Cab Sims Sound Harsh

Moshermax9

Member
I have used only the stock guitar cabs , but most of the time when I use them they sound very harsh and thin. Anyone have any tips to clean them up, because I want to start using my axe direct for gigs, but hesitant I won't get it to sound good out of the PA with Cab Sims.
 
Weird.
On my experience, cab sims sounded dull, not harsh at first. :) Do note - The cab sims sounds pretty much exactly how that amp and cab would sound mic'ed up. This is pretty much how your real amp sounds mic'ed up on stage, but you don't notice because you monitor your real amp directly through the cab on stage.

Anyway, if you don't like the tone, here are some tips:
I'd say, it's mostly in how you set up your amp. Take out presence if it's harsh?
Also, all Ir's are taken with the mic really close to the cab. This makes highs and lows pronounced. There is a built in high and low cut in the cab block. Use it to taste. Sound engineers on stage do this with real cabs too - they cut out lows and highs when mic'ing up a cab.
 
Is Cabinet Simulation turned on? I think it's in the Global menu
Yes its turned on

Weird.
On my experience, cab sims sounded dull, not harsh at first. :) Do note - The cab sims sounds pretty much exactly how that amp and cab would sound mic'ed up. This is pretty much how your real amp sounds mic'ed up on stage, but you don't notice because you monitor your real amp directly through the cab on stage.

Anyway, if you don't like the tone, here are some tips:
I'd say, it's mostly in how you set up your amp. Take out presence if it's harsh?
Also, all Ir's are taken with the mic really close to the cab. This makes highs and lows pronounced. There is a built in high and low cut in the cab block. Use it to taste. Sound engineers on stage do this with real cabs too - they cut out lows and highs when mic'ing up a cab.

Yea, I guess i'm thinking the cabs shouldn't sound dull, or just not appealing. When I use my Axe FX through my matrix power amp and madison cab it sounds monstorous.
 
+1 on the Low and High Cut in the cab block. Once I dial in a decent tone on the amp block, the Low and High Cut is the next place I go. I usually put the Low Cut around 80 - 120hz and the High Cut between 7000 - 10 depending on the impulse. Definitely use your ears though. Numbers and knob positions don't matter.
 
Yea, I am looking for just a starting point. I do recording I guess just never thought about applying how I EQ guitars in my DAW to the Axe Fx.
 
Hi cut should fix most of your problem. Once you find the right ir for your amp model you shouldn't need that much though. Make sure you are using the correct speaker type for your amp when selecting an ir. Search Yeks amp model guide for a starting point. You don't have to stick with the exact speaker type but since you are just starting stay with a known working combo
 
agreed on the hi/lo cut in the cab block plus filter slope set to 12dB/oct. if it still lacks umph, set the mic type to null and add proximity to taste. oh, and dephase will ease some of that directness you get with frfr.
 
Put your ear 6 inches away from the speaker cone of a real cab and it will sound harsh too. Most real cab users are accustomed to the distant off axis sound of their cabs. The closed mic sound most IRs give is usually quite different. High cut helps soften things up to sound more like the distant off axis sound.
 
Last edited:
Don't forget the Fletcher-Munson curves. You perceive frequencies differently the louder it gets – the top end can get very nasty if you don't account for the effect.
 
It might be worth checking your speaker size in the cab block. I have had on occasion the size default to 0.25 instead of 1. In those cases I have found the sound to be thin and harsh
 
Good suggestions above, but it's important to also note that IRs are no more or less harsh than a mic on a guitar cab. They sound exactly the same.
 
My issue is sort of similar - with the gain up (even less than half-way, all non-clean models sound like they have a fuzz-pedal engaged. It also sounds harsh to me as well even with presence turned down and other EQ adjustments and cycling through Fractal and third party cabs (mostly 4 x 12s)

Any one else hear this (not fizz, but fuzz) or have advice how to trim that?

Note - i hear it with all variations of. Gain, Master, TMB, Presence.
 
My issue is sort of similar - with the gain up (even less than half-way, all non-clean models sound like they have a fuzz-pedal engaged. It also sounds harsh to me as well even with presence turned down and other EQ adjustments and cycling through Fractal and third party cabs (mostly 4 x 12s)

Any one else hear this (not fizz, but fuzz) or have advice how to trim that?

Note - i hear it with all variations of. Gain, Master, TMB, Presence.
Can you record a mix clip of what you are hearing with bass and drums?

Sometimes what sounds harsh as solo instrument is needed to cut through a mix.
 
My issue is sort of similar - with the gain up (even less than half-way, all non-clean models sound like they have a fuzz-pedal engaged. It also sounds harsh to me as well even with presence turned down and other EQ adjustments and cycling through Fractal and third party cabs (mostly 4 x 12s)

Any one else hear this (not fizz, but fuzz) or have advice how to trim that?

Note - i hear it with all variations of. Gain, Master, TMB, Presence.
Are you using the latest firmware (Q 9.01)? I'm suddenly finding almost every IR usable with the improved firmwares.
 
The sound reproduction device you are listening to and where your ear is relative to that vs your ears distance to the real cab makes a huge difference.
 
I think Cliff says he uses 80/8000 for low and high cut.
There is a thread somewhere around that he started.
 
Are you using the latest firmware (Q 9.01)? I'm suddenly finding almost every IR usable with the improved firmwares.

Same here. I've been going back through my IR collection and finding IRs that I once hated sound good now. For example, the Rumble cabs sound great with the new firmware whereas I found them strange sounding before.
 
Many players are used to aim at their knees or their butt with their cabs. I hope you guys are not used to that way of listening....because if, then you are not used to how cabs really sound like.
 
Back
Top Bottom