My latest facepalm moment

[Jim Nazium]

We've been using this rehearsal space every week for close to a year. There's an Ampeg bass combo amp there that I use. I've never been able to get a good sound out of it, but what the heck, it works, it's loud, and I don't have to schlep my own gear.

Last night I noticed for the first time that the tone controls, from left to right, are treble-mid-bass. Not bass-mid-treble. The other way.

Got a little better sound last night.

[dealbreaker]

You are not alone....

[varunkapahi]

woah! you didn't realize how the tones were changing when you twisted the knobs even if you never really looked at them?

[Ubersheist]

HAH! JACKASS! How dumb are you? I've never... oh wait... nevermind.

I've done the stupid same thing before, too....

[dmrogers]

The older you get, the more this type stuff happens.

Don't worry though, you are not alone.

[thumpbass1]

Don't feel bad. I know of a guitarist that had played a straight up single channel amp for most of his life, and he got his overdrive and volume boost via pedals. He bought a new Marshall combo and at a jam session where he tried it out on a larger scale for the first time, he just couldn't get sufficient volume from this new twin twelve, 60 watt, all tube beastie. He also griped about how the amp was breaking up too early. That was until another guitarist at the jam introduced this gentleman to the fact that his new amp had a master volume! Needless to say, said new amp proved to be a loud and sweet tone monster once the issue of user error was resolved.

[dmusic148]

[peterwsmith]

I feel a little better about myself now... I did the same thing!

Here's another good one: At bigger shows the guitar player in my band plays a 2x12 combo with a 2x12 extension cab and always mics the cab. So anyway, we were having the hardest time getting the guitar to come through the PA. No matter what we did, we couldn't get any signal. So he ended up just cranking his amp and we played the show. Anyway, we were tearing down, and he realized he forgot to plug in the cab. Oops!!

[MatticusMania]

I booked a show at the end of April, my friends band was opening. I got there early to set up the PA and mics, but then had to take off to go pick up my girlfriend before her band was supposed to go on. I get back just as the first band is finishing their set. The drummer says to me he could have used my PA expertise during their set. I asked what happened and he told me for a while they weren't getting any vocals through the PA, until someone in the crowd walked up to the mic stand and flipped the microphone switch to 'On'.

[LowendinFL]

What about the infamous "Crap, my amp isn't working!" just to discover that your mute button is pushed in. It wasn't me, though it was my old guitardist. No, really.