Vox ad120vt tone match (preparation)

Cobrango

Cobrango

Power User
Hi guys,

so I'm making this thread to kick my ass into tone matching my beloved vox ad120vt w/V30's. Feel free to add whatever, especially if you've got one of your own!

I made a quick recording of me fidaddling with the guitar with my lead preset when I came home from school today. Just to showcase what IMHO to me is a sweet lead tone with lots of definition and air to it. It's breathing and singing and scatting and bopping :D

Don't pay so much attention to the actual playing. It's just fidaddling with no warm up. Just liten to the sweet and flowing lead tone.

I recorded this with my galaxy s3 in the room about 1m from the amp using my Ibanez rg2228 and my as always dunlop tortex pitch black jazz III 1.14mm.

So this is the quick recording I did today:

Geez, I need to wipe off that thing with a dry cloth. It's been collecting dust for some time now. I think somehow I imagine it to sound and look more vintage that way. Which is so not true! I'm cleaning this thing :O

Anyways here are the pictures showing the settings:

20130411_153945_HDR.jpg

20130411_153956_HDR.jpg

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From the vox manual I can read this about the model I use in the vox, the US HIGAIN:

"US HIGAIN
This is modeled on the Overdrive Channel of an all-tube, 100 Watt head built in
1991 and covered in snakeskin! This high gain, power house was designed by a
guy who also builds and drives Hot Rod cars so it should come as no surprise that
the originals controls all go to eleven - after all, “that’s one louder innit!” (© Nigel
Tufnel!)
US HIGAIN is capable of a powerful, heavily saturated sound that combines
an open low-end with compressed mids and highs. The result is a tone that
remains focused and well defined at even the most extreme gain settings. These
attributes have made this head a favorite with several of the world’s leading players,
and its versatility make it ideal for a wide variety of purposes and styles.
Original’s tube compliment: 4 x 12AX7s in preamp, 4 x 6L6s in power amp."

Which to me sounds like they mean the Soldano Slo 100:

sol2.jpg


about the TUBE OD it says:

"TUBE OD
This model is based on an overdrive pedal that’s housed in a garish, “seasick
green” box and is considered an all-time classic due to the wonderfully warm
tones it produces."

To me this description sound like the tubescreamer.

any tips on how to prepare the axe-fx for a tonematch like this?

I mean, how to get the closest in a patch before the actual tone match (seems like there may be some problems with the tone match in fw 10 unless I'm using midi-ox or sysex or what it was. I don't remember.)

Cliff any thougts on this? - like what am I looking for in the axe-fx II, what kind of amp model etc.?

I hope some of you find any interest in the patches I'm about to make, because this beauty sure sounds sweet like chocolate!
 
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Yup. That's the plan. well that, and trying to make a preset as close as possible to the clip posted above. I kind of want my axe-fx II to replace my lead preset in the vox. And the other presets as well, like an insaaaane rotary - but I'm sticking with the lead for now.

I could need some info on how to dial in the fluid non-grainy gain as close as possible to the clip i posted above. I see of the cab IR as the iceing on the cake. I'm working on my preset to get as close as possible, then I'm going to do the cab IR as a last eq thingie. I'm struggling to get the same character in gain without that grainy fizz going on in the top. I found that using the hi-cut to about 8000 did wonders. Try the preset for youself if you want to, or just have a look at it. I tried to first copy what I was doing with the vox, then adjust what sounded wrong about it. There is so many advanced parameters that I'm a bit lost :p

I don't know what, but there is something unique about this open 2 x 12" cab with vintage 30's in it. It's so.. open. breathing. I like it.

20130412_010502.jpg
 
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Could be the recording but that clip sounds really Voxy to me (Brian May kinda Vox thing) have your tried the Vox AC30 model? Try turning Drive up and Input Trim up a bit, bring Master down to taste, for advanced parameters try turning Transformer Match up a bit and Transformer Drive down. A Drive block will give you another stage of distortion which can smooth things out (more stages of moderate distortion tend to be smoother than 1 stage of high distortion as each stage further clips and rounds/softens the wave from the previous stage).

Instead of boosting the mids so much in the amp try a Parametric EQ block before the Amp block to cut the lows and highs.
 
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Why the hell did I not think of that.. it makes perfect sense! I got lost in this heavy us gain kinda thingie. But the clip itself sounds very brian may with a different character and not as bright. It's very rhapsody solo but not as single coily and a bit fuller with more mids and not that treblebooster going on. Thank you for your input! Please feel free to write answers like these people. I love comments. So many views but no one is writing, I just want to know what you guys are thinking about this. I do this becauase I'm so eager to share the presets with you. So tips will only benefit you guys :)

I'm really hooked about this amp. It's the best amp I've tried in my life and I would be glad if someone with experience from it, wrote a few sentences. It's rotary is one of the best I've heard and this unique valvetronix technology is something else.

It consists of two 12ax7's - in the poweramp! For a long time I thought - and many others thought that this thing was just a solid state with two tubes in the preamp.. that's not the case at all.

I don't think Cliff will model this one in the axe-fx II (even though you can find these really cheap on ebay) so I've got to do it myself. I don't blame him - there is an ocean of great amps out there possibly cooler than this one to have in the axe-fx II, but to me - it's all about this one amp right here.

