Your go-to "Dialing in" tips

[Wolfenstein98k]

So as you've no doubt seen lately, there's lots of threads popping up with people asking how to dial-in specific tones. I've noticed that at least some of these people have not had experience with the real amps, and I'm the same... I hadn't played tube amps before the Axe-Fx 2.

As such, I've seen some really great tips from the more experienced players, general tips that work across amp types. A great example was this recent gem, re: the Keith Urban Tweed, which is actually a tip about all non-MV amps of that style:

Non-master amps, especially early circuits are built to be played clean. Only by accident did guitar players start liking overdrive and distortion. Once you start turning up the volume knob on a non master amp, the preamp signal into the power amp becomes very important. Too much bass frequencies and you loose all detail and punch. You overload the poweramp.

So, as a basic rule of thumb for me, any non-master volume amp, as the volume control goes up the bass control goes down. This usually results in a setting of 0 if I max out the volume.

Ever since I read that, I went and tried it with the 1959 SLP and nearly wet myself. But without reading that, I never would have. It's all good and well to say "adjust the settings with your ears, not your eyes", but that's kind of like telling alcoholics to just not drink... it ain't that easy! :lol

Another great tip I picked up was Yek's very simple "Add chime to clean tones" trick. Before this, I never would have tried the model (too little time to play around, and never heard of the SDD unit before this):

Add the SDD Preamp (Drive block). Set Drive at 1.50.

So what are your go-to tips for dialing in certain tones? How do you get that high-gain sizzle, or that 110% clean sparkle?

 

[plyall]

My two biggest - scratch that - three biggest areas for tweaking:

- Graphic EQ that's built into the amp block
- SAG in the amp block
- Input Trim in the Amp block

 

[Wolfenstein98k]

My two biggest - scratch that - three biggest areas for tweaking:

- Graphic EQ that's built into the amp block
- SAG in the amp block
- Input Trim in the Amp block

Cool, thanks! Could you elaborate for the users who don't know exactly what to do with those parameters? ie, do you always lower the Input Trim to account for hot pickups, or always use the Mesa V on the Amp block's EQ?

I'm trying to get actual tweaks like the ones I suggested, rather than just parameters named

 

[plyall]

Hmm - start by TRYING THEM to see what sound impact they have. There will be no one setting that works for all (witness the various folks that have variable results from Axe-Change).

That said, here are a few rough guidelines:

EQ - I use the 10 band typically. Tweak as appropriate for the sound. As an example - too crispy? Drop 4k & 8K quite a bit (3db or more), drop 2k some, and focus on 1k and 500. Too boomy, take out some at 125 and 250 for sure, and then noodle with 500. It's all a matter of what you hear too much of. Don't know what 'sounds' like what? Take a parametric EQ and slide it along the frequency range to see what overtones and tones occur in what frequency ranges.

SAG - I almost always jack it in the range of 2 to 5, depending on how squishy I want the sound to be. I like to feel some give when I attack a string, like a power amp working extra hard to render it, thus the desire for a spongier feel.

INPUT TRIM - A recent discovery for me. When you use the BOOST switch, I believe it adds the equivalent of about 4db of INPUT TRIM. I found you can get more granular settings using the INPUT TRIM parameter. I typically raise it to 1-3 db over midpoint to get a bit of grind and dirt.

 

[Stratman68]

never mind - Have fun.

 

[yek]

There are so many....

Here are a few.

- Tubescreamer without gain/high CPU usage?
Want the effect of a Tubescreamer but without its overdrive and its high CPU usage: copy the Low Cut and High Cut values of the TS8 OD Drive block into a PEQ block.

- Playing through FR amplification and you want some extra punch?
Use Tyler Grund's "mid boost trick". Add a PEQ at the end of the grid, set a band to 770Hz (Peaking), Q at 0.35, Gain at +4db.

- Playing through FR amplification and you want it to sound a little more like a regular guitar cab?
Use Low Cut and High Cut in the Cab block. Try Low Cut between 120 - 199 Hz. Try High Cut between 5KHz - 6KHz (up to 8KHz for sparkling clean).

