I think I am tone deaf.

Dixiethedog

Experienced
I am sure that I have a problem with my ears. I watch a lot of YouTube videos where people sing the praises of different IR's and tell us that they change the tone massively. I just don't get it. Or hear it. I often think of "The Emporer's new clothes" when it comes to wonderful comments on the latest 4x12 or cab modeled from some great players' rigs or similar.
Is this because I don't (or can't) play at huge volume levels? Is there something that I need to be aware of in the AX8 settings?
I am genuinely interested to hear if anybody can shed some light on my thoughts.
My setup is Les Paul into my AX8 into a pair of Adam studio monitors positioned in opposite corners in a room (approx) 20ft by 15ft with me (armed with my guitar) about 10 ft away from the speakers in a central position. The speakers and I are in the shape of a triangle if that makes sense.
Is it time for me to visit the Doctor to have my ears looked at?
Any comments are appreciated.

Brett (aged 58 and 9/12ths). Did you know that 5/4ths of adults don't understand fractions?
 
Not sure how to help in this case; are you not digging the tones they’re coming up with in the vids, or not getting the same results using the same IR’s on your end?
 
If you're not hearing a difference between the 1X6 Oval IR and 4X12 Cali Mix IRs (Factory IRs) using the same amp, then I would check to see if the Cab Modeling is off in the Global Settings menu.

If the Cab Modeling is off, even if the Cab block appears active in a preset, it will act like a shunt.
 
Positioning studio monitors in corners is going to cause some issues with bass (unless you have some room treatment).

Could your room be overwhelming subtleties in your tones?

Assuming that they are nearfield monitors, what happens when you sit 6 feet away from them instead of 10 feet? Ideally the monitors should be on the short wall too, so that there is more depth to the room behind you.
 
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One thing that kinda jumps out me in your OP is the 10 ft. thing........aren't studio monitors "nearfield"? I mean you absolutely need
to check the cab modeling like was suggested, but I think I would bring the Adams a little closer. And no, you shouldn't need to play
super loud to enjoy different IRs. Just my two cents.
 
One thing that kinda jumps out me in your OP is the 10 ft. thing........aren't studio monitors "nearfield"? I mean you absolutely need
to check the cab modeling like was suggested, but I think I would bring the Adams a little closer. And no, you shouldn't need to play
super loud to enjoy different IRs. Just my two cents.
I was going to mention the same thing, but even at that distance he should be able to hear a difference in IRs. Good point and suggestion though.
 
If you really are not hearing any differences when loading different IRs, I would think you would also have trouble understanding speech.

Therefore, as someone suggested above, have you made sure the cab block is active?
 
I am sure that I have a problem with my ears. I watch a lot of YouTube videos where people sing the praises of different IR's and tell us that they change the tone massively. I just don't get it. Or hear it. I often think of "The Emporer's new clothes" when it comes to wonderful comments on the latest 4x12 or cab modeled from some great players' rigs or similar.
Is this because I don't (or can't) play at huge volume levels? Is there something that I need to be aware of in the AX8 settings?
I am genuinely interested to hear if anybody can shed some light on my thoughts.
My setup is Les Paul into my AX8 into a pair of Adam studio monitors positioned in opposite corners in a room (approx) 20ft by 15ft with me (armed with my guitar) about 10 ft away from the speakers in a central position. The speakers and I are in the shape of a triangle if that makes sense.
Is it time for me to visit the Doctor to have my ears looked at?
Any comments are appreciated.

Brett (aged 58 and 9/12ths). Did you know that 5/4ths of adults don't understand fractions?

I think it would be better to start with just a set of headphones and changing the IR's.

It would be the fastest way to hear the differences as you change the IR's out.

If you don't hear any changes then check to see if the cab modeling is turned off.

The room treatment and location of your studio monitors can definitely affect the sound you are hearing but it might take you some time to determine the best place to position them in your room.

Also, the Adams should have some additional sound shaping options/knobs on the back and you should experiment with them as well.

