Boss ME-80 Tubescreamer level

AdamHarkusBlog · April 2018

I have my ME-80 setup with Master @ 12 o'clock into a clean Katana.

Why is the tubescreamer level so high.... about 1/4 volume is enough to match the bypassed clean of the amp.

50% volume on the TS is WAY louder than the bypassed clean..

What am I doing wrong ? surely 50% vol on the tubescreamer should be unity gain, matching the bypassed signal.

Legionreturns · April 2018

I can't answer specifically, as I was forced to dump my ME80 almost as soon as I got my katana. I just found the digital into digital of these two products horrendously difficult to get a decent balance or tone out of.

Fwiw I've had no such problems with the Line 6 Pod HD500 that I replaced it with. Seems odd that two boss products just don't seem to play nice with each other.

In all honesty though, I'd think you'd be better off using the Katana inbuilt effects, as you can balance them on TS. The only reason I use the pod is because I like having it as a traditional pedal board going into the Katana head, because I can also use it for mic effects and midi.

AdamHarkusBlog · April 2018

Legionreturns said:

I can't answer specifically, as I was forced to dump my ME80 almost as soon as I got my katana. I just found the digital into digital of these two products horrendously difficult to get a decent balance or tone out of.

Fwiw I've had no such problems with the Line 6 Pod HD500 that I replaced it with. Seems odd that two boss products just don't seem to play nice with each other.

In all honesty though, I'd think you'd be better off using the Katana inbuilt effects, as you can balance them on TS. The only reason I use the pod is because I like having it as a traditional pedal board going into the Katana head, because I can also use it for mic effects and midi.

The Katana FX aren't an option (for live at least)....

It's another footswitch and wouldn't be versatile enough anyway.

ICBM · April 2018

AdamHarkusBlog said:

I have my ME-80 setup with Master @ 12 o'clock into a clean Katana.

Why is the tubescreamer level so high.... about 1/4 volume is enough to match the bypassed clean of the amp.

50% volume on the TS is WAY louder than the bypassed clean..

What am I doing wrong ? surely 50% vol on the tubescreamer should be unity gain, matching the bypassed signal.

No, you can't make any assumptions about 'unity gain' relative to control settings - it totally depends on the output volume of the guitar for a start... a really loud guitar will need the pedal volume higher to match it. You can't generally deduce anything about relative volumes from control settings - it all depends on the taper of the pot, where the point of clipping is and various other factors.

There are two mains reason for having a pedal with substantially more output volume than any guitar:

One is that in a band mix, distorted sounds have to be a lot louder than clean ones in order to be the same apparent volume in the mix, compared to how they sound in isolation (ie at home). It's due to frequency range and dynamics - a sound with a fairly narrow frequency range and a lot of dynamics (like a clean sound) cuts through the mix much better than a very compressed one with wider bandwidth (like a distorted sound). It's not uncommon for a distortion pedal which seems far too loud with the volume well below halfway at home, needs it well above halfway before it doesn't just disappear in a band mix.

The other is that a lot of players want to use the pedal to push an overdriven amp harder, and that needs a lot more level. Once the amp is overdriven a little level boost won't make much difference, you need several times the level.

Use your ears and don't worry about where 'right' settings are - there aren't any

.

AdamHarkusBlog · April 2018

ICBM said:

AdamHarkusBlog said:

I have my ME-80 setup with Master @ 12 o'clock into a clean Katana.

Why is the tubescreamer level so high.... about 1/4 volume is enough to match the bypassed clean of the amp.

50% volume on the TS is WAY louder than the bypassed clean..

What am I doing wrong ? surely 50% vol on the tubescreamer should be unity gain, matching the bypassed signal.

No, you can't make any assumptions about 'unity gain' relative to control settings - it totally depends on the output volume of the guitar for a start... a really loud guitar will need the pedal volume higher to match it. You can't generally deduce anything about relative volumes from control settings - it all depends on the taper of the pot, where the point of clipping is and various other factors.

There are two mains reason for having a pedal with substantially more output volume than any guitar:

One is that in a band mix, distorted sounds have to be a lot louder than clean ones in order to be the same apparent volume in the mix, compared to how they sound in isolation (ie at home). It's due to frequency range and dynamics - a sound with a fairly narrow frequency range and a lot of dynamics (like a clean sound) cuts through the mix much better than a very compressed one with wider bandwidth (like a distorted sound). It's not uncommon for a distortion pedal which seems far too loud with the volume well below halfway at home, needs it well above halfway before it doesn't just disappear in a band mix.

The other is that a lot of players want to use the pedal to push an overdriven amp harder, and that needs a lot more level. Once the amp is overdriven a little level boost won't make much difference, you need several times the level.

Use your ears and don't worry about where 'right' settings are - there aren't any .

Sound advice (no pun intended)...

I really am getting all het up with recommended settings lately, no idea why

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Boss ME-80 Tubescreamer level

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