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I rebuilt the board last weekend and I'm not happy

GS
@greer.shepard
5 weeks agoAsked in Rig Diaries
Tore the whole thing down Saturday because I just swapped a Strat for a '60s Tele Custom and the board I had dialed for the Strat sounded wrong with the Tele. Same room, same amp, different guitar, and the room sounds wrong now. Here's what changed: the Strat liked the boost in front, the Tele wants it in the loop. The Strat liked a slight chorus on cleans, the Tele wants none. And the reverb amount that was perfect on the Strat is suddenly washing out the Tele's high end. So I rebuilt: pulled the chorus, moved the boost to the loop, dropped the reverb mix from 35 to 20. Played for two hours last night. Still doesn't sound right. The Tele has this honk in the upper mids that the Strat didn't, and now nothing on the board addresses it. Considering a parametric mid-cut, considering a different amp, considering selling the Tele. I'm posting because I know someone in here is going to tell me 'the answer is the amp not the board'. Tell me the answer is the board. I just rebuilt the board.
4 replies

4 replies

  • JR
    @jules.rourke5 weeks ago
    The answer is the amp. A Tele honk in the upper mids is a speaker issue or a preamp issue, the board can mask it but the board can't fix it. You need to either swap the speaker or pull the EQ on the amp's tone stack. I had this exact problem with a Ricky into an AC30. Solved it with a Celestion Blue instead of a Greenback. Sorry.
  • LF
    @lo.flannery5 weeks ago
    Don't sell the Tele. The honk you're describing is a 1.5kHz peak and every Tele Custom has it. Find a pedal with a parametric mid and notch it out around there. I use a Source Audio EQ2 on session dates specifically for this. Live with the Tele's honk for a week before you spend money. You might learn to like it.
  • MA
    @mira.alves5 weeks ago
    Greer the answer is also the player. A Tele rewards a different right-hand attack than a Strat. The string spacing is different, the bridge angle is different, you're hitting them differently without knowing it. Play the Tele for a month before you rebuild the board again. The board you had may end up being the right board.
  • KT
    @kobu.tinker5 weeks ago
    Signal chain question. Where in the loop is the boost now? Pre or post EQ? Because if the amp has a series loop and you've put it post-EQ you're boosting after the tone stack and that will exaggerate the upper mid honk, not cleanup it.

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