Crazy how different an amp sounds in different rooms

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I’m always amazed how different my rig sounds in different rooms. I never like my tone when we practice. But every time I get on stage I absolutely LOVE it. It’s thick and chewy. Sounds perfect for hard rock stuff IMO. In jam it’s bright and unpleasant and gives me ear fatigue. I use a LP into a Mesa Stiletto Ace into a Bogner 412 with vintage Blackbacks. I get lots of compliments on my tone.
 
I just had a thread about this…. I changed the practice space and everything went out the door. Any changes in rooms make big differences in what you hear.
 
Everything sounds great in my garage, just so so in bedroom. Probably would of kept alot of amps if I realized this sooner 😫
 
We used to run these giant ass 18" subs in our old jam spot. You used to have to crank the kick to hear it in the room, let alone in the mix.

If you went next door though, the ceiling shook and the boom was unbearable. Room size definitely makes a difference.
 
Back in the day the band I was in practiced in what was basically a concrete cube with a garage door. There were a bunch of these built on an out of the way lot and they were all rented by bands for practicing in etc. It was kind a cool spot to hang out and play, but it sounded beyond terrible. Nobody knew shit about controlling reflections and whatnot back then, and everyone just endured it. It was a painful wash of cymbals joined by the increasing volume of the other instruments and vocals in the PA to compete as every harsh frequency just bounced around that concrete square.

I don’t care what you were playing on or through, in that kind of space everything sounds bad and hurts your ears.
 
This topic brings up such a hugely important skill guitarists in bands have to learn over time. Changing the practice room is an easy thought to someone not in a band, but the dynamic of rehearsal rooms (& their size, location, price, etc...) quickly remind us that guitar tone is not everyone's #1 priority and it's up to us to dial in good tones wherever we are in any given situation.
 
This is exactly why chasing "in the room" tone is a waste of time. It's too elusive. Every room is completely different.

You can't really know what an amp sounds like, or if it even sounds good at all, until you hear it through a mic and quality monitors or PA speakers.
 
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scottosan said:
Treat smaller rooms with acoustic foam. It really knocks out alot of the fatiguing standing waves
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Yep. Have always done that.

I've rehearsed in all sizes of rooms before and my favorite was always a 12x25 climate controlled storage unit in my area that allowed bands. We would set up exactly like we were playing live. But most importantly we put carpet down on the whole floor. And we used old Movie Cinema curtains and acoustic foam on the walls. The cinema curtains were amazing, my friend had gotten them years before and we had a good supply. Cut them to length, put hooks on them and they cover the walls. Acoustic foam on the spots of the ceiling. Before the curtains we'd use acoustic foam or basically the bedding foam you could get at a hardware store and line the walls with it.

Sounded great. And I knew exactly what my amps sounded like at volume. But I cannot tell you how many bands wouldn't take the time to soundproof their rooms. They'd pop in our room and go you guys sound great...duh.
 
Honestly, this is the main reason my band now prefers modelers and IEMS for gigs...at least it's consistent in our ears, the sound guy can worry about the rest.
 
jski59 said:
Honestly, this is the main reason my band now prefers modelers and IEMS for gigs...at least it's consistent in our ears, the sound guy can worry about the rest.
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Smart as this answer may be in 2022.... I F'ng hate it. I prefer bands prioritizing how they sound before putting it in the hands of the sound guy.
 
UltraGary said:
Smart as this answer may be in 2022.... I F'ng hate it. I prefer bands prioritizing how they sound before putting it in the hands of the sound guy.
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You're really going to hate to hear that sound guys have just as much, if not more, influence on how your live rig sounds through the mains. I'm a proponent of the live set up too but it's adding variables like mic placement, which mic, and they're still EQing for the room. A modeler set for live performance can be as easy as asking for a flat EQ and minor adjustments from the unit.
 
The room is everything. More than your precious amp, more than your precious cab, more than your precious lick.

Move your shit to the other wall and tell me I'm wrong.
 
That1Guy said:
You're really going to hate to hear that sound guys have just as much, if not more, influence on how your live rig sounds through the mains. I'm a proponent of the live set up too but it's adding variables like mic placement, which mic, and they're still EQing for the room. A modeler set for live performance can be as easy as asking for a flat EQ and minor adjustments from the unit.
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Fully agreed on all points.
 
your environment is so much of the tone. whether that’s guitar amps, drums, vocals, or even just listening to music. i try to explain this to band mates occasionally because i bitch about our awful cramped practice spot, but they don’t get it. goddamn bassist doesn’t understand why nobody can hear him and he says he’s so loud, but he’s standing in a corner every practice. constant struggle with rooms lol
 
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