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Footswitch options are: Channel (1,2,3), reverb, eq, effects loop. The modes, unfortunately, aren’t included but
you can setup Fat and Crunch on channels 1 or 2. Not quite the same as switching between a mkiib, mkiic+, and mk iv but it’s something.
Last month I sold my AFIII after a year and bought a Mesa MK VII combo. I kinda miss the AFIII but know that I can sell the MKVII anytime and buy another new unit from Cliff should I so decide.
The modeling is so damn close but I had trouble stopping the fiddling and just playing. If the AFIV...
Right, it’d become homogenized to the point of mass appeal by then. I appreciated then and still sometimes listen to the early Korn, Deftones, Sepultura-Roots, and Limp Bizkit records for their originality but by the time Crazy Town came on the scene (99-2000ish) it was all over for me.
I was firmly anti-Linkin Park back in the day, I felt like nu metal had run it’s course by 2000… but damn if those guitars don’t sound huge and amazing. Excellent work!
Cliff, correct me if I’m wrong but I think the modeled amp didn’t have the 0.68uf cathode bypass cap as well. This would take away some fizziness. I find it interesting you’re hearing more gain with the model, my real 1987x distorts WAY earlier on the dial than the modeled amp. I think it’s...
I noticed this too. Maybe it’s an effect of the intermodulation distortion but the perception is that some frequencies sound like they’re distorting less than others. Reminds me of my 2203x, where the high mids and highs are saturated but the lows and low mids sound cleaner and more solid.
I’ve gotta be honest, I hear a lot of things in this clip that I’ve been aware were missing in the AFIII. It sounds more rich, complex, and out of control… like a cranked amp should. Great job to Cliff for finding a new aspect to measure in the amps and models.
I agree and I always meant to do this but full time job+wife+babies have kept me from spending the amount of time it’d take.
Somewhere in this forum is a post from Cliff, maybe from the axe II days, where he posted sound samples asking people if they could hear a difference in the midrange...
But, it’s not the same. I did my damndest to get my AFIII to sound like my amps, all of which were modeled in the soft. I even went so far so to get the Dayton woofer tester and a db meter to be as fair as possible. The texture of the distortion is different and the midrange of the AFIII...
Axe FX III mkII turbo: $2000 USD
Purchased in 2023. Kept in home studio. In excellent/near mint condition (screen protector still attached)
Will include rack case and Matrix GT1000FX for additional $700 USD
Very nice work! Prescient timing as well… I watched Adam Jones play through a silver and a blue VH4 along with his Superbass last night, killer show! Knowing that I’ve got super accurate models of these amps in the AFIII made it that much more enjoyable.
The Orange OR120 and the Matamps share quite a bit. Matamp designed and built the first Oranges. However, the rockerverb and AD30’s are completely different designs more in line with Vox and Marshall amps.
Oof, the Tremoverbs clean channel is quite bad. Mesa achieved the decrease in gain by loading down the input instead of removing gain stages. It is notoriously lacking in feel and response BUT it is unique and I could see why someone might like it.
When I first received my axe fx III I mistakenly altered some factory presets rather than creating my own new presets. To remedy this I just cleared and reinstalled the factory presets from the support page and then installed the latest firmware but it appears presets for some of the more recent...
According to Cliff it’s a rev F, explains why it sounds so close. https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/fractal-audio-amp-models-recto1-and-recto2-mesa-dual-rectifier-2-ch-and-3-ch.114701/
Maybe each randomized model can have a 16 digit designation code specific to the randomized parameters that users can share, it’s like Mike Tyson’s Punchout meets infinite guitar amp models
Maybe… popular music has typically been very base, both in the 50’s and then again by the mid-late 70’s it was back to pretty faces singing garbage songs. However, there was a cultural shift during the 60’s-early 70’s where consumers favored at least the perception of authenticity. I think the...
I remember seeing a study that compared lyrical, harmonic and rhythmic complexity of popular music by the decade and the 1960’s were the clear winner. Another from New York University was published about 4 years ago comparing how memorable songs were by decade by asking multiple generations...
Any tips for this type of sound from the AFIII?
I’ve been messing around with the legato tone stack and an el34 power section. I’m not entirely sure how to calculate tonestack frequency or what position (pre, post, mid, etc) is correct for this amp. I’m also curious as to what the presence...
I’ve experienced the same frustrations… user impedance curves would be a nice option. That way I could save a different folder of IC’s for when I’m running AFIII->power amp->cab
I think maybe some of the more unique circuits are just too complicated to model. So long as amps fall under the Fender/Marshall/Vox topology, it likely makes Cliff’s job that much easier.
Oops! I seem to have dropped my schematics…
I thought I would get a Helix so I could have my vintage Orange amp model… sounded/responded very different from the real amp. It’d probably require a push from competitors to get significantly more amp models in the fractal line and that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen any time soon.
This update is amazing! I’ve been holding on to a 65 Twin reverb because nothing in the axe came very close for spring reverb but this nails it! Might have to unload an amp!