- Want different levels of gain without changing presets?
Attach a Scene Controller to the Drive parameter. Set its value in the Controllers menu. Switch scenes for various gain levels.

- Want to see which amp parameters (state X) in a preset are different from default?
Copy the X state to Y, reset Y to default, and go through the pages, switching between X and Y.

- Use a traditional guitar cabinet?
Dial in the low resonant frequency, for optimal bass response.
Put a Filter block after the Amp block. Set the type to Peaking, Q to 5 or so and Gain to 10 dB. Start with a Frequency of around 50 Hz. Play some chugga-chugga and slowly adjust the Frequency until you hear and feel the cabinet resonate. You need to do this at loud volume level to notice it. Make a note of the frequency. Remove the Filter block and set the Amp block LFR to match.

- Never used Motor Drive in the Cab block?
Try it now. Motor Drive been revised in firmware 19. It mimics a pushed guitar speaker.

- Want your amp tone to sound more "open" or rather more "compressed"?
Play with Transformer Match.

I can go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.

 

[Eanna]

- Playing through FR amplification and you want some extra punch?
Add a PEQ at the end of the grid, set a band to 770Hz (Peaking), Q at 0.35, Gain at +4db.

Been doing this for bass (MM Stingray) on FOH desk for years... great tip.

 

[Eanna]

Reduce the Amp block input trim level from 1.0 to 0.5 on all presets (for my humbucking pickups).

I understand that...
- 1.0 is similar to the traditional 'high' input on an old Fender amp and is best suited to SC pickups.
- 0.5 is similar to the old 'low' input level and suits HB pickups better.

Great thread Wolfenstein98k, looking fwd to the contributions...

 

[yek]

Reduce the Amp block input trim level from 1.0 to 0.5 on all presets (for my humbucking pickups).

I understand that...
- 1.0 is similar to the traditional 'high' input on an old Fender amp and is best suited to SC pickups.
- 0.5 is similar to the old 'low' input level and suits HB pickups better.

If you want to do this globally (all presets), reduce Amp Gain in the Global menu with -6 dB.

 

[Wolfenstein98k]

Great stuff, guys! Thanks again Yek.

Keep 'em coming! I'm particularly curious to see if anyone has any tips to get the most out of the Character parameter!

 

[jefferski]

To get some of the stiffness out of many of my presets, I use the tricks Cliff posted about keeping the FW17 feel...

- Set Crunch to 0
- Reduce Neg Fdbk a bit
- Increase Transformer Match a bit

These are kind of my first go-to settings for almost everything now, especially cleaner tones. I'll also increase Sag and/or Dynamic Damping sometimes.

 

[groovenut]

EQ ideas

Tone too muddy, reduce 450Hz with a narrow Q at the end of the chain

Not enough sizzle, increase 3.5KHz-5kHz at the end of the chain

Want more upper mid harmonics in a high gain tone, increase 1.2KHz-2KHz before the amp block

Tighter bass on high gain tones, put a high pass filter set to 300Hz in front of the amp

 

[Wolfenstein98k]

EQ ideas

Tone too muddy, reduce 450Hz with a narrow Q at the end of the chain

Not enough sizzle, increase 3.5KHz-5kHz at the end of the chain

Want more upper mid harmonics in a high gain tone, increase 1.2KHz-2KHz before the amp block

Tighter bass on high gain tones, put a high pass filter set to 300Hz in front of the amp

Pretty severe cut to the bass there, I just use the Cut switch and/or a PEQ set to block below ~120Hz! Great tips, thanks.

I always boost around 800Hz going into the amp, so I'll definitely try that 1.5kHz tip too!

 

[jlynnb1]

Pretty severe cut to the bass there, I just use the Cut switch and/or a PEQ set to block below ~120Hz! Great tips, thanks.

I always boost around 800Hz going into the amp, so I'll definitely try that 1.5kHz tip too!

he's not saying cut everything below 450, he's saying to notch out some 450....pretty typical technique when mixing. I actually notch some out between 450-550 in almost every track. one of those things that just helps a mix breathe.

