Have you ever had that "my guitar sound so lifeless" day?

[Suppalak Klabdee]

I had that going for the past few weeks...

It was my 408MT BRW... I do not know what happen but suddenly I felt that the sound I got from this guitar was all of a sudden seem "lifeless" to me. No matter how I tweak my Mesa Mark V amp, I could not get it back to the "singing mode" that it used to be.

I tried and tried to revive this, change the strings, change the cable, nothing...

It was at the point that I started to think about letting it go.

Until a few days ago, I was very tempted at a very nice second hand but mint LP R9 that showed up at the local guitar shop. This shop offer the trade-in as well, so I got so close of doing it.

Then I decided that let gave it the last attempt, plugged it in and...

... the first note just blew me away!

Totally, I was blown away by the sound that came out that day. So full, so thick, so rich and more lively than ever!

Cannot explain that at all, but I have now just could not put this one down. Have to plug it in whenever I have a chance and this guitar just amaze every single time!

Have you guys ever experience anything like this?

 

[jcha008]

The tone of a guitar can be a funny thing. One day a guitar will be in full opera mode where it's singing and sounds amazing. Yet the next day it may not sound quite as good as the last.

Since the tone is processed by our brain I feel that many things can change particular judgement on how things sound. Maybe something else was preoccupying the thoughts or etc, but it can really be interesting on how it affects the sound as perceived by us.

 

[John Beef]

Whenever I start getting down about my tone in general, it's usually my amp's power tubes that need to be changed.

But you know, there are days that I just and not bonding with a guitar... so I pick up another. And that usually either is satisfying, or I end up going back the the one I was down on and it sounds better to me. That's why you need MORE GUITARS.

 

[Suppalak Klabdee]

The tone of a guitar can be a funny thing. One day a guitar will be in full opera mode where it's singing and sounds amazing. Yet the next day it may not sound quite as good as the last.

Since the tone is processed by our brain I feel that many things can change particular judgement on how things sound. Maybe something else was preoccupying the thoughts or etc, but it can really be interesting on how it affects the sound as perceived by us.

I used to hear the small differences between the day with the same setting. But this past few weeks it has been night and day to me! May be because of my acquisition of Fender Re'57 and 1987 Gibson Les Paul pre-historic that had clouded my judgement...

Anyway, all of them sound great now and that is all that matters!

 

[Suppalak Klabdee]

Whenever I start getting down about my tone in general, it's usually my amp's power tubes that need to be changed.

But you know, there are days that I just and not bonding with a guitar... so I pick up another. And that usually either is satisfying, or I end up going back the the one I was down on and it sounds better to me. That's why you need MORE GUITARS.

That is why I have 10 guitars now ^ ^

It is so true that sometimes you pick up one guitar and it just did not feel right no matter what... That confirm the theory of "1 guitar is never enough" ^ ^

 

[veinbuster]

That guitar is a beauty and I don't think I'd let it go for anything.

I do have the occasional day when the guitar just doesn't sound right. These days I usually blame my ears because they seem less reliable as the days/years go by. I check the obvious, like if the amp settings got changed, or if the strings are aging, but then I'll put it down and try something else. Guitar wise it will be something completely different - like solid body, to acoustic or hollow body. The classical is my standby - it always sounds good.

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

Fellow member Russ is a good friend of mine. He and I have talked about this phenomenon many times. One day a guitar sounds like angels singing and the next day 9even with setting left the same on the amp) it leaves us wanting.

He has an vintage collection that would leave any player or collector with their jaw on the floor. If it can happen to Russ, it can happen to anyone.

 

[Rider1260]

Sometimes its just not happening , sometimes a different guitar get me going but often times its just a "bad guitar day" it will pass

 

[NomadMike]

I've had this happen and often times just hit "record" and go with it. More often than not when going back over it the next day or so the guitar on the recording sounds just fine, which leads me to think a lot of the time it's just me and my ears being "lifeless". Though I have run into the problem with a tube amp that's been running for a long period of time seeming to sound different.

 

[DarkPenguin]

Fingers matter. Some days the fingers have magic. Other days they don't.

 

[László]

As someone mentioned, hearing is a psychoacoustic phenomenon. The ears transmit sound to the brain, but the brain interprets it.

The brain - in essence - does something similar to what an Analog to Digital Converter does; it processes the physical sounds we hear and converts them to thoughts. Whether we interpret the tone as good or bad is in substantial part the result of brain activity in addition to actual sound.

A similar thing happens at a party.

There is a cacophony of noise, but we are still able to engage in a conversation with someone because our brain processes all that sound, and then filters much of it out so that we concentrate on the person we're talking to. Think about it; our brains not only interpret sound, they actually are able filter sound, and to ignore sounds that we don't want to listen to.

We do much the same thing when listening to a live show or to a recording. We are able to concentrate on one instrument, or on the vocal, or on the drummer. We may hear to the whole band, but we are able to, for example, listen to the guitar player.

That's some serious mental gymnastics! It's like having a filter plugin in your head!

But wait, there's more...

Lots of things affect our external hearing perception, but we often don't think about the internal processes.

For example, the brain's fuel is glucose. Our bodies process glucose not only differently on different days, but differently at various times on the same day.

Being a diabetic, I'm very familiar with what my body is doing with its glucose. For example, if I'm a little low on sugar, my vision and my hearing are affected. The first thing that happens is that my field of vision closes in, and my brain starts ignoring outside sounds. Drink some orange juice or take a glucose tablet, both of those things come right back.

