Rig Settings

[Roybot]

Do you adjust the settings on your rig differently in the studio vs. playing live? If so, what in general do you do differently.

I have a JCM 800, Fender Bassman 50, and a Mesa MKIIC+ with various cabinets and I seem to have to dump the bass on all 3 rigs when recording and set treble and presence delicately to maintain clarity without getting brittle.

Is this pretty universal? I've tweaked and tweaked on all of my rigs but I'm wondering if there are other options I may be overlooking.

Thanks.

 

[Roybot]

I know this can be subjective but I was hoping someone could share their experiences with amp settings while recording and how they differ in general from live settings. Maybe I'm the only one who has experienced this or maybe it's just a dumb thread??? Everything I use is pretty typical... Celestian, EV, and Fender speakers, SM57, Unidyne (545), RNP/RNC, etc.

Many thanks if you can respond.

 

[RezN8]

everything affects everything

Hey Roybot- here's my thoughts on this for what it's worth. Every place you play is going to be different, whether studio or stage, and you should get in the habit of tweaking your sound to fit the situation. The size of the space you're playing in is a huge factor, as well as the type of treatment the room has (carpet, type of walls, celing height, furniture, how many people are filling that space, etc, etc)

Even in the studio there are tiny changes going on that will alter your sound from moment to moment. Especially temperature and humidity! Also where you place your amp, whether on the floor or on a stand (or chair), in the center of the room or up against the wall... near the corners, etc. The best thing to do is to find a spot in the room where the amp sounds the best to you, then tweak from there.

Your amp will also sound different depending on how close or far away you are from it and whether it's facing you or not. It's just nature and how your ears interpret things.

When I bought my first tube amp, I spent hours and hours trying to find "my sound." When I finally found what I wanted -- a phat, thick, rich, beefy tone -- I wrote down all the settings so I wouldn't forget them. Then when the band showed up for rehearsal EVERYTHING changed. The amp settings were the same, but all of the other instruments made it pretty muddy and I was drowned out.

So I modified my sound and modified the way I was thinking. Every instrument needs it's own space in the mix INCLUDING it's own EQ space. What might sound fine on it's own OFTEN clashes with other instruments, and you just have to trust what your ears are telling you. Whether we like it or not, guitars often sound better with less bass, more mids and treble, and it will cut through the mix better.

Where is the amp in relation to the other instruments? Can you move the amp on stage to a spot that would better compliment the other instruments? It's all about experimenting, tweaking, and knowing your equipment well enough to coax out the sounds you want to hear.

Hope this info helps. Cheers, Rez

 

[Dani Pace]

Can't speak for anyone but myself; personaly I tend to play a little on the treble side (leftover habit from lots of country music I guess) but for recording it seems thin and tinny so I have to back off the treble a little and boost the mids. The same holds true on the bottom end too, too much bass and it sounds muddy or just gets lost in the mix, once again it's boost the mids, not a lot just a little. Cranking up the volume wont help much unless you are trying to capture that "natural distortion" that can only come from pushing an amp hard, otherwise you will only gain a lot of "slur" and really muddy up the sound. Remember to make adjustments in small increments then test them untill you get the sound you want. Hope some of this helps.