Where do YOU "stand" when dialing in tones?

Reet

Inspired
When i dial in my tones, i try and get them sounding good in the room. I also move around the room and will stand dead in front of the cone of the speaker. I find that with my Matrix NL12 its different than most cabs. I find that with this cab i hear more midrange and harshness there than i do treble or sizzle etc. With any other cab i've tried i find that its generally super bright dead in front of the cab. It makes sense to me to make it sound decent in front of the cab as thats where the mic is going to be. Im talking loud live tones btw. Im curious how others approach this. Thoughts?
 
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This is the typical sequence for me:


  1. Dial at desk, sitting optimal position between two Adam S2-A monitors about 4.5ft apart. Dial at moderate level, double check at about 30% louder. Leave it for 24 hours, return and tweak as needed.
  2. Take that tone to the gig and listen to tone in mix through floor monitor, about 5 feet back, take mental note.
  3. Listen at side of mains PA to get sense of in the mix, particularly volume and lows/mids balance with rest of the mix. Take mental note.
  4. Still at gig, get out in front of PA a couple times and note any general needed tweaking. Or lately with Quantum, get lost in tone and forget about rest of my gig duties (singing, working crowd, etc.)
  5. Take mental notes home and repeat 1-5 for anything that needs tweaking.
 
i usually stand directly in front of the Axe FX 2 with a big smile on my face, and in one hand i have a beer, and the other hand is use to turn the knobs on the unit. Some times i sit in a chair though.
 
I find that sometimes i get so worried about tweaking that i forget how good it already sounds. I really am enjoying the update. Especially for higher gain sounds.
 
First I sit with headphones or monitors and after looping with a looper block, I tweak hands free.
When I begin to be satisfied I take back the guitar and fine tweak while playing.
Then I play :D
I'm too noobish to achieve great presets for now and want to keep time playing.

On the other hand I find great presets on axe change and tweak them very little, but play a lot !

For recording matters, I think I'll just double track with dry signal to reamp later, I'm not a FAS jedi master for now.
But I want to use the part that helps me becoming a better guitarist.
 
I play with a song with tone I want to emulate.

-1st dial it by ear without the music playing. (mentally telling myself not to overthink the preset...get close with default AMP/CAB, then minor tweaks.)
-Dial it WITH music playing (I might find the amp or cab is not right..and fix that).
-Turn down my guitar signal out as low as possible, and make it 'stick out' in the mix without ear bleeding volumes. I feel like I'm wrong if my solution is 'just turn up my guitar'.

Sometimes I wince when I hear the tone again when playing alone...but if you hear many recorded iso tracks of famous recordings...they don't sound all that great by themselves, but are slammin' in the mix.

Then I take solo-act's advice, and leave it alone for 24 hours...
 
Two clr's in stereo about 5 feet apart, on stands at ear level. I'm 15' from them sitting. If things get complicated I go to the computer for Axe Edit which is 8 more feet away.
When I play live my single clr I leave on-site is pointed at my knees and I have no idea exactly what it sounds like :? .
 
The more i think about it the more i want to experiment with FrFr. I like the way my cab sounds, but i want to know what the audience is going to hear also. I guess the best senario is to have a cab behind you so you get "your" happy stage sound and bass. Then to have another output foing to Foh for the acutual percieved sound. That way the only thing the sound guy really has control of is volume. (With the eq flat) I've never seen a sound guy spend more than 15 seconds micing an actual cab and i have trust issues lol. It seems that this idea seems to have the best of both worlds, however is also seems like a pain trying to find an IR that i like and that sounds close to my Matrix. The never ending quest for tone is a struggle no doubt. :lol
 
About 8' away from my XiTone powered FRFR wedge, pointing at my face.
Volume level make a big difference in the end product.
Once it is fairly loud, it sounds and feels right.
 
I usually..........'Stand Up and Shout'.......:eek:

Sometimes.......I 'Stand and Deliver'...........


OK, I'm done now...;)
 
No matter if I am standing or sitting, I use Audeze LCD-2 headphones. There are too many resonances, dead spots and zombies at my room.

And when I've finished tweaking, sometimes I double check with Mackie HR824 monitors
 
No matter if I am standing or sitting, I use Audeze LCD-2 headphones. There are too many resonances, dead spots and zombies at my room.

And when I've finished tweaking, sometimes I double check with Mackie HR824 monitors

I'm the same with my K701's...
 
I never thought about limiting the volume and using the tone to cut through the mix. Thanks electronpirate!
 
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