Have we reached the end of new amp models in the Axe 3?

jclemensfl said:
Nothing on the AXE is readable for me from 6 feet away, on stage.
The Helix and Neural units are much better in this regard. Larger, bolder type, better use of screen space (a third of the Fractal screen is largely blank, unless your scene names are long).
Heck, I don't even need to read the words. If I could just tell if it were on Scene 2 or Scene 3, that would be a big help.
I think Fractal knows it can be a problem for folks and they posted a possible solution they have been working on last year. But still nothing concrete yet.
It's a big issue for some people. And for me personally, the ONLY area where Fractal falls short of competitors.
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There have been some discussions/wishes regarding alternate front panel displays, and they are in the master wish list. I liked Large text mode/zoom. Here’s the initial thread. The three units share the same display so any changes would hopefully apply to all.

The list of wishes is long. Not all are sensible, but Fractal listens and implements the ones that make sense for their vision of the system. For instance, song lists and scene ignore are two that are in the process of being introduced.
 
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laxu said:
As an example, I have dialed in the Bogner Goldfinger 45 Superlead and my Victory VC35 pretty nicely on the Axe-Fx despite neither amp being modeled. How? I knew the Bogner is basically a Fender Super Reverb clean channel paired with a very versatile overdrive channel spanning Superlead, JCM800 and Bogner Shiva sounds. The Victory on the other hand is pretty similar to the Morgan AC-20 Deluxe model but you can get Vox AC30 and Matchless DC30 models to similar directions too. You have lots of tools in the Amp block to work out the little variations and tweaks manufacturers put to make their amps sound different.
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I asked for a ToneKing Imperial Mk II, then decided to see what I could do to simulate it.

The basic amp is a more refined Blackface Deluxe so that was the starting point. The lead channel was the hard part as it’s able to go from a JTM-45 to a Tweed sound, with a twist of the gain, single tone and “mid-bite” controls. Nothing acts like that on other amps I’m familiar with, so I took a JM45 amp type, and adjusted everything in the preamp and power-amp to the settings of the Blackface. It’s a reasonable imitation. Then I took the deluxe tweed model and did the same and got something closer to that end of the spectrum, so those are two settings for lead I can switch two depending on my guitar and mood.

It’s not a perfect match but that’s my failing because I am not an amp designer. I have the schematic and maybe one of these days I will go through it again and see if I can get it closer. For now it’s good enough.
 
jclemensfl said:
Nothing on the AXE is readable for me from 6 feet away, on stage.
The Helix and Neural units are much better in this regard. Larger, bolder type, better use of screen space (a third of the Fractal screen is largely blank, unless your scene names are long).
Heck, I don't even need to read the words. If I could just tell if it were on Scene 2 or Scene 3, that would be a big help.
I think Fractal knows it can be a problem for folks and they posted a possible solution they have been working on last year. But still nothing concrete yet.
It's a big issue for some people. And for me personally, the ONLY area where Fractal falls short of competitors.
Click to expand...
What are you going to be doing with the front panel from 6 feet away?
 
Aside from getting specific new models, it would also be interesting to get settings recommendations to turn an existing model into a particular amp not already modeled in the unit.

With the granularity of detail available in the amp block settings, I imagine one could take the Bandmaster model, for example, tweak X, Y, and Z settings to certain predetermined values and make it less of a Bandmaster, but more of a model of the PRS JM100.

Or take X model, tweak particular settings (tubes/tonestack/dynamics, etc.) and get 99% of the way towards So-And-So's amp used to record whatever album.

There's a bit of this already out there on YT and in Axechange, but it would be interesting to get legit recommendations from the actual pros who designed the unit.

Just a thought.
 
ModelGuitarist said:
Aside from getting specific new models, it would also be interesting to get settings recommendations to turn an existing model into a particular amp not already modeled in the unit.

