Question about dialing out brightness when rolling guitar volume down

[Bman]

Newbie question: Is there a way to dial down the brightness that occurs when I roll back the guitar volume? The lower the pickup output the crispier the sound on all pickups. It’s usually something I want in a tube amp but I’m finding it’s a bit more than I’d like.

 

[Sonofiam]

What preset and effects are you using? This is more often associated with a treble bleed circuit on a guitar that has a capacitor value that's too high. If it's within a preset and not related to the guitar, my first thought would be too much compression.

 

[Bman]

It happens with most of the Marshall type amps. It feels like a treble bleed and this particular guitar cleans up better than my others so it does have a circuit that is brighter.

I’m working with Austin’s Buddy’s Naked Amps. No effects yet. I’m cutting the high and lows on the cabs and getting better tones with the guitar volume full open. I’ve read here that the Fractals will make each guitar sound unique, so that may be part of it. It may just be a bright guitar. I haven’t tried my Lester or Strat because they typically don’t clean up as consistently is this one. It’s an old Ibanez from the 80’s with the bridge pickup swapped out for a Duncan.

Is there a way to darken the tone as the input is reduced?

 

[mr_fender]

You can try lowering the input impedance value in the input block. That will shave off a bit more highs.

Lowering the bright cap value in the amp block will tame the high end a bit too.

If your guitar has a treble bleed cap on the volume pot, you could try a smaller cap value or remove it completely.

 

[Geezerjohn]

Cranking up the gain (all the way up) on most guitars slightly overdrives the pickup. This may lead to the perception that the sound is "smoother". Rolling back the guitar volume may appear to clean up the sound which may be perceived as a crisper sound. I suggest that you try working with the tone controls of your guitar. Try backing the volume of the guitar down and then working the tone control to achieve the tone you are trying to get. Once you have the lower gain setting dialed in, try cranking the guitar back up and see if you like the tone.

If that still does not get you there you can also try adding some compression. I suggest you try the output compression in the amp block. Try turning it up to about 2. Personally, I work my guitar volume and tone knobs a lot when playing. I grew up doing that long before there was a FAS. Doing that is just how I play. I am a creature of habit.

 

[Moke]

You can try lowering the input impedance value in the input block. That will shave off a bit more highs.

Not available on the AX8....

 

[2112]

Try backing the volume of the guitar down and then working the tone control to achieve the tone you are trying to get. Once you have the lower gain setting dialed in, try cranking the guitar back up and see if you like the tone.

On top of this, if you don't like the tone when cranked back up try use the dynamic presence and character control to add high end and midrange when cranked.

 

[Bman]

I’m a big fan of working the tone knobs myself. Especially on my LP. I’ll keep working at it. Since I haven’t tried all my guitars I’m probably premature in trying to trouble shoot this now.

I will say that I am finding a lot of the presets that have been offered up to be bright and the cabs usually aren’t cut high which is surprising. When I cut the highs in the cab things get better but I’m still searching for the right frequency. I’ve been cutting anywhere from 7k up to 10k to get the fizzle out.

Thanks guys

 

[Bman]

On top of this, if you don't like the tone when cranked back up try use the dynamic presence and character control to add high end and midrange when cranked.

Thanks! I’m really missing the upper mids. The mid eq knob doesn’t get me to where I need to be. I haven’t created an EQ yet but I think that’s where I’m headed. I wanna stay away from Global EQ if I can. The cleans are fine.

 

[oceanruckus]

Give this a read through: https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/my-secret-formula.85426/ - Instead of decreasing the character value, increase it. I use this (what Cliff described) to brighten up my clean tone when I roll the volume back.

 

[speedloader]

When you roll your volume down, you generally lose the most around 1.5kHz. That's why it sounds more crisp and woody. To compensate, set a low shelf around 1.5kHz, and add a peaking at 1.5kHz on top of that. If you want to know exactly what and where you lost, use a tonematch plugin.

I also generally roll down my overwound bridge pickups a bit because they're unbalanced at full volume. Too dark and nasal. In the AX8, it's another story though. Instead of rolling it down and starting with a weak input signal, I simulate that ideal volume spot of my pickup with a PEQ block. Then I don't touch the volume pot and add extra EQs, most likely a simple filter, to lower the gain in front of the amp instead, especially since most amps don't clean up very well and need pre-adjustments. Attaching the parameters of the filter to the scene controllers can turn a simple peaking filter into multiple crunch/dirty/clean channels.