Any one else a little disappointed with the new FW/patches?

W

Wes37

Inspired
I love Axe FX II, I really do, BUT...

every FW change I some great patches lose their luster while some new gems appear. So far with FW 11.3 and the new patches, I can dial in some "alright" tones, but nothing wonderful. I've downloaded several from AxChange, tweaked several, loaded old favorites and tweaked, checked all my levels, swapped different guitars. Nada.

Maybe it's me, but I'm thinking of moving back a few FWs or just riding it out until 11.4 and hope for something different.

BTW...tried Fender Am Deluxe Strat, Suhr strat, Gibson LP, PRS DGT....same result with every guitar.
 
You'd need to share more details of what you are doing in the patch along with what you are doing to monitor outside the Axe-FX in order to offer some suggestions.

Input settings? Gate settings? Etc?
 
Input is set to barely clip into the red, gate is set to just cut off ambient hiss, output is set to ensure no output clipping, etc. I normally set Axe FX II to run into Sonar X2. Unless this FW is totally different, the same steps I've always used have resulted in great sounding patches. I just can't get there yet with this FW.
 
Yes they all sound way better to me and with ownhammer package its even better and better.
Perhaps Funeral John can help you ?

John if you see this what can help this man ?
contact John he can help you dial it in..

He was here 12 hours yesterday and mine is 10000% smoking..
 
I've never been happier with the tones I'm getting. What isn't right about the tones you're getting now?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
 
This happens with every change. What are the amp models you tend to use? Cliff caught some errors on the internal settings of some other models, and quickly rectified things. Perhaps there are a couple of other amp models that have been affected, and need attention. When you report bugs, you help the company make the product better for everyone. If you state what amps you are not getting the same results with, and it does not turn out to be a glitch that was introduced with this firmware, if you tell Cliff which firmware you "loved that amp" in, he can usually tell you the knobs you need to turn to go back to a similar feel as a previous firmware. Sometimes it's "turn MIMIC off", or adjust the bright cap frequency.

All the sounds you want and crave, are inside that box. You just have to know which knobs to turn to get yourself there.

There is a great thread posted a few days ago with an attachment for a PDF, where each amp knob is explained in detail, so you understand what it will do to the tone and to the feel of the amp. I keep it beside the KJV Bible on my nightstand (just kidding). I recommend that for every Axe owner.

Good Luck!
 
Odd, I'm finding just the opposite. Actually, I'm hearing improvement all around. I'm not sure what else cliff did, but I'm hearing clarity and aggression of a properly mic'd amp in my monitors.
 
couldn't disagree more....but this always happens. someone's idealized tones are altered and they hate the FW.
 
rodzimguitar68 said:
There is a great thread posted a few days ago with an attachment for a PDF, where each amp knob is explained in detail, so you understand what it will do to the tone and to the feel of the amp. I keep it beside the KJV Bible on my nightstand (just kidding). I recommend that for every Axe owner.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

Can anybody post the link ? Thanks in advance
 
Not tried the presets so can't comment on those, having said that I've never been a fan of them, but I'm loving v11 on the whole. To get a great tone I'm just picking an amp and rocking out it's not that easy! Too much bass then hit the cut button, too much top then rollback the treble/presence. Just depends on what tones you are trying to get.
 
If you prefer V9 you can go back and stay there. I'm not even kidding. That is the beauty of the Axe. You can keep moving forward and exploring with new firmwares and new amps, or you can stick to your favorite snapshot of Axe progress whether it be v9, v7, v6 or whatever.

Yes, I admit I love v11, but maybe it's not for everyone. If anything I'd say the amps and cabs are getting more "raw" now. On the one hand that makes it a bit more work to get a polished tone. On the other hand it gives many more possibilities for dialing in anything from raw amp in the room tones to sculpted polished studio tones.

One thing is for sure. The sound and feel will change when amps and modeling are updated. Like I said, you can always pick your favorite firmware and stay there. You can even go back and forth for different projects. I think that's amazing.
 
Phostenix said:
What isn't right about the tones you're getting now?
Click to expand...

Most sound "closed" or small, and not open and round. I know this is not particularly helpful, but the main problem is that patches just sound rather anemic.

sam said:
If anything I'd say the amps and cabs are getting more "raw" now. On the one hand that makes it a bit more work to get a polished tone.
Click to expand...

