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Welcome to the Visual Sound Blog
Welcome to the first installment of the Visual Sound blog. Here we will talk about all things gear related. Furthermore, we will not only discuss Visual Sound products, but also talk about gear setup, interesting and historic products, and other helpful hints for the hard working musician. We will also talk some about the artists we work with, and some of the funny, and not so funny occurrences that happen to them out on the road. Now that we have our intro out of the way, let's get started.
Hearing with your eyes
Do you hear with your eyes? Do you have a certain setting you invariably use whenever you try out equipment? Don't think you are immune to this syndrome. How many musicians try out an amp or pedal and set all the knobs at 5 or Noon, and expect the device to sound its best. It is ok to have extreme settings on equipment... all that matters is if it sounds good to you. Here is another test for you. Do you take 2 pedals or amps and set them to the exact same settings and expect them to be identical, or worse, solely judge them by these identical settings? All the electronic components have a plus or minus variance of 5-20%. If you add up all the variance that is possible with all the parts that are used in the unit's construction, it is with good reason that no 2 pedals, or amplifiers or anything else for that matter are completely identical. Now even though there is this variance, if you set those same controls using your ears instead of your eyes, you will find the point were they sound basically the same... and it's probably not where the settings are identical. Next time you are in a guitar shop trying out gear, bring along a blindfold and see what you come home with. You might end up saving yourself some money.
Zac Childs
Posted by Zac Childs on 10/20 at 02:51 PM
