7:17 pm
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I'm comforted to know others encounter these problems, also.  One major contributor I find, is voltage fluctuation. In most clubs, when the furnace or air conditioner kicks on, oops, the sound changes. It bugs the $#@@ out of me, but so do a lot of other things. I'm learning to live with it. |
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Gary C. Dygert
From:
Frankfort, NY, USA
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Posted 21 Jul 2006 5:48 am
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| Speaking of strange things, ever have the audio of a TV show come over your PA system? |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 21 Jul 2006 11:44 am
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| When I was playing 5/6 nights a week at "The Touch of Gold" club out nears Hopkins airport, I had tone change problems that drove me crazy. As the club filled up, my tone would change! More meat in the club seemed to equate to less high-end! |
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Michael Haselman
From:
St. Paul
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Posted 21 Jul 2006 12:38 pm
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I read through this thread rather quickly, so somebody may have said this. To increase your chances of having good tone most of the time CHANGE STRINGS OFTEN!! I notice you said you don't. Trust me on this one.
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Marrs D-10, Webb 6-14E, Peavey NV112, Hilton volume.
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