General Discussion: How do you compensate?

Do you turn off the cab (and poweramp?) sim for the signal going though the Marshalls?? If so, how do you do that without sending a non-cab simulated signal to the PA? I have been fooling around with sending to my on stage cab before the cab sim using fx loops, but 1. I still het the power amp sim, and 2: I would like to be able to use my fx loop for a few pedals...
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You run your cab sim at the end of the chain and use an FX Loop block to send the pre-cab sim signal to Output 2. Hook up Out2 to your power amp and you have separate feeds for your power amp and FOH.
 
ByTheHandOf said:
But as all FOH PA's are different, i fear this might become a problem in some venues, and I won't get the sound I want. I have tried playing through 2 different PAs (both rather expensive "brands" w no effects or eq work what so ever) during rehearsals to prepare myself for touring, and they really sound way different! One (with only a little EQ work on the Axe-fx itself) sounded awesome, but the other one sounded very myddy and generally was an (almost) completely different tone. Initially I tried using a FRFR hoping I could get somewhat the sound on stage, that I programmed in the studio (incl power amp- and capsims), but again the sound is rather different as expected.
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which is why I run what I brung.. [power amp and 4x12 cabs]
I let the sound man mic my cabs [biz as usual for him - plus what the crowd hear is his job not mine] and I send nothing direct to the PA..
the onstage tone [which is the only thing I care about cos thats what I have to work with] is reliable and consistent..
everything is conventional..

being a simple person.. I like to keep things simple
 
I've been playing in mostly pubs with no soundman. So what I do is Output 1 to mixer to FOH. Output 2 to whatever shitty combo amp they supply (bypassing cab sim). I'm using Yek's basic patch. Sometimes but rarely I'm given a stack amp. Sometimes but rarely things gets worst when they gimme keyboard amp or bass amp. But most of the time it'll be combo. I found out due to different amps all the time, it is sometimes better to go through the main input of the amp while tweaking its preamp controls to get to the closest sound i need. Then I don't have to keep making changes of my patches. Then I experiment with all IRs to check out which sounds better through FOH. Mixer board from Output 1 is always set to fat with high pass 100hz. I use long cables or my Line 6 wireless G5 to check out the tone and balancing. G5 will sound slightly hollow and not as solid as a normal cable so i take that in mind. If there is a soundguy, I usually tell him to set everything flat and do a high pass or low cut if they feel that it is needed while I go through my long cable/wireless check (going through IRs again.) Every pubs are different. FOH different and sounds different too. Good ones will always sounds good no matter which IR you use (just sounds good with difference of each IRs...) Some pubs have their PAs very near the stage or just hangs on top of my head. It affects what you hear on stage when they go extremely loud. So on stage it's a mix of our amps/monitors with the PAs. Some pubs have their PAs rather far away from stage. Strange things do happen when you play in lots of places. I get to play in China now. No amps. everything direct to mixers to PAs. On stage we are given monitors (Everything China brand. Can't even find manual online for their specs...)

So same routine everytime. When there's no time given for sound check, it's happy-go-lucky time... Actually till now, I think i'm still learning how to get a consistent tone and this has got to do with your ability to know what kind of sound you have if your head. I think i still haven't got a solid one in me. hehe... I've been discussing with lots of my friend. Some have been doing session work for high profile gigs. For them, they seem to know what sound they really want. And no matter what equipment they're given or even wht guitar, they always get their tone consistently. It does sounds different sometime but it never fluctuates too much... As for me... Long way to go... Guess I've been putting too much time on licks, sequence, patterns, lines, scales, arppegios, picking, sweeping, tapping...... and still i suck.... mama...
 
There's also the situation when I work with a red neck soundguy and i don't like the sound he tweaks. Then I go like "My guitar sounds very unique today. Do you have a special secret in what you do? Can you share your trick?" Then later after 1 or 2 sets, I go "Hey, I have an idea. Let's try making it flat. I wanna make a comparison to how it sounds like when it's flat to wht you did. Just see how much you've improved it..." Then after that just insist with everything flat and tell them I'm experiment with something.

