TG3K
Fractal Fanatic
For as long as I've been on this forum, I've seen a lot of guys who seem to focus on the specific amp models in the Axe-Fx more than they do the tones they get out of this magic black box. I see guys trying to copy a famous guitarist's sound by using the model of the same amp the artist uses - even duplicating the knob settings in their quest to sound just like their guitar hero. Or guys who spend days/weeks/months trying to get the FrickenFracker XRM69 model in their Axe-Fx to sound just like the real FrickenFracker XRM69 they played at their buddy's house 7 years ago. (Or some YouTube video they saw once.) Or guys who are ashamed to admit they really like the HeeberJeeber models, because they play some other genre of music where HeeberJeebers are generally looked down upon. (A HeeberJeeber for death metal? Ha!)
Personally, I don't have a ton of experience with all the various real-world tube amps, especially the esoteric boutique amps. I grew up with a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Music Man 65 watt 210 combo running into a Music Man 412 cab. I did use a Marshall once in the studio 30 years ago, but for the most part I'm inexperienced when it comes to the differences between the various amps (and therefore models). I play in a cover band, and I try to get tones that resemble the tones on the recordings of the songs we cover. Not necessarily match exactly, but at least capture the feel. When I'm creating a new preset, I'll start with a general idea of what I want (clean, crunchy, open back combo, closed cab, etc., but I don't pay any attention to what amps, speakers, or specific effect boxes the original artist used. I just click through the list of applicable amp and cab models until I find something that comes close to the sound I'm looking for. Then I'll tweak the basic controls until I'm happy with the sound. And if I can't find the sound I'm looking for after 5 or 10 minutes, I'll move on to another amp or cab. Sometimes I'll be an amp for one style that generally isn't used for that style. (A Marshall model for twangy stuff, or a Fender model for very distorted stuff.) I'm sure my tone isn't an exact match to the recording, but I'm happy, my bandmates are happy, and the audience seems to be happy. (I get compliments on my tone at virtually every show.) I don't pick an amp model just so I can tell my friends "On that song I use a model of super-rare Glockenspieler that was once owned by Eric Johnson himself." I pick it because I like the way it sounds.
So my question...how many of you focus on the specific amp/speaker models, and stay with the same combination your heroes use come hell or high water, and now many of you are agnostic when it comes to the specific brands the models are emulating, just finding combinations of amp and IRs that sound good to you?
I'm not saying one way is more "right" than the other...different strokes for different folks and all that. Plus, how someone else approaches their tone quest really doesn't affect me one bit. (One of the beauties of the Fractal products is that they allow so many different paths to the same goals.) And I'm not trolling here, I'm just genuinely curious.
tl;dr - Are you more obsessed with the models or the tones?
Personally, I don't have a ton of experience with all the various real-world tube amps, especially the esoteric boutique amps. I grew up with a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Music Man 65 watt 210 combo running into a Music Man 412 cab. I did use a Marshall once in the studio 30 years ago, but for the most part I'm inexperienced when it comes to the differences between the various amps (and therefore models). I play in a cover band, and I try to get tones that resemble the tones on the recordings of the songs we cover. Not necessarily match exactly, but at least capture the feel. When I'm creating a new preset, I'll start with a general idea of what I want (clean, crunchy, open back combo, closed cab, etc., but I don't pay any attention to what amps, speakers, or specific effect boxes the original artist used. I just click through the list of applicable amp and cab models until I find something that comes close to the sound I'm looking for. Then I'll tweak the basic controls until I'm happy with the sound. And if I can't find the sound I'm looking for after 5 or 10 minutes, I'll move on to another amp or cab. Sometimes I'll be an amp for one style that generally isn't used for that style. (A Marshall model for twangy stuff, or a Fender model for very distorted stuff.) I'm sure my tone isn't an exact match to the recording, but I'm happy, my bandmates are happy, and the audience seems to be happy. (I get compliments on my tone at virtually every show.) I don't pick an amp model just so I can tell my friends "On that song I use a model of super-rare Glockenspieler that was once owned by Eric Johnson himself." I pick it because I like the way it sounds.
So my question...how many of you focus on the specific amp/speaker models, and stay with the same combination your heroes use come hell or high water, and now many of you are agnostic when it comes to the specific brands the models are emulating, just finding combinations of amp and IRs that sound good to you?
I'm not saying one way is more "right" than the other...different strokes for different folks and all that. Plus, how someone else approaches their tone quest really doesn't affect me one bit. (One of the beauties of the Fractal products is that they allow so many different paths to the same goals.) And I'm not trolling here, I'm just genuinely curious.
tl;dr - Are you more obsessed with the models or the tones?