
moltenmetalburn
Active member
I have always found there is no such thing as "normal" settings on an amp yet I
hear people say this all the time. So much so I believe it is a real problem for many guitarists.
For Example, have you ever played with another guitarist using a different amp and suggested say less bass or treble to better mesh your tones and they respond "well my bass in on five" or " My bass is only on 3" ?
As every amp has a tone stack that effects different frequencies AND have a different frequency response form the start even before you start tweaking knobs, there is no correlation with amp settings between different amps. None, period.
one amp bass knob could be affecting 80hz while the other 120HZ, one is passive one is active,etc. there are so many variables that the point is there are no relevant, natural, or normal, settings for a guitar amplifier. each one must be tweaked by ear only to find the best tones inside it.
I find the number system most manufacturers use to number an amps dials gets stuck in our head. when trying out new/other amps we wind up using our "comfortable" number settings rather than actually using your ear to decide what sounds best. A major fail for many guitarists out there.
Another fail is seeing the tone knobs as min/half/max :
" I usually set the bass about halfway up" another major fail. halfway up from amp to amp can yield wildly different results.
what do you guys think?
I have encountered so many guitarists with sounds they are not satisfied with or who are demoing new amps who seem almost afraid to turn the knobs outside of their comfort zone: " I never turned the bass up that high on my amp". "on my amp..."
my response: well this isn't your amp and your amps has more 80hz naturally and your bass knob actually effect 100hz so well need to compensate."
hear people say this all the time. So much so I believe it is a real problem for many guitarists.
For Example, have you ever played with another guitarist using a different amp and suggested say less bass or treble to better mesh your tones and they respond "well my bass in on five" or " My bass is only on 3" ?
As every amp has a tone stack that effects different frequencies AND have a different frequency response form the start even before you start tweaking knobs, there is no correlation with amp settings between different amps. None, period.
one amp bass knob could be affecting 80hz while the other 120HZ, one is passive one is active,etc. there are so many variables that the point is there are no relevant, natural, or normal, settings for a guitar amplifier. each one must be tweaked by ear only to find the best tones inside it.
I find the number system most manufacturers use to number an amps dials gets stuck in our head. when trying out new/other amps we wind up using our "comfortable" number settings rather than actually using your ear to decide what sounds best. A major fail for many guitarists out there.
Another fail is seeing the tone knobs as min/half/max :
" I usually set the bass about halfway up" another major fail. halfway up from amp to amp can yield wildly different results.
what do you guys think?
I have encountered so many guitarists with sounds they are not satisfied with or who are demoing new amps who seem almost afraid to turn the knobs outside of their comfort zone: " I never turned the bass up that high on my amp". "on my amp..."
my response: well this isn't your amp and your amps has more 80hz naturally and your bass knob actually effect 100hz so well need to compensate."