Any sort of guide available for "intermediate tweaking"?

smallstonefan

smallstonefan

Member
Hi guys,

I've got very comfortable with the basics of the Axe and Axe Edit, and I used to run a mammoth rack system with all sorts of midi switching gear so I have that experience too. What I'm looking for now is some guidance on where to go to get more intermediate/advanced tweaking. For example, we've heard about the Sag parameter and the Hardness and now Dynamic Presence.

Is there any sort of guide that starts to take you into these types of controls, once you're already familiar with choosing and tweaking affects, getting your gain stage correct, and adjusting the typical "front of device" knobs?
 
I've been working on a video that I believe may help a bit, though it is not anything like what you are asking.

Though we all know how powerful the axe is as well as how many options there are, I've discovered what I believe is the secret. It's not in any of the advanced settings, it's not in the effects, and it's not in your routing.

I've messed with this thing extensively for over three years now and my findings are, all the stuff we have means nothing.......without the right cab block.

To me this is the single most important option that needs to be tweaked and people need to be shown how to deal with cab blocks. If you've never edited one that didn't sound so good to make it sound good, you have missed out on some incredible sound possibilities.

I've discovered that with the right cab block, you can just switch amps and more than 20 will work perfectly with as little tweaking as boost off/on, treble boost off/on and low cut off/on. I've been trying to finish it for a few days now but I haven't had the time. I hope to be done with it today.

Though this doesn't answer your questions, it may show you how to salvage cabs that you don't like or simply don't use, which will in turn create loads of sound possibilities without doing a whole lot of tweaking.

For example, I can take one of my standard metal tones and turn it into different useable light break up gain tones and even blues tones simply by changing the amp. I know that sounds too simple.

But I have noticed certain cabs don't work very well with certain amps. The purpose of the video is to teach how to tweak a cab as well as what to listen for while doing it. When you get it right, that cab can work for just about anything. :)

-Danny
 
Hi yek,

the wiki is a treasure trove of info for sure, but not really a simple "try this next..." type of thing I'm thinking about.

RD - that post is a step closer and I'll try that thanks!

What I'm looking for is something along the lines of...

"OK, you've set up an amp and tweaked the basic knobs, and chosen a cab IR you are happy with. You've added a couple of effects. Pretty much set up your Axe like you would a typical rig - chose your gear, plugged them in, gain staged them, set the knobs you can reach and are familiar with. Next, try tweaking these 6 things..."

thanks for the responses guys! :)
 
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Danny - you're the guy that convinced me to buy the Axe (thanks brother)! Any tweaking you care to share, I'll be all over it.

What you describe is definitely in the spirit of what I'm asking for...
 
You're welcome and I'm glad you're enjoying the axe!

Yeah I think this other vid is going to raise some eyebrows. It's nothing fantastic, it just shows that you don't need to spend loads of time tweaking in advanced amp options if you have the core elements in check.

For example, quite a few stock cab blocks are in need of some tlc. Too much low end like a blanket effect, too much sizzle....and this is before you touch a thing.

But most guys spend a year amp tweaking in advanced mode when it's the cab that needs the work. So I took a cab that sounded like ass on one of my presets and tweaked only the cab to make it sound good. From there I just switch through amps and the good sound/fidelity remains and any of the sounds could be used for recording.

It's just a different approach to sound shaping using cab options instead of extensively tweaking an amp. I don't know about you guys, but I like little to no tweaking these days! I mean don't get me wrong, this thing is my drug but some days I don't wanna be high.....I need quick and easy. :)
 
Danny Danzi said:
I've discovered that with the right cab block, you can just switch amps and more than 20 will work perfectly with as little tweaking as boost off/on, treble boost off/on and low cut off/on.
Click to expand...
+1 and why I love cab packs because of all the tonal variety they offer.
 
Matt_B_77 said:
+1 and why I love cab packs because of all the tonal variety they offer.
Click to expand...

Agreed! And for those that may not want to buy cab packs or may be on a tight budget, I'll show them how to use what they already have. :) I have 0 cab packs other than stock stuff and what Cliff has given us in some of the firmware downloads where there were a few samples.

I think a lot of people look for a good cab and go....but what if you knew how to really tweak what you already have to make it sound like a cab pack? Let me stop talking and start delivering. :) See you guys in a few hours.
 
You may have read these already, but I like Cliff's Tech Notes.

They go deep into how one control or several work together to shape tone.

Interesting reading whether it is usable to you or not.
 
smallstonefan said:
What I'm looking for is something along the lines of...

"OK, you've set up an amp and tweaked the basic knobs, and chosen a cab IR you are happy with. You've added a couple of effects. Pretty much set up your Axe like you would a typical rig - chose your gear, plugged them in, gain staged them, set the knobs you can reach and are familiar with. Next, try tweaking these 6 things..."

thanks for the responses guys! :)
Click to expand...

It depends on what you want to achieve. Personally, if I do not like the result I get with the basic tweaks, you describe, I move on to another amp model. If I like it, but there are small things, I would like different, I might dig in a little. First thing I tried is the speaker LF resonance in the cab block. Next, I would try to change the preamp and power amp tubes.
The manual, the wiki, and the tech notes are the best resources for finding the parameter to tweak. But it requires that you know what you want. Another approach is just to start turning knobs to see what they do. You can use amp x/y to have a before/after reference.
 
