The sound of my amp changed. why?

[mbengs1]

Here's what I did. I used my multi effects with it. It sounded great. like real amp distortion and not fake like multi effects. After a couple of days of using it with multi effects, I noticed the amp became more trebly. It still sounds great but the treble and presence controls are significantly set lower than before but its not that unreasonable. is this a normal thing caused by using multieffects with Bugera amps? or is it the cabinet that changed. I never play loud so I doubt its the speakers.

[ido1957]

Just turn down the treble on your patch or on your amp. It's probably just a treble boost on your effect box.

[WRGKMC]

It probably isn't the amp that changed, its you.

 

You'd be "amazed" at how your own ears sensitivity changes day by day. Most people thing their ears sensitivity is exactly the same day by day and make judgments based on memory. Other then what they feel is comfortable at a given moment, this kind of judgment is highly unreliable.

 

I myself thought I had excellent tone and level judgment for decades. That was until I got real deep into recording. I now know, the longer you're listening to moderately loud music (above 85Db which is normal talking or TV levels) the quicker your ears loose sensitivity. Nearly every mix I do starts off at about 85db in the studio.

 

By the end of the session which is usually about 3 hours, the volume and tones seems to be exactly the same as when I began. I then save the recording and come back to it in a few days. None of the recording monitors or mix volumes get changed in any way. When I open the song again, and hit play, the reality of how loud the song really was is immediately apparent. I may begin a mix at 85 and creep up the volume till its closer to 100+ by the end of the session. I come back with rested ears and its really loud.

 

Frequency sensitivities also change. If the music had allot of high end, the high end sensitivity is what your ears loose first and don't even notice you're pushing that too hard in a mix. My ears are the way they used to be as a kid either. 50 Years of having drummers smash cymbals in my ears sure didn't help.

 

If you read up on the old Motown Studios, the mixers had an actual time limit on how long the mixers were allowed to mix a song. I seem to remember they allowed 1 hour of mixing time per engineer because any longer and the engineer started making bad decisions. Their monitors were extremely loud however. Most studios don't crank things that loud mixing. Guess the 1 hour limit instead of turning things down worked for them because no one can deny how consistent that music factory was capable of churning out hundreds of hits.

 

In your case it may be your setup that changes. Just changing strings to new strings or another brand can make a huge difference. Amp placement being moved, and what you may be using as a reference to make that contrast can change. Things that don't lie are available though. If you had a mic connected to a frequency analyzer it can provide analytical proof of what you're getting. The rest again, is just what's comfortable to you at any given time.

 

I always think my amps sound different when I first plug in. I know it takes me a couple of songs or maybe 1/2 hour to get back in the pocket and actually feel the speakers vibrations again. Same thing with my Mic and PA. I can go a week or two, flip the PA on and man my vocals sound different if down right awful and no settings had changed.

 

I know the last time I played it was running at peak performance so what changed?

 

I did. My ears, and my feelings for the kick from the speakers begins by being overly sensitive to loud sounds. Its like walking into a club when a bands already playing and you're blown away by how loud it is. After being in there a short time both the loudness and sound quality seems normal as you become acclimated to the sound. This is an old story, just about any pro can confirm. If its the first time you noticed it, then you must be getting better as a player, because it tends to get worse with age.