Dialing in Tones when jamming with tracks

[sick pickle]

Something I realized today...

I mostly use my FM9 in a home jam setup, playing along with my favorite tracks.

Today, I was dialing in some Soldano and Dirty Shirley amp tones, creating a preset specifically for playing heavier music like Opeth. While jamming along, I noticed myself boosting the highs quite a bit to fit into the mix with the original recordings. But when I stopped playing and revisited the preset, I thought, "Wow, this is way too bright!" and ended up reworking the EQ from scratch. I play with stereo studio monitors (Yamaha HSM80).

I know this likely falls into the realm of Mr. Fletcher-Munson, but today really highlighted how bad my presets can sound in this context.

 

[toesalad]

I am no expert, but my experience is that a tone that sits well in a mix doesn’t always sound great on its own. When listening to guitar alone, I tend to prefer more low end but that can also translate into a muddier tone in the context of a full mix.

 

[Lance Holland]

If you listen to the isolated guitar tracks in any famous records, you'll be surprised about how bright and clean they are. In the mix, that works primarily because of the guitar's interaction with the bass.

I dial in my tones at home very loud on the studio monitors. But, I know I've only done half the work. It isn't until I'm with the band that I know it works. I leave the amp controls on the screen so I can make minor adjustments at rehearsal. The biggest lesson I've learned is that heavy dirty sounds that are amazing at home completely disappear in a band mix.....like gone. For playing at home, these high gain sounds are fun but they don't translate to live music.....so, I wouldn't expect them to work for your situation either.

Bottom line, you were doing it right the first time where you dialed in the tones while jamming.

 

[sick pickle]

If you listen to the isolated guitar tracks in any famous records, you'll be surprised about how bright and clean they are. In the mix, that works primarily because of the guitar's interaction with the bass.

I dial in my tones at home very loud on the studio monitors. But, I know I've only done half the work. It isn't until I'm with the band that I know it works. I leave the amp controls on the screen so I can make minor adjustments at rehearsal. The biggest lesson I've learned is that heavy dirty sounds that are amazing at home completely disappear in a band mix.....like gone. For playing at home, these high gain sounds are fun but they don't translate to live music.....so, I wouldn't expect them to work for your situation either.

Bottom line, you were doing it right the first time where you dialed in the tones while jamming.

I hear what you are saying. But I am playing against a professional mixed/mastered and likely brick walled recording via Apple Music. I don't believe its fair to set the guitar in THAT particular mix/situation. In a band live situation? Sure, the guitars might be dialed in different than home, but I have a feeling they would be dialed in very differently than a polished recording. Thoughts?

 

[Tonedeaf]

I rarely play along with backing tracks, but when I do I adjust them not my FM3 by running them mono or panning them to one side

 

[golfnut]

I am no expert, but my experience is that a tone that sits well in a mix doesn’t always sound great on its own. When listening to guitar alone, I tend to prefer more low end but that can also translate into a muddier tone in the context of a full mix.

I've been working on all my presets for live gigging. I've been doing it at home at gig volume levels. I do some adjustments to backtracks on youtube, hoping to get it to feel more like being in a mix with the band.
I tend to go a little lighter on the bass at home knowing that it would be too much in a band mix. As well a tad brighter than I like at home. Luckily with the Fender FR12 at the gig, I can tweak it a bit on the amps eq.

 

[Lance Holland]

If you listen to the isolated guitar tracks in any famous records, you'll be surprised about how bright and clean they are. In the mix, that works primarily because of the guitar's interaction with the bass.

I dial in my tones at home very loud on the studio monitors. But, I know I've only done half the work. It isn't until I'm with the band that I know it works. I leave the amp controls on the screen so I can make minor adjustments at rehearsal. The biggest lesson I've learned is that heavy dirty sounds that are amazing at home completely disappear in a band mix.....like gone. For playing at home, these high gain sounds are fun but they don't translate to live music.....so, I wouldn't expect them to work for your situation either.

Bottom line, you were doing it right the first time where you dialed in the tones while jamming.

I would simply try to use the situation that recreates the environment best you are targeting. Just be aware that they may not translate well to other situation.