Adjust the Tube Driver 4 Knob

trancegodz said:
To match my Chandler with both tone knobs set to 0, I set the 4 knob Tube Driver in the Axe FXIII with gain =2, bass =0, treble=6, mids boosted by 3db at 636.0Hz, graphic eq set to post 1000 Hz boosted 2db, volume at 6. That pretty much exactly matches my 1986 Chandler set with both tone controls on 0 (which is how Eric Johnson uses his Chandler Tube Driver).

It sounds really good when set right, you just can't set the settings the same as you would on a real Chandler and expect it to sound the same. That was what through me when I first tried it.
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+1000

You can’t match settings with your eyes, need to use your ears. Pots have different tapers etc and 7 on a pedal might actually be 5 on the Axe and vice versa.

Adjust it so it sounds right, not matches a picture
 
trancegodz said:
To match my Chandler with both tone knobs set to 0, I set the 4 knob Tube Driver in the Axe FXIII with gain =2, bass =0, treble=6, mids boosted by 3db at 636.0Hz, graphic eq set to post 1000 Hz boosted 2db, volume at 6. That pretty much exactly matches my 1986 Chandler set with both tone controls on 0 (which is how Eric Johnson uses his Chandler Tube Driver).

It sounds really good when set right, you just can't set the settings the same as you would on a real Chandler and expect it to sound the same. That was what through me when I first tried it.
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thank you for the information but it is not the goal of my post.
I just want the 4 knob model to be overhauled or replaced with the Chandler.
 
lqdsnddist said:
+1000

You can’t match settings with your eyes, need to use your ears. Pots have different tapers etc and 7 on a pedal might actually be 5 on the Axe and vice versa.

Adjust it so it sounds right, not matches a picture
Click to expand...
Sure you use your ears but that's not what this post talks about. Here we talk about the problems that the AXE model of the 4 knob has, so as to help all those like me who find it insonable and are forced to use the 3 knob which sounds great but is not the 4 knob. The information he gave us is excellent, in fact after I try it, but it is not the goal of the post.
I don't want to use the 4 knob to try to clone another pedal, but to make the 4 knob a manageable pedal and more like the real one.
Maybe it needs an update as it is a tube pedal, also because the other Drives sound divine.
 
Giulio Scarpellini said:
Sure you use your ears but that's not what this post talks about. Here we talk about the problems that the AXE model of the 4 knob has, so as to help all those like me who find it insonable and are forced to use the 3 knob which sounds great but is not the 4 knob. The information he gave us is excellent, in fact after I try it, but it is not the goal of the post.
I don't want to use the 4 knob to try to clone another pedal, but to make the 4 knob a manageable pedal and more like the real one.
Maybe it needs an update as it is a tube pedal, also because the other Drives sound divine.
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If the 3 knob sounds “great” though, does it really matter much if it’s not the 4 knob ?

Do you want to sound like Gilmour or just say your using all the “right” virtual pedals he does ?

Looks at the Brit Floyd guys, they get a great tone but don’t use the same/right models Gilmour does. They simply use what gets the most authentic sounds.


It’s easy to get wrapped up in “famous artist used this pedal set like this; so I need a model of that pedal and will set it the same or else I can’t get the tone”
 
lqdsnddist said:
If the 3 knob sounds “great” though, does it really matter much if it’s not the 4 knob ?

Do you want to sound like Gilmour or just say your using all the “right” virtual pedals he does ?

Looks at the Brit Floyd guys, they get a great tone but don’t use the same/right models Gilmour does. They simply use what gets the most authentic sounds.


It’s easy to get wrapped up in “famous artist used this pedal set like this; so I need a model of that pedal and will set it the same or else I can’t get the tone”
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I think that the OP objective is not to make the 4-knob to sound like Gilmour, but to review it and confirm that it hasn't gone south during some FW review.
 
lqdsnddist said:
If the 3 knob sounds “great” though, does it really matter much if it’s not the 4 knob ?

