Fascinating thread....
I'm another player who's systematically cut at at least 8K ever since reading threads in the past that suggested to do so, and I also have some pretty harsh cuts on the top end of my output EQ. We play through our own PA and my tone is good, although at times needs a good few db of boost to be heard in the mix - quite possibly because some of those higher frequencies that cut through just aren't there? Whilst I like the idea of using our ears and that there are no rules, this thread has made me realise that I do have a tendency set the BMT in the amp block at what seem to be the "right" settings (for example 4, 6 & 5) and never at the extremes, so I've never experimented as
@York Audio has suggested and had them as low or high as they need to be to get a tone that's pleasing to my ears, even if that means 0 or 10.
Time to revisit some of my patches, lose the hi cut and get creative with the amp settings!
You'll have to let us know how this works out for you and if you found any "surprising" settings that made an amp speak to you.
I just revisited my patches and got rid of all cuts as you say. After re dialing i had my first band practice last night since doing so. My tone cut so good it was crazy! I run the board for us at practice and generally the other guitar player and I are within a db of each other on the faders. Last night i had to boost the other guitar players fader and lower mine by a few db's. Nothing with the gain staging or overall preset volumes changed between either of us. (I asked her to make sure her sounds were the same since last practice.) I also kept a version of my old sounds with cuts so i could A B during parts of songs live. The new tones with zero cutting had way more percieved volume. Preset leveling tool was used on everything to make sure it was as close as i can get it too. Maybe i'm crazy but i really did seem to make a big difference for my tones. What make the most since to me was when Justin commented and said when mic'ing our real amps and cabs most don't slap a high/low cut at 80/8k as a starting point. Its mic'ed and THEN adjusted. Makes alot of since to me at least!
That's awesome to hear! I'll keep preaching my motto "treat the Axe like a real rig and it will sound like a real rig." I'm so glad you found your tone come alive by preserving the natural character of the amp, cab, and mic-up!
However without any cutting I feel I have little harsh so I hicut around 6000-8000 in the cab preamp section. This helps me to get rid of all unpleasant sound but save all the air. It seems like preamp section cuts the sound more gently.
The high/low cut in the cab's preamp page is essentially a "master" cut that affects all four IR slots and works the same way as the individual cuts in each IR slot (which was actually one of my old wish list items meant to make any necessary cuts for a single IR rather than applying the cut to IRs that didn't need it).
Using a high cut between 6k-8k will chop off the amp/cab's natural top end air and your tone will lose the vibrant energy that makes it come alive. Try turning the high cut off and using a PEQ block after the cab to gently tame ONLY the frequency range that bugs you. This will help your guitar speak more clearly without losing its natural character.
Thanks for sharing your experience! Really looking forward to try it myself with my band. Sadly we all have been busy and have not been able to do it so far, but I'll even try to remove both low and high for rehearsal and re-add them if necessary next time with play through a PA (or just let the tech to do it as he would with a real amp/cab). Maybe I have been doing it wrong all this time and treating rehearsal like recording and in the process losing the "live" amp sound with all the "studio like" over tweaking.
Definitely start with your cuts turned off and dial in the amp accordingly. A low cut between 80-100Hz is perfectly normal to clean up the low end though. Whether you're recording or playing live, you'll get the best results by not using any default/go-to high cuts and simply tweaking your M, T, and P knobs to get the top end character that feels right in context with the band.
It would be a good idea to play some familiar well-recorded music through your PA at gig volume to hear the character the PA is imparting on your tone. If the music sounds boomy in the low end, boxy/honky in the mids, brash in the upper-mids, or overly sibilant in the top end, EQ the PA so it sounds natural and pleasing in those frequency ranges and THEN play with the band. Now you can make any necessary tonal adjustments to help your guitar sit in the mix the way you want.
Remember, if your listening source (PA, monitors, headphones, etc.) isn't tuned to be neutral, it's going to skew your perception of what you're feeding it and lead to making more aggressive tonal adjustments to compensate for the added character the source is imparting on your tone. So tune your source and your tones should translate nicely from gig to gig.
