Stage: first rehearsal with a band

  • Hello!


    Yesterday I took my Stage to the rehearsal room for the first time.


    I'm using at home a Marshall-esque performance with different levels of gain. I connect it to a Yamaha DXR10. The floor at home is ceramic, and this seems to be very important.


    At the rehearsal I used the JBL EON 610 I bought to stay there. The room has a fully carpeted floor and walls and the ceiling is also made for isolating the sound in the room.


    The fact is, at home, I was absolutely in love with the tone and I didn't expect such a big difference when going to the rehearsal room. It sounded very different.


    I tried to correct it with the output section EQ. I did nothing too extreme. It got better. My sound cut the mix very well, anyway, but it didn't sound like at home.


    I used the JBL on the floor, angled, first with its own EQ in Main mode, then in Monitor.


    I'm going back today and I'm using the Stage again. I expect to get some better results, so I'd LOVE any advice you could give me to correct this.


    Maybe I have to make sound corrections at home, too, because maybe the ceramic floor is too bright.


    Thank you very much in advance.

  • The first thing that come s to mind is the volume difference between your place and the rehearsal room. I guess you need to play louder?

    At lower volume it just sounds different. It's the Fletcher-Munson effect.

  • I tend to use sounds that have a tight low end, nothing too full or boomy.


    Mids higher than I'd expect.


    Treble a little lower.


    That leads to fairly unexciting sounds at home, not bad as such but definitely nothing amazing. With my band, it sounds full and cuts through nicely.


    Whenever I've dialled in something awesome at home it does not usually translate well at all with a band. Usually piercing but without substance and the only way to be heard is too turn it up; making it even more piercing.

  • The first thing that come s to mind is the volume difference between your place and the rehearsal room. I guess you need to play louder?

    At lower volume it just sounds different. It's the Fletcher-Munson effect.

    Thank you.


    Yes, I know about Fletchet-Munson effect. I set it loud at home. Anyway I have the idea that, with kemper, instead of correcting a profile more than a little bit, it's better to get another one, so I don't know how to face this. It's a very different approach with my Fractal AX8.

    Thank you.


    I absolutely agree with what you say.


    Only that I think to compensate the carpet floor I'll have to raise the high frequencies.


    Strange thing is I haven't noticed such a drastic change when using the Fractal AX8 or the Headrush Gigboard.

  • If possible, it might be worth testing both speakers in the same room. That will help narrow down whether the sound is being coloured more by the room or the speaker itself.

    Thank you.


    I've done it. I didn't find a big difference in sound. But I didn't do it very loud. I'll try again. Louder.

    If you are using different monitor speakers, you compare apples to footballs.

    Each system is colouring the sound with it's own way.

    Thank you.


    I don't agree there is such a big difference between 2 so similar monitors. Maybe like comparing apples to... Different apples :)


    Of course they won't sound exactly the same, but having similar size/construction, similar power, same size speakers... And being supposed to give an as close to flat response as they can... It all makes me think it's more about the environment and the eq preset selected in the monitor.

  • Finally yesterday I didn't take the Stage to the rehearsal. So I'll have to wait to next week.


    What puzzles me is I don't see such a difference when connecting the Fratcal AX8 or the Headrush Gigboard. And those devices are conceived to be tweaked like a real amp, so, if needed, you can make corrections on the fly. I still think (from what I learned from other users) that with the Kemper, instead of tweaking too much, it's better to go to another Rig. So I think the key could be at the output EQ.


    When I play live, I always go with IEM. I'm sure I'll get a very similar sound every time, buy now I'm a little disconcerted.


    Hmm... That looks like a good idea. I'll try it with my IEM this afternoon and will see what happens.

  • I've heard so many users here discussing the differences between the results of different monitoring solutions and find it refreshing to read what you write. I've tried a number myself and can hear the differences but never once felt the sounds were so not really quite similar. And certainly nothing that wasn't narrowed down my a simple EQ tweak.