Just take them to the merry-go-round. Then they'll just sit down with a lollypop while you can do your work in peace. hehe...
 
ByTheHandOf said:
Hey Guys.

I've been playing around with my new Axe-FX XL for a few weeks now, and I am very pleased with it in the studio, and during rehearsals. I however am yet to check it out in a live situation, as we have no shows planned untill two months from now.

To fully use the capabilities of the fractal, I plan to send it directly to the PA, and where necesarry I will bring my two 2x12 mesa cabs and my 2:Ninety to push some air on stage. I have made a loop that sends to the 2:ninety without going through the cap sim, that is on the main output to FOH.

But as all FOH PA's are different, i fear this might become a problem in some venues, and I won't get the sound I want. I have tried playing through 2 different PAs (both rather expensive "brands" w no effects or eq work what so ever) during rehearsals to prepare myself for touring, and they really sound way different! One (with only a little EQ work on the Axe-fx itself) sounded awesome, but the other one sounded very myddy and generally was an (almost) completely different tone. Initially I tried using a FRFR hoping I could get somewhat the sound on stage, that I programmed in the studio (incl power amp- and capsims), but again the sound is rather different as expected.

How do you guys prefere setting up in a live situation? Do you send the output from the Axefx directly to the PA, and put your trust in the hands of the soundguy? How do you compensate for the many different FOH'es?

I hope it makes sense, and I am aware this is a luxury problem, as you without the axe-fx still rely on the mic's the soundguy uses -his eq work on your tone to FOH etc etc... But hope some of you are still able to relate to my concerns ;)
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honestly i think the best thing to do is just relax. get a great "perfect" tone with cab sims. i think jamming to backing tracks is the best way to do this, preferrably abacking track that is similar to the rest of your band if possible. then from then on, as long your tone has a sensible balance of frequencies you really cant go wrong.

so in summary. don't compensate
 
I generally let the sound guy do his thing. I do suggest to him to set my channel flat.

If the house system is not eq'd flat or RTA'd right......it affects the WHOLE band.

Just make sure you sound good onstage so the audience senses the vibe and you perform well.
 
javajunkie said:
I split my signal. The FOH can do what they need to the signal and it doesn't effect my In Ear mix.
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Would you mind tell me a bit more on how you do that split? I would really love to be able to split it that way because when I dial in the sound for FOH it doesnt sound good in my In Ear and when I have killer sound in the In Ear it doesnt sound very good in the FOH.
 
I use Output 2 for my Matrix power amp & cab, and output 1 goes (viathe cab block) to the FOH & monitors. What helped greatly was shooting an IR of my own cab. Both signals then sound essentially the same, so what I'm left with is two independantly controllable signals. Fantastic!
 
I am running FRFR onstage to move air, and because I like the way they sound. On bigger stages, I use my in-ears to avoid timing issues with sound crossing from the side fills.

I give FOH a pair of XLR outputs that carry the same feed going to my FRFR rig. At most venues I have a pretty high degree of trust in the sound man, because it's usually our guy. But even at festivals and club shows, I chat with the sound operator and explain that I'll be providing stereo XLR feeds direct to the board, and that it's up to them to decide whether anything needs to be adjusted based on that signal. When I'm onstage, I don't have control over the FOH operator. I'm an outgoing / social guy, and a nerd, so I always wind up getting to know the technical crew at every show. It's worth befriending the sound operators at your event... that person could do pretty much anything... like mute your channel, or run you through a 1/4 step pitch change (I've seen that - and worse - done to musicians who stupidly abuse FOH operators). Remember : they want what you want... for the mix to sound great. So, explain what you're trying to accomplish, then ASK them if they have any suggestions for you to help achieve those sonic goals. I've had FOH operators respond to my question with great ideas for patch tuning, EQ changes, stereo adjustments, etc.
 
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