Dealing with bright reflections in playing room?

robgilmo

Not sure if this is the right section to post but here goes.
I play in a conservatory, glass walls, glass roof , you know , a conservatory.

The floor is tiled.


I cant get a decent tone, I use a standard Squier Tele and a Vox Cambridge. Trying to learn Gimme Three Steps but I just sounds well bright and I cant get the tone right,  Bridge pickup, volume 3/4 , tone 1/2 , amp has gain boost and mid range boost set to on, gain at 12 o'clock, treble 12, bass 10 , volume at 7, reverb at 12, no tremolo.


I'm getting a really nice distortion, no too fuzzy but no matter what I do I cant get the tone right, if I try to go darker my low E and A sound way too dark and loud but if I go brighter everything gets too bright.


So I'm thinking it could be the room, any ideas?

steamabacus

You need to look into 'acoustic treatment' - adding some softer, diffusing surfaces to break up all those hard reflections. Exactly how far you take this is up to you but a lot can be done with rugs, curtains and acoustic foam panels (which can be disguised as pictures/artwork.

Sound on Sound has a wealth of articles on the subject - here's a good place to start.

[edit] Have a read through some of the 'Studio SOS' articles archived on the Sound on Sound website - you're likely to find a similar situation to your own room somewhere amongst them.

Alnico

I would start with the amp EQ.
Instead of starting flat at 12 o clock, start with treble and mids lower and if you have presence then lower that too.
It's not easy in a conservatory but it's shouldn't be impossible.

I would re- EQ for different rooms if i took my amp different places. Where my Deville sits it faces a wall only 2m in front of it, although the room is bigger in the other direction (Left to right as the amp sits). I had to work a bit to get the sound right due to early reflection from that wall in front and the sound bouncing off it but it's ok, just a bit of tweaking.

Do you have a looper?
Record the phrase and then put the guitar down, make an adjustment and step back to hear it properly. Without the concentration of playing you'll be able to properly concentrate on the EQ.

Just ideas, hope they help.
Best of luck.

One more idea - i found a resonant filter setting on my EQD Grand Orbiter V2 (position 2) and it's fixed wherever you leave the 'Sweep' dial.
On the bridge/middle pickups on my strat, playing sweet home alabama it sounds ok, like it should until i switch this on at the 3 o clock position (found totally by accident) and it suddenly becomes PERFECT for that song. That fixed resonant filter makes a huge difference. Something like that might help too.

ICBM

Easy to test - try it in a normal room and see if you get the same problem. If so I think you're need to get some soft rugs and curtains. There's only so much you can do with EQ'ing the amp in a space like that.

robgilmo

Thanks guys, I'll play with the amp EQ and try a different room. I cant really do much to this room, its got underfloor heating so a rug isn't really an option unless its small and the room is our dining room so I cant really go mad with it.
I'm wondering if getting the amp off the floor would help? Or having it pointing at a slight angle? Ill have a play around.

robgilmo

This is the room.

https://1drv.ms/i/s!AryLpsKXwOkHhq1VLSszFcrx6bA76w

https://1drv.ms/i/s!AryLpsKXwOkHhq1U8EchjeFmjBHKiA

ESBlonde

Soft furnishings are or can be subtle, suggest to the wife you get a little sofa in there (lots of squishy foam) and a roll out rug for that bare bit of floor. If you dine in there have a massive thick table cloth that hangs down toward the floor. Maybe some nice blinds or curtains too. The best sound absorbers are large bags of water or people as we sometimes call them ;-) 
Get a venue stuffed with bodies and the sound changes (ofton but not always for the better). But of course first try a different room like the bedroom to see or hear the difference that makes, you might even need the reverb on then!

vale

a funfur coat & 100 denier tights. works every time for me. don't knock it til you try it!

rlw

vale said:

a funfur coat & 100 denier tights. works every time for me. don't knock it til you try it!

Wearing them?

robgilmo

Trying headphones, I reckon if I can dial the amp in with cans on then I know where I am or where I need to get with the room.

vale

rlw said:

vale said:

a funfur coat & 100 denier tights. works every time for me. don't knock it til you try it!

Wearing them?

of course.

or if you are a guy (& not into that) get loads of cats. they will absorb the high frequencies (even sing along), keep you company, keep you warm in bed & shit in the back of your amp & run away if you feed them badly.

SquireJapan

vale said:

rlw said:

vale said:

a funfur coat & 100 denier tights. works every time for me. don't knock it til you try it!

Wearing them?

of course.

or if you are a guy (& not into that) get loads of cats. they will absorb the high frequencies (even sing along), keep you company, keep you warm in bed & shit in the back of your amp & run away if you feed them badly.

+1 for cats; they're self cleaning.

Alnico

vale said:

rlw said:

vale said:

a funfur coat & 100 denier tights. works every time for me. don't knock it til you try it!

Wearing them?

of course.

or if you are a guy (& not into that) get loads of cats. they will absorb the high frequencies (even sing along), keep you company, keep you warm in bed & shit in the back of your amp & run away if you feed them badly.

Millie's favourite place is on top of the reverb tank, in the back of my Deville, under the high offset speaker. On or off she doesn't care but i have to check it regularly when it's switched on in case she's in there.

A big thick shaggy rug might help ?
Drapes on the wall are amazing but a huge fire risk.
Sofa's, coytuns and cushions are probably the easiest soaker-uppers though.

Millie doesn't make the guitar or the amp sound different but she makes them look much prettier !

Alnico

.............and then there's the cat !

guitarfishbay

Open the windows and doors, that's some reflections dealt with.  Then wear the necessary Balaclava and wooly jumper and that's plenty of absorption.

If that doesn't work maybe continue to add cats until the desired result is achieved.


Failing all that...


Pretty much every surface there is reflective and there's not a lot of wall space to hang acoustic treatment on, so I guess general nice looking stuff that would absorb high end as already suggested may be the best bet.  You're always going to have a compromise if you want to keep the general feel of the room, it won't be as nice as a conservatory if it isn't bright and airy like it is now.  

I bet acoustics sound nice in there though!

Skipped

guitarfishbay said:

  You're always going to have a compromise if you want to keep the general feel of the room, it won't be as nice as a conservatory if it isn't bright and airy like it is now.  

Exactly what I was thinking. Most of my neighbours have a small conservatory at the back.
It is very noticable that verticle blinds (with a cloth finish) completely change the room acoustics when the blinds are closed.
So that is what I would do.
But after looking at the 2 pictures....what a shame that would be.

vale

guitarfishbay said:

Open the windows and doors, that's some reflections dealt with.  Then wear the necessary Balaclava and wooly jumper and that's plenty of absorption.

If that doesn't work maybe continue to add cats until the desired result is achieved.

more catbell!

& hadn't thought of the balaclava but i like the idea. definitely wear that around the house if you have small children or teenage daughters.

also handy if you go on tour & have to play any bright venues in belfast.

Jack_

Turn the light off.

HTH.

EricTheWeary

Pop up spray tan tent and stand inside it with your amp! 

Your amp will couple with the floor so you will generally lose bass end if you put it on a chair but closer to ear height probably means you can turn down. You can face your combo into the corner of the room, this is one of those things that can work surprisingly well or surprisingly badly but generally fattens up the sound. 

I played a gig in a medieval guild hall once which was an incredibly reflective, bloody awful place to play. 

Dominic

Move House 

oktorockto

If you are willing to spend money there are translucent acoustic absorbing products available that will go over glazing. Some of these have long slits in them, some are micro porous. These are Helmholtz absorbers. If you need some help just  PM me.