How did you balance your patch volumes for gigs?

[northernguitar]

Hello all, I hope you’re good.

I’m brand new to modelling and am contemplating my first ampless gig in two weeks. I’m trying to troubleshoot anything that could go wrong. One thing is the volume level of my amp patches.

I plugged my Boss IR-200 into my MacBook and launched GarageBand. There, I meticulously adjusted all patch levels so that they were just scraping the green/ yellow mark on the GB recording meter. Yesterday at rehearsal, it went pretty smoothly.

However, I did encounter some volume fluctuations, likely Fletcher-Munson curve related and one incident with a pedal. That was during our cover of Plush, where I engaged my MXR Micro Chorus and the volume boost was overpowering the other instruments.

So, how are you controlling the volume on your modeller? My Boss unit has an expression pedal jack, and I’m thinking maybe I need to patch a volume pedal in there so be able to easily control volume on the fly?

 

[gimmeatele]

Hi there, I use a pod go and it's all done through global settings for volume or I will sit and adjust settings for a patch to used by hand and ear so I know there is no drop or sudden increase

 

[northernguitar]

Hi there, I use a pod go and it's all done through global settings for volume or I will sit and adjust settings for a patch to used by hand and ear so I know there is no drop or sudden increase.

Right on, this is pretty much what I’ve done. I’ve only taken it for one voyage in the jamroom, I might just need to do some more adjustments and also learn some on the fly adjusting.

 

[codamedia]

I plugged my Boss IR-200 into my MacBook and launched GarageBand. There, I meticulously adjusted all patch levels so that they were just scraping the green/ yellow mark on the GB recording meter. Yesterday at rehearsal, it went pretty smoothly.

That's a great start... it is very similar to my approach. But as you found, it's close, but not quite. That's because some "tones" cut more than others and vice versa... the only way to finish the procedure is at (or close to) stage volume.

1: Many don't have the luxury, but I simply crank up a song in my studio to around 90-95db and play along with my presets. I know where the tones should sit in a mix and this gets me over the Fletcher Munson effect.

2: At rehearsals I'll quickly tweak a volume "after the song". Unless it's a train wreck, it can wait till the end.

3: A gigs I attempt to make a mental note if something is out of place. I'll tweak it on a break, or the next day at home.

 

[gimmeatele]

Right on, this is pretty much what I’ve done. I’ve only taken it for one voyage in the jamroom, I might just need to do some more adjustments and also learn some on the fly adjusting.

Definitely the on the fly adjusting, Inset everything up by the laptop app, I don't really fully know how to do it all on the pod!

 

[AAT65]

My approach is:

* get it about right, more by ear than by looking at gauges
* go to rehearsal and try to remember what needs tweaking
* fire up the Tone Studio editor, forget what I’m meant to adjust, find interesting patches online etc etc
* go to the next rehearsal and try to remember again
* eventually get round to making some changes
* go to another rehearsal and find it needs tweaking some more
* etc etc..!

 

[RolandG]

My approach is similar to @AAT65’s, except that I make notes during rehearsal, and I listen back to recordings of rehearsals and performance.

Other things I find useful for changing levels on the fly:
1. Set up your output EQ with a 2dB boost at 2kHz, and fairly wide Q, and a Low pass at 6.5kHz.
2. Set up a switchable Filter block with a 3 to 5dB EQ boost at 650Hz and a medium width Q. It gives you the ability to increase the guitar volume in the area where it punches through the mix without sounding shrill.
3. Similarly, use a switchable Tubescreamer in your patches. It might sound nasal at home, but a TS8 or TS9 really cuts through a band mix if a solo isn’t loud enough.
4. Back off your guitar’s volume and tone knobs to around 60-70%, and set up your patches to match those settings. This is the old fashioned way of working. It gives you another ability to turn up or down and/or change brightness.

 

[memorex]

On my Boss GT-100, there's a Master section for each patch where you can balance them. I usually do it by ear, but I have an old Radio Shack db meter I sometimes use, and then average that with what my ears tell me. I have a really good acoustic guitar simulator patch, and since it's about the cleanest and softest patch I use, I balance them all against that one. Any other other volume control is done manually from the guitar.

 

[northernguitar]

Thank you for all the replies. Seems we are all on the same page. It'll take me another rehearsal to get the patches right. I've kept it pretty simple so far, just having four amps-AC30, Twin Reverb, Bassman and a Marshall- all at three levels of gain. However, I do think I will grab a volume pedal for those times the volume gets away from me.

 

[northernguitar]

I found my answer. I didn’t need a volume pedal, but an expression pedal. On the Boss IR-200, this can be used to control several controls. I’m using it to control amp levels. The Boss allows to set max and minimum settings for each patch. I use my preferred amp levels as my max setting, and allow it to drop levels as necessary to control high volume.

 

[StrangerNY]

Hello all, I hope you’re good.

I’m brand new to modelling and am contemplating my first ampless gig in two weeks. I’m trying to troubleshoot anything that could go wrong. One thing is the volume level of my amp patches.

I plugged my Boss IR-200 into my MacBook and launched GarageBand. There, I meticulously adjusted all patch levels so that they were just scraping the green/ yellow mark on the GB recording meter. Yesterday at rehearsal, it went pretty smoothly.

However, I did encounter some volume fluctuations, likely Fletcher-Munson curve related and one incident with a pedal. That was during our cover of Plush, where I engaged my MXR Micro Chorus and the volume boost was overpowering the other instruments.

So, how are you controlling the volume on your modeller? My Boss unit has an expression pedal jack, and I’m thinking maybe I need to patch a volume pedal in there so be able to easily control volume on the fly?

If the volume boost while using the chorus is the onlyproblem you're having level-wise, go into the modeler's settings and see if the chorus has an output control and dial it back from there.

My Mooer has seperate output level controls for effects, and they come in handy for fine-tuning levels when the effects are engaged.

HTH.

- D

 

[northernguitar]

If the volume boost while using the chorus is the onlyproblem you're having level-wise, go into the modeler's settings and see if the chorus has an output control and dial it back from there.

My Mooer has seperate output level controls for effects, and they come in handy for fine-tuning levels when the effects are engaged.

HTH.

- D

My setup is my pedalboard and a Boss IR-200 for amps and cabs. I am still too in love with my pedals to get rid of my board, despite knowing I could pick up something smaller with more sounds. The chorus effect in question is the MXR Micro Chorus. Like its sister, the Micro Flanger, both pedals have a significant volume boost when engaged. They sound lush and beautiful, especially with distortion.

As mentioned above, the expression pedal is the way to go for me. I have all my patch levels set to their best output levels and the expression pedal set to drop it a hair if it gets too loud.