Weird tone change

W

Wildwind

Experienced
I sat staring at the screen coming up with this title. Sorry, can't think of another way to say it.

This is a recent problem. I usually always upgrade to whatever is current. 3.02 was installed last night and did not resolve this.

Best way to describe it, I think - you roll off your volume knob (like knob on 2 on a higher-gain amp) and the tone changes - loss of sustain, degraded tone, bad "feel" - then turn the knob up to 10 and it's all sweet again.

Rolloffs now don't sound or feel right, especially on the higher-gain amps. But I've used these amps for a while and they were great, so it has to be something in the Amp block that changed and just needs to be fixed. I rarely edit very deeply - I play way more than I tweak.

But now the knob is on 10 and I'm getting that sort of tonal change, making me want to crank the volume. It's very noticeable on my clean patch and light crunch patch (same amp - Tucana). Switched to my old fave SF Twin and JTM45 - same problem.

This is new - never got it before. I thought my strings were shot - tried another Strat with brand new strings (and this is a dual hum Strat, a more powerful guitar) - same problem.

I'm sorry I can't describe it better. I have to play tonight and won't have but a few minutes after work. I'm hoping some of you can give me some ideas for a quick fix. I can live with it and nobody else is giving me looks, but it's just not right. Starting Friday I'll have plenty of time to dig in, but don't know where to start.

And I can't say which FW release started it - maybe a beta. I've never had a problem before with any release.

I tickle the reds regularly, so I believe my I/O settings are good. I did turn that up last night at the gig, but it didn't seem to matter.

Thoughts? Please ask questions if I wasn't clear. I can check and respond from work.
 
if that doesn't resolve it, then make a short recording and post a preset so we can have a listen too

that's step 2, btw

part of me doesn't want to fix this quickly, because step 19 is have a sandwich and a drink. i'm going for banana and crisp with some ribena...but hopefully we can sort this out before then
 
Thanks guys. Simeon, I'm thinking you won't last until step 19...

Excellent idea, should have thought of that. Usually the amps are just fine, so I rarely do a reset these days.

Now when I do that (just changing amps, then changing back), my original settings are gone, right? Been a while.
 
Only Advanced parameters are resetted when changing amp and going back. When you hit bypass two times it resets everything to default value.
 
Some of them, yes. Copy x into y if you can and then reset one of them. You can then compare
 
Feel like an idiot for asking this, but...

I spend a fair amount of time in deeper parameters like LF Cutoff in the power amp, preamp tube type and hardness, etc. I'd like to keep those, typically.

If I do a backup of all presets, then go do the "switch amps" reset of at least some parameters, then go back and restore from my backup...does that accomplish what some of us are after? Or does it completely defeat the purpose of the amp block reset because it is exactly those advanced parameters getting reset that makes the reset worthwhile?
 
if i were you, i would do one test to see if the problem can be solved by an amp reset. grab one preset, copy x into y and set master volume and presence back to your settings on the side that you've reset. see if there's a significant difference. maybe take a minute to move some of the other parameters to your settings on the side you've reset and compare. if it solves the problem, then come up with a strategy to deal with all your other presets.
 
Thanks everyone. I never made it to the gig - had to work very late. Will go grab my rack at lunch, will have plenty of time this weekend before my next gig on Sunday.
 
simeon said:
if i were you, i would do one test to see if the problem can be solved by an amp reset. grab one preset, copy x into y and set master volume and presence back to your settings on the side that you've reset. see if there's a significant difference. maybe take a minute to move some of the other parameters to your settings on the side you've reset and compare. if it solves the problem, then come up with a strategy to deal with all your other presets.
Click to expand...

Simeon, is this directed at my comment? You're probably right that I could do that experiment. I'm mainly trying to nail down from the people who know the code best whether there is a "correct" approach to amp resets like this. I don't have a particular problem. But it is frustrating when, for example, you have created a hybrid amp like one I use a lot: ODS-100 with a Fender Super tone stack, presence frequency tweak, KT-88 tubes, and a bunch of other tweaks. Sounds great in 2.04.

I have no idea whether it could sound better in 3.02 if only some hidden parameter was reset by an amp block reset, and I am hesitant to lose all those tweaks to find out. I know when I do a reset like that, so many of those visible parameters are changed that I'm then comparing apples to oranges. Sure, they sound different. And then I start the long journey of tweaking one thing at a time again to see if I can get the same mojo back only betterer.

So I guess the first question is this: when you do an amp block reset like this, are hidden parameters changing, too, or is it only the visible parameters that are changed? The answer to that question directly affects the strategy for dealing with other presets, but I don't think I've ever heard a direct answer.
 
i don't know anything about the code, or about "hidden parameters". the only way to know is,

make a recording of a preset
back up your presets
update the firmware
load the preset and re-do your tweaks
record it
compare

if you don't like it, go back to the earlier firmware and re-instate your old presets

none of this should be necessary, of course. your presets should automatically load any new parameters with their new default values after you install the new firmware. you check it out...tweak it to taste...and carry on enjoying teh feelz

it does take a certain amount of faith and perseverance to stay on the upgrade path. personally, i record all my gigging presets before upgrading, so i have a record of their sound and also their levels. after upgrading, i'll check whether i need to reset the amps, by copying x into y and resetting y. if both x and y sound the same, then i know i'm good to go. i'll go through all my presets checking against the recorded versions and tweak gbmt and level if necessary. i hardly ever change any advanced parameters. i don't feel i ever need to, i like "authenticity' and it makes upgrading 10 times easier! :)
 
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