mushy tone!help!

[billyg121]

problem!mushy tone!
this seems unusual,but maybe someone can give me some tips.ihave a mesa boogie mark 4.occasionally,when my band is playing a show,i seem to lose gain right in the middle of playing.some people tell me i am probably just imagining it,but i am telling you....i will start out with this great tone,and maybe halfway through the first set...it seems my high gain channel starts sounding mushy.the tubes are only about 5 months old.could it have anything to do with the electrical current in the club?it is very frustrating...so any input will be great.thanks

 

[Barry]

problem!mushy tone!
this seems unusual,but maybe someone can give me some tips.ihave a mesa boogie mark 4.occasionally,when my band is playing a show,i seem to lose gain right in the middle of playing.some people tell me i am probably just imagining it,but i am telling you....i will start out with this great tone,and maybe halfway through the first set...it seems my high gain channel starts sounding mushy.the tubes are only about 5 months old.could it have anything to do with the electrical current in the club?it is very frustrating...so any input will be great.thanks

The current can absolutely effect your sound . Could be preamp tube related . Your band could consider buying a power conditioner . Furman makes one that we keep the current up to par as long as it doesnt sag down to a rediculos level . The entire bandstand can plug into it . Its a model 125A or something like that

 

[Barry]

problem!mushy tone!
this seems unusual,but maybe someone can give me some tips.ihave a mesa boogie mark 4.occasionally,when my band is playing a show,i seem to lose gain right in the middle of playing.some people tell me i am probably just imagining it,but i am telling you....i will start out with this great tone,and maybe halfway through the first set...it seems my high gain channel starts sounding mushy.the tubes are only about 5 months old.could it have anything to do with the electrical current in the club?it is very frustrating...so any input will be great.thanks

The Furman unit is a AR - 1215 AC line regulator . You can find them at Musiciansfriend.com

 

[Elpelotero]

it may be ear fatigue. your ears lose some frequencies after playing for a while at loud volume. this is when people start tweaking knobs and lose the great tone they may have had.

 

[Rayder]

^^^^^
i didnt know that happened

*goes to check tone*

 

[Elpelotero]

yup...only takes about 15 minutes for it to happen. usually you lose highs and you start boosting treble and presence. then the next day you're like wtf was i thinking?! then after 15 minutes you turn the knobs again and the cycle repeats.

 

[Nick_cor]

the best thing for you to do IMO is get a tone you like, and get some really nice earplugs, plug em in and hope to god your beautiful tone doesn't go

 

[SeasonOfPain]

yup...only takes about 15 minutes for it to happen. usually you lose highs and you start boosting treble and presence. then the next day you're like wtf was i thinking?! then after 15 minutes you turn the knobs again and the cycle repeats.

What I always wonder is to what degree the audience would be experiencing ear fatigue. The problem, I suspect, is that everyone's ears would "tire" at different rates, meaning that it would be nearly impossible to try to obtain a good tone for everyone throughout the set (putting aside the existing challenge of making your tone sound good to the audience in the first place). I'm not sure what the best solution to this would be.