AustinBuddy Naked Amps Tone Pack (still) Rules! ... New Website up...FM3...coming soon(ish)

bradlake

bradlake

Axe-Master
Longtime fractal fanatic and content creator @austinbuddy , a modest but very talented fella, quietly released this week what I believe may be one of the most important 3rd party releases in FAS history on his new website www.austinbuddy.com , his Naked Amps pack, which is just that, very little fancy--schmancy
Routings or FX chains, just , to my ears, the finest sounding amp/cab combinations , well balanced for volume and as clear and present as any presets I have heard using exclusively (for the most part) stock IRs and I do believe that just about every amp is represented....seems to me this set is a missing link that any Fractal owner could benefit much from.
EDIT 7/14/18. THE AXEFX III VERSION HAS BEEN RELEASED FOR PURCHASE AT A DISCOUNT FOR OWNERS OF THE PREVIOUS PAK..
ALL NEWLY DESIGNED AND SOUNDING AMAZING....CHECK IT OUT....
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...k-for-the-axe-fx-iii-is-now-available.140757/
 
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I'm very interested in this preset pack. Can you record some stuff with a badger, dr, and or matchless preset and post it so I can hear them?
 
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Hi JVStrat:

Example clips (including Dr. Z, Matchless, Badger) are already available on Soundcloud or my website www.austinbuddy.com. There are 10 different clips by style or amp type, each clip with multiple amps for examples. These are local Austin players, many playing a Fractal for the very first time and playing to the amp as it speaks to then. You'll have to scroll through the clip descriptions to find the specific amps you mentioned.

Link to ten +700 Naked Amp Tonepack example clips are here. Scroll down there for them.

Here are a few examples though:











There are some who say the Axe-Fx or AX8 cannot reproduce Vintage amp tones, or sound like a real amp in a room.

IMHO, those people are "very misinformed." I think this TonePack proves that pretty definitively.

If you've ever wanted to hear the sound of every amp modeled in the Fractal:

- "naked" with no effects
- dry and in mono
- paired carefully with Factory Cab
- with two scenes per preset,
- include a dialed-in drive block -- but set to "off"
- using the amps real names, and organized by type: 1. (chronological ) Vintage & Boutique & Bass, 2. Modern, 3. Cleans Only
- with mics chosen (if Axe-Fx version) or foot-switches mapped including Scene 1/2 switching (if AX8 version)
- all leveled signals with headroom and no clipping,
- ready for recording or live use and adding your own effects to taste

--> then this 700+ Naked Amp TonePack is what you have been waiting for all these years!

How I did it (link). If you want to buy them now, click here.
 
Agreed I bought this too to check out as I'm a fan of all the tones Austin Buddy gravitates to.. The amp packs and preset packs are an awesome tool for inspiration. I'm very happy with my core tones with my Axe and AX8 for a Jam band project. , and never sought others, but I couldn't resist when I saw the menu on Austins site. So I tried out the Austin Buddy AX8 tones last night and quickly got lost playin a bunch of Jimi when I fired up his JH presets. The jimi presets and included IR kick a$$, as well as the others- I just lost the night to the Hendrix tones. Thanks AustinBuddy! The other amp presets are a huge awesome tool to inspire new tones for me. They are just dialed in perfect for me to quickly add my favorite effects or whatever. Great purchase and very inspirational. :)

Edit: just jammed with the preset titled "HeyJay" and it just absolutely kills with my Les Paul... think this might be my new tone. It sits so nice in a band.
 
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Any sample preset files? I'm not willing to pay that much unless I can try a few myself.
 
AZG said:
Any sample preset files? I'm not willing to pay that much unless I can try a few myself.
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No preset give aways, but there are sound clips files, go to the Axe-Fx preset thread on forum and five examples are there of naked amps.

The How to make a Jimi London video has me playing that preset throughout.

My website has TEN multiple amp soundclips to check out!

Sorry for any typos - posting from a phone, wanted to respond quickly
 
austinbuddy said:
No preset give aways, but there are sound clips files, go to the Axe-Fx preset thread on forum and five examples are there of naked amps.

