What do you do when it sounds bad?

Now I had quite a few gigs without any backline amp, the KPA going direct to the PA and the usual monitor wedges for me and all the others in the band or sometimes (in smaller places) I used a single active speaker from the venue. And one thing that really amazes me every time again is how few I can do with the KPA EQ when the sound that I meet at the soundcheck is just not right in the first place. I am really stunned and irritated!

When it sounds to boomy, ok then turning down the bass will help within limits. Yet it will also make the sound weaker and repositioning the speakers can do much more in this case. A brittle sound can be cured quite ok with the EQ, the presence control is great for this. But several times now I heard that it - hm - somehow was just too thin, and no mid control up or treble control down could ever get close to fixing it.

I am not talking about the quality of the KPA EQs - I think they are gorgeous, they have really musical center frequencies and plenty enough range. I am thinking about the limits of EQing itself when adapting your own sound to a foreign amplification system and to a certain room. Is there any of you with some more advice for others?

Yep. I think this is what it all boils down to. That is why I spent another 1,6 Megaeuro to buy a RCF TT08. It is (almost) light to carry and a really relyable reference for stage sound. And in smaller venues it can do it all. I was just hoping that some other Kemperers found out some magic tricks ...

Quote from michaelmellner

always think at the music and the show.........even if the guitar sounds strange and not familiar, think at the show: most of the time, when really into it, the guitar sound will keep up!

I guess this is the crucial point for me. I come from the acoustic guitar. And there a good tone is always a reliable companion because all you need for a good sound is in your hands and in your guitar. Even from a bad or mediocre acoustic guitar you can form a convincing tone with skiled hands. This does not work on the same extent with electric guitars. On the electric guitar very often a show does not fail because of the bad sound itself but because of my reaction to the bad sound - it somehow kills my inspiration. I play improvised music which means I invent the music right in the moment that I play - so gritting my teeth and working my way through the songlist is not an option for me.

Actually I am really thinking about abandoning the electric guitar completely. The Kemper Profiler was the last setup that I wanted to try before I make a decision. I agree with guitarnet70 that "a modeler gives you a lot more flexibility" but it is still depending on external equipment. And as such it is not really reliable when you have to travel without your own poweramp and speaker. Those PA and fullrange speakers are not as "neutral" and "standard" as I thought (or hoped) in the beginning.

In an early post last year CK wrote me that he does not want "to correct the individual flaws of the surrounding equipment." I somehow can understand this position. Seems like it is not (yet) possible make a digital amp sound good on a bad PA.

Hey thanks Per, thats a lot of good advice!

Quote from Per

The problem only really happens if you are tied to a particular sound.

Well this exactly is the problem. I have changed my equipment so often and with every new gear I always go for the same, single sound. Many fellow musicians wonder why I change my equipment at all, when it always sounds "the same". A simple blues, breakup sound with as much dynamics as possible. (Although I don't play blues) That is how you play on an acoustic guitar - you have one sound and this one sound goes deep into your heart and mind and fingers after the years.

I do have a studio EQ in the X slot reserved extra for this kind of situations. And I have some experience in using parametric EQs. But what was puzzling me most was that several times now in the very situation I really had no idea what frequency should be tackled when I heard a bad sound from a monitor speaker. I am not shure that it is an EQ problem at all. But using a PC with an analyzer might be worth a try. It is not so much about the room characteristics - more about unfamiliar monitor speakers or amps. When I play my own amp, I never had this kind of problems.

Another way to go could be to take a Genelec 8030A and use it as a close-up monitor next to me. Small and light enough to fit into the suitcase as check-in luggage. I don't hop around on stage and the problem is only me - never heard anyone from the audience or fellow band members complain about the guitar sound. Also: the more members in the band the less problems with my sound. Biggest problems arise only when I play electric guitar solo. Or a duo with a cello or other acoustic instruments. Then it gets very important whether the sound supports me or not.

I never tested In Ear Monitors. But on researching for them I found that even those declared as "ambience" still have a volume isolation of -10dB. This is helpful on loud stages but I don't think it could work in less loud "chamber music" situations like duos or trios with other acoustic instruments.

Anyway - I won't give up so soon. Somehow I am adicted to electric guitars.