shredsquatch
Inspired
Same here... the BB is fantastic!!!The BBE. preamp is my go to. For me, its the most natural sounding and gets me the tones i need.
~ss
Same here... the BB is fantastic!!!The BBE. preamp is my go to. For me, its the most natural sounding and gets me the tones i need.
Mmm sounds like some lab work for me. Let me take a shot at it. I've had some awesome luck with sustain and feedback with low volumes as well as the cleanup with the volume knob.
I usually accomplish this with the assistance of a compressor and then back it down via expression pedal if need be. Just curious LancerS, you mentioned a few different sounds from pro artists in this thread. Which do you feel is the hardest to get using the AX8 vs. your real amp?
I've really leaned on the drive blocks and the compressor to get me where I need to be with any amp in the Fractal line up. The compressor is what usually helps give me that sustain you're talking about and the drive tightens it up with a bit more zip. I don't over use either of them.
(I have two compressor videos that I've shared that show you how to get some mean sustain out of it...may be helpful.)
But give me a few examples on tones you're looking for. I seriously want to see if any of my methods may help things a little.
And by the way, I think what you offered here by way of your personal experience is super helpful. You never know when Cliff may read something like what you wrote, try some things out, have a Ecliffany (that's what I call his epiphanies these days lol) and he changes things around. You know how passionate he is about the stuff.
Laying it out like you did tells it the way you experienced it and you explained it well. Feedback like that in my opinion is what helps to feed the Fractal machine to excellence.
Whenever someone shares an opinion and gives examples without being a pompous dick....those are the opinions that have the most value. I sure do appreciate them when they are delivered like that....so you have at least one new fan!
I am playing right now thru Pre Sonus E-8's for programming and studio (which I have grown to really like) and live through my Presonus Studio Live 16 channel flat out to FOH a pair of Presonus AIR12 powered FRFR speakers (you can digitally program these speakers and I think they are as good to my ear as the QSC's).What did you play your Ax8 thru? Were you playing thru the same speaker with a flat power amp? Guitar speakers are very beamy and your tonal result will depend a lot on the room and where you stand relative to the speaker.
I guess I've never heard that from any amp.
With Volume and Lead Master cranked, nudging the Master up from zero will quickly drive the amp louder than human conversation.
Yes..."nudging" the Master up from zero can cut your face off too...it can hurt you for real...Lol
I guess I've never heard that from any amp.
Indeed.
Danny,
Thank you for getting where I was going...I just kind of always wondered especially with the Mesa MK II c+ why Fractal wouldn't try and capture the control section which is the secret to these amps really. It took me a year to learn how to make mine sound the way I wanted which is key...the way the individual musician wants to hear they're sound. That is the beauty of the amp as I suspect there are other amps in AX8 which probably respond similarly. I never really used the amp for the over the top Metallica sound some people liked...I always had a balance between my clean and lead channels which gave me the best of both worlds. Just really loved that Mesa sustain like you hear from Carlos Santana and Steve Lukather.
Interestingly enough, i found this thread on the net from previous discussion on the Fractal forum (https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...-usa-iic-and-iic-mesa-boogie-mark-iic.115442/) where Cliff went into pretty great depth as to how he modeled the controls for the Axe Fx....he gets it, it makes for a great read trying to understand the amp controls but I'm not sure how this translates to the AX8...but it does underscore my point which was why not just model the actual tone controls instead of having to manipulate extensively the modeling parameters? That way you wouldn't need any drives...not sure about the physics involved in replicating natural tube compression.
We also have a mutual friend....Rodger Hunt. We've been friends for a long time and I know you and him go back a ways. Rodger visits from time to time and I can't ever get him off the AX8....Lol
I thought your name looked familiar. Well I can't really speak for any of the modeling or how close it should or shouldn't be. I totally get those that are really looking for that authentic tone. However, as I had mentioned in another post...I take this stuff on not paying much attention to any of the names. I just tweak until I get what I'm looking for. I know that method isn't for everyone though...and if you have the real amp, you're kinda hoping our stuff comes close.
I don't know about any of that...but I just sat here and messed around with the Mesa II c+ and actually have a really cool tone with it using the things you have mentioned that you felt were lacking. Is it the same as your Mesa and does it even sound like one? I don't know, but it sounds really healthy and I'm able to get sustain at low volume as well as that clean up when you roll back your guitar volume for both cleaner and dirty sounds. I do this leaving a drive block and a compressor on at all times and am actually impressed with how this sounds. I hate this amp and hated it in real life when I had one. LOL!
I'm one of those 80's guys like Roger...I like that compressed, processed tone but like it to breathe along the lines of EVH saturation, George Lynch and say, maybe Nuno. I've managed to get this amp to sound like anything I want using all stock settings other than removing a little mid, and pushing a little low end. Turning the bright and the boost off makes a huge difference and this is awesome for that Stevie type of sound, though I couldn't tell you what his tone sounds like and I certainly can't play like him....but man with strat or full humbucker, this is pretty tight.
That said, the way I have the compressor, gives me a nice tight sound. Probably too tight for what you may be looking for. So dropping my threshold down a little gives you that "blues lash out" sort of tone. The drive block I chose, the 808, gives the amp just a slight push and helps bring out some harmonic value as well as removing some of the lazy low end dirt it has. The drive block just brings it to life without pushing things much. It's almost like the bright switch, but it just tightens up the drive.
