Getting your sound right playing live

Drefugee

Hi guys

new to playing live and pedals 

I’ve noticed every gig where you use a house amp, the sound from my pedal boards different however there’s no real time to play around with the pedal settings between band switch overs
what Does everyone do or is it not a huge issue for you?

vasselmeyer

Add a graphic EQ as the last pedal in the chain and do a quick tweak, leaving the other pedals set as you like them. 

Nerine

Yeah, EQ is probably the main one followed by gain structure.
EQ the house amp to your liking.

Wazmeister

Also, the pedals you have - know them inside out…

Know which pedal, and how, can affect your sound. This will help your tone, and give you confidence live.

AntonHunter

Where do you rehearse? Try booking a few different rooms with different amps to get used to tweaking to taste. 

Or what I do sometimes is take a Joyo American Sound and run through that last, either into the FX loop as an amp sim, or into the front as an EQ as other people have suggested.

ESBlonde

As stated, a simple boss GE7 on the board will save your butt time and time again.

ElectricXII

+1 on the GE-7 at the end of your chain. Useful as an overall emergency volume boost too.

Supportact

When setting up I start with all my pedals bypassed except for the EP booster.  I have a specific clean amp tone in my head that I try to get out of whatever amp is supplied (basically a nice balanced clean with not too much bass and a tiny bit of reverb if available). You can't always get it perfect but I find if I start off with that then the pedals only need minimal tweaking. 

Danny1969

I have a photo of my pedals set about right and little markers on them ... All I need then is the amp to be set fairly flat. I'm not that fussy about the sound really, I can work with some bad sounding amps. You generally find every amp is good at something so even bad amps have something they shine at .. cept the little Orange metal box amps, I hate the sound of those with a passion. 

bobeffect

Try to keep the bass tamed and the mids prominent as part of any adjustments you might have to make. 

Drefugee

Thanks all… where should the EQ be placed in the chain on the board?

Roland

At the end.

Drefugee

I’ve just bought a boss ge7 based on everyone’s recommendations!

Are there any recommendations for the settings or is it really a case of your own preference?

flying_pie

Drefugee said:

I’ve just bought a boss ge7 based on everyone’s recommendations!

Are there any recommendations for the settings or is it really a case of your own preference?

Set up your gear as you like it into your normal amp with the GE7 completely flat with everything at zero. You then make small adjustments as needed based on the sound through different gear.

For example

If it sounds wooly then reducing 400Hz might do the trick

If it's too bright then reducing 6K/3K, and vice versa if it's lacking presence 

If it's really bass heavy then cut 200 Hx...

ESBlonde

Billy Gibbons is reputed to have said “it’s all about the 800” (Hz). But try for your own sound. Cutting is usually better, listen to the effect of each slider as you move it up and down. Sometimes temp boost of the naff freq to accent and identify it before cutting.

P.S. The Reverend BG is famous for a bit of bull manure during interviews!!