Axe-Fx III Firmware Release Version 15.01

JamesBWood said:
I'm still having a problem with the Ten-Tap not holding a first tap value of 3410 ms - reverts to 16xx ms. ( I use a second ten-tap to get an 11th tap - the first having 10 tap settings spaced at 310ms).
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Would like to hear what you're doing there sir...
 
Adam Goldsmith is a fantastic session player. From bits I've read in the past, his main issue with digital gear in general has been the UI. I'll have a read of Guitarist and see what he's supposedly said.
 
His issues were light driven tones, and user interface ( being able to quickly add/change a patch during a session) He didn’t state what version he had (only mentioned Axe-FX, so could have been pre II). His modeller journey went - Fractal, Kemper head (didn’t like effects), Helix (not great amp sounds, but good effects and UI) now has Kemper floorboard with additional pedals on a board (hence overcoming Kemper effects limitations).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion especially if its based on actually using units, but he might be equally as happy with FM3 or AxeFX III if he tried those next.

Pretty sure G66 used to advertise in the magazine - though didn’t see an ad in this issue, and they have given good reviews to AxeFXIII and FM3 recently (in fact they are notorious for everything getting a good review - an 8/10 means it’s average). The article was just the life/experiences of a session player and what he uses.
 
Deemic said:
Who? Never heard of him. Was he famous years ago or something?
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He's a session player, and does a lot of studio work, but does a lot of live work too, for TV, like The Voice, American Idol, that kind of thing. Also he is a sideman for acts like Beverley Knight, and loads of other projects. Obviously he's a gifted and high standard player to get those gigs. In his monthly column, he offers insight into these gigs and the gear and thought processes required to get them done. It's all very enthralling, aside from the fact he frequently goes out of his way to disparage the virtues of the Axe-Fx.
 
blaggers said:
His issues were light driven tones, and user interface ( being able to quickly add/change a patch during a session) He didn’t state what version he had (only mentioned Axe-FX, so could have been pre II). His modeller journey went - Fractal, Kemper head (didn’t like effects), Helix (not great amp sounds, but good effects and UI) now has Kemper floorboard with additional pedals on a board (hence overcoming Kemper effects limitations).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion especially if its based on actually using units, but he might be equally as happy with FM3 or AxeFX III if he tried those next.

Pretty sure G66 used to advertise in the magazine - though didn’t see an ad in this issue, and they have given good reviews to AxeFXIII and FM3 recently (in fact they are notorious for everything getting a good review - an 8/10 means it’s average). The article was just the life/experiences of a session player and what he uses.
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That's right. He says that it's all right for rock & metal styles, but for slightly distorted and crunch styles it's lacking.
I'll add, that AFAIK, the unit he had was a II, and that was several years ago. Also, he alludes to the fact that he has little interest in delving into menus etc. which was his other gripe. It's all opinion of course, but he's also a pseudo influencer in a way, and when it's plastered all over a mag like that, it really makes my eyeballs itch.
 
“He says that it's all right for rock & metal styles, but for slightly distorted and crunch styles it's lacking. Also, he alludes to the fact that he has little interest in delving into menus etc. which was his other gripe.”

Well, if you are judging the unit by plug and play, don’t want to figure out what the unit is capable of and haven’t bothered to check out aftermarket Axe presets, how is that a fair comparison to the Kemper? Don’t most Kemper owners buy aftermarket profiles?
 
stereotactic said:
Well, if you are judging the unit by plug and play, don’t want to figure out what the unit is capable of and haven’t bothered to check out aftermarket Axe presets, how is that a fair comparison to the Kemper? Don’t most Kemper owners buy aftermarket profiles?
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precisely. And that feeds into why he always plugs the Michael Britt profiles quite so often. They’ll be plug and play profiles.
And for him, who’s sat in Abbey Road, with a conductor and full string section sat waiting for him to come up with sounds for their next cue, he’s got precious little time to tweak, so I get where the convenience and plug & play aspect wins out over the in depth preset creation. Still, calling all the wealth of features a drawback?
I find that a bit odd. I wonder what the comparison would be with not only the AxeFx III, but this latest upcoming firmware? Might be night and day.
 
