Equipment options for listening to / auditioning the Presets at bedroom levels

Paultergeist

Inspired
Greetings,
I am trying to determine the best way -- or even if it matters -- for connecting my FM3 to an audible source for tweaking / adjusting the Presets. The scenario I am encountering is that of configuring the FM3 in preparation for band-rehearsal (10-piece, playing into a pretty substantial PA system at volume). My objective is to hear the FM3 at bedroom levels which is most accurately representative of how things are going to sound through the big PA. I realize that loudness issues alone will make things sound different to some degree, but I would like to do the best I can.

I have an FM3 unit with the headphone jack, and I have some decent headphones, so that is certainly the simplest option. I also have a (Fishman) "Loudbox Mini" acoustic amp with both XLR and instrument jack inputs, as well as a small 4-channel PA board (also with both XLR and 1/4" inputs as well as a headphone jack). There are probably six or so different configurations possible using those components -- and they all work fairly well -- but I am wondering if there is a preferred way which is most-representative of how things are going to sound through a large PA system?

I am grateful for any good insights.
 
The truth is that the only way to really know what your presets are going to sound like at high volume is to play them at high volume. If you dial in at bedroom volume, be prepared for some surprises when you get to rehearsal.

You could use headphones and turn it up loud, but headphones never sound like speakers, so there will still be surprises.

Be sure to dial in your tones with a backing track. That will reduce the surprises, but it won't eliminate them.

Over time, your ears will learn the differences between your home speakers and your band's PA. That will help you dial in your sounds at home, but it still won't eliminate the surprises.


Finally, know that you will have to adjust your tones during rehearsal, when you can hear them at volume with the band behind you.
 
The truth is that the only way to really know what your presets are going to sound like at high volume is to play them at high volume. If you dial in at bedroom volume, be prepared for some surprises when you get to rehearsal.
Truth.
 
The truth is that the only way to really know what your presets are going to sound like at high volume is to play them at high volume. If you dial in at bedroom volume, be prepared for some surprises when you get to rehearsal.

You could use headphones and turn it up loud, but headphones never sound like speakers, so there will still be surprises.

Be sure to dial in your tones with a backing track. That will reduce the surprises, but it won't eliminate them.

Over time, your ears will learn the differences between your home speakers and your band's PA. That will help you dial in your sounds at home, but it still won't eliminate the surprises.

Finally, know that you will have to adjust your tones during rehearsal, when you can hear them at volume with the band behind you.

Which is also true with an all tube amp, not just modeling MFX like the FM3: The settings that work for lower volume practice will need adjustment for the big stage. There's always going to be some adjustment, and often as much to do with different rooms/reflections than soft/loud.

EQing the guitar so it will sound good in a recorded mix often translates well to live sound: a -12db/octave roll off below 200hz, and above 3khz is a basic starting point for rock guitar: Unimpressive unaccompanied in the bedroom: but usually works well on a sonically busy stage.

First gear will move you around nicely under 10MPH, but won't get you up to freeway speed. 4th gear will not work in the parking lot. No automatic transmissions on audio gear, though.
 
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I get pretty good results with headphones at a decently loud level (not ear splitting), while playing to source material. If it's a cover then I can compare the tones to the original; if it's one of our songs then the ideal is to have a fairly representative mix I can play to. @artzeal and @Rex touched on this.

Other than that... you gotta play loud. I even find differences between rehearsal and gig - you often aren't quite as loud in your quiet practice space, and you almost certainly aren't bringing it with the same energy that you do at a show.

(I'm pretty sure this has been discussed before... ? Nah, maybe not ;-)
 
I've been tweaking my presets with Audeze LCD-2 for years. Never had problems when moving to rehearsals or stage

I forgot to add one detail: I tweak my presets in the context of the band: using a backing track, recording a raw guitar track and reamping. Tweaking the isolated guitar sound has many possibilities of failure because we tend to make it sound "fat" and it may collide with other instruments when playing with the band. My principle is that what sounds good in a mix through good quality monitors must sound good through a PA at high volume.

Make your guitar tone sound like a CD at the DAW mix, because a well recorded CD will sound good at the largest PA.
 
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......Tweaking the isolated guitar sound has many possibilities of failure because we tend to make it sound "fat" and it may collide with other instruments when playing with the band......
Thank you for sharing that......I think what you describe may be especially relevant to my situation, as it is a rather large band. I often feel as though my tone has had a tendency to get buried under the mix.
 
Agree with all of the above - you'll really need to tweak your gig sounds at gig volume and through the PA.
Don't try to simulate this on the headphones. Won't work and will just hurt your ears.

My suggestion is to put a global filter or EQ block just before the output and tweak it. Then you can set it to null for playing at home as your gig preset will likely not sound great on your headphones.
 
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Folks,
I really do appreciate all of the insightful replies.
At this point in time, I think the most feasible option for my current circumstances is to try to audition FM3 Presets through headphones. What I would like to add to my current methodology, however, is the use of playing against a backing track to at least get a better sense of how my guitar tone will interact in a mix. (I know this is not as good as hearing it at full volume, but it is a step forward).

I am trying to come up with an inexpensive and effective way to get both my FM3 output AND backing music into my headphones at the same time. I guess I could really use some help here. I do have a little tiny Yamaha mixing board -- obviously, the FM3 will connect to the mixing board via an XLR cable. I also have my notebook computer, but that just has USB outputs.....what do I need to do to get sound from my computer (iTunes, etc.) into another channel of that mixing board? Or is there a better way to go?
 
I feel a bit dumb.....the solution was easy......just need a convertor cable...….take the 3.5mm headphone "out" jack from the computer......convertor cable to 1/4" male plugs....into a channel of the little mixing board. Problem solved.
 
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