Hmm: bought a new house

[guitarslinger]

Wow, I can't believe how bright my old basement was compared to this new living room.

I mean it's shockingly different.

I used to run presence on zero in every case. Now, I have to put presence and treble @ 3 O'clock so the amp doesn't sound muffled.

I'm beginning to think amps can't be compared or tried without the room playing a gigantic factor. I'm thinking, maybe, bright amps might actually sound good in this room. Maybe, I wouldn't hate V30's so much, etc. How can a valid opinion of any item be formed unless it's used in a variety of brightness environments.

I'm not joking or being a corksniffer here. My Bogner Fish went from Treble and Presence @ Zero, to both being past Noon. My seminar head went from presence completely off to Noon. This is ridiculous. Anybody else run into this, or is it my Absinthe habit playing tricks on my brain?

 

[RockStarNick]

I recently aquired some cubicle-wall panels from work. Like, a TON of them. And I had the great idea to line the walls of our basement rehearsal space with them. 3 our of 4 walls, and a bunch on the ceiling as well. Figured it would make it sound "better", and keep the noise level lower outside the house.

The room was DEADER than dead. Very muffled, very dark sounding, and the amps became SUPER directional. If you weren't standing right in front of it, you got nothing.

There was also this weird sense of pressure on your ears. Maybe from the lack of reflection? who knows. But it was weird, it sounded weird, and it felt weird.

I had to go to home depot, and get some 2x4' hardboard panels, and hang them up on top of the cubicle panels, to ADD some liveliness and brightness and reflection back in. Hung up about 11-12 panels in all. Now, it sounds alot more natural and balanced, and the amps seem to "spread" more in the room. There's a good combo of reflection and absorbtion.

I totally agree though. Rooms sound SO different.

 

[guitarslinger]

Nick,

I'm thinking the room is going to be even deader when I add the furniture. This carpet and the stucko ceiling must be the deadest stuff available. The giant curtain on half the of the long wall probably doesn't help either.

 

[RockStarNick]

The curtain is probably the real killer...

How about lining all the walls with mirrors, so it looks like a dance studio?

you want bright? THAT'll be bright!!!!

I actually played a gig at a place that was totall lined with mirrors. Painfully, obnoxiously bright.

 

[guitarslinger]

The curtain is probably the real killer...

How about lining all the walls with mirrors, so it looks like a dance studio?

you want bright? THAT'll be bright!!!!

I actually played a gig at a place that was totall lined with mirrors. Painfully, obnoxiously bright.

That's a good idea! I love mirrors!

 

[EWSEthan]

The curtain is probably the real killer...

How about lining all the walls with mirrors, so it looks like a dance studio?

you want bright? THAT'll be bright!!!!

I actually played a gig at a place that was totall lined with mirrors. Painfully, obnoxiously bright.

That's a good idea! I love mirrors!

Mirrors are great when you want to watch yourself getting down to business.

 

[RockStarNick]

The curtain is probably the real killer...

How about lining all the walls with mirrors, so it looks like a dance studio?

you want bright? THAT'll be bright!!!!

I actually played a gig at a place that was totall lined with mirrors. Painfully, obnoxiously bright.

That's a good idea! I love mirrors!

Mirrors are great when you want to watch yourself getting down to business.

Preferably with a female. Not alone.

 

[EWSEthan]

I find that when they are on the ceiling, the highs are more pronounced.

 

[MarcoR]

I find that when they are on the ceiling, the highs are more pronounced.

I find that when they are on the ceiling, her butt looks bigger.

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

Is there some way to make this work for you? Sounds like it might be a good recodring situation. Maybe compensate with some reverb, delay, or EQ?

 

[Zaphod B]

Rip that carpet out and install some engineered hardwood floors. That'll get some liveliness into that room.

(Hey, it's not my money! )

 

[crankyrayhanky]

Yes, OP is dead on, you can't judge an amp without trying a variety of rooms

I moved from row home Philadelphia rug small size basement (dead and muffled) to high ceilings and tile floors in AZ- totally different sounds.

 

[stephen sawall]

Not just the room but how much humidity are large factors of the tone. Sound is just as complex as light when it comes to waves.

 

[blumuz123]

Yes, OP is dead on, you can't judge an amp without trying a variety of rooms

I moved from row home Philadelphia rug small size basement (dead and muffled) to high ceilings and tile floors in AZ- totally different sounds.

We play different rooms/venues on church campus property and I am shocked at how different the amps sound.
You can actual take a amp that you really dig and in the wrong room begin to dislike it no matter how you adjust it.

 

[ramblin390]

I live in Florida, I'd kill for a basement. Hard to find a house with one near the coast. Back in Jersey, I had a full finished attic, and a very usable basement.