The Steel Guitar Forum

So, I have been practicing almost every day lately, and am finding my tone changes from day to day. Wondering if others have the same experience.

I have not changes my set up for several weeks, but I can hear (or think I hear) variations in the tonal color from day to day.

To give you an example, I tweeked my setup a few weeks ago and added compression to the mix. Liked what I heard and kept the setting on my pre-amp/effects unit. The last two days, it seems that my tone is just mush and I haven't changed anything on my setup. (Lost the highs and string separation.)

I'm wondering if weather, my allergies, temperature, humidity, or something else physical is changing my tone, or if I'm just loosing my mind.

Inquiring minds are interested in your thoughts.

(FYI, I practice with a Emmons PP, Goodrich light pedal, Digitech 1101 through a PA setup.)

Does your tone change?

NO; It Does Not

I find that it does not take the ears long to get fatigued from hearing the same sound over and over for more than a few minutes. If I quit playing and go back in a few hours, the tone sounds sharper again. With all the amps and guitars and accessories I've used, my ears often perceive differences in tone quality from day to day. This is just from playing at home in the studio. Playing out in different venues is whole other can of worms even at the near field listening position.

The normal variations in how we pick causes tonal change. Some days I find myself playing with low energy and picking fairly light. If I take a break, go for a walk, drink some coffee/etc., and then come back to it, I tend to pick with more authority and suddenly I'm liking the tone again.

I also believe ear fatigue is a factor that affects how we perceive tone, as Greg has noted.

Thanks for the info. My two cents is....I think it is the weather. The temperature, humidity (density of the air), etc. is the culprit, both in the instrument and the electronics, specifically the speakers.

Also think the weather affects my hearing. Similar to your joints aching when its cold or a rain is coming. Cedar pollen is the worst it's been in central Texas. This affects my nasal cavity and ear canals. ( Not stuffed up, but more swollen and itchy.)

Third, ear fatigue as well. I'm playing a digital keyboard through the same PA setup, and have the same issue. Being the digital keyboard should be static, that leaves the electronics (i.e. speakers etc.) and me. Might be that when I play better I just like the tone better. Or vice versa.... when I like the tone, I play better..... don't know.

The relative humidity here in Hawaii varies from 95 To 60 and so does the tone..all good, just a little darker the higher it gets..

My tone changes from time to time to MY ear regardless of tube or solid-state amp.
It's because the Eustachian Tubes in my ears get blocked with a kind of vacuum that makes the tone sound really heavy on the low end at times. Once I equalize the pressure in them I hear things as they are.
In the same sense, what Larry is speaking about is also correct.
When I worked at Opryland USA on the Country Music USA Show in Nashville six days a week on an outdoor stage in heavy (90%) humidity I was considering doing a study on the effect of humidity and how it affects our ear's hearing tone.
Look at it like this,
From the time a note leaves your speaker and travels to your ear it IS affected by the amount of humidity in the air.
At times I believe the more humidity the heavier (more bass) the tone sounds possibly because it takes more time for that note to cut through the humid (thicker) air and then when the humidity is very low (15%) that same note gets to your ear faster.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it
WC Edgar

Exactly WC, BTW I’m still sitting on the seat you built for me after St Louis 20 years ago!

Not sure if it matters but the humidity's affect on bass frequencies also caused them to be phase shifted relative to the treble frequencies. This changes the character of the instrument's sound. In a more extreme sense e.g. think of a 7 band EQ with the bass and treble knob set to "dobro" (darn, there's another guy not using the PC approved "resonator" word).

Beware the measuring equipment we use to compare sounds - the ear/brain combination has a memory of seconds at most, not even minutes and certainly not from one day to the next.

Hi Mack,
Since you are playing the same gear in the same room then than the picking technique is varying your tone...A softly picked string will not have the same sound as a harder picked string...Your discovery is actually a sign your technique is changing.. Learn to control it and the tone will stay more consistent day to day....All of the other elements such as hearing issues can also change the way things sound from time to time.
Happy New Year!
Paul

My tone is better when I'm playing good. When I can't play for shit, my tone sucks.

Perception of sound plays a key role here. Like the weather, your body and brain will behave slightly differently from day to day, even hour to hour.
There's a TON of variables at play in every second of our existence. We're bound to the fact that we'll hear things differently and perform fine motor skills without 100% consistency.

b0b wrote:My tone is better when I'm playing good. When I can't play for shit, my tone sucks.

Imagine if it was the other way around!

Thanks all for the responses. I appreciate the input, but I must say I am most concerned with Paul's post. (Appreciate Mr. Franklin taking the time to make a post on this thread.)

