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Topic: Tone question |
Landon Johnson
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 29 Sep 2019 7:38 am |
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Hi, recently acquired a Peavey Session 2000 amp - great improvement over the VOX AC-5 I was using 
So... my question about this amp, and tone in general, is:
How do you set up your basic tone when at home in the studio, by yourself, so it will sound good in the mix?
From my work with Mellotrons in another life, I've learned that what sounds good solo generally sounds rough in a mix, and what sounds good in a mix generally is not optimal solo.
(when I say 'solo' I mean the instrument alone, not a solo instrumental for example)
It's been trial and error for months and despite getting a sound I like by myself I cannot dial in a sound that plays well in a full band.
Any suggestions? |
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Steve Sycamore
From:
Sweden
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Posted 30 Sep 2019 12:18 am
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| If you own a lawn mower, start that and keep it running near the window of your music room while you dial in your tone. If I remember right, that is a suggestion direct from Jeff Newman. |
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Tucker Jackson
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 10:30 am Re: Tone question
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| Landon Johnson wrote: |
| I've learned that what sounds good solo generally sounds rough in a mix, and what sounds good in a mix generally is not optimal solo. |
Ain't it the truth.
Specifically, we like to hear a full, fat warm tone when the steel is the only instrument -- but that same tone might sound too dark and muddy and get lost if we add in guitars, bass, drums, and lawnmowers. In that situation, in a nice sounding mix, every instrument has a piece of the spectrum from bass-to-treble that they get to occupy, but hopefully not overlap too much into areas 'owned' by other instruments. For steel, our midrange tone is what really punches through, and trying to put out a more full-spectrumed sound can step on the other things in the mix. In particular, let the bass handle the low end.
What I do for live work is dial in a slightly thinner tone than I would normally go for when auditioning the rig solo. My preference is to just cut the bass on the amp, but you could also boost mids to get to a similar place.
Listen to the tape of the gig afterwards to really hear how it worked out and make adjustments going forward. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 1:57 pm
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Tucker's right. Just record and document the settings on everything you do, and listen to it later. Pretty soon, you'll learn what works and what doesn't.  |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 8:11 am
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Leo Fender designed pickups with a lot of treble so they would "cut through the mix". 
Erv |
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Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 8:57 am
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I love that lawnmower suggestion. I would add a school bell to it.
Relying on the treble knob to “cut through” a mix also cuts through your bandmates’ eardrums. Without some kind of buffering it can just plain sound bad too.
Midrange is the wildcard of your tone control. At low volume it can sound muddy and ill-defined. Cranking the volume more towards stage levels will give you a better idea of the power in the midrange knob. Once you find that sweet spot where your sound has definition without massive volume, you might adjust the bass and treble again - usually to back them both off somewhat.
It also helps to have your speaker aimed toward your head (but not straight on) at rehearsal or on the gig. I aim mine with the center of the speaker cone slightly off to the right or left, to avoid the dreaded trebly “ice pick” in the ear, as well as to get the fuller range of tone coming out of the speaker. |
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Ben Michaels
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 4 Oct 2019 1:53 am
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Tucker's advice is similar to my own. Take your home setting, cut the low about a 1/4, raise the highs one or two numbers, then boost the mids more than you think you should. Try to listen while you are playing, but the real test is listening to a recording. I always bring a little zoom h2 with me and listen to the full band mix afterwards. It amazes me still how what I heard in my head isn't reality in many occasions.
My live advice is eq so you can hear your amp, concentrate on your playing, and hope the sound engineer is good! What you hear on stage is nothing like the audience mix. |
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