Removing Top End Fizz

Ytolyccuz said:
Hi Guys,

I'm a new Axe Fx 2 user. Is there a general set of knobs that best mitigate that undesirable top end fizz when I make a chord on the high e and b strings. I tried taming down the treble, and increasing the high cut (negative feedback = 0).

I am using a ruby rocket brt amp. Sounds good through my mesa boogie mark v:25 power amp. I'm using another ruby rocket brt amp with higher gain settings this time with a cabinet G12H basketweave (I Think) but I can't remove the top end fizz...

In general, I can hear this high end fizz on most presets.

I'm using a pair of cheapo Samson Monitors.

Looking forward to your advice.
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I generally start in the CAB block adjusting the High Cut to about 5000HZ and Low Cut about 100HZ.
This has worked well as a starting point for me. I would suggest starting there and with the amp blocks advanced settings all back to default settings.
 
Lionheart said:
No. Worst advice.
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ConnorGilks said:
You're right about the range, but not about the solution. Cutting everything above 2kHz is going to give you a pretty awful sounding tone. If anything you'll want to either do a shallow, wide dip in that area, or take out a couple tight resonances in that range.
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Guess I should've been more specific. I thought we were talking about an on the fly adjustments which I was always told to use the Global EQ. I didn't mean completely cut 2k. But a slight gradual dip starting around 2-4k and on might do the trick. It has for me at gigs. But I use the same amp for all my live presets so a global adjustment works for me.
 
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Jason Scott said:
I don't hear it in either of those tracks, though the high end fizz in Lifeson's track is coming from the cymbals, which are slightly audible. Nothing really stands out in H-EQ.
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Wow. I'm hearing plenty of fizz in both of those tracks.
 
The fizz I've been hearing that is bothering me is like another amp behind my sound with a slight latency so that I hear it separate from the amp. It's almost like a metal grill rattling but trust me, I actually took them off to make sure that wasn't the culprit. The Axe Fx sounds awesome so I'll ignore it and rock on.
 
Jason Scott said:
I don't hear it in either of those tracks
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I agree.

Rex said:
Wow. I'm hearing plenty of fizz in both of those tracks.
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I wouldn't classify that Van Halen clip as fizz. There is substantial content that I'm hearing somewhere between 3kHz to 5kHz, but whoever mixed it did a good job of removing the fizz (probably with some tight EQ cuts in that region). After about 6kHz, I don't hear anything substantial or poking out in a bad way. So, I'd be willing to bet that there is a low-pass filter around 7kHz. The Van Halen clip also works well with the whole mix and where DLR's vocals lay. Every mix is different. This is why referencing guitar sounds can sometimes be the wrong thing for your mix.
 
Here are a few things I do to eliminate high end fizz. They work great for me, so they might help.
First remember a guitar really shouldn't be infiltrating the 10,000 to 20,000hz zone. So you can use the amp block's EQ, set it to 8 band and lower the 8k band to as much as -12, then start lowering the next 4k band to your liking. You can also start with the brightness of the amp and reduce it to eliminate some fizz. Sometimes I find -5 and turning off the brightness switch takes care of it. I've also adjusted the cab's frequency response and lowered the high end from say 20000 to 8000 or above. Another thing I've noticed is, if I'm using effects like phaser, flanger, chorus, delay, reverb, I adjust the EQ of the actual effect. Sometimes they can cause fizz, if you are using a lot of effect. And you description, it sounds like another amp behind your sound, could be an effect. So maybe shut off all effects and if it goes away, turn one on at a time until you find the culprit.
I use one or as much as all the above combinations to smooth out highs and lows. I've found I can tighten up the lows and eliminate the boom by completely lowering the amp block's 63hz EQ to -12 and then start chopping at the next slider or adjust the cab block's low to 75 or higher hz. Same goes for highs. Drop high EQ settings and/or reduce cab block's 20,000hz to 8,000 or above eliminates harshness without sacrificing tone.
Remember one thing though, as soon as you change your outboard devices (amp, cab or both), your sound will change as well. I use the same amp and cab, unless going direct to PA. If I go to PA, it sounds different than going to my amp and cab. So I've created separate presets for direct to FOH. Since we play through so many different PA systems, I tend to stick with mic'ing my guitar cab to PA, instead of direct.
I've experimented with In Ears, nearfield studio monitors, wedge monitors, guitar cabs, FRFR cabs, direct to PA. The same preset sounds different on each one.
 
Jason Scott said:
Like I said, not hearing it in those, but here's a good example of fizz in a rock classic:

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Yeah, Randy's guitar has a lot going on at the 3kHz area. However, like I said about the mix in my previous post, it works for the song. Ozzy's vocals are around 2kHz or a slight bit lower. So, they stay out of Randy's high 3kHz range. It's all about a balancing act. Getting the vocals and guitars to both sit in a mix intelligibly is the goal.
 
Been away from my AxeFX for a while but I remember having issues with fizzy top end one time too, i assume youve tried out a bunch of different cab IRs? They used to be like day & night in terms of tone & occasionally quality. There was also a de-phase parameter that came out in a FW last year (don't know if it's still around in quantum) that helped reduce harshness in some cab IRs. I may be wrong about all of this but here's a link to get you going in case it helps... http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/lets-talk-de-phase.109515/#post-1310030
 
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