The How to make a Jimi London video has me playing that preset throughout.

My website has TEN multiple amp soundclips to check out!

Sorry for any typos - posting from a phone, wanted to respond quickly
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Sadly, other peoples presets often sound good in the video but much less exciting when you get them home on your own equipment. A few sample presets would go a long way towards letting people know how they're going to work for them.
 
I bought these this morning and it's like an introduction to the base amps all over again, but they all sound even better! It's so easy to add reverb or delay at the end, try a compressor you like or a drive in front (try a real-world favorite pedal in front for an even better experience!) and sample some other cabs from whatever matching packs you might own. These presets give you soooo many great jump off points. I backed my whole system up and overwrote all three banks and the 1 user cab. I'm re-experiencing the AxeFX all over again... Thanks Buddy!!
 
Manny Fufish said:
I bought these this morning and it's like an introduction to the base amps all over again, but they all sound even better! It's so easy to add reverb or delay at the end, try a compressor you like or a drive in front (try a real-world favorite pedal in front for an even better experience!) and sample some other cabs from whatever matching packs you might own. These presets give you soooo many great jump off points. I backed my whole system up and overwrote all three banks and the 1 user cab. I'm re-experiencing the AxeFX all over again... Thanks Buddy!!
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....I am experiencing the same thing.
 
Manny Fufish said:
I bought these this morning and it's like an introduction to the base amps all over again, but they all sound even better! It's so easy to add reverb or delay at the end, try a compressor you like or a drive in front (try a real-world favorite pedal in front for an even better experience!) and sample some other cabs from whatever matching packs you might own. These presets give you soooo many great jump off points. I backed my whole system up and overwrote all three banks and the 1 user cab. I'm re-experiencing the AxeFX all over again... Thanks Buddy!!
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I bought the pack 2 days ago for my AX8 and did the same, loaded all banks and havent stopped playing, (i am switching out some cabs for my favourite Ownhammer IRs) Amps are dialled in so well even ones ive never gravitated towards before sound incredible, ran through a couple of the presets at my gig last night and they sounded brilliant, definitely a must have pack and well worth the money IMO .. Thanks AustinBuddy !
 
YES!

That is really the whole idea....to give you a complete, professionally dialed-in tool to hear each amp (259 of them!) "naked" with your favorite guitars, and make it much easier find the tones that inspire you -- then you add whatever your favorite effects are to taste, and tweak "the last mile" to suit your own ears, taste and style.

I approached/made this TonePack for recording engineers and producers in mind for studios, so they can quickly plug-in amp sounds that will inspire the artists they work with.

Throughout, I really got another deep round of appreciation for how incredible Cliff's modeling work is. I am lucky enough to have played many of these amps at Austin Vintage Guitars so I know how they are supposed to sound. Even then, it was hard to limit the sound of each amp to just two base tones (Scene 1/2). For example, a good plexi Marshall can have 5 or 6 great tones depending on how you set it up. So maybe that will be a project for another day.

A drive block can also really enhance them and add further flavor, so I threw one in set to "off" by default, but do check those out too -- that's often like four tones per preset. I made sure the AX8 users had everything foot-switch ready.

When you try out the 101 "Cleans Only bank," especially with single coils, be sure to also try the dialed-in drive blocks out on those cleans! These are various clean boost drives, and can really helps the clean sounds even further. There are some great gems in that bank too.

Did this hoping it would bring the Fractal community the kind of joy this box gives me every day -- and from the feedback and comments I'm getting, you guys are confirming for me we struck the bulls eye was aiming for!

ADDED NEW: Here's a video of Lance Keltner playing some of the modern & boutique tones,

 
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Hey Austin Buddy, can you tell me which firmware revision these were built with?

One concern I have with 3rd party presets is that they are built using a particular firmware version and that as firmware evolves, I suspect that these presets are no longer as "ideally" optimized as they once were. If you try to toggle the amps to update them to the new firmware, you will probably loose the unique settings that they once had. Seems like 3rd party presets might have a a short life-time. What are your thoughts about how well these presets will migrate to future firmware revisions? Thanks ...
 