I need to get these presets down before something happens with the electronix. I'm sure it's a bitch to do service on because it's all wire and connections extravaganza in there with all of it's built in this and that :p I think it weighs over 30 kgs now with the vintage 30's in it.

I love this amp *gets all sentimental n shiet :D
 
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Woah.. Cliff I don't know how you've done it but I'm trying to clone the lead preset in my vox ad120vt for a preset to the axe-fx II, and I've just done some quick tweaking (ok I've spent quite some time :p) and it's very close in the characteristics already! I've been searching through alot of cabs and the trick about using two drive pedals as boost really did the trick.

So first here is the orignial recording with my phone of the lead preset in my vox ad120vt:


And now here is a quick recording of my preset in the axe-fx II, trying to match the preset in my vox ad120vt:


That's pretty close! only that the amp still sounds many times smoother and with less grain. the room from the original recording adds a bit to the difference, but I'm really blown away about how quick it was to get this close!

I used the open E in the beginning of the second clip as a reference to the first clip where I also did the open E. Listen for it at 2:10 in the first clip and compare to the beginning of the second clip. That's the exact same characteristics in the harmonics/overtones! That "wah-wah-closing" effect in the overtones/harmonics.

It's pretty cool to have gotten this close just by ear and twisting some knobs and using the tips posted above about the vox ac30 model and two drive pedals for smoother gain/boost.

Here is the new preset I used for the second clip. I need to add more room using that super short delay ala shawn lane or allan holdsworth, but that's for later. for now it's about making it sound the same as the amp:

http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=1147

Edit: wait a minute here.. can't I just use the clip from the first recording to make a tone match? I could always just try it... woah. Did not think of that.

Any thoughts people? :D
 
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Well, that did not work.. :D

here I am talking to myself again, anyways. So I did the same thing as ccroyalsenders did in his tone matching tutorial in the video posted beneath. Using the first clip from the phone and vox amp as a reference through usb.. That did not work at all. I guess it's the same problem as people are talking about with the tone matching in FW 10.

It sounds like there is some kind of formant filter or ressonance thing going on, the tone match is not working for me, that's for sure. No biggie. Maybe it's me who's doing something wrong, or it will get fixed.

 
Good morning to you guys and my die hard non existing fans :D

So I feel I'm much closer with todays improvements. I've spent some time tweaking the:

*master volume from 10 to 5, but the sag cranked.
*amp low cut from 800 to 120.
*I've set the definition to 2, to improve harmonic focus.
*xformer drive from 1 to 0.5.
*xformermatch up to 5.
*B+ Time Constant up all the way to 100.

I've had most success with the three last parameters. I have to read up on what the B+ Time Constant really does but I've experimented alot with it today and to me it's like a "feel-parameter". At 1.0ms it's like the note is chasing my pick attack, the feel is more stiff and forced. Now when changed to 100.ms the note blooms more and feels more like a tail to the pick attack. I looove this feeling! It feels less stiff and more suitable for fluid legato stuff.

Original clip:


Here you can hopefully hear todays improvement:


And now with room feel added to not sound so direct and "DI":


If you want to try the preset for yourself to see if you "feel" the same about the "feel-parameter" I'm talking about - try this preset to see for yourself the tail effect that the note gets in relation to the pick attack. I love the axe-fx! I've just spent minimum amount of time today trying the tips posted in here. And it worked wonders! thank you so much for sharing this with me. I'm thrilled!

Here is the new preset:
Axe-Change - Download Preset - Mr. Lane - by Cobrango

And now with the room added:
http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=1150
 
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Without focusing on how well your Axe preset replicates the exact tone of your Vox amp - Which one sounds better to you?
 
The last one. It also sounds the closest. I don't get the question :p this is about getting as close as possible to the vox, because the vox sounds so good to me :) so the closest one to the vox will also sound the best, to me. I'm not saying anything else is not good because it's not the vox, I'm just doing a little project here where I want to "transfer" my vox amp into the axe-fx :)
 
I didn't think the playing was bad at all even though you were just fiddling.
And you not only have an RG2228 like me but also the same strap haha. Although I changed out those crappy EMGs for passives. :)
 
thank you for your reply jsl2h! Really, the exact same strap? It's fantastic! I had to really adjust it to make the guitar be the same height as when I'm sitting you know, far up in the sky high. what pickups do you have now?

Is there any interest in the vox ad120vt lead sound? it's really liquid IMHO. I just have to get the pre amp to do a better recording for matching it. And wait for the tonematch to get fixed in fw 10.

again thank you jsl2h. it does not seem as if there is any interest to this thread. If people do not respond to anything I must have failed to bloom any interest or curiosity.
 
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No problem! I should post a pic I just got the strap signed this weekend by Paul Masvidal and the guys from Death! I've been going to shows and having my favorite players sign it, I got jeff loomis and tosin abasi's signatures as well. I put Dimarzio Dactivators in it, but I just swapped the neck for a PAF8 which is much spankier and cleaner. I like it. Yes I like that lead tone, its very fluid and I wouldn't mind having a good tonematch. Hopefully when tma is fixed everything will work out.
 
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