If my sugar's a bit high, other senses are affected.

Most non-diabetics aren't really attuned to this stuff, and just chalk it up to other factors. But the fact is that even normal folks have their sugar levels fluctuate quite a bit from day to day and hour to hour. They're just less aware of it.

You're not likely to feel a temporary drop from 110 to 75 in your blood glucose. But it affects your brain's ability to perceive in small ways. And this is also true of fluctuation of glucose in the opposite direction.

While things like temperature and humidity can affect speaker cones, wood, etc., it's my firm belief that the most important thing happening when we're having a bad tone day is not what's coming into the ears, it's what's going on between the ears. It's how our brains are processing the sounds coming in.

Of course, I'm not talking about having a day when you're playing an instrument or amp that doesn't sound good, or something's off with the setup, the gear, etc. I'm talking about those inexplicable days when your regular, favorite gear isn't lighting up those pleasure centers in your brain.

 

[Egads]

Les, you are the man.

I put my 513 away for several months, and even almost forgot about it. It just wasn't doing it for me. A couple weeks ago, on a bit of a hiatus for the alt-rock band, I got it out and...OMFG! It is amazing. It's desert island good. Obviously, I was hearing something else when I put it away, but it's back, Baby!

Suppalak, hold on to that beautiful guitar! It's stunning, and I remember reading your posts when you got it. I think it's a keeper.









If you do decide to sell it, DIBS!

 

[92Esquire]

I get it.

I find that my mood has a lot to do with how I perceive guitar tone. If I'm kind of restless, antsy for no reason, I tend to be dissatisfied with my tone, and I end up spending time stomping on pedals, swapping pickup positions, etc. If I'm feeling really depressed, often the guitar will sound flat.

What I've tried to do (when I remember to) is to sit quietly, shut my eyes, and breathe deep while my amp is warming up. Clearing my head seems to have a positive effect on how I hear myself.

 

[Brad737]

Personally, I think the guitar part of the equation is fairly constant...after the wood is seasoned. I think 99% of the time, it's the amp that's different. Tubes are consumables. They were out...sometimes a lot faster than one would think. Also, the power coming out of your wall sockets is highly variable. That's why most studios use power conditioners now. IMHO, if your guitar is sounding a little flat, consider a power conditioner and some new tubes.

 

[Suppalak Klabdee]

Wow, lots of good stuff guys. Thank you very much!

I have tried to change many things, strings, amp setting, cables, and my system already has power conditioner in it. Nothing helped... I now tend to believe that it was just that feeling when I got the new guitar (G and F) that actually cloud my perception of what I was hearing... Both of them sounds great through the same set up during those few weeks (and they are all sounds great still) Like Les said, it probably is what happen between the ears that matters. May be it was because I started to think that "I have too many guitars and has to let something go" as those bad tone days has started just after that thought. Then I went to see a concert where one of my local guitar hero has brought ALL of his guitars on stage and made me feel that, yep, it is ok to have so many guitars. Right after that show, the magical sound was back!

I will never, ever again, thinking about letting this one go. Thank you very much guys!

 

[Asimauve]

As someone mentioned, hearing is a psychoacoustic phenomenon. The ears transmit sound to the brain, but the brain interprets it.

The brain - in essence - does something similar to what an Analog to Digital Converter does; it processes the physical sounds we hear and converts them to thoughts. Whether we interpret the tone as good or bad is in substantial part the result of brain activity in addition to actual sound.

A similar thing happens at a party.

There is a cacophony of noise, but we are still able to engage in a conversation with someone because our brain processes all that sound, and then filters much of it out so that we concentrate on the person we're talking to. Think about it; our brains not only interpret sound, they actually are able filter sound, and to ignore sounds that we don't want to listen to.

We do much the same thing when listening to a live show or to a recording. We are able to concentrate on one instrument, or on the vocal, or on the drummer. We may hear to the whole band, but we are able to, for example, listen to the guitar player.

That's some serious mental gymnastics! It's like having a filter plugin in your head!

But wait, there's more...

Lots of things affect our external hearing perception, but we often don't think about the internal processes.

For example, the brain's fuel is glucose. Our bodies process glucose not only differently on different days, but differently at various times on the same day.

Being a diabetic, I'm very familiar with what my body is doing with its glucose. For example, if I'm a little low on sugar, my vision and my hearing are affected. The first thing that happens is that my field of vision closes in, and my brain starts ignoring outside sounds. Drink some orange juice or take a glucose tablet, both of those things come right back.

If my sugar's a bit high, other senses are affected.

Most non-diabetics aren't really attuned to this stuff, and just chalk it up to other factors. But the fact is that even normal folks have their sugar levels fluctuate quite a bit from day to day and hour to hour. They're just less aware of it.

You're not likely to feel a temporary drop from 110 to 75 in your blood glucose. But it affects your brain's ability to perceive in small ways. And this is also true of fluctuation of glucose in the opposite direction.

While things like temperature and humidity can affect speaker cones, wood, etc., it's my firm belief that the most important thing happening when we're having a bad tone day is not what's coming into the ears, it's what's going on between the ears. It's how our brains are processing the sounds coming in.

Of course, I'm not talking about having a day when you're playing an instrument or amp that doesn't sound good, or something's off with the setup, the gear, etc. I'm talking about those inexplicable days when your regular, favorite gear isn't lighting up those pleasure centers in your brain.

 

[jcha008]

I'm not really sure why that gif was needed in response to Les's post. Thinly veiled perhaps?

 

[László]

Hah!

I know!