It's a very fair question. These are all Firmware Q8.2. Barring some drastic firmware overall/across the board change (which I personally don't see as likely, because 8.2 it sounds so killer and spot-on now to real amps, which is what Cliff always is going for), I really think future ones won't change the sound in the vast majority of these presets much.

The lone exception is: if Cliff re-does a existing specific amp model in a future firmware trying to make it better, then in future those specific amps may change a bit for settings, and so you'd need to update that amp block itself. But remember, the amp settings in a preset after a reset stay the same, except for master and presence/hi-cut, so you'd already be real close if you had to toggle the amp out and back in to refresh it. Now, you may have to adjust the overall level up or down -- but you'd likely be real close and just tweak drive, Bass/Middle/Treble and presence and master to your taste. In the Mesa Boogie types you may have to re-do the graphic EQ smile curve after a reset and turn on fat switch again (those particular Naked Amps presets have the fat switch on in Scene 2, but off in Scene 1).

You can never tell, but right now, I don't see Cliff having any need to fix "dozens of amps," -- as most are already dead-on. If a major firmware revision happened that affect things, or some key amps had changes, I would post (or maybe even quick video) the specific steps on what I think needs to be updated/changed in specific presets on my website blog (and here in forum)....but I also have to say, I am so happy with firmware 8.2 I may not even upgrade any more -- can get everything I love with this one. Well, as a Fractal beta tester, I still have to upgrade I guess!
 
I think I will have to break down and get these. Do you feel the presets need any tweaking for live use since you said they were mainly for studio? Also any idea if you can pay using 2 cards? Like if I have a $20 visa gift card and pay the rest with my bank card. Thanks
 
Manny Fufish said:
I bought these this morning and it's like an introduction to the base amps all over again, but they all sound even better! It's so easy to add reverb or delay at the end, try a compressor you like or a drive in front (try a real-world favorite pedal in front for an even better experience!) and sample some other cabs from whatever matching packs you might own. These presets give you soooo many great jump off points. I backed my whole system up and overwrote all three banks and the 1 user cab. I'm re-experiencing the AxeFX all over again... Thanks Buddy!!
Click to expand...

Totally agree! My take as well!
 
Jvstrat said:
I think I will have to break down and get these. Do you feel the presets need any tweaking for live use since you said they were mainly for studio? Also any idea if you can pay using 2 cards? Like if I have a $20 visa gift card and pay the rest with my bank card. Thanks
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Good question. The 700+ Naked Amp TonePack presets can be used either live or for recording. IMHO, some amps sound better live the way they are voiced "naked" than others amps do, and some "record" better than others -- the answer is really amp dependent and also player dependent. (Kind of like my '68 Tele...whenever I'm recording and the guitar I'm using does not sit well in the track, I just reach for it and presto, it magically fits in, every single time!)

One reason I did the ten SoundCloud multi-example clips with 3 very different style players is to showcase that aspect -- players play to the amp sound. Everything was originally dialed in on FRFR monitors to avoid monitor coloration, BUT know that I also had an FRFR Atomic CLR Neo 12 feet away from me on the floor that I also played/checked every preset through for "live use."

On live use, this may be the only thing you could encounter....some of the modern amps get pretty bassy by nature (coupled with 4x12 Factory V30 IRs that are also bassy, like the Bogner 4x12 Uber cab or some Rectos), and if I personally was playing them live I might switch on the "cut" in the Amp Block to cut the lows, or go to Cab block and cut everything under 100hz....Some players love that low end though. Technically I did not use the cut switch, because that would not make them pure "Naked Amps" anymore now, would it, since the amp does not have a cut switch... :)

I'll PM you on payment question.

What I'm seeing in reactions from players who have bought it and comment here and to me in messages is exactly what I hope to engender: the players find tones that get them inspired and make them happy. That's what it's all about to me!
 
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