That could be part of it, but many patches just sound small and lifeless.


rodzimguitar68 said:
What are the amp models you tend to use?
Click to expand...
I use quite a few, mainly Fender and Marshall types. I don't care for the amps than lean towards the metal side, but apart from that I use many different types.

I might go back to FW10....
 
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I'm having the opposite as well. 11.03 sounds really good to me but I am focused on the Mesa Models right now and some "mojo" has come back to those with this last update.
same with the JCM 800.
I hear the OP though, it seems that with every major update something changes that can have a negative on an amp that wasn't caught or expected ...I mean it is still software :)
Email Cliff and tell him which amp models are bothering you so he can re check them .
 
Wes37 said:
I love Axe FX II, I really do, BUT...

every FW change I some great patches lose their luster while some new gems appear. So far with FW 11.3 and the new patches, I can dial in some "alright" tones, but nothing wonderful. I've downloaded several from AxChange, tweaked several, loaded old favorites and tweaked, checked all my levels, swapped different guitars. Nada.

Maybe it's me, but I'm thinking of moving back a few FWs or just riding it out until 11.4 and hope for something different.

BTW...tried Fender Am Deluxe Strat, Suhr strat, Gibson LP, PRS DGT....same result with every guitar.
Click to expand...

I was certainly frustrated with 11 when I uploaded it. I lost major level mojo on all my patches from 10.12 and granted I play mostly low-gain dumbleesque clean country type tones.
Thing is, I really wanted to use AXE Edit 3 so I updated and dug in to get my sounds back. I personally do not think 11.3 is 'better', but I do consider it equal and I did regain all of the tones and luster form 10.12. Cabs, compressor settings and EQ settings and most advanced features all had to change. Some of them pretty radically. Some subtly. This is with high-end studio monitors. I also had clear recordings and a great deal of studio work done for reference. This was using multiple guitars as well. If there is a whole new league of magic mojo in 11.3, I may find it at some point and hope I do. For now I am grateful to have my working tones back mostly. I still miss 10.12 to be honest but I still have more learning to do.

This is part of it. The 'major' differences only happen to specific parameters and players who amps are more greatly affected by those parameters often feel a 'big' change. For me the change is imperceptible right now.
I know you can get your tones back through effort. That said, If you are a live player mostly and don;t care about AXE Edit, I would stay with 10.12. I know I was missing nothing except AXE Edit 3. You will be missing little in my opinion at this point if you stay put. Cheers!
 
TexasHeartRush said:
I was certainly frustrated with 11 when I uploaded it. I lost major level mojo on all my patches from 10.12 and granted I play mostly low-gain dumbleesque clean country type tones.
Thing is, I really wanted to use AXE Edit 3 so I updated and dug in to get my sounds back. I personally do not think 11.3 is 'better', but I do consider it equal and I did regain all of the tones and luster form 10.12. Cabs, compressor settings and EQ settings and most advanced features all had to change. Some of them pretty radically. Some subtly. This is with high-end studio monitors. I also had clear recordings and a great deal of studio work done for reference. This was using multiple guitars as well. If there is a whole new league of magic mojo in 11.3, I may find it at some point and hope I do. For now I am grateful to have my working tones back mostly. I still miss 10.12 to be honest but I still have more learning to do.

This is part of it. The 'major' differences only happen to specific parameters and players who amps are more greatly affected by those parameters often feel a 'big' change. For me the change is imperceptible right now.
I know you can get your tones back through effort. That said, If you are a live player mostly and don;t care about AXE Edit, I would stay with 10.12. I know I was missing nothing except AXE Edit 3. You will be missing little in my opinion at this point if you stay put. Cheers!
Click to expand...
I'm going back to FW 10 to hear how different things are to me. One change seems to be that when I try different tone stacks (for example), the levels between the different models are significantly different, forcing me to go make other changes to try to compensate for the jumps. I dunno...maybe I'm the oddball out on this FW.
 
I'm in the "it's better than ever camp" and wonder if you need that system cleaning patch than was recently discussed. I play Fender clean to medium gain amps and I'm getting awesome sounds using strat, tele and Ibanez AS200-335 style guitars with very little work. Basic Twin preset with trim, gain and volume to taste sounds fantastic among many others. I could gig the Twin with drive pedals with no other amps and be happy, but why deny myself Plexis and Voxes and Dumbles oh my. Makes me wonder if something got corrupted.
 
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