I suck at dialing in my own gear

[scottfeldstein]

Do you ever feel like you suck at dialing in your own sound? Do you ever look at your amp EQ and think "what am I doing?" Do you sit for hours tweaking effect pedal knobs and wonder if you will even recognize a great sound when you hear it?

Have you ever just wanted some other TBer to just dial in all your stuff while you play with your band? I would freakin' love that. Just have a couple TB "consultants" over to rehearsal to set all my stuff up, with the promise that I won't touch it at the next gig.

I don't know if I just lack perspective when dialing in my own stuff or what? My ears are still pretty good. I catch tweaky stuff all the time when listening to studio recordings being played back on the monitors. Why can't I satisfy my own ears when setting up my own stuff?

 

[DirtyDuke]

Me too

 

[eyeballkid]

What gear are you playing and what sound are going for?

 

[scottfeldstein]

I need a few different sounds. a) a finger style tone that will cut through a mix b) a retro-sounding dirt variation of this sound c) a scooped hi-fi slap sound d) a dirty overdriven variation of this sound and e) a synthy filter/overdrive sound

I'm playing all the gear in my profile: GK MB500, GK Neo 212-II cab, Ibanez SR505 bass, MXR comp, SA programable EQ, SA Manta filter, VT Bass DI.

 

[Munjibunga]

Not really. I can get "my tone" or something close to it out of pretty much any rig.

 

[scottfeldstein]

you have a zen-like capability that I do not have. Bravo, sir.

 

[eyeballkid]

Start without any pedals and the amp "nooned". Listen for what it needs.
Thick thump is low mids (100-200hz)
Juicy mids are 500-800hz (mid mids)
Bite and cut through can be 800-1.5k (upper mids).

Get your fingerstyle tone there first, then maybe add the VT for the driving version of that.

Don't overdo the bass knob, that will always leave you struggling.

 

[ticol07]

Do you ever feel like you suck at dialing in your own sound? Do you ever look at your amp EQ and think "what am I doing?" Do you sit for hours tweaking effect pedal knobs and wonder if you will even recognize a great sound when you hear it?

Have you ever just wanted some other TBer to just dial in all your stuff while you play with your band? I would freakin' love that. Just have a couple TB "consultants" over to rehearsal to set all my stuff up, with the promise that I won't touch it at the next gig.

I don't know if I just lack perspective when dialing in my own stuff or what? My ears are still pretty good. I catch tweaky stuff all the time when listening to studio recordings being played back on the monitors. Why can't I satisfy my own ears when setting up my own stuff?

Ha ha, I really often feel the same

 

[Spectrum]

It's always tough if you don't have time. The practice room never sounds like the venue, and often when you get to a venue you are in a hurry to set up and don't really have anyone to help you with what you want, so you wing it and get as close as you can.

That said, I generally have my OD pedal and amp settings down the way I like for my Ric, which get me close enough most places I've been.

 

[4Mal]

Wireless... Get yo butt out front and hear what you sound like from there. I would focus on one good sound at a time...

 

[Elkaykue]

As someone who's a bassist and in early days did a lot of front of house work, I find the problem is most bass players are scared of the treble. Makes a huge difference up front without sounding tinny as long as your bass and mids are still there.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

I find a recall sheet is sometimes useful to remember settings that work. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[mellowinman]

Just make the eq sliders look like a big smile.*











*do not actually do this

 

[s0c9]

Just make the eq sliders look like a big smile.*

I thought that kept everybody happy ??

 

[robd]

Link Removed

 

[4Mal]

I thought that kept everybody happy ??

No - that was just propaganda spread by a guy with a huge schnozzola... He was maybe working for the anti-Prozac junta... Before that he had a gig with the anti-banana campaign dissuading potential customers by spreading confusion relating to the supply of the banana...

;-)

 

[RDUB]

I've written before about an interesting experiment. Get your amp set up, get a good distance from it, turn the head so you can't see it, and have a friend adjust the controls for you. Say, "More bass. " or "More treble." Your friend shouldn't let on where the controls are. You just make adjustments, and play some of your stuff. It's amazing how different your tone controls will look, as compared to when you do it yourself.

Once you have a sound you like, leave the room for ten or fifteen minutes, and come back to it. See what you think now. At the very least it's fun to try.