Hatata
Member
I got an FM3 in 2022 .. I approached it with the completely wrong mentality. First I relied on the built in presets and other peoples presets to create a tone. Nothing sounded good.. not on any of my
Guitars. I found some presets that sounded ok so I stuck with those and found myself feeling blah about the unit and feeling overwhelmed with all the options and feeling sad I don’t have all the processing power of the Axe-FX3 because hey bigger is always better right ?. Sold it within a couple of months.
Enter 2023… I started feeling quite bored with using Neural Plugins. I also started feeling that if someone else can build great sounding presets why can’t I? The positive about the neural stuff is it made me feel ready to really tinker.
Purchased an Axe-FX 3 Turbo. This time I went at it with the mentality of I will not use presets at all. I will create my own. Within 48 hours I had learned how to dial in a Cab and Amp to within 80% of what I wanted to hear. I started getting excited .. I started loving the tweaking aspect and finding my tone. Wanted to give back to the new folks here.
So here is my advice on how to start tackling the device if you’re a new user.
- Approach the device with the mentality of creating your own sound. Presets made by someone else are not tailored to your guitar, ears or equipment. It will only discourage you and make you feel that the device will never sound good.
- Before the device lands on your door step determine what cables you need and how you will monitor your sound. Get familiar with that portion of your signal chain so you understand how to set your levels and avoid clipping. Also the more familiar you are with the output chain you will understand if what you’re hearing is normal or there is an issue with the input or output signal gain.
- Take a giant world of possibilities and break it down into 2 or 3 small problems. Creating a basic clean sound, crunch and lead.
- Focus on getting a useable Amp and Cab sound before adding anything else. Watch YouTube especially Jedi Master Leon Todd on how to EQ your amp and cab to get rid of any boomy, fizzy or ice pick like tones. Remember you are a guitar player and music producer now. This isn’t an amp you’re mastering your own guitar sound.
- Move on to how to boost your signal and understand the effect that has on your tone stack. Again YouTube is your friend. Do you have a sound you like ? Time to add some effects
- Pick a single effect to add. Is it delay ? Well that’s going to add a whole bunch of eq colour that you will need to fix. Watch some videos to understand how to tweak the parameters and compensate for any undesirable change in tone
- At this point you should feel comfortable enough knowing that yes you can make this piece of hardware sound as good or better than your legacy amp, modeller and you will start to get so excited to be a musician, producer and IT person all in one.
Save your money on presets and IRs until you actually start to understand what’s missing in your tone and what you’re looking to achieve by purchasing an IR.
Great resources on YouTube: Leon Todd, Cooper Carter, Doug B and Mathew Dale.
Most importantly remember if anyone else can do it you can. I’m an IT Architect and honestly the options overwhelmed me at first because I had no idea what they all did. I felt really stupid and not up to the task on my first go around. The great thing is the impact of any option is easily discoverable just by listening to your tone and the definition is an internet search away.
And of course a big thank you to this forum and members. Lots of amazing information. @GlennO guide is one of the most valuable things I refer to often with my complicated setup.
Guitars. I found some presets that sounded ok so I stuck with those and found myself feeling blah about the unit and feeling overwhelmed with all the options and feeling sad I don’t have all the processing power of the Axe-FX3 because hey bigger is always better right ?. Sold it within a couple of months.
Enter 2023… I started feeling quite bored with using Neural Plugins. I also started feeling that if someone else can build great sounding presets why can’t I? The positive about the neural stuff is it made me feel ready to really tinker.
Purchased an Axe-FX 3 Turbo. This time I went at it with the mentality of I will not use presets at all. I will create my own. Within 48 hours I had learned how to dial in a Cab and Amp to within 80% of what I wanted to hear. I started getting excited .. I started loving the tweaking aspect and finding my tone. Wanted to give back to the new folks here.
So here is my advice on how to start tackling the device if you’re a new user.
- Approach the device with the mentality of creating your own sound. Presets made by someone else are not tailored to your guitar, ears or equipment. It will only discourage you and make you feel that the device will never sound good.
- Before the device lands on your door step determine what cables you need and how you will monitor your sound. Get familiar with that portion of your signal chain so you understand how to set your levels and avoid clipping. Also the more familiar you are with the output chain you will understand if what you’re hearing is normal or there is an issue with the input or output signal gain.
- Take a giant world of possibilities and break it down into 2 or 3 small problems. Creating a basic clean sound, crunch and lead.
- Focus on getting a useable Amp and Cab sound before adding anything else. Watch YouTube especially Jedi Master Leon Todd on how to EQ your amp and cab to get rid of any boomy, fizzy or ice pick like tones. Remember you are a guitar player and music producer now. This isn’t an amp you’re mastering your own guitar sound.
- Move on to how to boost your signal and understand the effect that has on your tone stack. Again YouTube is your friend. Do you have a sound you like ? Time to add some effects
- Pick a single effect to add. Is it delay ? Well that’s going to add a whole bunch of eq colour that you will need to fix. Watch some videos to understand how to tweak the parameters and compensate for any undesirable change in tone
- At this point you should feel comfortable enough knowing that yes you can make this piece of hardware sound as good or better than your legacy amp, modeller and you will start to get so excited to be a musician, producer and IT person all in one.
Save your money on presets and IRs until you actually start to understand what’s missing in your tone and what you’re looking to achieve by purchasing an IR.
Great resources on YouTube: Leon Todd, Cooper Carter, Doug B and Mathew Dale.
Most importantly remember if anyone else can do it you can. I’m an IT Architect and honestly the options overwhelmed me at first because I had no idea what they all did. I felt really stupid and not up to the task on my first go around. The great thing is the impact of any option is easily discoverable just by listening to your tone and the definition is an internet search away.
And of course a big thank you to this forum and members. Lots of amazing information. @GlennO guide is one of the most valuable things I refer to often with my complicated setup.