I’m digging the feel, maybe a bit looser and chunkier (in a good way) but I could be imagining it. Also, it seems like maybe I’m hearing a bit more overtones and complexity going on in the distortion, again, may be my imagination.
I think this is genre specific, tho. Only the metal guys seem to be complaining. I could see maybe adding off axis mics but not a full redo, they sound great for most applications.
I heard he locks himself in the basement for weeks at a time and fasts while visualizing the random movements of electrons in preparation for amp modeling updates.
I bought the AFIII hoping to be able to sell some stuff off but it’s not there for me yet. Clearly it is for plenty of others, though so it’s hard to say how you’ll feel. Just to be on the safe side, you should try one before selling anything.
Supergroups may sound a bit different than a plexi but the supergroup schematic is a dead ringer for the 1959 Marshall. Power supply filtering (sag), plate voltage, and transformers are gonna be the only changes responsible for the differences in low end you hear. I’m sure you can get good tones...
I think the Laney LA100BL Supergroup is based on the earlier 100W Plexi with the shared cathode (LA100SM and LA30BL are recent reissue models). Start with the ‘69 or ‘70 plexi models.
The supergroups ran significantly higher plate voltages than Marshall’s and also used Partridge iron. Play...
My initial post was to make the point that there is a market for more niche amps, it’s not as big as the F/M/V style tube amp crowd but it’s out there. I’m not saying people should go buy a Helix to get Randall tones but if it’s really important to them, Amplitube can be had at a decent price...
My point is that those models appeal to me enough to own the Helix, not that I gotta get em all. I love indie/stoner rack/doom and the nasty, unrefined tones they use
Fair point! However, Helix has vintage Orange, Sunn, Silvertone, Park, Supro, those are pretty niche as well but appeal to some of us at least enough to own both modelers.
Does it change depending on tube type as well? I remember you saying some tubes (EL34s) have greater damping characteristics than say 6550’s and respond differently to SICs
Quick question: On the Recto1 and Recto2 Red Modern models does the “presence” control vary negative feedback or boost upper mids as in the actual amps? I ask because my Tremoverbs control seems much more powerful and potentially much brighter than the models.
Audio Taper? I put an audio taper LarMar PPIMV in my Orange OR120 and it starts cooking at about the 1 o’clock position. My 65 Twin RI appears to have the same pot taper as the volume is super useable, my 800 and 1987 however… 😅
Its just the amp with everything at 5. I may have adjusted transformer match and increased bias to 70% to match the reissue amp, not sure if I was aware of those settings at this point. Listening back to this what I mostly hear is a difference in response. The real amps response has more
give...
I intuitively take issue with the concept of “ideal” amps. Distortion was initially a problem that guitarists learned to exploit, this also goes for all the perceived “flaws” in one or another amplifier, whether they be blocking distortion or any other host of issues.
Jack White didn’t use...
I’d like to see something like this with axe models vs their reference. I think isolating parts of the spectrum then looking and listening for differences is a great approach. Fractal could do a whole series… of course, I’d rather they just kept working on the actual product 😅
Well said! I love my Axe FX and was absolutely thrown back while cranking the tweed deluxe model last night. It does so much right and some models are just damn good regardless of whatever shortcomings I may complain about from time to time. Thanks Fractal for the continued effort and improvements.
It depends on the type of signal applied and how it’s applied. Compression in a cranked guitar amp is not constant, harmonic content is not even constant. That’s why I said if you can null with an actual guitar being played into both inputs simultaneously, that will be much closer than a test...
The null test has some issues as applying to guitar. It’s going to be valid for frequency response and harmonic distortion content but won’t tell us much about the more subtle aspects of distortion characteristics, compression, touch response, things like that. Ideally, it’d be run with an...
“just find a spot where you get a signal into the grid while staying above +5% sensitivity and avoiding the new clip indicator.”
This is not possible with my SG sporting a 57 classic plus… and I’m not hitting the guitar so hard that it loses tune or anything, just palm mute chugs on G. I need...
What makes the Matrix a great amp for this specific situation is a combination of factors. This could change depending on the individual but for me its the following:
It is class AB. Has ample transient energy storage and is able to quickly deliver large jumps in signal so chugs feel like...
I guess for me it’s not very close in the feel/response department. The sound, however, is pretty close.
As for how important this is depends on the player, some people rely on manipulating those small details for expression. Reminds me of Tom Morello, a lot of the rhythmic tricks, scraps etc...
I tend to agree with Furryz. I bought the Axe in Jan with the hope of unloading the majority of my gear.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a GREAT product. I’m still blown away when I can pull up a youtube demo of an amp (where the poster is sharing loadbox and IR info) and get VERY damn close to the...
Running an Axe FX III MKII Turbo and a Matrix GT1000 but it’s not quite there. I have a db meter and a Dayton woofer tester to get my cab impedance curves but am having trouble setting everything just right. Because the Y axis on the speaker page of the amp block doesn't really display a...
I agree! I know some will say it's redundant but isn't the Marshall "Vintage" speaker different from typical V30's?
I would like a G12T75 loaded cab, too. Preferably with the older iteration (late 80's) version of that speaker.
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