Saarang Narayan
Inspired
Hi everyone! Firstly, I want to clarify that this thread isn't meant to be a complaint or any sort of firmware-bashing or anything like that. I'm posting just for the sake of sharing my findings and hearing everyone's opinion. Secondly, I love Cygnus and would never want to revert to the older firmwares or their sound. Having said that, I've always missed the tones I got from the HBE C45 in Ares, hence this shootout to settle the debate in my head once and for all. I've tried to keep it as "scientific" as possible for me, but I am by no means an expert in shooting out gear or making videos and such of the same; I may have overlooked something during the test and would love to hear how I can correct myself!
(Time stamps are in the video description on YouTube that make it easier to toggle around different clips. Since this is an unlisted video so you might have to use the "Watch on YouTube" button to be able to see the description. If someone knows how to create "chapters" on YouTube based on timestamps, I'd appreciate the help!)
So there had been some discussion on various threads (most recently in the FM3 firmware 6.01 thread) about how the Friedman amps sound different between Ares and Cygnus. This is a quick shootout of the Friedman HBE C45 model in the Axe Fx III between (three) different firmwares. The main objective was to see how different the amp model sounds between the two big firmware families of the Axe Fx III. There's a beta version of the Cygnus firmware where the 2020 BE-100 Deluxe version was used, which I've included for curious minds. I've also thrown in the JVM OD2 Orange and the FAS Modern I models from Cygnus X2 for comparison as those are my go-to amps these days for anything high-gain. While the Friedman HBE C45 was my go-to for anything high-gain in Ares, I shifted to other amps in Cygnus. To achieve those Friedman-like/mod-ed Marshall modern high gain tones, I go to the JVM model and for other high-gain needs, I use the FAS Modern I.
Overall, my conclusions are that the Ares HBE does sound different, and tweaking advanced parameters in Cygnus kinda helps get there, but it still does not sound 1:1. I don't mind that since Cygnus is much better sounding in all departments, just that the Friedmans sound a lot different than before. This shootout finally lays this whole Ares HBE vs Cygnus HBE to rest in mind. I hope others can find this useful, even if it is just for some food for thought.
I've used different settings for the HBE in each firmware, which are indicated in the video as follows:
2020 Parameters: this means that all parameters in the amp block are stock for Ares; I've tried to match these in Cygnus X2 as well as close as I could, but of course there are limitations as to what one can do "over the hood" with deeper parameters. They surely won't sound the same even if the values are the same.
2020 Settings: this means that the basic settings (treble, middle, bass, gain, presence, resonance, master volume) are from my 2020 preset. This reflects my tastes from that time.
2023 Parameters: this means that all advanced parameters in the amp block are stock for Cygnus X2.
2023 Settings: this indicates that the basic settings in the amp block are updated to my current taste.
Mods: this indicates modifications in the amp block as per various suggestions by users on the Fractal forum. These include mods to master bias excursion, negative feedback, and input EQ.
I should also mention that I have used the same IR (ML Sound Lab's Best IR in the World) across all presets. This is, of course, for uniformity's sake since this is the IR I was using in Ares.
Hope this helps!
(Time stamps are in the video description on YouTube that make it easier to toggle around different clips. Since this is an unlisted video so you might have to use the "Watch on YouTube" button to be able to see the description. If someone knows how to create "chapters" on YouTube based on timestamps, I'd appreciate the help!)
So there had been some discussion on various threads (most recently in the FM3 firmware 6.01 thread) about how the Friedman amps sound different between Ares and Cygnus. This is a quick shootout of the Friedman HBE C45 model in the Axe Fx III between (three) different firmwares. The main objective was to see how different the amp model sounds between the two big firmware families of the Axe Fx III. There's a beta version of the Cygnus firmware where the 2020 BE-100 Deluxe version was used, which I've included for curious minds. I've also thrown in the JVM OD2 Orange and the FAS Modern I models from Cygnus X2 for comparison as those are my go-to amps these days for anything high-gain. While the Friedman HBE C45 was my go-to for anything high-gain in Ares, I shifted to other amps in Cygnus. To achieve those Friedman-like/mod-ed Marshall modern high gain tones, I go to the JVM model and for other high-gain needs, I use the FAS Modern I.
Overall, my conclusions are that the Ares HBE does sound different, and tweaking advanced parameters in Cygnus kinda helps get there, but it still does not sound 1:1. I don't mind that since Cygnus is much better sounding in all departments, just that the Friedmans sound a lot different than before. This shootout finally lays this whole Ares HBE vs Cygnus HBE to rest in mind. I hope others can find this useful, even if it is just for some food for thought.
I've used different settings for the HBE in each firmware, which are indicated in the video as follows:
2020 Parameters: this means that all parameters in the amp block are stock for Ares; I've tried to match these in Cygnus X2 as well as close as I could, but of course there are limitations as to what one can do "over the hood" with deeper parameters. They surely won't sound the same even if the values are the same.
2020 Settings: this means that the basic settings (treble, middle, bass, gain, presence, resonance, master volume) are from my 2020 preset. This reflects my tastes from that time.
2023 Parameters: this means that all advanced parameters in the amp block are stock for Cygnus X2.
2023 Settings: this indicates that the basic settings in the amp block are updated to my current taste.
Mods: this indicates modifications in the amp block as per various suggestions by users on the Fractal forum. These include mods to master bias excursion, negative feedback, and input EQ.
I should also mention that I have used the same IR (ML Sound Lab's Best IR in the World) across all presets. This is, of course, for uniformity's sake since this is the IR I was using in Ares.
Hope this helps!
I like to test it 