If my technique is changing, that is not a good thing. I tend to be an aggressive player on any instrument I play, but if the string separation is not clear, and my tone is mush, I tend to just pick that much harder searching for clarity. (You would think I would simply back off and turn the volume of the PA up.)

So....does a more aggressive attack equal a distorted and/or dark tone. Would I be better to back off the attack and open up the volume of the PA/Amp. Will heavier bar pressure affect the tone?

Just more questions......

Bearing in mind what PF says, the one constant has to be your amp volume, because that will influence your attack and therefore everything else.

I play through a sound system which is used for other things, so I make sure it's set correctly before I practise.

Being a so called “Tone Junkie” I thought I would throw in my two cents on the subject. I agree with the variations on a number of levels that affect your tone. However I have noticed since I started recording in my home studio that my tone is the same. I finally found how I wanted to record and through what equipment. So that being said all the other factors mentioned in the thread come into play. For me my “Ears” are my biggest guide but I also think how you attack the string is my second biggest factor.

There is another possible variable. When I used to play at the 23 Club (in Brisbane near San Francisco, where Vance Terry and Jimmie Rivers recorded some records), the electricity was not 110. It was supposed to be, but when the whole band was plugged in, apparently it was less. So the tone often sounded crappy, because the amp wasn't getting enough voltage. At least this was how it was explained to me.

Also I notice at home that sometimes I get more buzz than other times because of something in the circuit somewhere (dimmers, ultra violet lights, etc.). Some recording studios also have this problem with certain amps. I've found that always having a $1.98 lifter with my gear has saved me numerous times...for some inexplicable reason. Sorry to digress, but thought it's related.

Oh and finally, the proximity to your amp of any object will change how you're hearing stuff (your tone). This is especially noticeable on stage when the bass player slips in between you and your amp. But I've also noticed it at home when there's something new between me and my amp.

Joe

Joe, good comment! I remember playing some gigs where the electricity was less than perfect. I live in a rural area and the electricity out here could very well be an issue. I have a couple of gadgets I can try. Good comment!

Mack

I would go with Paul’s concept first before adjusting anything. Maybe record yourself and see if it is about your perception or find out what you need to work on with your technique. What I do is spend my first hour of daily practice on simple repetitive exercises focusing on accuracy and consistency. If you spend an hour a day slowly playing the same exact note on every string one at a time making sure that the same note/pitch sounds the same on every string ( or as close as possible) you will rarely need to adjust any settings no matter where you are playing.
While practicing like that an extra benefit is learning the neck. If you play the note A starting on the 3rd fret on the 1st string on every string using every lever you will know where all the A 440 notes are everywhere on the neck you will have a visceral memory to use as a reference while you play.

If anybody asks you what you are doing while you are playing the same note for an hour just tell them that if somebody ever wants you to play an A note you are going to play the hell out of it !

Wasn't it Buddy Emmons who used to practice without a volume pedal? The idea being learn how to 'pick' to get the sound you're wanting?

Maybe it was somebody else.. but I've noticed that developing a consistent 'touch' (not that I have by any means) is key. I believe that's what Bob is talking about in his post to some degree.

Bill Terry wrote:Wasn't it Buddy Emmons who used to practice without a volume pedal? The idea being learn how to 'pick' to get the sound you're wanting?

Maybe it was somebody else.. but I've noticed that developing a consistent 'touch' (not that I have by any means) is key. I believe that's what Bob is talking about in his post to some degree.

Bill,

A couple of years ago I made a mistake and got my gig boxes mixed up and didn't have a volume pedal. (I had two in the box that I left at home) I was 2.5 hours from home, and no one in the band had a volume pedal. Over the course of the 3 hour gig, I learned a lot. I wouldn't want to do it again, but it can be done. I assume I sounded pretty bad, but I never sound much better anyway.

RC

Paul Franklin’s explanation is correct as well as the other posters.
b0b really hit the nail. If my tone is not par, I ’m not inspired to play.
I practice everyday and will adjust my amp to my ear everyday I practice.
Also, my taste in tone changes according to music/steel players I listen to.
There are many tones I like. I think it best to find what tone is most pleasing to the player’s ear for a particular style of music.

b0b wrote:My tone is better when I'm playing good. When I can't play for shit, my tone sucks.

So Bob, what you are saying is all these years it wasn't my amp,strings or brand of Steel ?

My tone changes, frequently; but, I know it's my perception of tone that changes due to my crappy hearing.

Like lots of older males, I don't hear high frequencies as well as I used to. That seems to fluctuate from day to day. My tinnitus seems to fluctuate, too.

I keep a pedal steel guitar and a great sounding Evans amp set up at home. I've been using the same settings on that amp since the mid 1980s.

I know my ears are acting up when I have to start turning knobs on the amp, in search of the tone I normally hear.