With the granularity of detail available in the amp block settings, I imagine one could take the Bandmaster model, for example, tweak X, Y, and Z settings to certain predetermined values and make it less of a Bandmaster, but more of a model of the PRS JM100.

Or take X model, tweak particular settings (tubes/tonestack/dynamics, etc.) and get 99% of the way towards So-And-So's amp used to record whatever album.

There's a bit of this already out there on YT and in Axechange, but it would be interesting to get legit recommendations from the actual pros who designed the unit.

Just a thought.
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That would usually involve Fractal having measured and evaluated the amp circuit so at that point they might as well add the model. But I suppose based on a schematic they could give some pointers.

People also tend to forget how important the speakers are in the equation. My Axe-Fx started sounding a whole lot closer to my real amps when I shot some IRs of my real cabs.
 
rrhoads17 said:
I’d like to see a Rockman in the AxeFx.
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Rockman is kind of a strange animal to model since the Rockman Distortion generator is actually an analogue modeller of sorts, modelling I presume, what TS percieved as his ideal Marshall, massively (and proprietarily) EQ'd to his taste.
 
Ever since reading this thread it's really spurred me to get much crazier about tweaking my tone, and just modding to nth degree; the extra few minutes seems really to pay off. It's so inspiring to go further than I have before, and to try different ideas. Last night I took at Deluxe Tweed, used the 10 band EQ in the Pre PA placement in the Amp Block, and put another 10 band EQ before the amp, and just came up with such a great blues tone, it was making my heart sing. I used a 4x10 Super impedance curve and IR in one version, and a Pinceton 1x10 impedance curve and IR in another. I also increased the B+ Time Constant to remove ghost notes. I have no idea how much more different amp models would give us, but the potential tones in the unit it its current state is so mind boggling, and really feels limitless. I'm still discovering new worlds of tone in this thing.
 
hippietim said:
I wonder what guitar amps aren't actually covered at this point . By that I mean what are some amp tones you can't achieve with what's already there? Are there really still amps out there with such unique characteristics that haven't been modeled?
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The solid state Randall is the only one that comes to mind (Pantera tones)
 
FusionFanatic said:
If it all stopped now I'd be just fine. How many amp models... or real amps does one really need? How many are already in the magic box... 200+?
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I'm good with what's in the box. Hell, I only play the fender twin and mesa amps. This got me thinking though: do we have an actual count of how many amps there are? I know there are ~260 to choose from in the amp block, but those aren't all separate amps. A lot of those choices are different channels and modes of the same amp. IE: a bright switch/deep mode engaged etc.
 
ModelGuitarist said:
Aside from getting specific new models, it would also be interesting to get settings recommendations to turn an existing model into a particular amp not already modeled in the unit.

With the granularity of detail available in the amp block settings, I imagine one could take the Bandmaster model, for example, tweak X, Y, and Z settings to certain predetermined values and make it less of a Bandmaster, but more of a model of the PRS JM100.

Or take X model, tweak particular settings (tubes/tonestack/dynamics, etc.) and get 99% of the way towards So-And-So's amp used to record whatever album.

There's a bit of this already out there on YT and in Axechange, but it would be interesting to get legit recommendations from the actual pros who designed the unit.

Just a thought.
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It'd be possible for users to do this because we have some very knowledgable amp builders among us, along with people who know the Amp block parameters, so they could probably make good guesses about what needs to change to get closer to a particular unmodeled amp.

I'm not sure that'd get off the ground or meet with a lot of success though, because people want the resulting tweaked model to sound just like their particular amp, which then has the same problems that Cliff talked about in "No Two Amps Sound the Same - Fact or Fallacy". And, because they didn't know how to adjust the Cab to get the sound in the first place, the odds are not very good that they'll know how to adjust the tweaked version either so they're where they started, and those who did the tweaking could have wasted their time which is a terrible disincentive to do it again. The same situation would exist if Fractal took on that process, only it'd impact their profits because someone would have to do that on company time, or it'd affect that one person's profits by taking away from their spare time. :-/
 
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