craiguitar said:
precisely. And that feeds into why he always plugs the Michael Britt profiles quite so often. They’ll be plug and play profiles.
And for him, who’s sat in Abbey Road, with a conductor and full string section sat waiting for him to come up with sounds for their next cue, he’s got precious little time to tweak, so I get where the convenience and plug & play aspect wins out over the in depth preset creation. Still, calling all the wealth of features a drawback?
I find that a bit odd. I wonder what the comparison would be with not only the AxeFx III, but this latest upcoming firmware? Might be night and day.
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There are very few full time session guys, and they are the only people I can think of who would be literally on the clock while dialing in sounds. And not all producers expect a session guy to be able to get every guitar sound known to man in the middle of a session. During the time I made a living doing sessions, I was hired for my specific sound and playing style. Sure, sometimes I had to dial things in during a session, but the producer didn’t expect me to have a Fender twin in my back pocket when he hired me for my high gain 7 string sound. In my experience, most producers know what they want and discuss it with you beforehand so you can bring the right stuff for the job. The only kind of sessions with the possibility of lots stylistic changes happening on the fly would probably be jingle/advertising campaign sessions where some non musician is in charge and can’t figure out how to get “that sound”.

The vast majority of us take pleasure and pride in being able to dig into the menus and see what’s possible to create our own sounds. Sometimes the key to finding a great, unique sound is simple as adjusting 1 parameter. I’ve had lots of those ah ha moments and then gone on to build very complex, great sounds which would be very hard or impossible to do in the real world.

Also, I don’t agree that the Axe is lacking in good edge of break up or crunch sounds. You can find plenty of videos with great examples of those tones. I think the Fenders are spot on and use them all the time. The “is it the amp or the Axe” clips posted on this forum are further proof of how accurate the Axe is. All the Kemper high gain sounds I have heard are severely lacking in complexity and richness compared to the Axe. I couldn’t really identify any power amp compression/clipping or any of the particular speaker dynamics which make up good high gain sound in any of the Kemper recordings I’ve heard...
 
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With regard to Goldsmith particularly, his main gig is one of them TV talent shows and they often don't get to hear about the tracks until very near show time and even then they often don't know a lot of the material off-hand. So if you do find the UI a pain in the arse (which I don't, but to each their own - I'm a moron in lots of other areas), I can see why it might be difficult to come up with lots of patches quickly.

However, the Axe has been good enough tonally since the Standard/Ultra days so I just cannot see how the issue is with the underlying tones. I recently bought a Mooer GE150 for headphone practice with a drum machine - hell, I'd have NO problem using any of them tones at a gig. Digital is absolutely fine and not a compromise IMO, no matter which platform.

To each their own.

That said, I'm very much looking forward to Cygnus.
 
kplooksafterme said:
With regard to Goldsmith particularly, his main gig is one of them TV talent shows and they often don't get to hear about the tracks until very near show time and even then they often don't know a lot of the material off-hand. So if you do find the UI a pain in the arse (which I don't, but to each their own - I'm a moron in lots of other areas), I can see why it might be difficult to come up with lots of patches quickly.
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Understood about the talent show session dynamic, but it’s still not full on “stump the band”. I’m sure even talent show bands are familiar with popular sounds of the present and recent past. The question is, how many session guys are out there doing talent shows? I would think it’s a tiny number of the working musicians and thus most of us would not be similarly concerned with how quickly we can create a new patch. And the UI of FAS products is easily improved with an editor, which can be put on very small screens if need be.

The annoying thing about all this is I’m sure Goldsmith knows his situation is very unique, but he feels compelled to present his particular experience as somehow relevant to the rest of us. And it’s certainly not a legitimate gripe that he can’t dial in the perfect sound in seconds if he doesn’t even bother to try aftermarket Axe presets when that is what he’s probably using in the Kemper...
 
I read that Goldsmith article and my big take away was; if you're a top session guy then surely you're prepared to spend a bit of time with the AXFX, whichever model it was, and see what it's capable of. And if you are using it for sessions then prep up a few basic tones from different genres you can call upon quickly. They're always going on about being prepared so that seems obvious to me
If he's gone through the Michael Britt profiles then why didn't he do some research and try AustinBuddys, or Burgs or Leons.

He's supposed to be a pro guy and the thought occurred to me that, as a session guy a piece of gear comes along that has the facility to cover most if not all of the sounds I'll need as an electric guitarist in a simple easy to transport package then I want to put some time into it to see if it'll work for my application
Now he might have done that and not been happy with the results, but it appeared to me that it fell into the too difficult box to spend some time learning about whatever AXFX he was using so he copied his mate and went back to a Kemper. He might be one of those guys who isn't that into getting to grips with gear

When I saw the comment about the AXFX being only for rock/metal I did LOL and wondered if i should carry on reading.

