If you want to skip the marshall “kerrang” yep
Food for thought.... compare your current presets to AB's and the factory presets to understand the differences and why you were thin to begin with.
I like big chuggy metal tones and the day I learned to never let the master headroom meter go over about 80%, all my Fractal tones got way better. I think I just hate power tube distortion. Boxy, fuzzy, grity mids and congestion.Those posts are pure gold, thanks. I thought for SURE the "MV no higher than 9 O'Clock" was a typo....so...set it to ~2 then? Really?! So I went to my go-to 2203 High, made the change (MV 6.5 to 2), adjusted the tonestack, turned off the bright switch, dropped the bias to 45% and I would have never believed the changes it made had I not gone ahead and just done it. It sounds absolutely glorious. I mean GLORIOUS. It cleaned up every damned thing I couldn't get done over months. Full. Beefy. Tight. Clear as a bell. Feel is amazing. Headroom?? That headroom level hasn't moved from "slammed" in a long time. It's bouncing around -7 dB. Brilliant, thanks again man!
Always open to new IRs, we are alike in that I've struggled to find the factory IR/DC that just makes my day, so I'm always seeking that perfection I gel with. So, I went ahead and grabbed the YA Marshall 25 pack, and you are absolutely right, that IR is fantastic!! So, same setup as my post above, after the changes I swapped in a pair of those MD421V-1s panned -45/45 and holy shit brother it's like a battalion of Sherman tanks, sooooo beefy and ballsy and still crisp!! So, indeed, returning to say thanks!One note, I turned down the Grid Bias from my typical ~80% down to 45% based on the above @VESmedic recommends, and it's VERY nice, still warm but cleaner. Unexpected goodness!
I'm having to fucking rethink everything today, but it's all good! I really appreciate these discussions, and those who participate and share their knowledge with all. The value of the Fractal forums really is the sort of unspoken benefits to owning a Fractal device that often gets overlooked. We have the greatest most accurate modeller on the planet, AND we have a LOT of great knowledge shared on how to get the most out of it. Win Win!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
You have a good point here. It’s not plain black and white to say that doing thing x will always result as thing y, just because there are so many different products out there that don’t always behave the same. What I’d say instead is that there are different sweet spots in every product that the user should be aware of.
Every other modeler I've tried does not respond correctly to MV. Some of the modelers are laughably bad at this. I haven't tried the Stadium yet though.You have a good point here. It’s not plain black and white to say that doing thing x will always result as thing y, just because there are so many different products out there that don’t always behave the same. What I’d say instead is that there are different sweet spots in every product that the user should be aware of.
Fractal has reached the point where things like master volume has started to behave the same as in real amps. I don’t think most or any of the other products replicate this nearly as good. What I do find very interesting is that Fractal replicates real life phenomena such as bass reduction in high-gain amp models, and realism is why I always prefer Fractal over other products.
2203 is not a high-gain amp though. My advice concerning cranking up the master volume up to a certain point was because that’s what I would do with a real life 2203 amp in a live situation if I need more punch and bass response out of the speakers. Of course studio is always somewhat different (and yes we are technically talking about a studio situation). I’m always ready to start splitting hairs if someone wants to provide sound samples
That's because that was bad advice. An amp's ideal master volume range is generally obvious. And for most Marshalls, it most definitely isn't below 9 o'clock.
Just out of curiosity, as someone who's only owned one Marshall, which was so much too loud for my band that i hated it, what's one Fractal Marshall model you like, and where do you set its master volume?
The less gain stages in the front (preamp gain) basically the more you can wind up the master Plexis for instance and an 800
I was tweaking the Brit 20 and when I had the master around 2-2.5 I’d then have the gain around 6-7. My output level would then change from -12 to -4. It was here that for the first time I could clearly hear the differences when adjusting BMT and presence. When I had the MV cranked I had a hard time hearing much BMTP difference.
The OP if you noticed, wasn't listing high gain, big metal bands or amp sounds. So the advice you were giving which repeatedly was based around high gain amps, and referencing the 5150 etc didn't fit.
Agreed, and I just came to this realization with my ears. My adjustments to BMTP I can now actually hear. When I had my MV high (7-10), I could not discern much of a change when tweaking BMTP. Presumably because the signal was being so compressed. I couldn’t even use a drive block without making it sound worse! Now I can. My sound is rooted in 90’s-00’s alternative, not metal.