A confession ... observation ... and maybe a lesson?

4114Effects

I have a burden to unload, brothers and sisters. Forgive me Fretboarders, for I have sinned.

I made a custom pedal for a blues guitarist a long while ago and he recently sent it back as one of the footswitches had broken.

Along with fixing it, he asked if I could tweak it a little to give it thicker mids and a little more sparkle up top. I said no problem, fixed the switch and completely forgot to do any mods before shipping it back. 

He contacted me this week to say he'd gigged it over the weekend and thanked me for doing such an awesome job on the mods. The pedal now sounds exactly how he wants it, the mids are spot on and the extra treble helps it cut through the mix ... 

I'm now in a quandry. Do I tell him I forgot to do the mods and risk him feeling like an idiot? Or do I just leave it as he's very pleased with the "modded" pedal?

I find it interesting that the tone he's looking for is now there despite the pedal not being changed in the slightest. Probably a good indication of how much of a part psychosomatic interpretation plays in the perception of what we're hearing. Or some other scientific stuff like that ... 

robinbowes

I'd 'fess up.

Funny story though. Just shows the power of the mind over the ear.

R.

Sassafras

He probably knows now you've started a thread about your transgression.

mgaw

tell him, 

Modulus_Amps

Well if you were not planning to tell him I suspect you would not have posted it here, I think we are all like this to some point, you set the tone of an amp or pedal one day thinking it sounds ace and then the next day you have to tweak it again... our ears are not always honest with us.

if you don't tell him he will be off telling everyone how amazeballs you are that you can fine tune the pedal to suit and you are up there with Dumble for knowing tone.......

John_A

Say, sorry you forgot to charge him for the  mods that'll be another £20, and you'll happily do the same for all his mates pedals

Joking by the way

benmurray85

Absolutely tell him! There's a huge portion of the guitar playing world/community who deserve to be called out on their corksniffing nonsense. You have a real world opportunity here, take it!!!

Teetonetal

That is so funny. Tell him and be gentle and say maybe something else in his signal chain changed?

Danny1969

Technically, if it's been on his board for ages and then been removed and re - plugged in then he might hear a tiny difference
due to the cleaning action on the jacks and sockets. In the (old smokey) studio I would demonstrate with direct out jacks on the desk that you could hear the tone change as you revolved the jack in the socket and the socket bit on a fresh area of jack. To combat this we used to constantly clean the insert points and direct outs on the desk.  

If nothing else you can tell him the above and he won't feel stupid and your still be a hero 

Legionreturns

Get 3CS to tell him for you  

Funkfingers

4114Effects said:
Probably a good indication of how much of a part psychosomatic interpretation plays in the perception of what we're hearing. Or some other scientific stuff like that ... 

Encourage the customer to play cover versions of a few songs by Placebo.

sgosden

I bet you put black gunk on the board too, you vertex wannabe!

Shame on you

slacker

I'd tell him that you forgot the mods didn't charge for them and that it is possible or probable that his speaker broke in a bit more.

BintyTwanger77

Definitely tell him. I find this fascinating, though, and pretty funny. I've definitely been victim to this, my brain playing tricks on my ears, or however you want to put it. You can convince yourself that your set up sounds perfect one day then slightly off the next, having made no changes at all.

Teetonetal

BintyTwanger77 said:

Definitely tell him. I find this fascinating, though, and pretty funny. I've definitely been victim to this, my brain playing tricks on my ears, or however you want to put it. You can convince yourself that your set up sounds perfect one day then slightly off the next, having made no changes at all.

Given that from one day to the next I can love / hate my rig, I've always considered chasing tone a pointless exercise. I do nearly all my playing after working or having kids screeching in the background. I reckon my ear fatigue by that point is so advanced that trying to pin point the difference between two very similar sounds is a non starter. I know what I like, I get my sound roughly there an we are good to go.  

4114Effects

Yeah of course I'll tell him, just wanted to see what reactions I'd get here  Just have to work out the best way to tell him now.

Jonathanthomas83

Honesty is the best policy! :-) It'll make him see how much weight he puts on the perception of tone when he thinks something has changed - he'll thank you for the honesty and will respect you more, and will probably make him a returning customer. I know it would me.

robinbowes

4114Effects said:

Yeah of course I'll tell him, just wanted to see what reactions I'd get here  Just have to work out the best way to tell him now.

Point him at this thread

R.

thermionic

Ask him if he's bought a Russ Andrews mains cable to power his board before you do anything else.

Guitar_Slinger

Maybe it had a whack in the post? As others have said, sometimes rigs sound better or worse depending on how long an amp has been switched on, or played, or how it sounds to out ears which have had a battering for the last hour.

Sassafras

Offer to work your 'magic' on all his other gear.