jesussaddle
Power User
Hey, is this familiar to anyone wishing to compose full tracks of music?
I put on fresh strings [as I did 10 minutes ago]. My Axe FX sounds unbelievable - no matter what pickup or preset I use. So good that I jam for hours (without very much productive stuff happening because I can't put the guitar down long enough to set up recording software, add additional instruments and write other parts and so forth...)
[I must mention that my guitar is a BC Rich Bitch with just a single knob, dedicated to volume. There is no tone pot. Presumably this at least has some strong advantages or give me some advice if I may want to change it, because it definitely has a bearing on the problem..)
Then, after a number of hours of enjoyment and productive practice I realize that the strings are not as fresh and the presets don't sound as good.
I try to dial in presets "better" and adjust settings to get the guitar sounding right in the mix..
(I suppose their are similar cycles with regard to warmed up joints versus tired joints; and fresh ears versus fatigued ears...but I think there may be a satisfactory solution to at least the "guitar sound" issue I am referring to, per the next paragraph..)
If this is not uncommon, what would really help is possibly to know roughly what EQ settings might brighten up the sound without becoming unnatural. I know it has been said to dial in a preset for worn-in strings rather than fresh ones, but this is impractical for me because the worn-in strings don't feel very inspirational. The harmonics start sounding a little out of place and the brightness isn't the only thing missing really. But if I have presets that are dialed in for somewhat fresh strings (of course not 1st hour strings - that would be foolish - but maybe hour 4 or 6), it would be nice to have a rough guess as to what parametric EQ curve might approximate undoing the change in tone at, say, hour 15. The idea would be to drop this block into every preset I make. (If you say, "just use your ears" then okay, but I am not particularly good at EQ'ing, and prefer to reduce bands of EQ rather than boost them, because I do not always think boosting sounds very natural, for whatever reason.)
Anyone have a guess as to what the parametric EQ settings would be?
[Edit - Although this is always a factor, I don't entirely think its ear fatigue. When I start over a day later the guitar presets don't sound as good and the nuances of picking aren't as beautiful to me. It could partially be sinus or ear related - I live on a small mountain so there are elevation changes going to and from work. I struggle with not liking the EQ of presets, and with the fact that ambient presets are clear enough one day and not as clear the next - and that harmonics sound musical and then stiff. Finding strings that will continue to sound roughly the same for several days of play would certainly help my confidence ]
I put on fresh strings [as I did 10 minutes ago]. My Axe FX sounds unbelievable - no matter what pickup or preset I use. So good that I jam for hours (without very much productive stuff happening because I can't put the guitar down long enough to set up recording software, add additional instruments and write other parts and so forth...)
[I must mention that my guitar is a BC Rich Bitch with just a single knob, dedicated to volume. There is no tone pot. Presumably this at least has some strong advantages or give me some advice if I may want to change it, because it definitely has a bearing on the problem..)
Then, after a number of hours of enjoyment and productive practice I realize that the strings are not as fresh and the presets don't sound as good.
I try to dial in presets "better" and adjust settings to get the guitar sounding right in the mix..
(I suppose their are similar cycles with regard to warmed up joints versus tired joints; and fresh ears versus fatigued ears...but I think there may be a satisfactory solution to at least the "guitar sound" issue I am referring to, per the next paragraph..)
If this is not uncommon, what would really help is possibly to know roughly what EQ settings might brighten up the sound without becoming unnatural. I know it has been said to dial in a preset for worn-in strings rather than fresh ones, but this is impractical for me because the worn-in strings don't feel very inspirational. The harmonics start sounding a little out of place and the brightness isn't the only thing missing really. But if I have presets that are dialed in for somewhat fresh strings (of course not 1st hour strings - that would be foolish - but maybe hour 4 or 6), it would be nice to have a rough guess as to what parametric EQ curve might approximate undoing the change in tone at, say, hour 15. The idea would be to drop this block into every preset I make. (If you say, "just use your ears" then okay, but I am not particularly good at EQ'ing, and prefer to reduce bands of EQ rather than boost them, because I do not always think boosting sounds very natural, for whatever reason.)
Anyone have a guess as to what the parametric EQ settings would be?
[Edit - Although this is always a factor, I don't entirely think its ear fatigue. When I start over a day later the guitar presets don't sound as good and the nuances of picking aren't as beautiful to me. It could partially be sinus or ear related - I live on a small mountain so there are elevation changes going to and from work. I struggle with not liking the EQ of presets, and with the fact that ambient presets are clear enough one day and not as clear the next - and that harmonics sound musical and then stiff. Finding strings that will continue to sound roughly the same for several days of play would certainly help my confidence ]
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