You have received some pretty good tips here for refining your studio set-up as well as problem solving so you should use them as you experiment "after" using the headphones and "verifying" you do hear changes (make sure cab modeling is set to "on").
 
Something I’ve learned from following the Fractal forum since 2009 is that different people listen out for different things. There was a point around 2011/12 when every new firmware release was greeted with adulation, and I was thinking WTF. Then there was a firmware release, probably around v15 or v16 on the Ultra, where I was thinking “WOW what a difference”, and people on the forum were saying that they didn’t hear anything different.
 
Thank you everybody for chipping in with your comments, and sorry for the very slow reply. I am OK but I have had a bit of a "medical" worry going on that had my mind elsewhere. But I am absolutely OK now, thank goodness!
I have made a few changes. Yes, the cab modeling was on, so no worries there. The position of the monitors has been adjusted to bring them closer in, so as best I can position them they are about 4-5 ft away from me when I am playing. The other change I made was to replace the cheap XLR cables with some decent ones and also bought myself some new guitar leads too.
I feel kind of stupid here now as I still don't hear any massive WOW factor changes when I change the IRs. Yes, I can hear the difference between a 1x8 and a 4x12 but nothing as of yet has jumped out at me to make me think "WOW".
I do suffer from tinnitus in one ear (I am mono) and feel that with that and general aging my ears are not what they used to be. They are still ears but are now more use as somewhere to place my reading glasses than hearing frequencies that make my dogs bark.
I would dearly like to thank one and all for your comments, but I need to face up to it, I am at the old age of youth, and the youth of old age, and as so just have to admit defeat. :)
The moral of this is to look after your ears!
Thank you once again, you are a great bunch of people.
 
I feel kind of stupid here now as I still don't hear any massive WOW factor changes when I change the IRs. Yes, I can hear the difference between a 1x8 and a 4x12 but nothing as of yet has jumped out at me to make me think "WOW".
I do suffer from tinnitus in one ear (I am mono) and feel that with that and general aging my ears are not what they used to be. They are still ears but are now more use as somewhere to place my reading glasses than hearing frequencies that make my dogs bark.

I'm sorry to learn that your hearing isn't what it once was. I sincerely hope that you'll continue to find joy in your guitar and the frequencies that you still hear.

I'm wondering - do you have an audiogram to hand?

It might be worth adding a PEQ block at the end of your signal chain that slightly boosts the frequencies where you have the most loss as per your audiogram.

The resulting guitar tone could sound harsh to anyone else in the room; but if it's just you playing on your own, it might help to bring out a little more nuance and detail in the cab IRs. I'm not suggesting extreme boosts, because it's still a good idea to keep the volume levels safe, of course.

I suppose that in boosting those frequencies, that it might trigger a tinnitus flare-up though? I have a little tinnitus myself and I'm careful to manage those frequencies that tend to trigger it, so perhaps my PEQ block suggestion isn't a good one.
 
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Blooming heck! As they say. On the recommendation of a fellow Fractal person, I changed out one of my monitors with one from my old setup (which I thought was rubbish!), and low and behold when I change an IR I can hear a definite tone change (from the old monitor). Probably the same tone changes each and every one of you hears thru your setups.
This is frustrating as my old monitor setup was bought for about £50 s/h ($30-40?) (Alesis monitors) and I feel like the Adams have been a bit of a waste of time now. The sound difference is like chalk and cheese. I now understand how and why people discuss IRs in the passionate way that they do.
So a big thank you to @RevDrucifer, @JoKeR III, @Tonedeaf, @jellodog, @Rock Chalk, @markwayne, @2204JCM, @Roland and a very special thank you to last but not least @playingitloud who PM'd with some suggestions which have worked out very well.

Best wishes

Brett
 
Very peculiar. The Adams should be miles ahead from Alesis.
I'd go to a hearing aid store and get tested. They do that for free over here because they hope to sell you hearing aids. I had it done once and got a good graph with a tiny mid loss from noise and some mild top end loss from my age, not enough damage by far to warrant hearing aids so I guess they were honest.
 
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