WYHIWYG

C

corona

New Member
I'm not sure the Amps and Cabs is the appropriate category for this topic, but here goes....

I was barely a teenager when the Mac was introduced to the world but I will never forget the initial impact of WYSIWYG when it came to word processors and presentation software of the day. It was a huge thing to be able to graphically create something and actually produce exactly what you created (what a concept!).

Well, I've been an Ultra owner since last November and have read hundreds of posts on this forum (filled chock full of great advice from experienced Axe-Fx users :D ), spent many hours tweaking, and I'm still searching for a reasonable (and economic) solution to achieve WYHIWYG (what you hear is what you get).

One of the reasons I bought the Axe-Fx was to simplify my "rig" and hopefully get by with only packing a couple of guitars, cables, foot controller, a 4rack SKB case containing the Axe-Fx, and go FOH with IEM at the gig...........no floor wedge, no amp and cab, etc...

The other reason was to be able to create and tweak presets at home and have them credibly reproduced through the FOH at the gig. WYHIWYG......

Unfortunately, reproducing satisfying guitar tones is very elusive. There are a more than a number of posts in this forum describing the nuances and influences of speakers, cabs, amps, FRFR vs Guitar Amp/Cabs, etc.....
With that in mind, it's rather difficult to "know" and "account for" the varied FOH equipment at any venue you play at.....there's a lot of variables that come into play.

What are some of you guys doing to achieve WYHIWYG between the tones created at home and the tones amplified through the FOH? (a description of your tweaking environment as well as your approach to setting up at the venue would be really helpful)
 
Succinctly put, I've about stopped caring. In my current situations, I cannot control FOH. As long as I sound good to myself, I play well. There's no controlling the FOH equipment, the variances room to room, or the ear of the "sound tech". Oh yeah, I dream of doing my own thing sometime in the future, and at that point I plan to own the PA and board, choose the music and employ sidemen and a sound guy who grok my sonic vision, and screen every audience member allowing entrance only to audiophile guitar tone aficionados. But even with all that there will be uncontrollable elements that will come into the equation. There comes a time when you just gotta shut up and play. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Yep. No way to control FOH.
All you can do is provide the sound guy with the best tone you can and hope he half knows what to do with it.

To put it in perspective, there are even a huge number more variables when using guitar cabs and tube amps. On top of the ones you mention you have mic placement, voltage variations interfering with the tone of the tube amp, stage volume interfering with FOH tone, etc. All things you as guitarist have little control over.

I think the Axe is the best bet for providing the sound guy with the best tone you can.
 
quonsar said:
...and screen every audience member allowing entrance only to audiophile guitar tone aficionados.
Click to expand...

Why? So you can look out at the all male audience and see every one of them with their arms crossed over their chest thinking, "this guy doesn't sound that great!!!!
 
mitch236 said:
quonsar said:
...and screen every audience member allowing entrance only to audiophile guitar tone aficionados.
Click to expand...

Why? So you can look out at the all male audience and see every one of them with their arms crossed over their chest thinking, "this guy doesn't sound that great!!!!
Click to expand...

LOL, exactly. I'm married and even if my wife was at the gig, I'd still rather there be a bunch of tone deaf chicks with their tops off screaming, and chanting the wrong lyrics, than a bunch of male snobby tone junkies.

Give me your stupid, drunk, and naked chicks any day.
 
mitch236 said:
quonsar said:
...and screen every audience member allowing entrance only to audiophile guitar tone aficionados.
Click to expand...

Why? So you can look out at the all male audience and see every one of them with their arms crossed over their chest thinking, "this guy doesn't sound that great!!!!
Click to expand...



Thats funny I always thought of them thinking " How does he get that little box to sound like that" :lol: ....
 
So, of the guys that chimed in ..... it appears you pretty much ignore the FOH tone in lieau of your monitor tone. "If it sounds good in my monitor, it's fine wih me" is what I'm hearing.

I'm still curious.....what are the various set-ups you guys working with when your creating and tweaking presets at home?
 
corona said:
So, of the guys that chimed in ..... it appears you pretty much ignore the FOH tone in lieau of your monitor tone. "If it sounds good in my monitor, it's fine wih me" is what I'm hearing.

I'm still curious.....what are the various set-ups you guys working with when your creating and tweaking presets at home?
Click to expand...

It is a preference for some and not for others. Everone has their way of eating their cake so to speak. Have you seen this thread? viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4852 My self I'm more into a live tone rather than a recorded one. So I choise to play through cabs for my on satge sound. As to FOH I get it as close as I can and hope the sound guy can make the best of it.
 
corona said:
So, of the guys that chimed in ..... it appears you pretty much ignore the FOH tone in lieau of your monitor tone. "If it sounds good in my monitor, it's fine wih me" is what I'm hearing.
Click to expand...
No, quite the opposite.
It's just that once I give the FOH-guy the best I have to give, it's out of my hands. I'm not at the desk, I can't hear the FOH from where I'm standing, I can't reach the knobs, I can't account for any difference in equipment and acoustic environments certain venues may have. All I can do is give him my best and hope he knows what to do with it. At the most I could hop on over to the desk using my wireless and have a listen, give some pointers, maybe adjust some EQ. Pulling my Axe-FX off the stage and do some heavy tweaking from the mix position is in 99% of cases not a viable solution. So, what's left?

At home I use the best reproduction I can currently afford, which are Behringer Truth Studiomonitors. Pretty good for the money. When buying them I compared them directly to Genelecs and Mackie HR's and more, the character of the sound was very close to the Genelecs, the Mackies were more honky and I preferred the character of the Genelecs/Behringers. Although I could hear the Behringer and Genelecs did have slightly more detail and transparency. But for the money, the Behringers were a steal. Nowadays the Adam monitors get lots of praise for a reasonable price.
I figure if I get it to sound as good as possible straight out of the Axe, I'm giving the best possible sound to the FOH-guy. I need as detailed as possible monitor sound at home to be able to judge that.
 
corona said:
So, of the guys that chimed in ..... it appears you pretty much ignore the FOH tone in lieau of your monitor tone. "If it sounds good in my monitor, it's fine wih me" is what I'm hearing.

I'm still curious.....what are the various set-ups you guys working with when your creating and tweaking presets at home?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that, but there is a point where you have to face reality.

1 - No 2 clubs are exactly alike, so even if you get a good FOH at one place, it's not going to be anywhere near the same at a new place, and most of the gigs I've done there's never been enough time for a REAL sound check. Plus even if I got there early enough to get it "right" once the place filled with people the acoustics change anyway.

2 - The average person at the kind of gigs I've done simply don't care, as long as I play the correct notes, (and that's only if they've even heard the song before) and I put on a good stage presence (which in the long run is more important than the music, and tone anyway.) Not that there aren't people that don't care about tone at the places I've played, but the few tone guys that have shown up at the places I've played have played there too, so they already know how bad it's going to sound. :D
 
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