boydwgrossii Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 I have an HD500x and I have some presets I got from customtone and enjoy making some of my own. The problem is that when I get one I like, I switch to another and sometimes, the volume is quiet a bit different. Is there some way I can monitor the volume with some kind of meter so that I can have my tones be balanced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codamedia Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 1 minute ago, boydwgrossii said: Is there some way I can monitor the volume with some kind of meter so that I can have my tones be balanced? I always start with my ears.... if something is too loud or too quiet I adjust the overall volume of the patch until it is really close to each other. That is usually enough since it is no different than how I would adjust a standard pedal board of effects. I do have a mixer in my home studio... and sometimes I will use the meters to match signals. This is handy when dealing with many different tones on different instruments where my ears will play tricks on me. I measure the results on the meter for the tone I am most familiar and comfortable with... then I match those levels with the other instruments. If you don't have a mixer, you could use a meter in a DAW, or find a free "Meter App" for your phone/tablet and use that. Also keep in mind.... home volumes are very different from live volumes. It doesn't matter how you adjust your volumes at home, you need to fine tune it (with your ears) in a rehearsal or live situation. Be prepared on how to accomplish this in a timely manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted August 20, 2018 Share Posted August 20, 2018 Gig volume Always do things at gig volume Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceatl Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 I usually light some incense and wear sunglasses...The important thing about leveling out patches is that you NEVER UNDER ANY CURCUMSTANCE TOUCH THE MASTER VOLUME. CHANNEL VOLUME ONLY....It's a lot of back and forth. You can use the mixer to make up for weaker amp models...It's an onging process as leveling by yourself is totally different than when you are with a band...it's situational. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted August 21, 2018 Share Posted August 21, 2018 As others have already stated, volume is all about perception. You can stare at level meters all day long, and the only thing that matters in the end is whether Patch A sounds louder than Patch B. Balancing levels, particularly when the tones are significantly different (i.e. clean vs. dirty) needs to be done by ear. A distorted tone at 80 dB (or any other arbitrary level you choose) will always seem louder than a clean tone registering at the same volume on a meter. A/B-ing back and forth is the only way to do it... and this needs to be done at the volume you intend to use the patches in question. If you level everything at living room volume, then crank up to gig levels, all that work goes straight down the crapper. The dB curve is logarithmic... the difference in perceived loudness between 70 and 73 dB is NOT the same as 90 to 93 dB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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