Solo Boost Methods

[tubeswell]

bear in mind the rest of the band need to be listening to whoever is soloing and adjust THEIR volume accordingly too, same when someone is singing.
Sometimes it's not actually about level, it's about space. That's usually a sign of a good band/musician

Yup

[Reeltarded]

Just add another master and switch it with a relay ....

In series. Perfect.

[Structo]

But you know what?
The cup is half way full sometimes.

I can't exactly remember what I did in my ODS amp, but when I kick in the PAB when in Overdrive, it is a bit louder but also a bit brighter which would help a solo.
You can play with the PAB resistors to adjust what kind of boost you get.

Not sure how many of you have listened to tracks, maybe of your favorite song, where they isolate the instruments in the master tape.
So you only hear the guitar or lead guitar.
I was always surprised by the tone of the guitars being so bright and trebly.
But in the mix with the bass and other instruments it balances out.
They each have their vocal range that become one when all is well.

But when we're at home alone, not many of us desire to hear that kind of tone by itself when we play.

I certainly don't.

For my house, my amp sounds great!
Couldn't tell you how it sounds at a gig.....

[Reeltarded]

Those tracks are raw an unprocessed. That isn't what they sound like at all if soloed out of the mix. It's a misunderstanding that most people have about isolated tracks, which should never have been available to misunderstand in the first place.

All that treble gets rolled off. Except for drums and female vocals, I don't use much of anything above 8k rolled off 6db. I bet if you split the mix at 8k there would be less that 1% of the track rms left. Guitars stop at 5k/-6db-oct.

destroy the masters is my mantra

[Littlewyan]

The Express is definitely loud enough. I actually have to attenuate 15dB at band practice! My problem is I'm in a 6 piece band. We actually only have 1 guitarist atm (me) but we do have a synth player and a sax player. So in some songs unless I boost my solos they get COMPLETELY drowned out.

You are right Structo, you need to have your tone set so it works with the band mix. My TW Express sounds quite bright on it's own but when I'm playing with a band its great.

I had a look at the JCM900 SL-X as they have switchable masters but I think changing my amp would be a bit extreme! They are the better sounding JCM900s tho in my opinion . I do adjust the guitar volume for some solos which helps but I still need a bit more of a boost.

[Littlewyan]

One thing I remember thinking about years ago was how on earth Angus Young did it. On some tours he had such a clean tone. I think I read somewhere that he has a separate amp setup for solos but I wouldn't be surprised if it was just the soundman turning him up.

[norburybrook]

The Express is definitely loud enough. I actually have to attenuate 15dB at band practice! My problem is I'm in a 6 piece band. We actually only have 1 guitarist atm (me) but we do have a synth player and a sax player. So in some songs unless I boost my solos they get COMPLETELY drowned out.

You are right Structo, you need to have your tone set so it works with the band mix. My TW Express sounds quite bright on it's own but when I'm playing with a band its great.

I had a look at the JCM900 SL-X as they have switchable masters but I think changing my amp would be a bit extreme! They are the better sounding JCM900s tho in my opinion . I do adjust the guitar volume for some solos which helps but I still need a bit more of a boost.

I'm not surrey I'm understanding you now.

You have to attenuate your amp, yet you're saying it's not loud enough for solos!!!

Why don't you, as I said previously ;

1: take off the attenuator

2; turn the volume down on your guitar

3; turn up the volume on your guitar for solos


Job done


I was using rental AC30's on a recent tour and I was running the amp volume at number 8 out of 10 which, with the guitar turned up full was f***ing loud but with the guitar volume backed down if was fine, I just rolled the volume up and down depending on what was required.



Marcus

[vibratoking]

Why don't you, as I said previously ;

1: take off the attenuator

2; turn the volume down on your guitar

3; turn up the volume on your guitar for solos


Job done Very Happy

lol...

Do that ^ or just get rid of your band mates. They obviously aren't controlling their volume and it's not a fixable problem IME. Synth players, that I've played with, can be a funny lot. Many use the canned patches with big time volume changes from patch to patch. I see the volume pedal on the floor, yet the guy never puts his foot on it. I've been so disgusted that I've put my foot on it a few times. The other approach you can take is to point your amp right at the offenders head. It stop you from being drowned out, but you'll feel better about it.

[norburybrook]

yep, the band I was touring with had 2 keyboard players, sax player, and an amped up blues harmonica player, never had any problem with not being loud enough.


the smaller the stage/space you play in the more difficult it is to get good levels as everyone is so close to each other. Ideally you want there to be enough distance between you so you can have YOUR own sound how you want it and it doesn't affect everyone else. You then use your monitors to fill in what you want in your sonic picture.



Marcus

[deeder]

With my Marshall's I use exclusively a clean boost pedal (Free The Tone Final Booster) that’s it.

[Reeltarded]

Boost pedals don't boost volume when the amp is already at drive and attenuated.

[dkochan]

Boost pedals don't boost volume when the amp is already at drive and attenuated.

Yep. It boosts compression, which probably isn't going to be productive.

Really need to think "lead tone" not "lead volume." A straight up volume boost seldom works and usually sounds amateurish. Mud is easy to make. A listenable mix takes work. Listening, thought and cooperation will get you there.

[Littlewyan]

norburybrook - The Express by itself is way too loud for the gigs I play so I have to use an attenuator to keep the volume down. However as we have such a dense mix when it comes to solos I need to boost the volume a bit so I stand out, otherwise I'm not always heard. I could ask the synth player to use a volume pedal but he brings 3 synths with him and would need 3 pedals! Also I may not know much about Saxophones but I'm sure you can't turn them down .

I have another question for you guys actually. How loud do you play? I have to attenuate my Express by at least 15dB at practice. Last two gigs I played both had soundmen that wanted me to be very quiet on stage. In fact I had to attenuate the amp even more than I do at practice to keep them happy!