Rig great one night, totally fkd the next..

Toneboner

Toneboner

Member
Ever have a great session one night,, everything is dialed in, every pickup doing something right, boosts set to incinerate but base toan is rocking too, etc. Then the next day u fire it up *exctly* how u left it and it’s FACKED!

Wuttt is going on??? Whyyy are the toan gods cruel!??
 
One theory I have is probably not applicable to you, but if you play everyday at volume for awhile, you are going to start losing a bit of sensitivity to highend and start gradually cranking it. Then after a long break, you turn it on and the tone is very bright, maybe grainy. Another phenomenon is if you turn down your master before turning on/off the amp.

My amp at least changes drastically with low volume vs high volume as far as gain/eq needed.
 
Could be a few things, but one of the more common causes of this is fluctuating wall voltage.
I used to have this happen to me from time to time when I lived in a large city. Wall voltage would swing like crazy, and could go as high as 126v. I'm out in the sticks now, and I have my wall voltage set at 112v, supplied from a pure sinewave inverter. ( off grid solar )
Solved a lot of problems for me.
Most amps sound like ass when the wall voltage is above about 118v.
 
Could be a few things, but one of the more common causes of this is fluctuating wall voltage…
Most amps sound like ass when the wall voltage is above about 118v.
I’ve wondered about this. Warmer day today than has been in a while. People cranking AC + home on a weekend = the wrong kinda brown sound??

I’ve been trying to find my acres and get into the quietude (ironically) and onto that stable Sun voltage, too. U lucky dog!
 
It could also be pure nostalgia. Something you remember from the past as a high water mark, though it actually wasn't as good as your remembrance of the event. We're all wired that way.

Like other say, it could also be climatic conditions or something as mundane as the electricity supply.
 
One theory I have is probably not applicable to you, but if you play everyday at volume for awhile, you are going to start losing a bit of sensitivity to highend
My hearing Is definitely bad enough for this to factor in,, tho I listen to recorded music on various devices and everything sounds fine. This is very night and day, can’t get an inspiring sound with any guitar/pickup/cab combo.

Come to think of it I did move a few amps around the space just to make everything more accessible. I’m very aware how the room imparts its character (for good or bad) but I would swear this is something else. I’m gunna check wall voltage before I REcheck bias (I just set it! Sounded PERFECT!)
 
Sometimes its just the sound in your head that can't ever be duplicated

My gear always sounds best when someone else is playing it.

I just traded in a GL Tele blues boy for an ultra II tele

When the sales guy was giving it a once over i almost didn't sell it.

Sounded great.
 
This is why you dial your rig in around these types of variables.

Does it sound best with more gain at the practice pad and less at the local theater? leave it in the middle, and get used to the sound of it miced up at that setting

You can work around this fact of life (barometric pressure, elevation, etc) by choosing gear that stays more consistent - this is why people who play vintage amps just roll with the punches on "bad tone days"
 

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