Do you want to sound like Gilmour or just say your using all the “right” virtual pedals he does ?

Looks at the Brit Floyd guys, they get a great tone but don’t use the same/right models Gilmour does. They simply use what gets the most authentic sounds.


It’s easy to get wrapped up in “famous artist used this pedal set like this; so I need a model of that pedal and will set it the same or else I can’t get the tone”
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First of all, the Tube Driver is a tube ovedrive very similar to a Marshall and therefore gives you the possibility to "attach" a Marshall style sound to any amplifier. This makes it a very very dynamic pedal. The intent of my post is exactly to "check" if the pedal is ok. Because trying it over and over again, I realized like many owners of the AXE FX, it is very difficult if not impossible to use, due to the problems it has.
The 3 knob is still a Tube Driver but with different sonic details.
Chandler
Chandler / Butler
Butler
they are all Tube Drivers but they have details that make the difference.
The Butler (AX FX model) is virtually identical to the Chandler - Chandler / Butler, it changes how the EQ and Gain excursion works, but as you hear in the video I posted, the compared pedals sound almost identical. The problem lies in the 4 knob model which doesn't sound exactly as it should and that's why everyone can't play it. You shouldn't go and change the pedal in frequencies or gain etc. The pedal must work by itself, without tweaking, like the 3 knob.
So the goal is to allow the many who love this pedal and like myself not only use it for Gilmour but for many other genres, to be able to use it in peace like the 3 knob, like the real Butler.
There is no point in the 4 Knob model if no one uses it. The beauty of this machine is that it offers us so much choice and for that I will never cease to be grateful and thank Cliff and FAS. Precisely for this reason, if possible for them, it would be a dream for many to have for example not only the Big Muff Triangle but also the other two versions, Green Russian Reissue and Ram's Head Reissue. They are 3 different pedals in their sound. So it makes no sense to go and destroy or shape a Triangle to make it sound like a Ram's Head, otherwise there would be no Wish List, so with all due respect we express a wish to have a Ram's Head and Green Russian model that would please many many users and many Gilmour fans, especially the Brit Floyd you mentioned.

P.S. : I didn't say anything like that ;)
“famous artist used this pedal set like this; so I need a model of that pedal and will set it the same or else I can’t get the tone”
 
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I am all for authenticity and Fractal to check their model against their reference pedals.

But I must say that I usually prefer the 4-knob version to the 3-knob on the Axe III.
 
Smittefar said:
I am all for authenticity and Fractal to check their model against their reference pedals.

But I must say that I usually prefer the 4-knob version to the 3-knob on the Axe III.
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Of course it depends on how a person uses it and sets it up. But after trying it and trying it again, even live, it doesn't sound like it should. Regardless of the amount of gain, the pedal is mostly too closed at the neck pickup. The attack is much much sharper and more defined. More or less like the 3 knob. The video I posted above makes you feel the differences between Chandler and Butler. Identical, only the EQ and bass body changes.
 
I'll try again, but I remember getting a great tone with the 4 knobs and neck pickup with almost the stock Hiwatt preset. My strat has CS '69 in neck and middle and SSL1C in bridge. Have you tried to lower the neck pickup on the bass strings? Although EMG say is possible to get the pickups really close to the strings David order to route the cavities so he could lower them to vintage specs...
 
Josetxu said:
I'll try again, but I remember getting a great tone with the 4 knobs and neck pickup with almost the stock Hiwatt preset. My strat has CS '69 in neck and middle and SSL1C in bridge. Have you tried to lower the neck pickup on the bass strings? Although EMG say is possible to get the pickups really close to the strings David order to route the cavities so he could lower them to vintage specs...
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the pickups are set to Gilmour, so the neck pickup is low especially on the low strings.
That is not the problem.
I know the pedal and it is not a fuzz. The problem with the model is distortion.
The Tube Driver is open and dynamic, just feel the 3 knobs. Perhaps, being an older generation model it needs a refresh, being a tube overdrive.
 
