Anyone Else...

jlynnb1

Axe-Master
find that when dialing in patches of amps/cabs of different types that when you switch to another amp type you have to take a break and adjust?? If I go cold-turkey from one amp to another it's like my ears can't adjust sometime. i'll think the second amp type sounds like crap....where if i come to it fresh it sounds fine with the exact same settings.

this is probably a "duh" topic, but sometimes I discount certain things because I don't give them a fair shake.
 
How long do you listen to a particular patch and at what volume? I know ear fatigue can be a factor. I also struggle with what I think sounds good. I'm always tweaking my sounds.
 
How long do you listen to a particular patch and at what volume? I know ear fatigue can be a factor. I also struggle with what I think sounds good. I'm always tweaking my sounds.

for me it's more of if i go from like a Marshall type amp to a clean/cleanish Fender the Fender sounds like ass to me....but it's just a perception thing. If I come to the Fender fresh it sounds much different to me.
 
find that when dialing in patches of amps/cabs of different types that when you switch to another amp type you have to take a break and adjust?? If I go cold-turkey from one amp to another it's like my ears can't adjust sometime. i'll think the second amp type sounds like crap....where if i come to it fresh it sounds fine with the exact same settings.

this is probably a "duh" topic, but sometimes I discount certain things because I don't give them a fair shake.

Have you tried working with the X\Y settings (buttons)? I find they can be useful for doing a "poor mans" compare feature. :)
 
i have the EXACT same problem.....it's why i haven't come up with a million axe-fx presets.

let's say i start out with a mesa mkII preset, not a lot of gain, just a little crunch preset. if i switch the amp type to Cornford, my hands and ears both want to vomit.

it really doesn't matter which amp type i start out with, switching to another type of amp with the same cabinet setup just ain't right normally.

to solve this problem; i've gone and made a bunch of presets based on Cliff's suggested amp/cabinet match-ups. then i tweaked them all to sound similar. now i can switch presets when i want to try a different amp type and i have a better chance of liking the next amp i hear.

i guess the thing that i learned in this process is that amps are picky about which cabinet you use. i knew this to be a fact in real life amps, but coming from the eleven rack, i could get away with almost any amp using the same cabinet and have it work ok. it just to show you that the axe-fx is pretty close to real life amps.
 
If I go cold-turkey from one amp to another it's like my ears can't adjust sometime. i'll think the second amp type sounds like crap....where if i come to it fresh it sounds fine with the exact same settings.

What's also weird is when I start tweaking on all these different amp models for what I want to hear, they all come out sounding very similar. I swear I can take just about any high gain dissimilar sounding amp, tweak it until I like it (just using my ears - not really paying attention to values), AB it with some totally different amp that I already have dialed in to my ears and it's almost the same... I guess that's a testament that my ears and brain are monolithic :shock
 
All amps have certain areas of strength, which means that have corresponding weaknesses in the frequency range. When your "ears" adjust to a certain tone, you are expecting to hear a specific tonality. When you switch to a different amp model, some of the reference points that your mind is expecting to hear diminish, so your mind focuses on the weaknesses of the new model, After your mind has some time to adjust, it starts focusing on the strengths of the new model. Then when you switch back, the same thing happens in reverse. All you hear at first are the weaknesses.
 
Yup, happens to me all the time. With all the recent firmware upgrades it's been a never-ending tweakfest. :) Basically, if I spend an hour or two dialing in a few patches and save them, the first thing I do when I start playing the day after (or whenever; fresh ears are key for me) is to audition the same presets to make sure I'm still happy with the way they sound. When doing that I sometimes I find myself wondering "how the hell did I think this sounded good!?", and the fun starts all over again.
 
Same thing here... I just usually end up trusting that I dialed in that patch at sometime to sound good. Sometimes my marsha patch sounds killer, next day I hate it.
 
There are so many variables. Even the time of day you are doing the adjustments will be a factor because of how your ears are reacting. But the main thing for me is (and I know this is my fault) I use the same cab IR for all my presets. The cab is such a big part of the sound that switching amp models in quick succession sometimes doesn't seem to make much difference. Taking a break and going back to it later helps a great deal.
 
That just means you're getting the tone thats "in your head." It's a nice feeling.

What's also weird is when I start tweaking on all these different amp models for what I want to hear, they all come out sounding very similar. I swear I can take just about any high gain dissimilar sounding amp, tweak it until I like it (just using my ears - not really paying attention to values), AB it with some totally different amp that I already have dialed in to my ears and it's almost the same... I guess that's a testament that my ears and brain are monolithic :shock
 
I tend to pick only one amp and spend some time working with it and various IR's until I get something I like.. then wait until another play session (usually a day or 3) to mess with tweaking a different amp or going for something different with that same amp. Did the same with real amps- get a new one, spend a period of time working with it to get it in shape, and then I tend to know what it can or cannot do and what sound(s) I can get from it.

The Axe is much more tweakable than my analog rigs, so it can get more complicated if I dig very deep, which I try to avoid. I'm still learning and still struggle with it. I think Axe Edit 3 will help a lot with the process.
 
good to know I'm not alone, lol.

and this wasn't a gripe, i just figured it was to do with my ears adjusting to a certain "tone" or set of freq's that made the next sound so off.
 
Phew! I'm not alone either... :)

A couple of things I'm now forcing myself to do to limit this issue:

1. Without even playing a note (to keep ears fresh) I set up a couple of test presets with appropriate amp/cab choices, using X/Y too to expand the options. I was finding that it's too easy to sweep through various amp models without changing the cab. Sure, one can get good sounds with "unusual" matches, but it just confuses my ears if I'm searching for, for example, "signature" Marshall or Mesa tones, etc.

2. I then play through them but not for long - maybe just a couple of chords whilst switching back and forth through the presets and X/Y options I've already set up. I find that playing too long on one sound just makes the next amp sound weird - no matter how amazing it really is.

3. Finally, once I've narrowed down some ballpark sounds, I jam along to some backing material to see how it sounds in context.

I now feel a little less overwhelmed when building prestes. However, I think I'm going to use the looper idea mentioned by others earlier, as it's too easy to get lost in playing rather than listening.
 
Happens to me all the time. I take a lot of ear breaks - usually on sites like this. Before I started doing this, I had some rude surprises on the gig the next day, thinking everything was going to sound killer. The breaks took care of that problem.
 
When comparing amps, IR's etc, if you have recording software on your computer, set up a track and record the best ones, and name them, then the next day you can listen to them fresh. I also insert a looper on the Axe Fx to keep repeating a rhythm part or lead depending what sounds i'm working on, this way i can concentrate on the editing while it keeps playing the same part.
Live I use In Ears, but I edit the live patches using a PA, I run some rhythm tracks of songs similar to what I play, and select IR's, amps etc while listening to the whole mix, some amps or IR's might sound great but not work in the mix which for me it's the most important, because it's what the audience will hear.
 
Where is the list (or thread) of amps and cabs that Cliff made that are good matches. I just got this thing and have an hour on it. All I did was edit the gain and treble, bass, mix, etc. I still haven't done anything.

It sounds like this thing is so vast, that me just scrolling through pre sets is OK, but hasn't allowed me to actually experience what this thing can do yet. I am still on the ground and the rocket engines are lit, but I am still on the ground on planet Earth!
 
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