A Lesson In Personal Setup

CactusTone

CactusTone

Inspired
I recently watched a YouTube video with an FM3 demo of a particular amp model that sounded absolutely phenomenal.

Having moved from the AXE II to the FM3 I'm no stranger to the "wow" factor in Cygnus, and have made preset after preset of blissfully good tones using many amp models, however, I have not yet approached this particular amp model.

The tone this demo illustrated was simply ideal for its intended application.

So I downloaded it. And it sounded like crap. No exaggeration.

Just to clarify, I'm not here to judge anyone, it sounded like crap on my system. Like I said, the sound was ideal in the video. Also to clarify, it wasn't simply, "oh, there could be more bass," or "hmm, maybe the mids could be dialed in better." It was full blown "no thanks," on my system.

I'm using an RCF 12" that generally sounds pretty good, and some high quality custom fitted IEMs that sound stellar.

Oh yeah, and my guitar is different. The video showcased an Ernie Ball artist model with pups that mirrored the chosen amp model. Im using a PRS with Juggernaut scatter wounds. Strings are probably different. Probably using a different pick. Oh yeah, and my hands have a different PH and muscle to fat ratio, and my twitch muscles surely react differently.

Not to go down a rabbit hole, my point is, there are some significant differences.

And that is exactly my point. What sounds incredible on one player's setup may not translate to another player's setup.

It was a wonderful lesson in finding my own tone based on the tools God provided, and the gear I have at my disposal.

In short, this experience has reminded me that even in the digital age one cannot simply "download" an ideal tone. The best sounds are still those that are created by the user to serve their ultimate end-use.
 
Very True! This has been proven over and over again. Of course, their are exceptions and also some just need some tweaking.
But the "Lesson" you speak of is definitely the "general Consensus here.....................
 
Well that sucks! I mean, why else are we here, if not to cop tones exactly, without having to do anything other than point and click? Haha. (Not meant to be a jab @ OP.) I mean, I bought the Axe III to become an instant John Petrucci! Damn! Back to practicing I guess..., and learning...
 
That's so true.

I have what I consider to be a good monitoring setup, yet all presets from a specific individual or two here never ever sound any good - to me - on mine. That's just the way it is unfortunately. Pity 'cause they sound so damn good on YT!
Thanks
Pauly



CactusTone said:
I recently watched a YouTube video with an FM3 demo of a particular amp model that sounded absolutely phenomenal.

Having moved from the AXE II to the FM3 I'm no stranger to the "wow" factor in Cygnus, and have made preset after preset of blissfully good tones using many amp models, however, I have not yet approached this particular amp model.

The tone this demo illustrated was simply ideal for its intended application.

So I downloaded it. And it sounded like crap. No exaggeration.

Just to clarify, I'm not here to judge anyone, it sounded like crap on my system. Like I said, the sound was ideal in the video. Also to clarify, it wasn't simply, "oh, there could be more bass," or "hmm, maybe the mids could be dialed in better." It was full blown "no thanks," on my system.

I'm using an RCF 12" that generally sounds pretty good, and some high quality custom fitted IEMs that sound stellar.

Oh yeah, and my guitar is different. The video showcased an Ernie Ball artist model with pups that mirrored the chosen amp model. Im using a PRS with Juggernaut scatter wounds. Strings are probably different. Probably using a different pick. Oh yeah, and my hands have a different PH and muscle to fat ratio, and my twitch muscles surely react differently.

Not to go down a rabbit hole, my point is, there are some significant differences.

And that is exactly my point. What sounds incredible on one player's setup may not translate to another player's setup.

It was a wonderful lesson in finding my own tone based on the tools God provided, and the gear I have at my disposal.

In short, this experience has reminded me that even in the digital age one cannot simply "download" an ideal tone. The best sounds are still those that are created by the user to serve their ultimate end-use.
Click to expand...
 
That's why I don't bother with other people's presets and often ignore even factory ones. At best they serve as ideas on how to setup things because some people are more clever at using this stuff than I am.

But ultimately it's best to learn to roll your own presets and configure your own settings that sound good with the output devices you use.
 
Yep. I've tried a few paid presets but inevitably end up just using ones I've created. Far too many variables. It amazes me that paid presets still exist, to be honest.
 
Downloading someone else's presets with the expectation of that sound translating is a mixed bag of frustration at best! Though I will say that sometimes you do get lucky! sometimes you get a jumping off point and other times you get what the OP is talking about. Unless you are working with the same guitar or at least woods and electronics, and monitoring system you will be fiddling with parameters.
 
I can play the same patch through my own headphones, monitors, and FRFR cab with drastically different results. It's not a fault of Fractal; they do a wonderful job. It's just that so many "flat" audio outputs still color and respond differently.
 
I always have to adjust the amp / cab to my own personal taste and done …….Others presets I only use to get different ideas or FX settings and stuff…..
 
There are no absolutes imo. I've downloaded some great presets that have required no adjustments. I've also downloaded some presets that were garbage. I've created some presets that are great for me. I've also created some presets that I now find to be absolute garbage (many actually lol).

Much like guitar playing, the benefits of being able to see/learn what someone else is doing and taking what I like about it and adding it to my bag of tricks outweighs the disappointment of downloaded sounds not being what I heard on YouTube. With that in mind, I still hop on AxeChange once every couple of weeks and preview a bunch of presets to see if anything catches my ear.
 
I agree most of the time, but Fremen is the exception for me. Every single thing I've bought from him has been GOLD over the last couple years.
 
And if you play through headphones like I do, don't expect any downloaded presets to sound like they do on YouTube, Soundcloud, etc. Although Marco's come pretty close for some reason.
 
There are so many variables and everything matters to a lesser or greater degree. I always have to tweak but YouTubes provide good starting points; concepts; ideas; etc.
 
Knaggster said:
Haven’t found a Preset yet that didn’t require a bunch of tweaking to get it to sound ‘good’ to me.
Click to expand...

Not to start a big debate, and I don't know that much about it, still learning, but with this discussion I'm wondering what does this say about the "capture function" on some of the modelers? Does this way of generating a device block work that well?

Does anyone know how useful these actually are? Can you tweak them to be useful?

How good will those sound on another unit/rig with all of these differences?
 
ModRock said:
Not to start a big debate, and I don't know that much about it, still learning, but with this discussion I'm wondering what does this say about the "capture function" on some of the modelers? Does this way of generating a device block work that well?
Click to expand...
A common story among people who use profiling modelers is how many profiles they had to go through to find ones that really worked for them.
 
i appreciate every preset i check out. even if i take 1 thing away from it that improves my own presets, it's all gained knowledge. So, to everyone that takes so much time to create and share their presets, thanks for all you do because im sure virtually every preset i examine or try improves my overall experience on how to change and create my own presets to my personal tastes 🤟
 
ModRock said:
Not to start a big debate, and I don't know that much about it, still learning, but with this discussion I'm wondering what does this say about the "capture function" on some of the modelers? Does this way of generating a device block work that well?

Does anyone know how useful these actually are? Can you tweak them to be useful?

How good will those sound on another unit/rig with all of these differences?
Click to expand...
I've never used a profiler, but I researched the Quad Cortex when it came out and my understanding is that a profile (or "capture") as Neural calls it, basically is a static copy of whatever you've profiled -- meaning that there's little if anything you can tweak or adjust to the profile once it's captured. If that's so, then I assume the process could be pretty tedious trying to "capture" the perfect settings, etc.
 
I've found it to be quite handy sometimes if you download a preset and it doesn't sound very good on your own rig is to set yourself the challenge of making it sound how you want.
Helps learn how to get the most from the Fractals
 
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