Do yourself a big favor, keep the drive LOW!!!!

dupere11497

dupere11497

Experienced
Q6.0 is awesome! Dynamics are spectacular. On past firmware, I would set the drive too high on my Higain patches thus I was struggling to get rid of the mudd on my tone. Now, depending on the amp model, I usually set the drive nomore than around 3-4. What a difference does it makes!! You maintain that percussive feel when picking the strings and you don't loose any tone definition, it's tight and clear! If I want more gain on leads, I engage the boost function or use a drive block in front of the amp.

I know, Cliff and so many others have stated more than once to use less gain, and they were all right!! It's so simple and yet so effective!! Too much gain will do no good to your tone unless you're Mark Day!!!
 
I've noticed that too about the drive in the amp block. The only question I have is, does it now better correspond to the drive settings on real amps than with previous FW?
 
Well, I would say it really dosen't matter anymore to me. I use and trust my ears. I don't own any of the amps the Axe fx replicate so I don't really care if the drive knob or any other parameter behave exactly like the real thing. As long as it sounds good, I'm happy!
 
dupere11497 said:
Well, I would say it really dosen't matter anymore to me. I use and trust my ears. I don't own any of the amps the Axe fx replicate so I don't really care if the drive knob or any other parameter behave exactly like the real thing. As long as it sounds good, I'm happy!
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You're right, it doesn't really matter. I'm just curious.

Edit: I mean, if I had to drop the drive about 20-30%, what's more representative? Q5 or Q6? I'm happy with the latest improvement, don't get me wrong.
 
My guess is it's pretty accurate. The relative behavior of the knobs to the actual amp model was introduce with MIMIC some Firmware ago. I don't think there was improvement on this from Q5 to Q6.
 
dupere11497 said:
My guess is it's pretty accurate. The relative behavior of the knobs to the actual amp model was introduce with MIMIC some Firmware ago. I don't think there was improvement on this from Q5 to Q6.
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Ok, you think it's still accurate, only you would have needed a bit more drive with the Axe FX with Q5 than on a real amp? :)

Hey, this is my 500th post! :)
 
less is more usually.. as long as you got a halfway decent guitar and pickups, dynamics and your personality are gonna be what comes through as the extra gain you turned down. it might sound not overdriven enough by itself, but add drums and bass and you cut through and become the main focus so much better than before when you were pure midrange gain that got lost if you moved like 6 steps to the left fo some reason.

Simple Reply = +1! Thumbs up! best advice I ever got, years ago.
 
True! And using less gain help reveals your picking dynamics! With too much gain, picking hard of soft won't be different on your tone while while it will have a drastic change with lower gain settings!
 
don_joe said:
I've noticed that too about the drive in the amp block. The only question I have is, does it now better correspond to the drive settings on real amps than with previous FW?
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Keep in mind that Cliff has discussed many/many times that pot values can vary as much as +/- 20% ( or more sometimes ) .... So while they are extremely accurate to his "Test" amps, they may ( or may not ) be as accurate to another amp model from a different production run ....
 
R.D. said:
Keep in mind that Cliff has discussed many/many times that pot values can vary as much as +/- 20% ( or more sometimes ) .... So while they are extremely accurate to his "Test" amps, they may ( or may not ) be as accurate to another amp model from a different production run ....
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Apologies to the OP, my intention wasn't to hijack the thread and thank you too for your commentary. Firstly I agree with the OP, Q6 is fantastic, after long time I enjoy playing more than tweaking.

I'm aware of small discrepancies between Axe FX and real amps, that doesn't bother me at all. I was only thinking in relation to real amps and change between Q5 and Q6. In Q6 the most of us need obviously less drive in the amp block. Let's take 5153 100W Red as an example: where I use to play with drive at 5 in Q5, now I have it at 3 in Q6. Would I on the real amp, same channel, for the similar tone need to set it about where it was in Q5 or Q6 (+/-)? Even if this question of mine stays not answered, it's no problem at all. I just wanted to explain it properly and now I'm out before I irritate anybody to much. :)
 
I've always been a "keep the drive low" player, even when covering heavy rock songs. It can be tempting to run the preamp (or drive pedal) gain very hot, because it introduces a lot of compression and can even out sloppy dynamics. But, that's at the expense of articulation and playing dynamics, and in my opinion, it can atrophy / stunt a player's technique. In addition, higher gain tones have a lot of upper harmonics, which sounds HUGE when playing alone, but can make for an over-saturated stage mix. Low-to-mid gain is still super hard rocking, sits better in the mix, and leaves room for a player to use their picking hand dynamics for better expression.

Before switching to the AxeFX, I used Boogie amps for decades, and one of my favorite tricks is to run the preamp gain around 6-7 (which is pretty hot), then turn the volume down on my strat to around 3-4. This gives a really fat warm tone for rhythm playing, and room to open up for more gain. This is especially effective with single coil pickups. The behavior of the Boogie amp models in the AxeFX is exactly what I am accustomed to, and that accuracy made me feel comfortable in selling my Lonestar after buying the AxeFX. I've never looked back since making the switch.
 
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