Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 I play Electric guitar in a band , and although it's a fairly new band , we're not bad. My problem is I have no idea what settings to set everybody's amps at.It's a classic and hard rock band (not screamo).When we use our favorite settings , the bass overshadows me , the drums get mixed in with the mud that me and the bassist clash with, and utterly , I can't cut through.I play with my lows at 5, my mids at 7 , and treble at 4 or 5 , depending on my mood.Also ,what should we work on to be a good band? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 no idea w/o more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 ok what do you need specifically? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 why is the bass overshadowing you, why are the drums muddy, what PA stuff are you using, what are you doing to try and rectify your issues, etc. What's your backline gear? You have a youtube vid or something we can hear you on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drummer_jay Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 I play Electric guitar in a band , and although it's a fairly new band , we're not bad. My problem is I have no idea what settings to set everybody's amps at.It's a classic and hard rock band (not screamo).When we use our favorite settings , the bass overshadows me , the drums get mixed in with the mud that me and the bassist clash with, and utterly , I can't cut through.I play with my lows at 5, my mids at 7 , and treble at 4 or 5 , depending on my mood.Also ,what should we work on to be a good band? Dont worry about "cutting" through. Just worry about your "tone". Get it to where you like your sound. The rest is up to a PA system. You all shouldn't be competing on stage, trying to mix.. Set your levels to a respectful level... and your jobs over.. Monitors and PA is for the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 tl's right, there's not a lot to go on here to really determine what the problem is. I can tell you some common noob mistakes that might be coming in to play here.1. You're too loud. Turn down. You should be just loud enough to hear yourself over the drummer. Tilt your amp or put it on a stand so that the speakers are pointed directly at your head, not at the back of your knees. 2. You're taking the same sounds you used in your bedroom and expecting them to work with a band. This usually doesn't work out. You probably have more bass in your sound than you actually need. You may have more effects than you really need. Both of these things will muddy up the mix. 3. If the drummer's sound is "muddy", he probably needs to buy new heads, learn to tune his drums, or both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 OK. I'll do my best to elaborate. I use a Crate GTD65 for my amp, and I run a dunlop crybaby , a digitech distortion factory , all through a strat modified with seymour duncan humbuckers bridge and neck , with an stk in the middle. I don't know why I get overshadowed, and the drums sound fine when we arent all playing. I tailor my bedroom sounds to work with a band, and we don't have a PA because there is no vocalist.well we have one, but it stays at the bassist's house , and we don't practice there anymore.I don't know why we have these problems , so I posted it here. If you need more , just ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 not to sound like a snob, but... SS amps have a hard time cutting through the mix. The overall tone of an SS amp seems to get lost in the mix (I'm unsure of why). The way I see it you have two options 1) buy a tube amp or 2) mic your amp actually there is a thrid option that would be do both 1 and 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 I have a tube amp but it's a half stack and I can't bring it to practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 not to sound like a snob, but...SS amps have a hard time cutting through the mix. The overall tone of an SS amp seems to get lost in the mix (I'm unsure of why). The way I see it you have two options1) buy a tube ampor2) mic your ampactually there is a thrid option that would be do both 1 and 2 How does this solve what may be a PA problem? The guitar isn't the only thing to suffer from the muddy problem based on the OP. Does the drummer need "tube drums" to cut through the mix too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allexcosta Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 I play with my lows at 5, my mids at 7 , and treble at 4 or 5 , depending on my mood. There's no such a thing as preset EQ. Read more, educate your ears to what good tone is and stop competing... The rest will come... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 Um...I already said we don't have a PA...So it's not a PA problem lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 How does this solve what may be a PA problem? The guitar isn't the only thing to suffer from the muddy problem based on the OP. Does the drummer need "tube drums" to cut through the mix too? They don't have a PA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 There's no such a thing as preset EQ. Read more, educate your ears to what good tone is and stop competing... The rest will come... Are you hinting at me having sucky tone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 Are you hinting at me having sucky tone? If you drive your bass to much on the guitar, you'll compete with the bass guitar. IMO, let the guitar sit in the mids and let the bass handle the lows. This is done mostly by trial and error. The trick in a band situation is to blend and not compete. Give everyone their space and let them fill it.. PS you might be having the same issue with the mud from the drummer conficting with the bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allexcosta Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 Are you hinting at me having sucky tone? Unfortunately, yes... Just like anyone else who don't understand that EQ changes from room to room and from position to position in the same room. Learn how basic EQ'ing and room acoustic works and 80% of your problems will be solved like magic. Once you learn, teach to your bandmates... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 what is acceptable for setting my lows to? They are already at 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allexcosta Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 what is acceptable for setting my lows to? They are already at 5. You still don't understand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 Unfortunately, yes... Just like anyone else who don't understand that EQ changes from room to room and from position to position in the same room. Learn how basic EQ'ing and room acoustic works and 80% of your problems will be solved like magic.Once you learn, teach to your bandmates... what would you suggest to use to learn eq'ing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 There is no set EQ. Every room is different. How do the drums sound muddy if you are not using a PA? Sounds like everything is just too loud and competing for the same space. Cut the lows on your guitar to give the bass some room. Keep the stage volume down to a point where everybody can hear each other clearly. That will help a lot when you end up micing everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members allexcosta Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 what would you suggest to use to learn eq'ing? Click here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 Dont rely on the numbers. They mean nothing. Use your ears to determine what sounds best. Look through the guide for goobers at the top of this forum. Lots of good info there. Also, it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 55gibby Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 there is no magic numbers here. Every room sounds different as well as the location of the amps/drums, not to mention where your hearing it from. My tone sounds thin to me with my stage volume, but in the room it sounds huge. I would suggest you find someone who can record you in the practice space (doesn't need to be fancy, just a mic/laptop set up would be fine... as long as it's a decent mic). Then sit back and listen to what you sound like from the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thunderstruck49 Posted January 29, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 the drums get mixed in where they don't stand out enough for us to use them for time.this is band practice not a gig , but we have this huge gig at a fairground soon , so we're trying to get our mix to blend. I just don't know how to do this. I don't want to go up and get boo'ed off a stage...And we're not competing, we have the bass slightly quieter than me , and I am just getting over the drums , and it all gets jumbled up. I set myself to be mids heavy, but the bassist cuts his highs and mids and boosts bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 29, 2010 Members Share Posted January 29, 2010 the drums get mixed in where they don't stand out enough for us to uses them for time.this is band practice not a gig , but we have this huge gig at a fairground soon , so we're trying to get our mix to blend. I just don't know how to do this. I don't want to go up and get boo'ed off a stage...And we're not competing, we have the bass slightly quieter than me , and I am just getting over the drums , and it all get's jumbled up. I set myself to be mids heavy, but the bassist cuts his highs and mids and boosts bass. OK. Where are you located? What kind of sound system will you use at the fairground? Is it supplied or are you in charge of it. The bassist cutting mids and highs and boosting lows is probably the main problem. It come back to understanding EQ. His setup will make anybody sound muddy. He needs to use his mids and highs to give the bass clarity. There is a good frequency chart floating around here somewhere. Take a look at it to see where the instruments actually fall. His EQ does not equal your EQ. Be careful or you will make things much worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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