Can we sticky a thread about tuning??

[alanizgod]

I think a lot of people might have a nice and expensive audio system that sounds like shit only because they don't have it properly tuned...I found this out for myself and feel stupid for all the money I blew off buying "better and better" and ended up realizing the problem was my fault. I figured we outta sticky something in regards to that :dunno:

[lostforawhile]

thats not a bad idea, but we need a sedan and coupe and a hatchback section, the hatchback has acoustics a world apart from any of the other three gees

[alanizgod]

Thats true..well then there could be 3 stickies aha. Or maybe a single thread that can lead to the options between the type of car or something

[ghettogeddy]

im glad i could be of some assistance in an i opener lol

what i normally do is set the hu at its max i would listen then tune around that i set myself at a cretin level not to pass sometimes its not that easy though lol

[alanizgod]

I set my amps down all the way as far as it could go but I could only get about 30 out of 60+ on the head unit. I want to be able to utilize the complete range but I don't know how to how to do it since everythings been set as low as it can go on the amps:sadwave:

[Sabz5150]

Get some solid material together for a tuning thread and I'll gladly put the sticky to it.

[alanizgod]

lol alright thanks for taking it into consideration...ill do some research and get more info on it

[MessyHonda]

i remember some one had a thread about tuning.

[Hauntd ca3]

if you want to get serious bout getting amp gains spot on you need an osilliscope.
plug the rca's from the hu into it and crank the hu volume till the scope shows a clipped wave then turnit down till the wave just uses the full scale and note the voltage at which that happens.
thats the voltage to set the amp gains at.
if your hu has individual preout gain controls, you can use these to change the hu output voltage so you can crank the hu volume to full without clipping.
thats prob the best way to give the amp the cleanest signal to amplify.
use a reference cd and a spectrum analyiser to set your eq.
the alpine speed of sound cd is an awesome one to use.
only the best studios and equipment was used in its production and is an awesome disc.
heaps of competition guys used to use this disc back in the day when it was about how it sounded, not how loud you could go

[evil88accordLX]

try this. its a good explination of the frequencies and how they work.

-- This chart was originally meant for pop music, but can be very useful for all applications --


FREQUENCY:
USES:

50Hz
1. Increase to add more fullness to lowest frequency instruments like foot, floor tom, and the bass.
2. Reduce to decrease the "boom" of the bass and will increase overtones and the recognition of bass line in the mix. This is most often used on loud bass lines like rock.

100Hz
1. Increase to add a harder bass sound to lowest frequency instruments.
2. Increase to add fullness to guitars, snare.
3. Increase to add warmth to piano and horns.
4. Reduce to remove boom on guitars & increase clarity.

200Hz
1. Increase to add fullness to vocals.
2. Increase to add fullness to snare and guitar ( harder sound ).
3. Reduce to decrease muddiness of vocals or mid-range instruments.
4. Reduce to decrease gong sound of cymbals.

400Hz
1. Increase to add clarity to bass lines especially when speakers are at low volume.
2. Reduce to decrease "cardboard" sound of lower drums (foot and toms).
3. Reduce to decrease ambiance on cymbals.

800Hz
1. Increase for clarity and "punch" of bass.
2. Reduce to remove "cheap" sound of guitars.

1.5KHz
1. Increase for "clarity" and "pluck" of bass.
2. Reduce to remove dullness of guitars.

3KHz
1. Increase for more "pluck" of bass.
2. Increase for more attack of electric / acoustic guitar.
3. Increase for more attack on low piano parts.
4. Increase for more clarity / hardness on voice.
5. Reduce to increase breathy, soft sound on background vocals.
6. Reduce to disguise out-of-tune vocals / guitars.

5KHz
1. Increase for vocal presence.
2. Increase low frequency drum attack ( foot / toms).
3. Increase for more "finger sound" on bass.
4. Increase attack of piano, acoustic guitar and brightness on guitars (especially rock guitars).
5. Reduce to make background parts more distant.
6. Reduce to soften "thin" guitar.

7KHz
1. Increase to add attack on low frequency drums ( more metallic sound ).
2. Increase to add attack to percussion instruments.
3. Increase on dull singer.
4. Increase for more "finger sound" on acoustic bass.
5. Reduce to decrease "s" sound on singers.
6. Increase to add sharpness to synthesizers, rock guitars, acoustic guitar and piano.

� 10KHz
1. Increase to brighten vocals.
2. Increase for "light brightness" in acoustic guitar and piano.
3. Increase for hardness on cymbals.
4. Reduce to decrease "s" sound on singers.

15KHz
1. Increase to brighten vocals (breath sound).
2. Increase to brighten cymbals, string instruments and flutes.
3. Increase to make sampled synthesizer sound more real.

[irondragon013]

Good link for people looking on how to set amp gains:
http://www.icixsound.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27819&highlight=tutorial

[markmdz89hatch]

thats not a bad idea, but we need a sedan and coupe and a hatchback section, the hatchback has acoustics a world apart from any of the other three gees

Amen to that one Tim. When I had my system (ah, when I had that glorious system) the acoustics of the hatch, combined with the products I chose, made even my dad (who use to help setup jazz sound booths, and used to be a jazz musician) VERY pleased. (For reference, he was the largest critic of the near $4K I spent on just the bit, not including install.)


I would never have been able to accomplish this in the coupe or sedan. ...but there are still great ways to make each sound great in their own right. I like the idea of a "what fits" and a "what works best and why" and a "let's get serious about dialing it in" thread.

[Ralphyboy]

The one thing I learned very quickly when I started competing in Sound Q was, tuning is in the ear of the beholder :lol: I made a horrible salesman because most people want you to tell them what sounds the best and it just not work that way. I could have have told them what I like, they may have been happy with that, but, they may not have been too.

Matching is a different ballgame, you can buy parts that won't work together very well, or will need to be gain matched to get within the parameters of the pieces performance so they then can be tuned.

Complicatedly if you really want the best, you have to look at speaker placement, EQ set points, EQ settings at those points, crossover points, crossover slopes at those points, at what overall loudness you listen to your music, and about 5 to 10 other things. In the end, someone else will get into your car and STILL find fault.


Me, I just jam out to the music while I'm driving now. It's way less to worry about, and I have a hell of a lot more fun :D

[MessyHonda]

you guys are right....after i dynomated my front doors the sound was more clear...just imagine the people who do the whole car...it must sound like a studio