Danny Danzi said:
Agreed! And for those that may not want to buy cab packs or may be on a tight budget, I'll show them how to use what they already have. :) I have 0 cab packs other than stock stuff and what Cliff has given us in some of the firmware downloads where there were a few samples.

I think a lot of people look for a good cab and go....but what if you knew how to really tweak what you already have to make it sound like a cab pack? Let me stop talking and start delivering. :) See you guys in a few hours.
Click to expand...

I'm really looking forward to this. I've spent a lot of time dabbling around in the advanced amp parameters and no time at all with cabs. I start with a cab that I know is in the ballpark, dial up a decent amp tone, play something in a loop and scroll through similar style cabs till I find the one I like best. I'd love to avoid all the A/B comparisons I end up doing so I think a cab tutorial would be very useful.
 
Danny Danzi said:
Agreed! And for those that may not want to buy cab packs or may be on a tight budget, I'll show them how to use what they already have. :) I have 0 cab packs other than stock stuff and what Cliff has given us in some of the firmware downloads where there were a few samples.

I think a lot of people look for a good cab and go....but what if you knew how to really tweak what you already have to make it sound like a cab pack? Let me stop talking and start delivering. :) See you guys in a few hours.
Click to expand...

+1 I'll definitely be looking for this vid as well.
 
Danny Danzi said:
I've been working on a video that I believe may help a bit, though it is not anything like what you are asking.

Though we all know how powerful the axe is as well as how many options there are, I've discovered what I believe is the secret. It's not in any of the advanced settings, it's not in the effects, and it's not in your routing.

I've messed with this thing extensively for over three years now and my findings are, all the stuff we have means nothing.......without the right cab block.

To me this is the single most important option that needs to be tweaked and people need to be shown how to deal with cab blocks. If you've never edited one that didn't sound so good to make it sound good, you have missed out on some incredible sound possibilities.

I've discovered that with the right cab block, you can just switch amps and more than 20 will work perfectly with as little tweaking as boost off/on, treble boost off/on and low cut off/on. I've been trying to finish it for a few days now but I haven't had the time. I hope to be done with it today.

Though this doesn't answer your questions, it may show you how to salvage cabs that you don't like or simply don't use, which will in turn create loads of sound possibilities without doing a whole lot of tweaking.

For example, I can take one of my standard metal tones and turn it into different useable light break up gain tones and even blues tones simply by changing the amp. I know that sounds too simple.

But I have noticed certain cabs don't work very well with certain amps. The purpose of the video is to teach how to tweak a cab as well as what to listen for while doing it. When you get it right, that cab can work for just about anything. :)

-Danny
Click to expand...


Look forward to this. In another thread we had discussed that you use the cab block with a regular cabinet ( non frfr speakers). I tried it for hours one night - I just couldn't get a tone that didn't sound like there was a blanket over the cabinet. When I record I use the fx loop block so my studio monitors benefit from cab block use. But man, I just can't get the cab block to sound good through a real cab. And it could be the cabinet I'm using - a port city OS 2x12, which by design, is a little bass heavy. But I'm open to experimentation still - so curious to check this out when you're done !
 
Sorry it's taken a bit longer than I had hoped. Busy all day into the night. Video is done....I just have to edit it and render it. It's possible tonight, but worst case scenario, tomorrow for sure at the latest. It turned out pretty good I think. Nothing groundbreaking, but I definitely think a few people will find it helpful.
 
Danny Danzi said:
To me this is the single most important option that needs to be tweaked and people need to be shown how to deal with cab blocks. If you've never edited one that didn't sound so good to make it sound good, you have missed out on some incredible sound possibilities.

I've discovered that with the right cab block, you can just switch amps and more than 20 will work perfectly with as little tweaking as boost off/on, treble boost off/on and low cut off/on..
Click to expand...

This matches my findings with using the AFX over the years; finding the right cab IR is the always the starting point and the right one will work with a wide variety of amps and distortion ranges. My 4x12 FAS cab pack IR mix sounds great with a ton of different amps from clean, crunch, higain, and soaring fat saturated lead tones. The interesting thing is most of my 1x12 and 2x12 IR mixes I use for the Fender-y/Vox-y amps sound excellent with crunchy/higain Marshalls/Tucana/Euro Red, etc.

The IR is the starting point, everything else falls into place after that; you'll be able to find amps that work very quickly and are fast to dial in and move on....
 
The advanced parameters can be like trying to take a sip from a firehouse, but if your wanting to experiment with them maybe start simple with just the Supply Sag, Negative Feedback, and Transformer Match controls. Playing with those three parameters will have have all sorts of impact on tone, feel, dynamics, character of distortion, compression, etc. especially if you run the power amp hard/use power amp distortion. You don't need to make huge adjustments on them, just small tweaks (but work each control the extremes to gauge it's effect).

Some other advanced parameters I really like are Tube Bias, Crunch, Cathode Bias, and trying different Tonestack Types and the associated tonestack parameters. With Q3 I find the Dynamic Presence control very useful indeed....
 
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