What are the converters in the AM-4?

Johnkenn

Johnkenn

Inspired
I’ve had several AxeIII’s in the past - and my experience was…better with those.
I assume they’re not the same as those in the III?
Im not trying to lob a bomb - I just got it and haven’t had more than an hour with it…maybe I just need to dial stuff in.

I’m listening through a Hilo with Amphions and a sub. Room is professionally treated with a Trinnov st-2. So, I’m confident I’m hearing things correctly.
 
Not to be a jerk, but I would hope a $2.4K unit is going to be a better experience than with a 700 buck unit. In my experience with amps/modelers is you get what you pay for. If you do get the AM4 to sound as good as the Axe's that will be a fantastic thing, keep us posted.
 
2Link2 said:
Not to be a jerk, but I would hope a $2.4K unit is going to be a better experience than with a 700 buck unit. In my experience with amps/modelers is you get what you pay for. If you do get the AM4 to sound as good as the Axe's that will be a fantastic thing, keep us posted.
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Not to be a jerk, but I thought it was sold as sounding exactly the same...maybe that was my mistake.
 
A few things I learned dialing in things vs my FM3:

1. There is a different mix law with reverb/delay which makes things sound slightly different at the same mix settings.
2. Cab block in the AM4 uses a blend which more accurately shows the under the hood unity gain mix law happening in the FM3 but again difficult to exactly match.
3. Cab block in the AM4 defaults to no auto align, opposite behavior than the FM3 and it's in the Expert Edit window. Additionally be aware the Align menu hides the master cab/mid preamp menu in AM4 Edit.
4. Make absolutely sure you are monitoring each at the exact same volume. That was driving me nuts on one preset until I realized the AM4 was just a touch louder. Once normalized I actually had to physically check which unit I was playing though.
 
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BROCKSTAR said:
I have the axefx 3, fm9 and am4 and vp4. They sound exactly the same. There's some small differences between them... But nothing that will take away from the sound.

So it has to be a you thing with your situation.
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+1 I have a III, FM9 and AM4. I'm not going to say they sound absolutely 100% identical, but I seriously doubt that I could spot a difference in a blindfolded test if they were all dialed in the same.
 
Dave Merrill said:
I don't have your monitoring or an AM4, but it's hard for me to believe that any converters Fractal would choose are a big contributor to any problems you think you hear with how it sounds.
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I’m not belittling any of these products. I’ve spent over $10k with fractal through the years. I’m saying that personally, I don’t think it sounds as good as the Tone King Imperial Preamp pedal rig I’m using now. I’m sure some would say I’m wrong - and that’s fine. On some models, I could dial in some really great sounds - so I’m going to continue playing with it for a few more days.
 
You know - Dyna cabs had just come out when I sold my last iii. I think it was like fw 22? Anyway - I always preferred IR’s to the dynacabs. Always thought the IRs sounded better. If it works, I just like it chosen for me. When I put in a couple York/Ownhammers, I starting to like it more. Also - adjusted the input gain down and that helped.
 
BROCKSTAR said:
I have the axefx 3, fm9 and am4 and vp4. They sound exactly the same. There's some small differences between them... But nothing that will take away from the sound.

So it has to be a you thing with your situation.
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Yep. All me! Thank God for choices.
 
Johnkenn said:
You know - Dyna cabs had just come out when I sold my last iii. I think it was like fw 22? Anyway - I always preferred IR’s to the dynacabs. Always thought the IRs sounded better. If it works, I just like it chosen for me. When I put in a couple York/Ownhammers, I starting to like it more. Also - adjusted the input gain down and that helped.
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I guess I should have stated that when I A/B them, I did use IRs. I have never really used the Dyna-Cabs but after getting the AM4 I have a little.
I Noticed something odd? This does the same thing on both the Axe FX and the AM4.
Here are a screen shot of the align window on each, Dyna-Cab and IR.
Notice anything odd here?
Dyna-Cab.jpgIR.jpg
Notice how on the IR the peak starts at the beginning and on the Dyna-Cab it is delayed in the timeline?
Anyone know why that is this way?
While using an IR, if I moved it further on the timeline like the Dyna-Cab is here, it would sound a bit off, like less bass and a bit more latency feel to it.
 
GuitarMan2550 said:
I guess I should have stated that when I A/B them, I did use IRs. I have never really used the Dyna-Cabs but after getting the AM4 I have a little.
I Noticed something odd? This does the same thing on both the Axe FX and the AM4.
Here are a screen shot of the align window on each, Dyna-Cab and IR.
Notice anything odd here?
View attachment 165222View attachment 165223
Notice how on the IR the peak starts at the beginning and on the Dyna-Cab it is delayed in the timeline?
Anyone know why that is this way?
While using an IR, if I moved it further on the timeline like the Dyna-Cab is here, it would sound a bit off, like less bass and a bit more latency feel to it.
Click to expand...

Noted above.
3. Cab block in the AM4 defaults to no auto align, opposite behavior than the FM3 and it's in the Expert Edit window. Additionally be aware the Align menu hides the master cab/mid preamp menu in AM4 Edit.
Click to expand...

However, I'm not sure IRs/Dynacabs actually impart any latency.
 
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