Lost in the mix.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:29 pm

My Coopersonic Valveslapper sounds awesome however it has the habit of getting lost in the mix. Not as bad as a big muff, but pedals I have in my chain that have more mid content sound louder even though they aren't. Would a possible solution be to have an pedal in the chain with a mid hump? Would this enable the Valveslapper to be heard above the bass and drums?

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:30 pm

I'm sure my Bassman doesn't help either as it only has controls for treble and bass, and volume of course.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:35 pm

Have the bass EQd differently. Things that sound amazing on their own won't exactly sound the same in a mix.
You have a huge frequency range and each instrument has to fill its own place in the band (frequency band) without stepping into other instruments range too much. Try flipping the bright switch on/off etc. Its a fairly subtle change for clean guitar but can do a lot when an overdriven signal hits it

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 8:39 pm

Mids are where its at. Took me years to realise why i was nowhere in the mix, then i bought a Tubescreamer.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:05 pm

I never had this problem when all I used was a TS9DX and a Rat!

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:17 pm

Less gain and more mids is usually the first step in trying to take a bedroom tone to a band, I've found. Obviously you're likely to need to get a bit more involved than that, but it's a rough start.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:22 pm

There's something to be said for standard pedals mate, plenty still use them. I found in one band nothing can match the combination of a TS7 and Sovtek Big Muff. Tried bucketloads of stuff as well.
On the subject of Coopersonic, John has had nothing but problems with his rig since he started using the Dirt Box. The volume on them things is ridiculous, at the side of a Boss if you go past 4 it will drown the Boss (on 10) out. His Marshall Cab keeps cutting out, we've checked it over and even fitted a new stereo switch and its still doing it, but only with that pedal.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:34 pm

Fran wrote:Took me years to realise why i was nowhere in the mix, then i bought a Tubescreamer.

lulz. YES.

sig'd.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:00 pm

Fran wrote:On the subject of Coopersonic, John has had nothing but problems with his rig since he started using the Dirt Box. The volume on them things is ridiculous, at the side of a Boss if you go past 4 it will drown the Boss (on 10) out. His Marshall Cab keeps cutting out, we've checked it over and even fitted a new stereo switch and its still doing it, but only with that pedal.

I really like my Dirtbox. I play it with the volume at about 10 o'clock and it's fine. I use it for what I would call low to mid gain sounds, but saying that I have the drive at about 3 o'clock so maybe that would be higher gain for others. I like that way that if I pick strings you can hear them really clearly but lay down some power chords and it gets nice and dirty.

If your mate is having issues with his it might be worth speaking to the chaps at Coopersonic to see if it's working as it should - he might be able to do something. They were very friendly when I bought mine and it didn't work straight out of the box.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:20 am

He took the first one back to the guys house and he swapped it him. Thought it was the pedal cutting out but it was'nt.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:51 pm

pedals, lol.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:18 pm

I know Sloan, but i'm using a totally clean 70s Laney Head. Pedals are a necessary evil.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:56 pm

Fran wrote:I know Sloan, but i'm using a totally clean 70s Laney Head. Pedals are a necessary evil.

i can let tubescreamers slide. pedals were fun, but i realized they were a distraction to me. it's all about that amp yall.

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 12:09 am

What volumes are you playing your bassman at? I keep mine on the edge of breakup and use a boost/comp or turdscreamer for more drive.
Ymmv, same amp, but probably different styles of music.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:15 am

Most of the time i'm playing it at about 3 1/2, which is pretty loud. My band mates would shout at me if I tried to play it any louder. How high do you need to crank yours to get it to break up?

I use a lot of distortion when I play but don't usually get to use my amp when I gig so I can't rely on an amp for distortion.

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:44 am

Sloan wrote:
Fran wrote:I know Sloan, but i'm using a totally clean 70s Laney Head. Pedals are a necessary evil.
i can let tubescreamers slide. pedals were fun, but i realized they were a distraction to me. it's all about that amp yall.

I've had this conversation with John in the band... I cant understand why he wants to use a Pedal when he already has one of the best pre-amp drive sections in the world on his Marshall. To color sections of songs maybe, but to use the pedal instead seems backwards.

George · Post by **George** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:07 am

This annoys me that I have to use mid range. It's bullshit. Why can't bassists and drummers change their place in the mix. Would be a lot easier if you ask me.

johnnyseven · Post by **johnnyseven** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:23 am

I agree, my bassists bass sounds shit anyway so why can't I borrow his frequencies?

He needs to work out how to tweak an amp and the controls on his bass so that it sounds good. At least now he has started to use a distortion pedal that sounds good for some songs, my MBM Green Muff with clean blend rather than his Ibanez Phat Head that I don't really like.