My AxeFX III sounds bad, and I don't know why

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Break_Animal

Member
I have just recently purchased an AxeFX III Mk I and so far I'm completely blown away by how muddy and fuzzy it sounds in my setup. I'm almost 100% certain that I'm doing something almost comically wrong. When I tried out the Axe with the previous owner, and I'm pretty sure it sounded completely different.

I'm mostly playing lower tuned Metalcore stuff, so I know that there are some challenges to take on, when dialing in a proper rhythm sound.

I have looked up Cooper Carter and found a video ( 10 Best High-Gain Rhythm Axe-Fx III Presets - Cooper Carter) where he demonstrated a stock preset. I used the exact same stock presets with my Mayones Regius 6 (Bareknuckle Ragnarok Pickups) and it could not be much further from his demonstrated sound. I know that there is some post processing in these kind of videos, but the core essence of the tone is no where near. It feels like my Axe lacks complete tightness and is just a muddy and fuzzy mess. I bought some Choptone Presets which sounded very good unedited in the demos, but it sounds equally bad when I use them. Also, most of the presets of Axe-Change sound so damn bad, that I'm convinced that nobody in their right mind would share such bad sounding profiles.

I recently owned a Kemper and this thing sounded absolutely amazing for my rhythms in the exact same setup.

Signal Chain is: Mayones Regius Custom 6 (Bareknuckle Ragnarok) / PRS Mark Holcomb 7-string (Seymour Duncan Scarlet/Scourge) -> Input 1 -> Output 1 (2 XLR cables) into Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen -> Reaper. Same results when using the AxeFX itself as interface directly into Reaper or using the Scarlett with Direct Monitoring.

I also tried to build a preset up on my own and tweak it to my liking. So I looked up a tutorial by Leon Todd on the G66 YTchannel and used his Amp (6160+ Lead) and his Cab combo of the 4x12 ST 57M Brt YA and 4x12 Recto ST 121 Brt YA, no additional effects yet. His absolute starting point sounds like an absolute beauty, though mine sounds like lifeless fuzz already. Tried with Bareknuckle Ragnarok Pickups as well as the Seymour Duncan Scarlet/Scourge on my PRS 7-string.

Input and Output levels are set right before clipping already, 48khz on the AxeFX interface as well as the Scarlett 2i2.
 
Break_Animal said:
I have just recently purchased an AxeFX III Mk I and so far I'm completely blown away by how muddy and fuzzy it sounds in my setup. I'm almost 100% certain that I'm doing something almost comically wrong. When I tried out the Axe with the previous owner, and I'm pretty sure it sounded completely different.

I'm mostly playing lower tuned Metalcore stuff, so I know that there are some challenges to take on, when dialing in a proper rhythm sound.

I have looked up Cooper Carter and found a video ( 10 Best High-Gain Rhythm Axe-Fx III Presets - Cooper Carter) where he demonstrated a stock preset. I used the exact same stock presets with my Mayones Regius 6 (Bareknuckle Ragnarok Pickups) and it could not be much further from his demonstrated sound. I know that there is some post processing in these kind of videos, but the core essence of the tone is no where near. It feels like my Axe lacks complete tightness and is just a muddy and fuzzy mess. I bought some Choptone Presets which sounded very good unedited in the demos, but it sounds equally bad when I use them. Also, most of the presets of Axe-Change sound so damn bad, that I'm convinced that nobody in their right mind would share such bad sounding profiles.

I recently owned a Kemper and this thing sounded absolutely amazing for my rhythms in the exact same setup.

Signal Chain is: Mayones Regius Custom 6 (Bareknuckle Ragnarok) / PRS Mark Holcomb 7-string (Seymour Duncan Scarlet/Scourge) -> Input 1 -> Output 1 (2 XLR cables) into Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen -> Reaper. Same results when using the AxeFX itself as interface directly into Reaper or using the Scarlett with Direct Monitoring.

I also tried to build a preset up on my own and tweak it to my liking. So I looked up a tutorial by Leon Todd on the G66 YTchannel and used his Amp (6160+ Lead) and his Cab combo of the 4x12 ST 57M Brt YA and 4x12 Recto ST 121 Brt YA, no additional effects yet. His absolute starting point sounds like an absolute beauty, though mine sounds like lifeless fuzz already. Tried with Bareknuckle Ragnarok Pickups as well as the Seymour Duncan Scarlet/Scourge on my PRS 7-string.