@Giulio Scarpellini I only had 15 minutes to load your preset last night, but I see where you're coming from -- the model definitely does need some extreme dial settings to keep it out of heavy saturation territory.

I have no doubt it was modeled accurate to a schematic. Cliff is pedantic about that stuff. But maybe a revisit post 13.00 drive block changes would be worthwhile?
 
iaresee said:
@Giulio Scarpellini I only had 15 minutes to load your preset last night, but I see where you're coming from -- the model definitely does need some extreme dial settings to keep it out of heavy saturation territory.

I have no doubt it was modeled accurate to a schematic. Cliff is pedantic about that stuff. But maybe a revisit post 13.00 drive block changes would be worthwhile?
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I absolutely do not question Cliff's accuracy. Maybe something has changed in the course of the updates.
The preset you tried I did last night, so it's new.
The problem with the pedal is not only in my old presets but also in a freshly made one.
If the model is correct maybe after a security check, then I just have to ask if it is possible to add the other model in their possession, the Chandler.
With the utmost respect and education on my part of course!
 
Giulio Scarpellini said:
. The problem lies in the 4 knob model which doesn't sound exactly as it should and that's why everyone can't play it. You shouldn't go and change the pedal in frequencies or gain etc. The pedal must work by itself, without tweaking, like the 3 knob.
So the goal is to allow the many who love this pedal and like myself not only use it for Gilmour but for many other genres, to be able to use it in peace like the 3 knob, like the real Butler.
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Did you try trancegods setting in a previous post? How does it sound to you?

I agree with you that in a perfect scenario a model should sound exactly like the original without too much tweaking. But that just isn’t the case with many drive models. So you almost always need to tweak the drive models in my opinion. Some models more than others of course. This also goes for amps. It isn’t always plug and play.

So your only option now is to tweak the 4 knob model to your liking. Or you have to wait until Fractal revises the 4 knob model. No one knows if that ever is going to happen so I wouldn’t bet on that.
 
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Bodde said:
Did you try trancegods setting in a previous post? How does it sound to you?

I agree with you that in a perfect scenario a model should sound exactly like the original without too much tweaking. But that just isn’t the case with many drive models. So you almost always need to tweak the drive models in my opinion. Some models more than others of course. This also goes for amps. It isn’t always plug and play.

So your only option now is to tweak the 4 knob model to your liking. Or you have to wait until Fractal revises 4 knob model. No one knows if that ever is going to happen so I wouldn’t bet on that.
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I haven't had a chance to try the settings from the previous post yet.
Personally I have no problems with the other drives, to me they all sound great without retouching them. Identical to the real counterparts. This is why I would like the 4 knob to be usable too. In fact, now I will try those settings but in any case I really hope it will be fixed or maybe (since almost nobody uses it) with the Chandler.
 
Giulio Scarpellini said:
I haven't had a chance to try the settings from the previous post yet.
Personally I have no problems with the other drives, to me they all sound great without retouching them. Identical to the real counterparts. This is why I would like the 4 knob to be usable too. In fact, now I will try those settings but in any case I really hope it will be fixed or maybe (since almost nobody uses it) with the Chandler.
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Yes I agree a revision of the 4 knob would be great. But all you can do is wait and hope. In the meantime enjoy what is already there.
 
Bodde said:
Yes I agree a revision of the 4 knob would be great. But all you can do is wait and hope. In the meantime enjoy what is already there.
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Well, and start a discussion which might bring it to the attention of Fractal who might double check the model and see if a value got entered improperly when the model was being created. I'm sure thing like fixing the excessive blocking distortion from a bad resistor value in the Marshall JVM models it hard to find without someone going "hey, this doesn't quite sound right I think".

So seems like this thread is serving it's purpose
 
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