Thing is, just because he's a working player doesn't mean he knows what great tones are. He'll be getting hired because he plays the part the person who's hired him wanted, turned up on time and didn't cause any issues. How good we as guitar players of taste might consider his tones I would imagine isn't a consideration for the people who employ him. It'd be interesting to hear him play to see what his tones are actually like
 
ak301 said:
I read that Goldsmith article and my big take away was; if you're a top session guy then surely you're prepared to spend a bit of time with the AXFX, whichever model it was, and see what it's capable of. And if you are using it for sessions then prep up a few basic tones from different genres you can call upon quickly. They're always going on about being prepared so that seems obvious to me
If he's gone through the Michael Britt profiles then why didn't he do some research and try AustinBuddys, or Burgs or Leons.

He's supposed to be a pro guy and the thought occurred to me that, as a session guy a piece of gear comes along that has the facility to cover most if not all of the sounds I'll need as an electric guitarist in a simple easy to transport package then I want to put some time into it to see if it'll work for my application
Now he might have done that and not been happy with the results, but it appeared to me that it fell into the too difficult box to spend some time learning about whatever AXFX he was using so he copied his mate and went back to a Kemper. He might be one of those guys who isn't that into getting to grips with gear

When I saw the comment about the AXFX being only for rock/metal I did LOL and wondered if i should carry on reading.

Thing is, just because he's a working player doesn't mean he knows what great tones are. He'll be getting hired because he plays the part the person who's hired him wanted, turned up on time and didn't cause any issues. How good we as guitar players of taste might consider his tones I would imagine isn't a consideration for the people who employ him. It'd be interesting to hear him play to see what his tones are actually like
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This. Get to know your gear is all.

If you have the most advanced processor on the planet and can't figure out how to make it work for you when everyone else can, even non tech savvy 70+ year old retirees who have been using tube amps their whole lives, then the problem is not the gear, it's YOU
 
jon said:
This. Get to know your gear is all.

If you have the most advanced processor on the planet and can't figure out how to make it work for you when everyone else can, even non tech savvy 70+ year old retirees who have been using tube amps their whole lives, then the problem is not the gear, it's YOU
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Exactly
 
ak301 said:
I read that Goldsmith article and my big take away was; if you're a top session guy then surely you're prepared to spend a bit of time with the AXFX, whichever model it was, and see what it's capable of. And if you are using it for sessions then prep up a few basic tones from different genres you can call upon quickly. They're always going on about being prepared so that seems obvious to me
If he's gone through the Michael Britt profiles then why didn't he do some research and try AustinBuddys, or Burgs or Leons.

He's supposed to be a pro guy and the thought occurred to me that, as a session guy a piece of gear comes along that has the facility to cover most if not all of the sounds I'll need as an electric guitarist in a simple easy to transport package then I want to put some time into it to see if it'll work for my application
Now he might have done that and not been happy with the results, but it appeared to me that it fell into the too difficult box to spend some time learning about whatever AXFX he was using so he copied his mate and went back to a Kemper. He might be one of those guys who isn't that into getting to grips with gear

When I saw the comment about the AXFX being only for rock/metal I did LOL and wondered if i should carry on reading.

Thing is, just because he's a working player doesn't mean he knows what great tones are. He'll be getting hired because he plays the part the person who's hired him wanted, turned up on time and didn't cause any issues. How good we as guitar players of taste might consider his tones I would imagine isn't a consideration for the people who employ him. It'd be interesting to hear him play to see what his tones are actually like
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I'm sure he's desperate to know what we, as "players of taste" all think of his opinions :rolleyes:.
 
craiguitar said:
.
And for him, who’s sat in Abbey Road, with a conductor and full string section sat waiting for him to come up with sounds for their next cue, he’s got precious little time to tweak, so I get where the convenience and plug & play aspect wins out over the in depth preset creation. Still, calling all the wealth of features a drawback?
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This is a real thing. Having to build a new preset or scene just to combine an existing amp setting with an existing FX preset adds time that you don't have in that sort of environment.

Compare the the number of UI actions it takes to build a sound as a selectable preset with several different rigs, including one with a modern multi-channel amp. Assume that you have to use the front panel, because you don't have time to fiddle with a laptop.

Also, keep in mind that a session player is probably using far less FX than a live player, because the engineer will want a relatively dry base track; they will add FX later.
 
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