Input and Output levels are set right before clipping already, 48khz on the AxeFX interface as well as the Scarlett 2i2.
Click to expand...
Make sure prior owner was not using with cab and turned off the power amp modelling
Check that the wah is not engaged.
Honestly on a used unit you might want to just do a full reset because who knows what settings previous owner change
Pulling up the 5153 stealth blue or red w pres around 9 should get you a great sound for low tuned guitars
 
Randalljax said:
Make sure prior owner was not using with cab and turned off the power amp modelling
Check that the wah is not engaged.
Honestly on a used unit you might want to just do a full reset because who knows what settings previous owner change
Pulling up the 5153 stealth blue or red w pres around 9 should get you a great sound for low tuned guitars
Click to expand...
I did reset all presets and done every reset step under "Setup -> Utilities -> Reset".
Unfortunately I can't post any Imgur links with my settings, but the Power Amp Modeling is set to on and Cabinet Modeling is active. Speaker Impedence Curve on Default.
 
iaresee said:
Have you factory reset the unit?


Do the parameter reset. Delete all the presets on the unit. Put the latest firmware on it. Put the latest factory presets back on it.
Click to expand...
Yes, exactly done like this. I have a backup of the old config of course. As I tried out the unit with the guy, it sounded massive on his setup though. Hence why I'm really struggling to believe that it's not a most likely simple setting that's causing my headaches.
 
Break_Animal said:
Yes, exactly done like this. I have a backup of the old config of course. As I tried out the unit with the guy, it sounded massive on his setup though. Hence why I'm really struggling to believe that it's not a most likely simple setting that's causing my headaches.
Click to expand...
What setup was he using ?
The playback systems can make a huge difference
What happens if you listen through headphones ?
 
Randalljax said:
What setup was he using ?
The playback systems can make a huge difference
What happens if you listen through headphones ?
Click to expand...
He was going into a Scarlett 4i4 for his headphones and via stereo 6,3mm cables into his monitors. I tried the exact same setup, as well as using headphones directly into the Axe or Scarlett.
 
Rick said:
Mentioned above, but double check if there is a wah block in the preset, and if it’s engaged. This will make a mess of any preset.

It would be useful to post the preset here. I’ve done this and others found things I missed.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I can't post any links yet. I got quite some stuff but I can post it eventually soon :)
 
Rick said:
Mentioned above, but double check if there is a wah block in the preset, and if it’s engaged. This will make a mess of any preset.

It would be useful to post the preset here. I’ve done this and others found things I missed.
Click to expand...
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/nuc3...-Red.wav?rlkey=4ru5m4sid9osh8uf4yw0ot89u&dl=0
This was recorded using the stock preset Recto 1 S03 (Red). I did use this preset to compare my base tone in comparison to Cooper Carter's video. ( ). The difference is night and day, even though his sound might be post processed, the essence is completely different. I know stock presets aren't the thing to go, but I figured they have to be atleast somewhat similar. As I build a preset up from scratch, I took Leon Todd's tutorial on the G66 channel and just amp/cab combination is sounding massive for him, absolutely horrifying for me, no matter the dialing it feels like.
 
use the grid view on the AFIII and page over to the levels view. While, playing: is any block in that view clipping?
 
Idk these sound like the Axe Fx to me! Do some tweaking with IRs/cabs. The presets sound best at loud volume as they are bass heavy when quiet imo.

Your second clip doesn't sound bad at all. Try putting a cut around 12000 or so to tame some fizz.

To state the obvious, your playback system will matter along with guitar and pickups
 
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Mongillo19 said:
Idk these sound like the Axe Fx to me! Do some tweaking with IRs/cabs. The presets sound best at loud volume as they are bass heavy when quiet imo.

Your second clip doesn't sound bad at all. Try putting a cut around 12000 or so to tame some fizz.

To state the obvious, your playback system will matter along with guitar and pickups
Click to expand...
Yeah the playback system will absolutely matter, no question! I still do not understand why the basic setup (Input->Amp->Cab->Output) is nowhere comparable to Leon Todd or especially the Cooper Carter video. It's not about a small set of tweaking it feels like, the essence is completely night and day.
 
Break_Animal said:
Preset of Leon Todd: https://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=10185
My recording with the first scene (unedited): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/y8yk...est1.wav?rlkey=rg031fvupl6xvyusqmdauzr3s&dl=0

It doesn't sound horrible, but the crispness and tightness of his sound is still lightyears ahead of mine, if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
It does not sound that far off to me , I would maybe look at low cut / hi cut in cab block
80hz and 7500 on the top end
You could engage the amp input boost or a horizon drive in front but from your clip at least into the DAW it’s a good sound for that genre
If you are used to Kemper they have a mid boost curve you can do that by going into the input EQ and bumping 1000-1200 khz by a couple of db
 
Some screenshots of my settings, just to rule out I forgot something important:

Config:
Input Levels:
Sample Rates:

@iaresee, no clipping to be found in grid view. 5% Input level sounds absolutely insane, especially because I use passive pickups only. But as soon as I go higher, the "IN1 CLIP" message is shown on the Axe.
 
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