    Meh, maybe my ears are ruined. Maybe I'm just not sensitive to such things. Ignorance is bliss.....

  • If the room and the FRFR monitor is different, getting it close to home may be tuff. Going through a PA versus FRFR monitors will sound different. IEM may sound good in both places but then hitting the PA so that others can hear what you hear, will most likely sound differently than home does. And, consider that they will all sound differently and depending on the construction build & price between all, this adds its own gremlins into the mix. Good luck and let us know worked out the best. :)

    If you use FRFR the benefit of a merged profile is that the cabinet is totally separated in the profile.


    For my edification only... ;) Kemper/Axe-FX III/ Quad Cortex user

  • You're right!


    I'm used to IEM for live playing. Our sound tech works my signal to fit the venue, but I always have a good and consistent sound in my ears.


    Next step, trying again at the rehearsal room. If it doesn't sound good, I'll take the DXR to the next rehearsal and check.


    As you now, this all comes from the fact that I don't want to tweak the Rigs too much.


    I have a gig tonight and I'll talk to our sound man about it.


    Thank you!

  • The room has a fully carpeted floor and walls and the ceiling is also made for isolating the sound in the room.

    are you saying that the walls and ceiling are fully carpeted as well as the floor or only that the floor is carpeted but the walls and ceiling are treated for isolation?


    If the walls and ceiling are carpeted the room will be far too dead in the high mids and highs to give a decent sound and will make everything sound weird. However, carpet won’t do anything for the low kids and lows so the sound in the room will be very dull.

  • are you saying that the walls and ceiling are fully carpeted as well as the floor or only that the floor is carpeted but the walls and ceiling are treated for isolation?


    If the walls and ceiling are carpeted the room will be far too dead in the high mids and highs to give a decent sound and will make everything sound weird. However, carpet won’t do anything for the low kids and lows so the sound in the room will be very dull.

    That's it. Full carpet on the floor and the walls are totally covered with foam pieces which are covered with... Carpet.

  • You need to remove most of the carpet. Make some simple broadband absorbers from Rockwool or OC703 depending on where you live. Make some superchunks for the corners and use some parabolic diffusers rather than carper to tame the flutter echo from parallel surfaces. The problem is not the Kemper but the carpet.

    Thank you very much.


    I'm planning to do some conditioning at home. Mainly I'd like to do something behind the Near Field Monitors. I think the rest is good enough for my personal rehearsing. But I have to do a recording at home, this week, and that could drive me more into conditioning the room.


    All the carpeting is in the rehearsal room. It's not mine, so there's nothing I can do there. The carpeting is not for conditioning the room but for isolating it.

  • You need a new rehearsal room then.


    Unfortunately, the carpeting does VERY close to NOTHING for isolation. The only things that help with isolation are Mass and Air. Carpet provides neither of these. All it does is totally kill the high frequencies and create a very unpleasant environment to listen in. The idea that carpet provides isolation is unfortunately a myth spread by people who don’t know what they are talking about. Unfortunately, internet forums make it very easy to spread this kind of misinformation.

  • You need a new rehearsal room then.


    Unfortunately, the carpeting does VERY close to NOTHING for isolation. The only things that help with isolation are Mass and Air. Carpet provides neither of these. All it does is totally kill the high frequencies and create a very unpleasant environment to listen in. The idea that carpet provides isolation is unfortunately a myth spread by people who don’t know what they are talking about. Unfortunately, internet forums make it very easy to spread this kind of misinformation.

    That's very interesting. I'll show it to the owner of the rooms.


    I'd love to have my own rehearsal room.


    Thank you.

  • It’s not only “interesting” it’s basic acoustic physics. If the owner is interested in isolating his rooms he should read Home Studios Build It Like The Pros by Rod Gervais. Rod was the contractor who build many studios including The Power Station (now Avatar I believe). As well as lots of practical advice including construction drawings there is also a great section at the back of myth busting to save you wasting money on stuff that doesn’t work.