I was helping a customer out yesterday. He was complaining about lack of feel and thinness. I asked him what his Master Volume was set at. He said 1.5. I asked "why so low?". He said "because that's where I set it on the real amp". I explained that the MV on the Axe-Fx has a much gentler taper than real amp and that 1.5 on the real amp is probably around 5 or more on the Axe-Fx. So he cranked the MV up and exclaimed "wow, that's what I'm looking for!".
The MV taper on the Axe-Fx is a Log15A taper. This means the output is 15% of the input when the "pot" is at noon. Most amps use a higher taper than this, say 30A or even a linear taper. This is done as a marketing ploy. The unsuspecting customer sets the MV to 2.0 and goes "wow, this amp is loud". Thing is the amp doesn't get much louder. This also makes adjustment difficult because most of your volume range is constrained to a small fraction of the dial rotation. The Axe-Fx uses a gentler taper so that you can fine-tune the MV easier.
So don't be afraid to crank that MV up. When the MV is turned up the virtual power amp works harder which causes the virtual power supply to sag which adds compression which adds feel. It also thickens up the tone when you play harder because the power amp is distorting. You'll get much better results if you learn to find the sweet spot. While playing, turn up the MV until the volume stops getting louder. At this point you are driving the power amp into heavy distortion. Now back off the MV until you get the desired tone and feel. With practice you'll learn to identify how much the power amp is being pushed and where the sweet spot is.
(Ugh, re-reading this I see ended at least two sentences with prepositions, oh well).
The MV taper on the Axe-Fx is a Log15A taper. This means the output is 15% of the input when the "pot" is at noon. Most amps use a higher taper than this, say 30A or even a linear taper. This is done as a marketing ploy. The unsuspecting customer sets the MV to 2.0 and goes "wow, this amp is loud". Thing is the amp doesn't get much louder. This also makes adjustment difficult because most of your volume range is constrained to a small fraction of the dial rotation. The Axe-Fx uses a gentler taper so that you can fine-tune the MV easier.
So don't be afraid to crank that MV up. When the MV is turned up the virtual power amp works harder which causes the virtual power supply to sag which adds compression which adds feel. It also thickens up the tone when you play harder because the power amp is distorting. You'll get much better results if you learn to find the sweet spot. While playing, turn up the MV until the volume stops getting louder. At this point you are driving the power amp into heavy distortion. Now back off the MV until you get the desired tone and feel. With practice you'll learn to identify how much the power amp is being pushed and where the sweet spot is.
(Ugh, re-reading this I see ended at least two sentences with prepositions, oh well).