New way to level presets?

kevrock

Experienced
So I got a new way to level presets tell me if you think it's a good idea or bad. You first set all your presets tone wise the way you want. Then I level them with the volume way down as to barely hear it. Then level from there cuz I think the only tones you will hear will be the loudest parts of you tone. And if you can make them all close shouldn't they stay close as you turn them up?
 
So I got a new way to level presets tell me if you think it's a good idea or bad. You first set all your presets tone wise the way you want. Then I level them with the volume way down as to barely hear it. Then level from there cuz I think the only tones you will hear will be the loudest parts of you tone. And if you can make them all close shouldn't they stay close as you turn them up?

never tried it like that before-interesting concept though- i may give it ago

cool thanks
 
I do something similar in mixing.

Slowly turn down the volume level of a mix and see what instruments "go away" as you decrease the volume. Then compare to someone else's mix. Usually a famous record that I love the mix.

Also do the same with a low pass filter, start wide open and slowly cut the highs to see where instruments are placed in the EQ spectrum and where they "go away".
 
I do something similar in mixing.

Slowly turn down the volume level of a mix and see what instruments "go away" as you decrease the volume. Then compare to someone else's mix. Usually a famous record that I love the mix.

Also do the same with a low pass filter, start wide open and slowly cut the highs to see where instruments are placed in the EQ spectrum and where they "go away".

A little "off-topic" - Chris Lord Alge mixes at veeery low levels so he can hear everything "pumping out" in the mix. Interesting method!


Anyways, I always level my presets with a level meter, then fine-tune by ear. never gave me a problem.
 
Low-volume leveling also introduces an exaggerated Fletcher-Munson effect. I use this approach to check final mixes. As noted above, some instruments vanish when the overall mix is quiet.
 
I pick a few jam tracks and play with them till I hear my guitar where I want it in the mix ex: clean , overdriven, lead , then when I get to the gig they seldom need adjustment . I tried a lot of different methods ,but didn't work as good as the level your ears perceive it in the mix.
 
I do something similar in mixing.

Slowly turn down the volume level of a mix and see what instruments "go away" as you decrease the volume. Then compare to someone else's mix. Usually a famous record that I love the mix.

Also do the same with a low pass filter, start wide open and slowly cut the highs to see where instruments are placed in the EQ spectrum and where they "go away".

I do the same with mixes, but never thought about the low pass thing, That's great!! Thanks for sharing that bit of wisdom.
 
don't think it will work FM affects how we perceive things and different levels

What makes preset leveling tough, is that Clean tones are not as compressed and they tend to be brighter and cut through the mix more. And because they are clean and don't have as full of a bottom end, when we level our presets at home, we tend to turn them up so they "feel" as authoritative as our distortion presets.

The trouble is, that when we change to performance volume, we've usually over-compensated. I've heard lots of live mixes where the guitar can be heard when clean, and gets lost in mush when they switch to overdrive. And it's contrary to the direction the song is trying to go dynamically, resulting in even more weirdness. I've experienced the opposite as well -- I'm playing a loud passage with overdrive and the next song section is supposed to be quieter, and I switch to a percussive clean sound, and it is WAY too loud in the context of the song. Some of those volume differences would register on meters, but the rest of it is "perceived volume" changes. That's why you should be prepared to adjust your preset volumes during rehearsals when you are playing at band volume, and not at home.

I was guilty of gaining all my stuff so close to clipping (watch Scott Peterson's video on using the Utility input/output meters in the Axe to set UNITY), that if I wanted to turn something up, like for instance a scene output, I had no where to go. Instead of turning up the one scene I wished was louder, I had to turn down 5 other scenes, which of course is more of a pain in the butt, while 4-5 bandmates are standing around tapping their foot and waiting. Now I make sure I have healthy headroom before max. And that allows me better consistency between scenes and between presets. Because of course, sometimes you want intentional boosts and intentional cuts in volume to suit a song situation.
 
I keep a window of Studio One open and check the level them all with the meter there. Probably not perfect. The other thing I have done is plugged the outs into a compressor and made them all peak at the same level on the meter.
 
I make loops and record with my various tones on top of each other at gig vol, make adjustments, and repeat. Tedious at times, but it works.
 
I check every patch against my main clean patch. Cleans are way more dynamic so they can get louder if you play harder so thatswhy i check other patches against clean. I also have volume Incr/Decr switches on my controller so i can adjust on the fly. But usually i set levels pretty accurate at home, so its very seldom fine adjustmets at a gig.
 
I have to get my clean tones as loud as i can without clipping then all others come after.
My face melt lead tone is loud as @##$$% but doesnt clip because it is naturally compressed.
YMMV
Yeah my solos are heard in the next County.
2 CLR's job done
 
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Interesting concept.

Maybe add a white noise source in the background if you are leveling in very quiet environments for a "dummy band context".
 
I keep a window of Studio One open and check the level them all with the meter there. Probably not perfect. The other thing I have done is plugged the outs into a compressor and made them all peak at the same level on the meter.

I do the same and then i do some fine tuning in the rehearsals, if needed. This method has worked pretty well for me.
 
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