Giorgos02 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 I am currently trying to get the best possible tone for my needs (heavy, mid-gain tone with lots of clarity and single string definition) using Dual Amps to see if I can get better results than having only 1 amp. And my questions are: 1. What would be the ideal or preferable setting for the mixer when using dual amps? (I want the 2 amps to blend with each other or when using the same amp: the 2 cabs to blend with each other, in order to make a huge mono track tone. Is this possible? How can I achieve it? Tips?) 2. I saw some people suggesting to start everything with placing a midfocus EQ after the amp to cut off the frequencies that are not needed (HP: 100Hz, LP:6k Hz) or even get a second midfocus EQ with the same settings before the amp, so that the amp would have less frequencies to process and more headroom in order to get better results of it. Is this technique reasonable and "right"? 3. Some people say that some EQ's are not reliable because they make the sound more digital. Is this true? Which EQ's would be best in order to get more natural sound and still boost or cut the needed frequencies? Which EQ's make the sound more digital? (I know that EQ's are different and they are being used for different things, but in order to chase the tone I want, I am willing to make the job done with different approaches than usual, just to have the best sounding tone.) P.S: I am not worried about DSP limits or many effects on the chain. All I want from the Pod is a huge amp/cab tone that would sound as natural as possible, without all the digital fizziness/fakeness. When I assure that, I am gonna add a screamer or my external OD that I use as a boost and some noise gates and then I would use EQ's. Any tips and suggestions are welcome and very much appreciated :) Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 1) If everything is panned dead center, then it's just a matter of trying out different amp/cab combinations and adjusting channel volumes to taste. 2) EQ can be used 1000 ways, what works for you is mostly personal preference. I tend to use a parametric EQ with narrow Q to focus in on unwanted harsh frequencies, then just dial them back. But the mid-focus works too...you may find that what works for one amp model, might not be the best choice for another. Lotsa ways to skin a cat...if it sounds good, it is good. 3) We can argue this all day long and get nowhere...opinions vary. There's no way around experimenting. Just because I like a certain approach doesn't mean you will...and neither of us is "right". Your ears will tell you what's good, and what sucks, lol. Happy tweaking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesteel Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Pan pedal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinDorr Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Start with an empty dual amp tone structure (or turn all models off) and only enable the very first effect with neutral tone/gain settings. Set both mixer paths to center, 0 gain. Play your guitar and raise your first effect's gain to get maximum output level w/o ANY distortion/compression/soft clipping. Ideal would be measuring the USB or SPDIF output level and making sure your peak level does not exceed -12dBFS. You can raise this limit a little for clean target tones and maybe 3-4dB for higher gain tones if you feel you do not get enough output volume. If you do not have any effect before the amps, add a Mid focus EQ with tone neutral setting and adjust its gain untill you hit the limit. In some cases your guitar level may be just right or you may need to lower your guitar volume pot (or even consider lowering your PUs) to stay below the peak limit! Once you have that baseline you have a very healthy input signal to work with in subsequent modelling stages and a target volume to adjust model gain or amp channel volume such that the perceived output level never changes as you add, change or remove models and adjust settings. (Never is too strong a word here; a couple dB up is fine, especially when you target higher gain tones, but who wants to measure all the time or keep track of that by ear). As previous posters indicated, I also think it's essential to keep things as simple as possible and explore your options at least initially with just the amp models (all parameters, cabs, and mics. Next step would be add drive and/or distortion effects to get closer (always w/o changing perceived volume). And if that does not do enough, try removing or emphasizing frequencies with EQs (again w/o changing volume). Good luck, enjoy the ride ;-), and sample a couple more opinions ... Martin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgos02 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 2) EQ can be used 1000 ways, what works for you is mostly personal preference. I tend to use a parametric EQ with narrow Q to focus in on unwanted harsh frequencies, then just dial them back. But the mid-focus works too...you may find that what works for one amp model, might not be the best choice for another. Lotsa ways to skin a cat...if it sounds good, it is good. 2) I know EQ's can be used in many different ways. All I asked for is if this approach of patch building (placing a midfocus EQ after the amp before even trying amps) is right and reasonable judging from your personal experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgos02 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Pan pedal? I am not sure how am I supposed to use this. Is this a normal volume pedal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 2) I know EQ's can be used in many different ways. All I asked for is if this approach of patch building (placing a midfocus EQ after the amp before even trying amps) is right and reasonable judging from your personal experience. The whole point is anything is reasonable if it works for you and gives you the sound you're looking for. There is no point in getting hung up on the "right" or "wrong" way to set up a patch, because there really is no such thing. That's all I meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgos02 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 The whole point is anything is reasonable if it works for you and gives you the sound you're looking for. There is no point in getting hung up on the "right" or "wrong" way to set up a patch, because there really is no such thing. That's all I meant. Ok I get what you mean. Thanks for your time :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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