the bedroom sound

[Ochaye]

as i live in a flat i have to keep the "racket" down,so my bedroom volume is comparable to the TV in the living room...
thing is, at these volumes everything sounds cr@ppy,fizzy with no definition

perhaps i am going the wrong way about things,should i have high level and low gain settings on the OD pedals for instance?

does anyone have some tips/advice on getting a decent low sound around the house?

i SHOULD be getting a good sound with this gear;

les paul c/w black dogs into Barber LTD, Barber BU, MXR 10 eq, MXR carbon copy, Boss DD20, Nova NR1 all powered by a Voodoo lab pp2+ into a 15 w Marshall combo*


*the combo is NOT the weak link here....i tried my home set up with my boogie F100 set up and it still sounded poor

[badgermark]

I get a great low volume tone from my tiny terror set clean (gain and volume both around 9 o'clock) and using distortion pedals for dirt. Find it works nicely for me, keeping pedals at unity gain works for me.

[Tellboy]

I think it's very difficult to get definition with most amps at very low volumes. I have found that using a BBE Sonic Maximizer can greatly improve clarity/definition at TV friendly volumes. I was using the Sonic Stomp (which is designed for use in front of the amp) in the FX loop with good results. Liked it so much I have now got (off ebay) a rack unit. If you use them correctly they can really improve the sound (can sound cr@p if you over use them).
I also occassionally use a TubeScreamer with Drive set near minimum and Level up fairly high to give better bass definition.

[jibidy]

I can get great tone and articulation from my HT5 through my 2x12, however this is slighly louder than bedroom volumes so i generally wait until everyone is out.

I think changing the speaker may be good so that you low volume is getting the speaker to work better. What speaker/speakers are you using.

Im gonna change speakers soon i hope.

[Ochaye]

I can get great tone and articulation from my HT5 through my 2x12, however this is slighly louder than bedroom volumes so i generally wait until everyone is out.

I think changing the speaker may be good so that you low volume is getting the speaker to work better. What speaker/speakers are you using.

Im gonna change speakers soon i hope.

don't matter if i'm using my cr@ppy 15 watt marshall combo speaker or my not so cr@ppy boogie 2x12......there is too much bass and what treble there is,is very shrill

[jibidy]

What amp is it.

Maybe try some different cables.

Just the other day i zeroed my entire rig and stared again, it seems weird but it worked a treat im more satisfied with my gear now than before i zeroed and started again.

[MDV]

Well, I use a vox vtxl in the studio/music room for practice, and a cube 15 with a pod lined into it in the lounge.

The vox is pretty good at low vols. Not too fizzy, decent definition. Up to a certain volume level (about enough to drown out speech, but you can still raise your voice over it easily) it sounds better than my powerball.

The pod and cube now does what you require - low volume, definition, minimum fix, but it took a whole $%&#ing afternoon to dial that in. Horrible contraption.

Used to have a cube 30 that did it OK on its own - 'TV level' ok tone. Should never have sold it.

[ash96]

The pod and cube now does what you require - low volume, definition, minimum fix, but it took a whole $%&#ing afternoon to dial that in. Horrible contraption.

Used to have a cube 30 that did it OK on its own - 'TV level' ok tone. Should never have sold it.

I use a microcube for bedroom practice, best buy ive had in ages! Marshall heads for Gigs/band practice, microcube for when i need to be a bit quiter. The Amp sims are pretty good on it too!

[avdekan]

In my experience you can't get a really decent tone at TV volumes because guitar cabinets are made to work at higher volumes (part of a specific cab's sound is a result of air movement inside and outside the cab, which really starts happening above certain volumes).
What I do when I have to play quietly is plug into my attenuator (koch LB120), disengage the guitar speaker, and plug the cab-emulated output from the attenuator to my computer. I then add a touch of  reverb (for ambiance) and hear the guitar through the stereo system, which is designed to work at low volumes.
hope that helps

[jibidy]

I think a setup like what avdekan said would work well. I plugged in my emulated output into my girlfriends macbook and then into my surround sound. Using a lil bit of reverb you can get close to room sound if emulated out it good.

[theroyalconsort]

Decent sound at tv levels......

POD and headphones.... or buy a bigger telivision. :D