How consistent are your ears?

gybe!

gybe!

Well-known member
maybe a weird question, but how much does what you are hearing change day to day?

I certainly remember in my younger days I would get fatigue in mixing sessions but was generally pretty consistent at the start of most sessions. These days? Not so much. Not doing much mixing, but some days I swear my rig is amazing and the next day I’m ready to sell it all using the same settings/guitar/cabinets. I battle a lot more allergy based head congestion these days, but think aging is also in play too (early 40s)

Or, as another recent thread pointed out, maybe I need to measure my wall voltage more closely
 
My rig is solid enough for paying work every day unless I break something.

I asked a good engineer once why he mixed at pretty low volumes instead of cranking it to "feel" the music, and he taught me that your ears compress sound at volume, never mind the ear fatigue of listening to very loud stuff for many hours at a time. He was a great engineer and mixer when it came to rock music so I found his advice very valuable.
 
I get this just dialing in a headphone mix for my bandmates. Some days it too quiet or they can't hear the click, and some days it's perfect with the same settings. It gets frustrating.

Gotta remember though, we don't just hear with our ears. We listen with our brain. Being tired can fatigue your hearing all the same. My tinnitus is always worse at night than it is in the morning.
 
barometric pressures in the atmosphere, humidity levels, jet streams ect can all have an impact on toan. high humidity and low mids dont work well cause the mids get stuck in the atmosphere and then sound tubby
 
gybe! said:
maybe a weird question, but how much does what you are hearing change day to day?

I certainly remember in my younger days I would get fatigue in mixing sessions but was generally pretty consistent at the start of most sessions. These days? Not so much. Not doing much mixing, but some days I swear my rig is amazing and the next day I’m ready to sell it all using the same settings/guitar/cabinets. I battle a lot more allergy based head congestion these days, but think aging is also in play too (early 40s)

Or, as another recent thread pointed out, maybe I need to measure my wall voltage more closely
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I have that all the time. Might be a bit of all of it. But Voltage issues surely are a thing. I measured it from time to time and it varies greatly here.
 
RaceU4her said:
barometric pressures in the atmosphere, humidity levels, jet streams ect can all have an impact on toan. high humidity and low mids dont work well cause the mids get stuck in the atmosphere and then sound tubby
Click to expand...
That sounds excentric. :)
 
I don't play guitar anymore, but for some reason making electronic music, monitors seem to just kill my ears quick. I mix on floor monitors now.

If I were to go back, I would just have a tube amp with knobs. The endless tweaking I did with Kempers and other modelers use to drive me nuts. Went to sleep with the best IIC+ tone preset possible saved. Completely stoked. Wake up the next day, preset sounds like shit.
 
anchorman-sex-panther.gif


Afterburners on a flight deck 15 ft away. Heavy Equiptment. Power tools. 110lb jackhammers. 45 years of Marshall amps and one eardrum rupture in 1988 have taken a toll but everything still works.

 
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shar-vell Dan said:
A real "voltage regulator" is a better and more stable option than a variable transformer especially gigging.
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Better to who? You?

He didn’t ask about gigging. You brought that up.

A variac is better for a lot of guys because you can vary the voltage lower to brown out the sound, accommodate older amps that like to see lower voltages etc… on top of being able to control the voltage to a set point so that it’s more consistent in sound. Is your voltage regulator going to do all that? And I guarantee that voltage regulator is 5x the cost, at least.

You seem to be making a point just to have a difference of opinion and no other reason.
 
My ears I don’t think are that consistent anymore. Temperature and humidity probably are a factor, and I get occasional clogged eustachian tube issues in my ears. If I listen to a lot of loud music, or loud engines, etc during the day, then even hours later my amps will sound like crap with no top-end until my ears recover.

I keep close eye on my wall voltage, it’s pretty steady but I also have a bucking transformer I made with a volts readout so I can adjust as needed.
 
RedPlated said:
Better to who? You?

He didn’t ask about gigging. You brought that up.

A variac is better for a lot of guys because you can vary the voltage lower to brown out the sound, accommodate older amps that like to see lower voltages etc… on top of being able to control the voltage to a set point so that it’s more consistent in sound. Is your voltage regulator going to do all that? And I guarantee that voltage regulator is 5x the cost, at least.

You seem to be making a point just to have a difference of opinion and no other reason.
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You just got boomered, man :ROFLMAO:

Don't take the bait or he will start posting Far Side cartoons
 
RedPlated said:
Better to who? You?

He didn’t ask about gigging. You brought that up.

A variac is better for a lot of guys because you can vary the voltage lower to brown out the sound, accommodate older amps that like to see lower voltages etc… on top of being able to control the voltage to a set point so that it’s more consistent in sound. Is your voltage regulator going to do all that? And I guarantee that voltage regulator is 5x the cost, at least.

You seem to be making a point just to have a difference of opinion and no other reason.
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Hey man i didn't piss in yer cornflakes go Fuck yourself.
Variacs need babysitters and apperently you do too.
Doesn't work & play well w/ others.
BTW ISNT THIS THREAD ABOUt EARS ???
yOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE YOUR FINELY TUNED HAMMER ANVIL & STIRRIP CAN DETECT +/- 2 VDC ?
IF SO HOW YOU MEASURE THAT W/A HAMMER ANVIL & STIRRUP METER ???

escalated-quickly-anchorman.gif
 
shar-vell Dan said:
Hey man i didn't piss in yer cornflakes go Fuck yourself.
Variacs need babysitters and apperently you do too.
Doesn't work & play well w/ others.
BTW ISNT THIS THREAD ABOUt EARS ???
yOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE YOUR FINELY TUNED HAMMER ANVIL & STIRRIP CAN DETECT +/- 2 VDC ?
IF SO HOW YOU MEASURE THAT W/A HAMMER ANVIL & STIRRUP METER ???

escalated-quickly-anchorman.gif
Click to expand...
😂😂😂😂

Man. You take yourself WAY too seriously. I agree with everyone else here. I’m not getting worked up over your tantrums.

I’m seriously laughing right now.
 
The biggest thing that changes for me is how bright I like my amps. It seems to vary mostly on style of music I am playing at the time.

When I go back and toss my amps on a switcher and match volume the things I tend to like in terms of blend of gain/frequency pushes and cuts are all pretty damn similar
 
itsgoodnow said:
The biggest thing that changes for me is how bright I like my amps. It seems to vary mostly on style of music I am playing at the time.

When I go back and toss my amps on a switcher and match volume the things I tend to like in terms of blend of gain/frequency pushes and cuts are all pretty damn similar
Click to expand...
Lately ive been trending higher on the presence knob say around 3 o'clock which is plenty of cut and also does the most damage to my hearing.
Its a vicious cycle but sounds great.
 
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