A few words about live sound

I think is just incredible how accessible this forum and this box has made everything. Chad, thanks for taking the time to write this. I feel like I just went to a small Master Class...
 
Zaemo said:
No one ever asks for more 6K in their guitar, ever.
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Now that's funny. True, but funny. "Can you jab that icepick a little farther into my ear, please?" :)

Great information. One thing I noted from the video is that Angus is using tones that all sound like they could have come from the same amp, even pointing out the clean tone was selected for that continuity. The audience won't notice that, but the player familiar with the amp will. More important than you might think, and I find myself leaning more towards that thinking for live playing as time goes by. Thanks Chad.
 
Rick said:
Now that's funny. True, but funny. "Can you jab that icepick a little farther into my ear, please?" :)

Great information. One thing I noted from the video is Angus is using sounds that all sound like they could have come from the same amp, even pointing out the clean tone was selected for that continuity. The audience won't notice that, but the player familiar with the amp will. More important than you might think, and I find myself leaning more towards that thinking for live playing as time goes by. Thanks Chad.
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I'm with you. I've been trying to use cab IRs or dial up sounds that are similar vs. looking for too much variety in tones. Some good pointers here though. I did shift some things around on my patches. I'm using a R121/SM57 mix (even balance) because I don't like the sounds of a SM57 by itself...even though it cuts through. Just hate that nasal, fizzly sound by itself. I'm using a PEQ to bump the mids a little and cut off the highs and lows per the guidance here. Will have to test it out in some upcoming gigs. For me though, I'm not fitting into a dense mix like these artists. I'm the only guitarist. There is no dedicated keys player. Just drums and bass and the occasionally Geddy Lee moment.
 
This post should get sticky so it won't get lost in a couple weeks so much good info in here thanks for taking the time to just give us all a peak behind the curtain.
 
The filters in the cab block sound like they have relatively gentle slopes, which means they taper off slowly and have a more noticeable effect before the threshold frequency (for example, a low pass at 15kHz is still cutting at frequencies below that, just less). I mostly play modern metal using high gain sounds, and my purely personal preference is to use a post-cab PEQ block with blocking filters at a slope of 0.707, which seems to have a more abrupt cutoff.

A long time ago I settled on high and low pass thresholds of 70 and 8700 Hz based on tweaking at home. Based on suggestions in this recent thread (http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-discussion/93284-high-gain-live-sound.html), I tried more aggressive settings, and now I'm using 100 and 6300 Hz. This was a revelation to me. My sound is more focused, more "amp in the room" sounding, and sits better in the mix with my band. Thumbs up! If you're adding high/low pass filters for the first time or changing them to cut a lot more, you can't just change the filters and expect it to sound better. You'll probably need to adjust the amp tone controls to compensate. But with good filter settings, the lows and highs you add back in at the amp will magically seem like the "right" frequencies.
 
Great post, info is really useful! Thanks!
You mention 250k being a tough freq, I agree. What about the 500k-750 range? I tend to leave it near flat, but see a lot of people cutting it to "clean up mix". I feel if the mids are too scooped there, I lose a lot of punch. Guess it depends on type of music too.
Any thoughts?


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I actually wonder if he is using the cab for his hi/lo cuts or doing it some where else? I have always done 120 and about 6k in the can block. Always loved the results, always been mix ready, never harsh or flubby. Upon the suggestion here I tried them and there was a huge difference. Is it better? Will it work? Now sure yet. I need to hear it in the mix and chat with my sound crew. Is there more harmonic content? Yes there is. Was there more bass? Yes. Time will tell if I stick with these suggestions but I am grateful for the info. This thread rocked!!


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So when you guys are talking about a low pass filter and high pass I assume those are filter block? And are you putting those two blocks in any order? Like before the cab or are they both right after the cab block? And with regards to cutting at 15k is that with. GEQ?

I. Also not sure if I understand this right, we use a high pass filter to cut lows? And a low pass to cut highs? I'm so confused hahahaha.
 
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ChrisCG said:
So when you guys are talking about a low pass filter and high pass I assume those are filter block? And are you putting those two blocks in any order? Like before the cab or are they both right after the cab block? And with regards to cutting at 15k is that with. GEQ?

I. Also not sure if I understand this right, we use a high pass filter to cut lows? And a low pass to cut highs? I'm so confused hahahaha.
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I am using the high and low cuts in the cab block


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ChrisCG said:
...not sure if I understand this right, we use a high pass filter to cut lows? And a low pass to cut highs?
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Yes. A high-pass filter lets the highs pass. It does that by cutting out the lows.
 
ChrisCG said:
So then according to the OP, I would set the low cut to 80 and the high cut to around 15k ?
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Yes those are the right values. He was not clear if he used the cab block vs say a geq or peq or filter or amp block. I made my cuts in the cab block. I have always made them there


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brokenvail said:
Yes those are the right values. He was not clear if he used the cab block vs say a geq or peq or filter or amp block. I made my cuts in the cab block. I have always made them there


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Thanks for clearing this up for me.
 
My small contribution on the perfect low pass frequecy quest :)

If find that if you cut too low (6kHz - 8kHz) having usable feedback is very hard, cutting higher (12kHz - 16kHz) will help you a lot with controlled feedback.
It will also be easier to change the "note" of the feedback by moving yourself.
 
brokenvail said:
Yes those are the right values. He was not clear if he used the cab block vs say a geq or peq or filter or amp block. I made my cuts in the cab block. I have always made them there


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He mentions the Cab block in the OP.
 
yek said:
He mentions the Cab block in the OP.
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Ah yes I went back and see that now. I think I got thrown off because in the next sentence he talks about knocking a db or two off of 250 which you can't do in the cab block


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