What am I doing wrong? AFX3 sounds awful when played loud

FarleyUK

FarleyUK

Inspired
Not looking to start a flame war or anything, I honestly want the AFX3 to work for me - but I’ve just spent 4 hours in a studio with it cranked loudly through both my two RS-LG12 cabs and a Bose PA, and I just can’t get a decent sound.

I’ve tried the cygnus presets and AustinBuddy’s LiveGold pack - however, all of them are very shrill and have a strange ‘bark’ going on with the cabs.

I’ve played around with the output EQ, and have had to cut about -8 at 750hz with a q of 2, and -8 at around 2500 with a q of around 2. Cut of about -3 at 5500 with a Q of 1. Hi and low cut set to 6500 and 125.

I’ve tried the Plexi models, JCM800 models, Friedman BE and HBE, Atomica, CCV etc… but it still has that nasty ‘bark’ quality.

maybe I’m just rubbish at this , but I’d really appreciate any advice.
 
I haven't tried that model of RS, but barky might be a fair adjectives for the Bose PA in my opinion.
Were you able to try it in the studio's main monitors?
 
Admin M@ said:
I haven't tried that model of RS, but barky might be a fair adjectives for the Bose PA in my opinion.
Were you able to try it in the studio's main monitors?
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No, they only had the PA setup. To be honest, the 'barkiness' was a lot more prominent on the RedSounds. I must have spent a good hour sweeping the EQ ranges trying to find the frequencies to tame.
 
Sturla said:
Based on my own dumb experiences, I’d check for wah blocks with auto-engage. Sometimes they will turn fully engaged if you don’t have an expression pedal plugged in.
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Yep, had two pedals plugged in but both disengaged. I checked that any wah block was off as well. Good catch though!
 
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Budda said:
Did you try making your own preset?
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Yep, although I was mainly focusing on the presets and ABs live gold pack to try and save a bit of time.

I tried a BE and seem to recall I had to pull treble right down to around 1 - 1.5.
 
FarleyUK said:
Yep, although I was mainly focusing on the presets and ABs live gold pack to try and save a bit of time.

I tried a BE and seem to recall I had to pull treble right down to around 1 - 1.5.
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Then run it at 1. The numbers dont matter, the sound does lol.
 
Hi, first post here on this forum , so sorry for skipping a proper introduction (I only read posts and never participated before, but this one specifically got my attention, as I'm experiencing similar problems and am also looking for a solution).

I feel your frustration. For what it's worth, I have a similar experience with my dynacord monitor. I wouldn't describe the sound as awful (well, maybe, if I'm in a bad mood), but it's a bit sterile (stiff, or even "cold"). But.... Running the axe fx through my headphones (sennheiser HD600) gives truly an amazing sound ánd feel. Warm and nice and crispy. Instant blizz without any tweeking (though I use IR's from York Audio). The sound of the dynacord monitor at high volumes on the other hand can be indeed described as "barking" (in comparison with the headphones).

So from that I infer the problem is not the axe fx, but the monitor. You can tweek of course and get closer, but I'm not sure it will give full satisfaction. I expect/hope higher end PA monitors (EAW, l-acoustics, Meyer Sound) might give the same experience as the headphones, but then with more volume, or the frfr solutions specifically designed for modellers (mission gemini, blueamps, friedman asc, redsound mf10, though the red sound lg12 is also such a solution). No experience though with none of these, so this is just speculation. The high end PA speakers are not cheap btw, so I put my trust in the redsound mf10 (I am on the waitlist; the reviews are great), though I understand your doubts.
 
Sounds like you're clipping somewhere. If you have to turn treble down that much then you are likely clipping somewhere, probably outside the Axe-Fx. If the Axe-Fx is set to +4 dBu it is capable of very high signal levels, enough to overpower some mixers and monitors. Friedmans are dark amps so something isn't right. If you are using XLR cables be sure the mixer/monitor is set to line level not mic level.

As with any modeler the quality of the playback devices is of utmost importance. Right now I'm playing loud through a pair of Focal Trio 11 Be and it sounds stunning. I'm actually comparing the Axe-Fx with several other high-end modeling products in an A/B test and the sound is just exquisite and the feel is amazing.
 
FractalAudio said:
Sounds like you're clipping somewhere. If you have to turn treble down that much then you are likely clipping somewhere, probably outside the Axe-Fx. If the Axe-Fx is set to +4 dBu it is capable of very high signal levels, enough to overpower some mixers and monitors. Friedmans are dark amps so something isn't right. If you are using XLR cables be sure the mixer/monitor is set to line level not mic level.

As with any modeler the quality of the playback devices is of utmost importance. Right now I'm playing loud through a pair of Focal Trio 11 Be and it sounds stunning. I'm actually comparing the Axe-Fx with several other high-end modeling products in an A/B test and the sound is just exquisite and the feel is amazing.
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Thanks Cliff.

I’m running it at +4, and there’s no selectors on the RedSounds for line input or not. It’s probably just the volume difference, but setting it to -10 made it sound ‘warmer’.

I was clipping the RedSounds at one point today, so I reduced the output volume. With it set to -10, I was running the out1 at full. With it at +4 I think it was about 2 o’clock.

However, even when not clipping it was still sounding the same.

If I use TRS cables, would that ignore the +4 setting, out of interest?
 
if a lower output makes it sound warmer to you, it's Fletcher Munson...as lows and highs are more pronounced the louder you get. start from scratch and dial in at volume.

also helpful to know what presets you're using.

like Cliff said, if you like darker, you like darker. make ti darker.
 
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