How loud?

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Yup .... I tried all sorts of methods to formulate a way of dialling new presets at home volumes that would sound good at live volumes .... and I always still needed to tweak again at loud rehearsal volumes when the drums and everyone else is playing ... no substitute really. Once they're done they're done though.
 
Has anybody considered auditioning your sound in context with a well recorded backing track? Or even a well mixed song? Given the overall effect will change with volume (Fletcher Munson), if you have a consistent reference maybe the volume is less critical, as what you're referencing to will change with volume change anyway. If it sits well in context with a good track, maybe it will work fine in a live environment. In the same way we reference a mix to compensate for room anomalies. This might allow a lot of tweaking at lower levels and save the old ears.
 
Nado said:
Has anybody considered auditioning your sound in context with a well recorded backing track? Or even a well mixed song? Given the overall effect will change with volume (Fletcher Munson), if you have a consistent reference maybe the volume is less critical, as what you're referencing to will change with volume change anyway. If it sits well in context with a good track, maybe it will work fine in a live environment. In the same way we reference a mix to compensate for room anomalies. This might allow a lot of tweaking at lower levels and save the old ears.
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The context of me asking this question in the first place was me trying to dial in my mixing environment and volume, in general.
 
Nado said:
Has anybody considered auditioning your sound in context with a well recorded backing track? Or even a well mixed song? Given the overall effect will change with volume (Fletcher Munson), if you have a consistent reference maybe the volume is less critical, as what you're referencing to will change with volume change anyway. If it sits well in context with a good track, maybe it will work fine in a live environment. In the same way we reference a mix to compensate for room anomalies. This might allow a lot of tweaking at lower levels and save the old ears.
Click to expand...
I recently bought the Joe Satriani 'Stripped by Three' usb stick, which is filled with backing tracks recorded and produced by Joe.
It has turned out to be the perfect reference piece for my studio, at any volume.
 
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We play mostly covers so I ramp up the song to about 88dB and set my guitar so it's loudest at 90dB. Lets me adjust the FM3 so that the guitar sounds like it should in the mix. I also always have a volume pedal attached for quick, live adjustments when playing with the band as I never know what they're going to do lol. When playing rhythm, I like to have my guitar sit in the mix so that it's there if you're looking for it but it blends nicely with everything else.
 
It’s true dialling in sounds against a backing track is good. I keep forgetting to do this. Sometimes I’m fussing over a sound thinking it’s too harsh or too soft, then when I’m practicing against the song I realise it fits just right.
 
It’s kind of like testing racing tires... you can do it at driving-through-the-neighborhood speed, but it’s not telling you anything. Test it as you’ll be using it. For gigging, that’s gig volume with the band. For recording, it’s whatever sits right in the mix. You may not be able to use one for the other, but that’s real life amps too.
 
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