Leaving all that alone and just turning off bright, boost and lowering the gain to 3, master to 6 is all I have to do for a nice strat sound that cleans up when you lower the volume. For the more high gain stuff, gain at 5, bright on, boost on, master voluem at 4 or below to take out some of the honky mids, nothing else touched and this amp kills.
I can post a little video of me going through some sounds if you want and you can see how my drive and comp is set up? It's probably not a sound you may like, but again, it has all the things you said the amp was lacking....and to my ears, I'd use this sound. It took about 6 minutes to come up with using one of my presets, resetting the amp block and just messing minimally. It's probably not what you're looking for, but it may inspire you to dig deeper and get closer to what you're looking for.
Tell ole Roger I was asking for him....great guy....I love him and his wife. I went to see him in 05-06 I believe....they treated me like royalty.
Great speakers but they won't sound at all like sitting in the same room as the combo!I am playing right now thru Pre Sonus E-8's for programming and studio (which I have grown to really like) and live through my Presonus Studio Live 16 channel flat out to FOH a pair of Presonus AIR12 powered FRFR speakers (you can digitally program these speakers and I think they are as good to my ear as the QSC's).
Thanks for your reply.
What Im looking for is a Drive that sounds good into a clean Fender, Laney or Peavey Amp.
Something that turns a spanky clean sound into a edge of break up Marshall / Vox sound. I have the following pedals that do the job pretty well, OCD, OD3, Mesa Flux Drive, BD2, Wampler Plexi.
Im not a metal guy so the TS808 into the Dual Rec application doesnt apply to me. Im a classic rock guy.
Basically I want to leave my drives at home and use the AX8 as a complete solution wether Im running direct, into an amp, into the effects loop or any combination.
Cheers
Danny,
I'd be very interested in hearing what you have came up with....Did you happen to get a chance and view the link where Cliff is talking about the MK II's controls I sent you? Seems like it was in response to an Axe Fx thread but it had alot of insight and did go into the physical part of getting the Axe Fx to sustain like the Mark IIC+.
Funny you had this amp as well...most tempermental gadget I've ever owned. Hey I am down with the 80's sound...love it. Just a fan of that pure liquid tone drenched sustain which is elusive...
Rodger is actually going to be here next week....we have had some great fun over the years....when I met him he was like a clean cut Clark Kent business man by day, Friggin Madman Rocker by night down in West Palm Beach...Lol My buddy says "Hey you want to go check this band out practicing at this warehouse...they're pretty good?'' I'm like...whatever. That was 20 years ago.
Thank you for being so responsive to everyone here...I really enjoy the dialogue in that most of us on here have been doing this a while and appreciate the technology which still just blows me away every time I turn this thing on...drives and all... I'll look forward to looking at the video when you get the time.
Thanks Danny!
Check this out and see what you think. Sorry about the bad playing...too early for me! Wifey to be got up late for work and forgot to put the gate up in my hallway. The dogs jumped me (140 lb rottie and a little 8 lb shorkie) at 6:40 am and I've been up ever since. I think I'm gonna go rest now as I don't have a client until 2 today.
Yeah, I remember hearing that amp at the store...liking it, taking it home, messing with it for about 24 hours, and just giving up. I took it back and got a full refund thankfully. The problem was, when I listened in the store, the cab was at my feet. When I listened at home, I had a stack and the slant cab was at my ears...so I could actually hear it. Ugh! I can't believe people actually make them sound good.
Ah no problem on the responsive thing. I try to help when I can. Certain things I can really help out with. Other things like all the stuff the Ax can do, you wanna hit up yek, Chris, or Moke...those dudes are pure sickness as far as knowing the capabilities and limitations. I'm just a "fly by the seat of your pants" type of guy that plays around until something sounds as good as it can. Take care!
Danny, thank you very much for your explanations. Your video is one of the best sounding with a simple preset that sounds incredible to me just with a few tweaks (and of course I don´t forgive your playin...maybe one day I´ll play like you when I wake up my friend!! )
I don´t speak english very well but I think I understood what you are trying to transmit. I don´t need the tone match, I don´t need a Kemper (and I know that sounds great), because I don´t want to "copy" nobody sounds because even with my guitar heros real gear I will never sound like them.
So I have my Ax8 and a bunch of wonderfull tools inside to sound like (crappy) me, and one of the things that I realize thousands years ago is that there´s a lot of guitarrists with poor technique with the best gear that sounds horrible and what still mesmerizes me is to see a great guitar player with a simple gear sounding amazing.
It´s one of the things that I saw in your video, your playing makes the Ax8 (or whatever you use) sounding incredible, even being a quick sample of your playing.
Thank you for make this tool better, it´s up to us to make it sound better...
P.S. sorry for my English!!
Smittefar,@LancerS, I don't really see, where Cliff mentions anything but to use the controls on the AX8 just as you would use the controls on the real amp. I never played one of these, but I am pretty sure, it is always Fractals goal to make the controls work exactly as on the real amps.
danthrax said:e.g. Vinnie Vincent (love this guy!!), sometimes his tone was like a cat in heat being hit by a truck!!
Good luck with your tone....you will get it, have faith!