 

[Wolfenstein98k]

he's not saying cut everything below 450, he's saying to notch out some 450....pretty typical technique when mixing. I actually notch some out between 450-550 in almost every track. one of those things that just helps a mix breathe.

Hi jlynnb1, I was actually responding to this bit (I should've quoted directly, my bad!):

Tighter bass on high gain tones, put a high pass filter set to 300Hz in front of the amp

 

[5150]

To get some of the stiffness out of many of my presets, I use the tricks Cliff posted about keeping the FW17 feel...

- Set Crunch to 0
- Reduce Neg Fdbk a bit
- Increase Transformer Match a bit

These are kind of my first go-to settings for almost everything now, especially cleaner tones. I'll also increase Sag and/or Dynamic Damping sometimes.

What do you mean by "set crunch to 0"?

 

[retro_dad]

What do you mean by "set crunch to 0"?

Post FW18, in the amp block, there is a Crunch parameter that defaults to a certain amount based on the amp selected. I believe Cliff has said that those seeking a FW17 feel to their tones should set the Crunch to 0, instead of where it is (ie. 2 or 3 or whatever).

 

[Wolfenstein98k]

Here's another ripper:

I too was struggling with this. I always intend to sit down and figure it out, but never get round to it. Anyway, I found something that REALLY worked for me in another post recently.

Clarky posted it over in this thread:
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-fx-ii-discussion/101404-marshall-esque-amps-high-gain-tones.html

I love this:
JCM800
Power: MV = Post PI
input drive=6
MV=7
boost and bright switches on

pop a null filter in front of the amp to mimic a TS808 clean
low cut=700
high cut=880

then Van Halen your tits off all night long until the police show up and make you turn it down..

I'd always boosted (think of this as a tightening of the tone, not adding distortion/gain), but the MV Post PI thing was a revelation to me as well as increasing the MV (Master Volume). I was looking for something heavy like Crowbar or Down, so I focused on a Marshall and Orange type sound. I found both worked really well like this. Apparently the Null Filter method uses less CPU than the boost, so I'm going to use that from now on. The big thing here was the "Power: MV = Post PI" setting - try it. It made a massive difference for me. I will now try this for all amps in future.

In the same thread, Hubi said:


I previously hadn't bothered much with the Master Volume, but had used the input gains in conjunction with the output level instead. Trust me though - it made a massive difference for me.


So in summary here's what I did:
1. Choose an amp you think you want
2. Focus on selecting a nice cab - do this first as most of the tone is in the cab
3. I always apply a big cut in the cab (60-70hz and then above around 10K - yes, this might sound a bit odd on it's own, but in the mix, it's perfect)
4. Add the Null Filter (or TS) in front of the amp with 0 drive and max volume to hit the front of the amp
5. Change the MV = Post PI in the Power section of the Amp Block
6. Increase the MV to 7 or more
7. Try the Cut options in the Amp block
8. Dial back the gain as much as you can or more than you think.

I've never really needed to play with the EQ in the amp block - everything else is default. I can EQ in the mix if needed.


I did find it quite noisy though, but use the Gate if necessary. Also, I didn't use any reverb as it can make it sound mushy. Sometimes a delay is a better choice.


As previously mentioned, I used these with the Marshall (JCM 800 MOD) and the Orange - let me know if you've tried it with other amps and if other things work with this!

 

[jlynnb1]

Hi jlynnb1, I was actually responding to this bit (I should've quoted directly, my bad!):

ha!! my bad!

 

[Wolfenstein98k]

Fun with the Atomica High model:

That's my favorite model in the Axe for dirty tones. If you want grinding high gain, don't be afraid to dime out bass, mids, and depth, and then set your treble and presence fairly high (7-ish range). I keep my gain around 6 and master volume at 5. I like to pull back the Xformer Match just a touch and add a little speaker drive (2) on the Speaker page.

If you want to get a little more aggressive with it, try setting the Output Comp to Feedback and just edge it up a little bit. Also, backing off the preamp hardness seems to make it breathe a little better to my ears. I also drop off about 1.5db of 250hz on the graphic eq page.

Also try the TV Mix with it!